What the Focus

We are back home again after a quick trip to Charlotte. Can I tell you how much I love Charlotte?

I LOVE CHARLOTTE!!!

“Why?” you might wonder.

Because there is so much to do there: great restaurants, bars, theaters, sports venues, and museums to name a few.

This trip, in addition to eating some of our favorite things (chicken and waffles, oysters on the half shell), hearing some great music (Jewel and Melissa Etheridge), and catching a show (Girl from the North Country – with music by Bob Dylan), we visited a fantastic little museum. The Mint Museum Uptown houses the internationally renowned Craft + Design collection as well as outstanding collections of American and contemporary art. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibits, and there was such an incredible array of them! Here are some of my favorites:

The artist, Paul Jenkins, developed the technique of applying pigment suspended in a liquid directly onto the canvas. It was huge!

I love repurposed telephones! (Like Dali’s Lobster Phone)

Hard to see but this was created by little dots of color!

Wolf Crest Hat, Preston Singletary (a member of the Tlingit tribe, the artist created this bowl with its distinctive crest representing in animal form the supernatural being that confers specific privileges upon the family group; turn the bowl upside down and it takes the form of a Northwest Coast Native American hat, which were woven from spruce roots and painted with crest designs)

Transporter, E. V. Day, 2000 (from the Exploding Couture series…this piece recreates the moment at which a designer ballgown begins to explode into thousands of tiny pieces)

Which ones did you like?

The exhibits change, so if you are anywhere near the city, don’t miss a visit to the Mint Museum! And if you are there around lunchtime (or dinner time), there are two fantastic French restaurants close by – La Belle Helene and Coquette. The food at both is fantastique!

Olive Oil Tasting in Mallorca

We had a fantastic time on an olive plantation this week, helping our dear friend celebrate her birthday! Aubocassa is a place with a long and interesting history, dating back to the 13th century. Located just outside the city of Felanitx, the site was originally named Albocásser, derived from the Arabic words Albu-Kasi (father of Kasi).

Long ago, it was a safe haven, offering food, water, shelter and a place to worship regardless of religion. There were originally two palms standing over the building, indicating food and water to passersby.

The Renaissance chapel (which is being restored) ….the owner’s dogs run freely on the property and love to accompany the tours!

Like many estates, Aubocassa changed hands many times, going from local ownership to nobility, before it was subdivided and portions were sold off. The current owners originally intended to plant vines to produce wine, but after soil analysis they decided to plant olive trees instead.

The olives are harvested early, when they are still green, to extract the most nutrients from the fruit

Our tour guide, Patricia, was so knowledgeable and entertaining. We learned so much about the history and process of making olive oil, and much more. The nearby village of Petra, for example, sent missionaries to California, where they established missions all along the coast.

The best part, of course, was tasting the smooth and silky, unfiltered Aubocassa olive oil. It just sings in your mouth! And then we got to taste some of the wines that the owner produces on the mainland, in Rioja and the Ribera del Duero. We went wine tasting in that area last year but did not find his particular vineyard, unfortunately. The wines were all very good.