I admit it, there are still great restaurants in Valencia that I have not tried yet. But I am on a mission to change that.
While Samsha remains my all-time favorite despite its location, before we flew back to New York we tried the Michelin Guide starred Poblet restaurant.
I shouldnt be surprised, since I ate at Quique Dacostas El Poblet in Denia a few years ago and knew he was onto something.
After the cruise my wife and I took our American relatives to Barcelona for 3 days. Nothing new for me there except the Sagrada Familia (yes, its true: after countless trips to Barcelona, I had never visited the amazing architectural wonder), although there are some things I can never get tired of, like Gaudis architecture, or Picasso`s museum.
Staying at the convenient and elegant Hotel España, next to the Liceu, was a great idea, made even better by their Martín Berasategui`s restaurant Fonda.
Knowing that the organized excursion to Tunisia was going to be exhausting, the kids did not come with us, so we had plenty of time to explore La Goulette, Sidi Bou Saïd, and the National Bardo Museum.
There is no doubt Sidi Bou Saïd is picturesque and nice to visit. Clearly Mediterranean in its colors and folklore, it reminds you of the Greek islands or even Ibiza (the old twon).
After a month traveling throughout Europe (posts and pictures soon), I returned to New York and I needed to catch up with work. In order to be more productive I had to tackle the “cable jungle” challenge. Quick and easy (and cool) solution? LEGO!
Just attach some velcro to the back of a Lego, attach it to the edge of your desk, get some of your favorite figures, have them “hold their arms up”, and let them hold the USB and charger cables for you 🙂
Wednesday was a long day.
First I was invited to a VIP breakfast executive briefing and presentation by IBM at 7:45am. The event, in which IBM showcased their Watson technology and three partner companies talked about how they are leveraging NLP capabilities, lasted until 12:30pm, but I stayed for an extra hour for a meeting with an IBM executive.
Then I headed back to the office for 3 conference calls. By 7:00pm I was ready to go to the Social Radar startup launch party Stephanie and I had been invited to.
A friend got me a VIP pass for the 2014 Scope Basel Art Show (thank you, Jorge!). I had it all planned out: since I had a meeting in Stuttgart the day before, I could drive to nearby Basel, attend the VIP opening, and then fly back to New York. But the Stuttgart meeting was cancelled, so I changed my plane ticket, and returned to New York in time to go to the Amos Lee concert in Brooklyn`s Prospect Park with my wife.
On Sunday I was invited along with my wife by New York art gallery Lyons Wier Gallery to the Downtown modern+contemporary art fair held at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York.
14,000 international collectors and art enthusiasts, over the course of four-days, gathering to discover paintings, sculptures, photographs and mixed-media works by over 600 artists from around the globe, exhibited by more than 50 international dealers. Seasoned as well as new collectors, curators, museum professionals, cultural foundations, dealers, art advisors and consultants enjoying works by mid-career and emerging artists as well as blue chip works by Picasso, De Kooning, Ruscha, Wesselmann, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Calder and other artists.
