Three alerts have sounded this past week as a timely reminder that when a light breeze lifts leaves from the slow path, let it show you the way.
The first clang was taking a supposedly fast train from Madrid to San Sebastián in the Basque Country last Sunday. I understood fast to mean ‘train with Wi-Fi’, perhaps it was more hope on my part because the eternal optimist thought I’d be able to finish preparing for two classes that I was giving the following day at the Basque Culinary Centre, but to no avail. I almost finished reading the page-flicking spy thriller Slow Horses. (And it certainly wasn’t Latin lateness on my behalf; the esteemed establishment had sent over the necessary documents the Friday before.)
The second clang was the overnight plummet of some 50 followers on my social media account. It seemed odd so I consulted the Internets to ask what was going on, and it turned out I was in the most excellent company: Leo Messi had also lost out, around five million. But I later questioned my reaction. Why was I concerned? Why did I even notice? And why should it even matter? Time to adjust phone-use settings.
And the third clang was a conversation with bar owner Tato Giovannoni, who recently opened an establishment in Washington DC. Taking the Florería Atlántico bar and Brasero Atlántico restaurant concepts to Barcelona (now shuttered) and Bahrain, Giovannoni joined forces with fellow Argentine hospitality entrepreneur Alex Resnik a few years ago to set up The Hierophant Group, for which Georgetown was the location for the most recent opening.
