Letter 5

Ambassador Solomont, Mrs. Solomont, Dr. Sharon Malone and Attorney General Holder (photo: US Embassy)

April 2010

Dear Friends and Family

As many of you may know, my dear father, Leonard Lewis, passed away on March 26th. While it was not unexpected, it still hit hard and is a profound loss for our family. I spent a week in New York with Alan, Becca and Stephanie, my mom, my sister, family and friends. It was good to be surrounded with so much love and caring. Coming back to Madrid was not easy for me. But I must confess, the Embassy community is like a family. They have surrounded me with well wishes, caring spirits and lots of warmth. I'm most appreciative to be part of Embassy Madrid, and I'm also very appreciative for all the cards, letters, emails, and calls I've received from so many. Thank you to all for being there for me and for all your support.

Let me tell you about some of what we've been doing in Spain since I wrote to you last.

Stephanie and four friends from Lafayette College visited us for 12 days. These girls were joyous, ebullient, and shining. They loved being here at the Embassy. They loved touring Madrid. They loved going to Barcelona for a few days (via high speed train) and they loved Madrid nightlife (leaving at 1 am and returning home after churros at 6 am). Did I mention they loved shopping?! Stephanie has always thought that our being here is just about the coolest thing ever. Just as she and her friends departed to go back to school, Becca and her friend Corey arrived. Together, they were great sightseers and lots of fun. They really tried to take full advantage of this city, touring museums and the Palace and walking the streets of Madrid. They went off to see Morocco -- great destination, not too far from Madrid. Sadly, they had to leave Morocco early when my father passed away, but I"m sure they will find their way back there (as will Alan and I).

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Queen Sofia (Reina Sofia). The spouses in the diplomatic community, through an organization called DAMAS, organize a fair called Kermes. The wife of the Italian Ambassador chaired the event this year, which brings together 56 countries at the Feria in Madrid. The Feria is a magnificent convention center. Each of the 56 countries has a booth where they sell products from their country. The proceeds go to the Queen's charity -- this year it benefitted the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The U.S. booth is always successful, selling all the food products we love -- things from Hershey bars to peanut butter to Betty Crocker's pancake mix. Other countries’ booths sell pottery, scarves, jewelry, home furnishings, clothing, etc. The Kermes is emblematic of how our horizons have been expanded to better appreciate what a diverse and rich world we live in. The Kermes is filled with all the colors and tastes and sounds of the world -- it's joyful, it's packed with people, and there's food to sample from all over the world. It's a great day -- lots of fun. The Queen made her way around the entire Fair and stopped to talk with all of us at the U.S. booth. She is very warm and gracious, and I look forward to meeting her again.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts brought a delegation to Madrid to accompany the John Singer Sargent masterpiece “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit” to the Prado, where it will hang next to the Velazquez painting “Las Meninas.” Seeing the two paintings side by side is extraordinary. We are learning what an enormous influence Velazquez had on so many painters. Sargent spent a fair amount of time in the Prado, inspired by Velazquez. We hosted a reception for the MFA delegation and members of the Spanish cultural community. A very talented classical guitarist, Adam Levin from Chicago, is a Fulbright fellow, and he entertained us with his amazing guitar playing. It was wonderful to have a group of Bostonians in our home, all at one time. A special shout out to Susan Kaplan who was part of the MFA delegation. She and I had too brief a time together while she was here.

We prepared a Passover Seder at our residence and invited American students studying here who did not have a Seder to go to. We also invited some Embassy staff, some of whom have been to Seders before and some who haven't. I worked with our chef Gustavo to plan the Seder menu. His matzo balls (while not as good as my mother's- he's are the very best) were fantastic. Cristina, our Residence Manager, searched high and low and bought the last boxes of matzo in Madrid. We invited Adam Levin and his guitar, and he played Dayenu (on the classical guitar). The Seder was an enormous success -- the only thing missing was Alan and me. It was during the time we were back in the States, but we did enjoy our own family Seder in New York. As always, we followed the Hagaddah that Alan writes each year.

Back in Madrid, Alan and I were invited by local Jewish families to sample a Moroccan tradition that marks the end of the Passover holiday. It is called Mimona. It is a series of open houses held throughout the Jewish community. At each house there is a feast offered. Traditional foods include a crepe like pancake that you fill with butter and top with honey, roll up and eat, couscous sweetened with milk and sugar, chicken tagines, fresh figs and dates, and the old stand- by -- a deli platter. We visited different homes, met with many members of the small but vibrant Jewish community, stayed out well past our bed time, and felt the joy of community in the air.

Alan continues to find enormous fulfillment in his work at Embassy Madrid. While he has been very visible in Spain, he had a formal "coming out" event, speaking at a prestigious press forum (similar to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.) before an audience of government officials, political leaders, business executives and press. He delivered a 20 minute speech on President Obama's agenda, pivoting off the success of healthcare reform. Alan was extraordinary, both in his delivery of the speech and his response to questions -- none of which were softballs. He is working hard to advance the presidents' agenda and I am awed by his creativity as we plan Embassy events, designed to give shape and meaning to all we do here.

As you may know, Spain currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. Because of this, Embassy Madrid has been host to a constant stream of U.S. government officials. The most recent were Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who were in Madrid for an EU ministerial. We hosted a reception at the residence attended by officials from Belgium, Hungary, Spain and the EU (Belgium and Hungary will be next EU presidents). I had the pleasure of having coffee with the Attorney General Holder's wife, Dr. Sharon Malone. I was immediately drawn to her. I'd include her in a group of women I'd like to spend more time with.

We have taken daytrips to Segovia and Avila, two cities within an hour of Madrid by car (also accessible by high speed train). Both cities are wonderful -- Segovia has an awesome cathedral, an incredibly intact Roman aqueduct running around the city, and an Alcazar (castle) that is supposedly the model for Walt Disney's signature castle. Avila has the most intact medieval wall around the city (imagine perfect sand castles at the beach). In both cities we had traditional Spanish meals, including the roast suckling pig and pork served every way you can imagine

Yesterday morning, Alan and I were interviewed by Madrid's largest daily newspaper, El Pais, regarding the Ambassador's first 100 days in Spain (yes we've been here over 100 days). We were photographed with Stella Blu and interviewed by the reporter about everything, including how we like Spain, what surprised us about living here, what we miss most (all of you), and the tough political issues. We were again reminded of the importance of American diplomatic efforts.

As the weather turns warm, we've been trying to use the grounds of the residence to entertain embassy families and to showcase important initiatives we have launched. Last Sunday we hosted an Easter egg roll for the children of the Embassy, and Alan was the Easter Bunny. This afternoon, we are launching an organic vegetable garden which is part of our effort to "green" the Embassy. We will be using recycled rain water and compost made of organic waste and shredded paper. This is a project I will devote myself to, and we will include programs on healthy eating and healthy cooking.

We continue on our quest to sample new restaurants-- some recommendations we are adding to our list -- Astrid y Gaston (Peruvian), Lateral, Iroca, and Viavelez -- all great combinations of traditional and contemporary Spanish cuisine.

On a more personal note, my dearest friends Ronni Kotler and Nancy Belsky came to visit. Nancy's fluent Spanish helped us navigate the city. We had a ball together, and the laughs were endless. Tom and Marsha Alperin are arriving today, and we are excited about sharing our adventure with them. Finally my niece (sobrina) Amy Mendel and two of her friends are visiting. They just returned from a CJP mission to Dnepropetrovsk in the Ukraine. They brought lots of youthful energy plus some Russian vodka, Austrian Eis Wein and Sacher Torte (from their stopover in Vienna).

Okay, this letter is long enough. As always, keep your cards and letters coming.

With love

Susan