We shipped Pat's beloved 1980's top-of-the-line Cuisinart here to Portugal, because it was an irreplaceable beauty. Cuisinart has not built them like that for a long time, and Pat was clinging to hers. But alas, the Cuisinart didn't quite operate properly with the US power converters Gerrit built. It has a monstrous electric motor, suitable for a cement mixer, and when Pat pulses with it the power surge overloads the converter. It works okay with regular running, but pulsing must also be supported.
So there were two options: come up with a more surge-tolerant power converter or find a new Cuisinart which runs directly on European power. The beefier power converter options were a few hundred euros and/or big and noisy, and Pat didn't trust the newer versions of Cuisinart. She had a good reason for hanging onto her big beauty: Cuisinart didn't come close to making them like that any more and she knew of no alternative.
But Gemini AI to the rescue! It turns out that the French company Magimix, who actually invented the food processor which inspired the original Cuisinart, still makes big gorgeous professional-quality home food processors to the same specs as Pat's old Cuisinart. And a new Magimix is actually less than a beefed-up power converter, quieter, and much less work for Gerrit. It's a no-brainer, and Pat has placed her order to a huge kitchenware supplier in the Netherlands.
We took a trip to Andorra to visit Gerrit's youngest son and his family, from Jul 20 to Jul 27. We took three days to get there through northern Spain along the Bay of Biscay, three days there, and two days home on the more direct route we took on our visit in Nov 2024. We'll let the photos do the talking:
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 In the Catedral de San Pedro in Jaca
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 Gilded cathedral
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 Pipe organ in the cathedral
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 Lunch in the town of Tremp, Spain: cuttlefish with meatballs, and lamb
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 Entering the Pyrenees, where Andorra is nestled |
 We are pleased to report that the Pyrenees are still spectacular |
 Precipitous cliffs
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 Gerrit & son Ian. That's Gerrit there on your right.
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 On the way to lunch
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 Lunch spot: L'Ovella Negra Xiringuito restaurant
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 Pat and granddaughter Liberty straddling two countries
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 From the pass, looking toward the French side
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 On the way back down the chairlift
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 Massive 1 kg (2.2 lb) steak for Ian and Gerrit. Rubia gallega: best beef ever. |
 Pat's meatballs & cuttlefish redux (this one was better) |
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There is one embarrassing incident we should report. About two hours after we left home we stopped at a gas station and Gerrit discovered to his horror that he had forgotten his keyfob and wallet! No driver's license, no cash, no credit cards, no Portuguese residence permit, no insurance card. He had been inadvertently using Pat's keyfob to enable the car the whole time. After a little hyperventilating, we decided he would go ahead as Willie the Walletless Wonder rather than add four hours to the trip by going home to pick it up. Pat had cards, Gerrit had pictures on his phone of the important documents, and we gambled that we'd be able to bluff our way through Andorran and Spanish customs. As luck would have it, we sailed through entry and exit to Andorra, didn't even have to stop, and we did fine with only one set of cards. Good grief...
We have some
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(As usual, you can click on any photo to enlarge it, scroll through them all, and click outside a photo when you're done. Also, you can click on the bold underlined phrases to play the audio.)