Jamie Wakefield

I asked my wife permission to tell this story. Why? Because she’s a spy. Don’t tell anyone! People constantly ask you what you do. I’m a writer, and a computer tech. That encapsulates me. Wendy’s story is a little harder to explain and always confuses people. When she gets done explaining people generally say ”So, you’re a spy?” “No!” She protests. Yes, I nod. Wendy came to Madrid to work for a company that does competitive intelligence. They have some operatives in the field, they contact companies and say “Anything you need to know about the competition?” In a very general sense, things like that. Like I said, it’s tough to pin down. I really can’t go into all of the challenges she/I faced with her business because… well, because. Let me just give you a few examples that I find fascinating. Wendy came to Spain with essentially no training, no idea what she as getting into, no idea what the job would entail. In nine months she had contacts with the biggest companies in...

My father is terrified of flying. Much like I was a lifetime ago. He conquered that fear for us. We have desperately wanted them to come to Madrid to experience what we have lived for the past four years, and this week, they finally did. And they got it. They really, really, GOT it. Do you know how that feels to us? "Let us introduce you to all these things that we love. If you don't love them, that's okay, but we want you to experience it." They were in awe. Just like I was when I first came here (book link on the side, hint, hint.) They loved the people, the architecture, the food, the history, the living statues, all of it. We wanted to take them to a seafood restaurant and order a cold seafood platter and a hot seafood platter but it's so different than American seafood. Percebes, and crab guts and cigala and shrimp and all cold with no cocktail sauce. Also a hot seafood plate with shrimp and cigala grilled with salt and olive oil. Clean and natural and delici...

I’ve heard about Mallorca since I’ve been in Spain. Almost as famous as Ibeza, it is one of the nearby Spanish islands in the Mediterranean and a popular vacation spot for Germans, British and Spaniards. Pictures of Mallorca show the sandy beaches, the resort towns and the towering cliffs. One guidebook I read described tourism as so popular that agriculture was becoming a nuisance. I did a lot of research on this place and got the mental picture of it being much like Lanzarote turned out to be. Sure, there is a long Coney Island like strip with bad tourist food, but good, possibly crowded beaches that stretch forever into the distance. I pictured bike paths, a long sidewalk for walking above but next to the beach and then the hidden gems, the little known coves, the special old style restaurants that don’t cater to the hordes of tourists but serve authentic island food. From the descriptions I’ve read, lots of towns fit this description on the island, the most prominent one being Pa...

I detailed my experience with the wonderful Manta Diving in Lanzarote here , and people asked for a picture. I finally found one of my instructor and her boyfriend, Wendy's refresher course instructor. Really nice people and I recommend learning scuba from them to anyone going on holiday to this island. And, if you haven't read the entry I talk about here, you should. I think it's one of my more interesting pieces.

My apologies to all my readers. Life has been pretty hectic and when it hasn't been, we were on vacation. I am hoping to have many entries this week about our trip to Venice. Musings on just the first twenty-four hours there should be about ten pages. Hell maybe I'll try and bang out the beginning today. A couple random things: To the lovely couple we met from Mallorca with the lovely daughter named after the ocean (Mar, same as her mother) we have somehow lost your contact information. Please email me. Had an eye appointment today and now I am sitting here with the windows drawn and reading glasses on. In order to check the placement of the lenses and look at the healing they had to dilate my eyes. This makes it hard to focus and everything is blindingly bright. The new lenses in my eyes are great with a few caveats. On the plus side, I no longer need to wear glasses unless the print is very very small. My eyes were so bad before the operation I needed them on to see my food s...

Well, I showed up at the Evolution Magic shop yesterday to draft. Considering Spain is on holiday I expected thirty people eager to play Magic on a Thursday. Sadly, we had four and one of them was one of those guys who seems to think since he is in a Magic shop the owner is actually paid to listen to him. When he finally took a pause for breath I asked (in Spanish): “Tournament today?” “Yes, draft this morning and Legacy this afternoon.” “I know, but… is it going to happen?” He turns to his partner (as in, business partner, not lover) and gives a questioning look. He clearly doesn’t understand what I am asking. I blame my Spanish. I like this guy. Hell, I like both of them immensely. “I don’t know. It depends.” He smiles and shrugs. It is a motion of “We could do a draft if you want, but I am hoping more people show up.” I couldn’t agree more. Twenty minutes later I am on the phone with Wendy asking “Can you look up Forbidden Isle? I saw good reviews for it and we nee...

This is not at Star City because it is very short and not because I no longer love them. (Read part one below before reading this if you haven't already.) Michele takes me aside. “Hilary really wants to play Magic while we’re here. It would mean a lot to him.” Wendy tells me “Hilary doesn’t usually ask for much. Never actually.” “FINE!” I don’t actually say that of course, instead I sigh, slump my shoulders and say “okay, I’ll find him a tournament that fits our schedule.” Living in Madrid with two shops within walking distance, which each run two tournaments a day has its advantages. I find us a draft for the next morning. Now, if I was smart, we would have then gone online and actually looked at the cards. Do you know that thought hadn’t occurred to me until just this moment? Holy dumb. We show up and I recognize no one but the shop owner who greets me warmly. Hilary has informed me I no longer have to add the 6000 to the front of my DCI number. I pay for my...

Wendy and I deciding to leave Spain is much like any similar decision in life, like leaving a job or a lover. Once you have made the decision, everything we love and hate about Spain is magnified. I won’t miss the city. Sure, I’ll miss the parks and the massive statues and the atmosphere and the food, but I won’t miss “the city.” I had never lived in a city before Madrid. I have always been a country boy and visits to any city always made me wonder – Why would anyone live here? My brief stays overnight only convinced me more, thanks to the sirens, people screaming at each and traffic noises all night long. But, Madrid is different. I fell in love with Madrid from the first time I woke up in Wendy’s bed and she took me for a walk and to lunch. Madrid is much more like a village, connected to another village, connected to another village and on and on. It’s just not the same as the newer cities in America. You can’t walk a hundred yards without seeing something older than whe...