My Santa lives in New Zealand and is amazing. Armed with my Likes/Dislikes and Reddit questionnaire and apparently access to my Facebook page. – I keep my Facebook page locked down but I accepted two friend requests from “strangers” in the month of December and I’m so glad I did.

I knew I was getting two packages from Amazon so I wasn’t surprised to receive a package on Tuesday (Dec 23). I was going to wait until Christmas to open the package but my curiosity got the better of me. I was stunned when I opened it. It was basically a “huh?” kind of stunned. I received two books; the first one, “Meier” and the second, “Piano.” Both have pictures of buildings on them and both by the same author/editor. I thought “Piano” was funny because in my likes/dislikes/questionnaire I mentioned that I’ve been learning to play the piano. I thought my Santa was either very confused – OR – had a wicked sense of humor.

My natural instinct is to research anything new to me. So what’s the deal with these two books and HOW did my Santa think to choose these books as a gift to me? I quickly found out that Meier and Piano are both architects and have designed some amazing buildings/structures. In fact Meier designed Barcelona’s Museum of Contemporary Art – which I have been to! My love of Spain and in particular Barcelona was in my likes/dislikes and I included that I will vacation in Barcelona (4th visit) next month. – OH, I get it. My Santa knows I like architecture since Barcelona is filled with amazing buildings/structures. Then, I see that Piano designed The Centre Pompidou in Paris. Yes, another modern art museum and I’ve been there too. I LOVE that building – it is amazing.

So, I started flipping through the books and it hit me what a cool gift this is. Wow! I love these books and my secret Santa. I googled “Philip Jodido” and found that he’s done a series of books on architects and found one of his books that I immediately wanted to buy. I wanted his book on “Santiago Calatrava.”

After getting the first package I still didn’t know my secret Santa’s name. But, I was anxious to get the second package because I like how my Santa thinks. I was anxious to see what else my Santa had in store for me.

The second package arrived on Christmas Eve. I tore open the package and found out just how well my Santa knows me. The second package solved the mystery of the books as it contained a third book in Philip Jodido’s series of architects. And, it contained the following note:

“I’ve heard you like the work of one of these architects, so I hope you like books on architecture as well! Happy New Year from New Zealand. – Vitaly”

YES! The second package contained Jodido’s book on “Calatrava”! – HoHoHo!

My super sleuth Santa uncovered pictures of my trip to Valencia, Spain in 2012. That’s where I fell in love with Santiago Calatrava. I’ve included here a picture that I took on that trip that I have on my Facebook page.

I love unusual buildings, infrastructure in general and cool bridges in particular. I am stunned and amazed that my Santa figured this out.

Thank you Vitaly! I love my gifts. It’s Christmas night and I finally got a chance to write a proper “Thank You.” My plan for the evening is to pour a glass of (Spanish) wine and pore over some amazing architecture.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Tersalita