It is always a pleasant coincidence to be visiting a foreign destination where broadcast personality and actress Ali Sotto happens to be residing. We visited her place in Mexico some years back when her husband, Omar Bsaies, Tunisian American diplomat for the US embassy, was then assigned. And now in Madrid, we got the chance to visit the couple again.

When we were in Mexico City, Ali took us shopping and the things we bought now serve as the décor in our new home. The Madrid visit, however, was different in that we got to see the house where the couple lives. They stay at this quiet part of town away from the city’s center of activities.  This visit afforded us the chance to experience Omar’s brand of tasteful living.

The first thing one notices in the property is the burst of greenery and flowering plants, which would have been impossible to have had the couple opted to live in a condominium. The ever practical Ali had wanted to live in a condominium in the city near Omar’s place of work. But Omar was not to be dissuaded. He clearly wanted to live in a special kind of house.

The garden was at first a mess when they first saw the place they found. The grass was practically dead and there were hardly any trees. He spent a lot of money to get it looking the way it is today. His colleagues chided him for spending all that money. After all, he would eventually be assigned to another country in a few years.

“It’s still two to three years of my life!” exclaims Omar. “I like to be surrounded by things that are pleasing to my soul, my eyes, my spirit and that’s worth the investment. I don’t know when I’m gonna kick off. Nobody knows. So I would like to enjoy life while I can. I don’t spare a dime when it comes to taking care of the good things in life the best I can, with the means I have.”

 Omar’s expensive taste in furniture is evident throughout the house. He was the designer of every house they have lived in so far. He usually works with a local coterie of craftsmen, carpenters, and carvers. When he acquires a piece for the home, he knows exactly where it would go. Ali concurs that Omar indeed is the artist in the family, not her. She jokes that should Omar decide to retire or move to another career, he would make an excellent interior designer.

As the eldest child in the family, Omar as a teen-age growing up in Tunis was always in charge of the house when his mother had to go out. After cleaning the house and washing the dishes, Omar says he would rearrange the furniture and curtains, and add a few little touches here and there to give the room a new look. This always surprised his mom, he says. He later noticed she would be going out more and more often whenever she wanted a new look to the interiors.

The house in Madrid contains all the furniture and trimmings gathered from all the countries he has been to. All these follow him wherever he goes so it’s usually a gigantic undertaking to pack and unpack.

The Madrid house is of medium size, good enough for the couple and a dog Maja who is Ali’s companion during the day. The master bedroom is bright and sunny, the two guest rooms simple but elegant. The entire house an eclectic combination of styles yet Omar has managed to make them look as if they were meant to be together. Omar is proud of the Pinoy dining room and Ali’s old narra dining table which he took pains to recycle. He had taken out the old broken solihiya and replaced it with wood decorated with carvings.

But the favorite spot in the whole place for the couple is the verandah where the couple relaxes, sip wine, take their merienda and view the sunset. Watching the couple enjoy this lovely home simply justifies Omar’s extravagant choices.

In a few years, however, all these items painstakingly put together will be packed off once again for shipment. The difference is Omar has already decided to retire and base himself in the Philippines together with Ali and all these treasured pieces.

Email the author at bibsycarballo@yahoo.com