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Hope it's a good one - a little early for fishin' but I hope it's just as fun!
(this will be the first of my birthday posts :D)
Monday, March 30, 2009
Happy Birthday Uncle Brian!
Hope it's a good one - a little early for fishin' but I hope it's just as fun!
(this will be the first of my birthday posts :D)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
La Comida de Ayer (Yesterday's Food)
Yesterday was a good food day. It started out with a trip to the supermarket - one of my favorite types of stores to visit when abroad. It's always so much fun to see the different types of products, the different spices, and all of that. For instance, grocery stores in Spain will often have a aisle of yogurt that is about fifty feet long and full on both sides (probably a hundred different varieties of yogurt!). Of course, the supermarket has it's dangers too...I think I have a small suitcase worth of food products to bring back to the US with me....including some yummy treats for a few people!
After the market we came back to the apartment in Vilassar where Eda cooked a wonderful chicken Paella. I've always wanted to try a paella, I imagined by the looks of it that I would quite enjoy it. The problem is that most of the paella in general is full of shellfish, which is a big no-no for me. So Eda made a chicken paella with chicken, chicken sausage, something called chistorra (a pork sausage, which Felipe ate mostly), and a variety of vegetables (artichokes, some type of green bean, asparagus, red bell pepper, green pepper, and onion). The end product was delicious. Eda did a fantastic job with her first paella!
Look at how beautiful that is!
and here is me eagerly awaiting having the paella on my plate and fork:
Of course all the delicious paella required that the guys take a siesta afterward. When the siesta was over we drove into Barcelona to meet Felipe's sister Ana for a coffee at a shopping center called Les Glòries. After having a cortado (espresso with milk), Ana and Eda and I walked around the shops a bit. We met up with Sergi (Ana's boyfriend) and then went back to Vilassar where we continued with the good food!
For dinner we walked to a small restaurant that is well known for it's tortillas - Can Pa Amb Tomaquet (the name is Catalan, the link is in Spanish):
A painting of the proprietor, Justo Ruiz, making tortillas (a Spanish dish of egg omelet with fried potatos, garlic and onion).
Patatas Bravas....super yummy with the spicy tomato sauce!
Pa Amb Tomaquet (Pan con tomate in Spanish) and Truita Guiness (Tortilla Guiness). See the explanation of the Guiness label below:
Some time ago Justo Ruiz competed to gain the title of the most tortillas made in a 24 hour time period. He won this and it has become the trophy of the restaurant.
Here is a collage of photos from the day that he won the record.
and the Guiness book of world records certificate given to Justo Ruiz after the day. He used 12,330 eggs and 420 Kilograms of potatoes (that's about 900lbs!) to make a grand total of 4,420 tortillas! I am told that they managed to pull this off by encouraging people to bring potatoes and eggs to where he was holding his feat of tortillas and for bringing the ingredients, they could eat tortilla for free :D
Sergi and Felipe went against the grain and got other Spanish delights:
Felipe had the pa amb tomaquet with some Chorizo Ibérico.
And here you can see Sergi's gigantic plate of Surtido de Cazoletas (basicall a ton of little dishes with a variety of salads, cheeses, meats and fish).
Overall...A very good food day!
After the market we came back to the apartment in Vilassar where Eda cooked a wonderful chicken Paella. I've always wanted to try a paella, I imagined by the looks of it that I would quite enjoy it. The problem is that most of the paella in general is full of shellfish, which is a big no-no for me. So Eda made a chicken paella with chicken, chicken sausage, something called chistorra (a pork sausage, which Felipe ate mostly), and a variety of vegetables (artichokes, some type of green bean, asparagus, red bell pepper, green pepper, and onion). The end product was delicious. Eda did a fantastic job with her first paella!
Look at how beautiful that is!
and here is me eagerly awaiting having the paella on my plate and fork:
Of course all the delicious paella required that the guys take a siesta afterward. When the siesta was over we drove into Barcelona to meet Felipe's sister Ana for a coffee at a shopping center called Les Glòries. After having a cortado (espresso with milk), Ana and Eda and I walked around the shops a bit. We met up with Sergi (Ana's boyfriend) and then went back to Vilassar where we continued with the good food!
For dinner we walked to a small restaurant that is well known for it's tortillas - Can Pa Amb Tomaquet (the name is Catalan, the link is in Spanish):
A painting of the proprietor, Justo Ruiz, making tortillas (a Spanish dish of egg omelet with fried potatos, garlic and onion).
Patatas Bravas....super yummy with the spicy tomato sauce!
Pa Amb Tomaquet (Pan con tomate in Spanish) and Truita Guiness (Tortilla Guiness). See the explanation of the Guiness label below:
Some time ago Justo Ruiz competed to gain the title of the most tortillas made in a 24 hour time period. He won this and it has become the trophy of the restaurant.
Here is a collage of photos from the day that he won the record.
and the Guiness book of world records certificate given to Justo Ruiz after the day. He used 12,330 eggs and 420 Kilograms of potatoes (that's about 900lbs!) to make a grand total of 4,420 tortillas! I am told that they managed to pull this off by encouraging people to bring potatoes and eggs to where he was holding his feat of tortillas and for bringing the ingredients, they could eat tortilla for free :D
Sergi and Felipe went against the grain and got other Spanish delights:
Felipe had the pa amb tomaquet with some Chorizo Ibérico.
And here you can see Sergi's gigantic plate of Surtido de Cazoletas (basicall a ton of little dishes with a variety of salads, cheeses, meats and fish).
Overall...A very good food day!
Friday, March 27, 2009
A Visit to Sant Cugat
Yesterday Felipe and I took the Ferrocarril train to Sant Cugat where his friend Enric lives with his wife Anna and their six month old baby Ariadna. It was a short distance to get there by train, about 25 minutes and a pleasant ride. We got off the train and walked towards the center of the village to wait for Enric and Ana.
Sant Cugat is a small village, with a very old history. There is a monastery there that was constructed in the ninth century and is considered one of the more important monasteries in the county of Barcelona.
We met up with Enric and Anna and then walked a bit to a small cerveceria to have a bite to eat for dinner. Afterwards we went back to Enric and Anna's apartment in a newer part of the village. It was quite a beautiful new apartment and looked like a very nice place to raise their baby. It was such a pleasure to visit with them and enjoy Ariadna's smile!
Sant Cugat is a small village, with a very old history. There is a monastery there that was constructed in the ninth century and is considered one of the more important monasteries in the county of Barcelona.
We met up with Enric and Anna and then walked a bit to a small cerveceria to have a bite to eat for dinner. Afterwards we went back to Enric and Anna's apartment in a newer part of the village. It was quite a beautiful new apartment and looked like a very nice place to raise their baby. It was such a pleasure to visit with them and enjoy Ariadna's smile!
Postcards and Interesting Facts
Interesting Facts (per wikipedia):
In 1930 Dalí and Gala would rent a small fisherman's cabin in a nearby bay at Port Lligat. He bought the place, and over the years enlarged it, gradually building his much beloved villa by the sea. (the one pictured)
Dalí and Gala once dressed up for a masquerade as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper.
Dalí designed the Chupa Chups logo in 1969.
Worked with Alfred Hitchcock on his movie Spellbound
Cadaqués, Port Lligat and the Casa de Dalí
On Wednesday we took a day trip to Cadaqués to visit the casa de Gala y Salvador Dalí. The drive is about two and a half hours from Felipe's parents house in Vilassar de Mar (near to Barcelona). It was a beautiful sunny day, as is often the case, and the drive was quite pleasant. There was only a little part closer to Cadaqués where the drive became a little scary as the roads go through some mountainous areas and there are quite a few steep ledges...but we made it through!
When we arrived to the city we walked around Port Lligat a bit just to see the area around Dalí's house.
Here you can see his house is the large white one on this small little bay. Dalí lived here later in his life (after the 1950's he was in a few different places in Catalonia).
Another view of the port.
Felipe and his dad :D
an old building across the street from the house.
Dalí was quite an eccentric person, and this shows through in many aspects of his home. He also had very nice taste when it came to the design of his home - it was very spacious, and had tons of wonderful light and the most amazing views of the water just outside of his window. It is no wonder that someone could be so inspired in such a place.
When you fist walk into the house you are greeted by a giant taxidermy polar bear:
There is a lot of other taxidermy throughout the house, including stuffed swans, lambs, and a variety of other animals. The other more interesting one is the Rhinoceros:
And some more photos of the rest of the house:
The Bedroom
The rooftop.
This is a very large figure of a man in the yard of the house. I am amazed at what Dalí does with perspective - you would never guess what this giant creature was until you were able to see it from atop.
This fountain next to his pool reminded me of my sister Mariam...I bet you would love this mar!
Eda and I sitting on the lips by the side of the pool...can you imagine the parties that Dalí had there! haha.
Anyway, the whole experience was quite nice - it was an amazing place and he is quite a fascinating person. For anyone that travels to Spain, it is a highly recommended trip!
When we arrived to the city we walked around Port Lligat a bit just to see the area around Dalí's house.
Here you can see his house is the large white one on this small little bay. Dalí lived here later in his life (after the 1950's he was in a few different places in Catalonia).
Another view of the port.
Felipe and his dad :D
an old building across the street from the house.
Dalí was quite an eccentric person, and this shows through in many aspects of his home. He also had very nice taste when it came to the design of his home - it was very spacious, and had tons of wonderful light and the most amazing views of the water just outside of his window. It is no wonder that someone could be so inspired in such a place.
When you fist walk into the house you are greeted by a giant taxidermy polar bear:
There is a lot of other taxidermy throughout the house, including stuffed swans, lambs, and a variety of other animals. The other more interesting one is the Rhinoceros:
And some more photos of the rest of the house:
The Bedroom
The rooftop.
This is a very large figure of a man in the yard of the house. I am amazed at what Dalí does with perspective - you would never guess what this giant creature was until you were able to see it from atop.
This fountain next to his pool reminded me of my sister Mariam...I bet you would love this mar!
Eda and I sitting on the lips by the side of the pool...can you imagine the parties that Dalí had there! haha.
Anyway, the whole experience was quite nice - it was an amazing place and he is quite a fascinating person. For anyone that travels to Spain, it is a highly recommended trip!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
La Boda de Javier y Carmen
On Saturday we went to Plasencia for Javier and Carmen's wedding - it was a wonderful drive (as previously blogged) and the town is very beautiful, and the wedding was great.
The wedding took place in la Iglesia de San Nicolas, which was constructed in thirteen century and later reformed in the fourteenth century. It was beautiful!
Afterward the happy couple was greeted outside of the church...
Carmen's dress was beautiful and they're smiles were priceless!
After the wedding we all walked the short distance to the Parador where their reception was held. The Paradors are a chain of luxury hotels throughout Spain that were founded by Alfonso XIII, these are often in old castles, palaces, fortresses, convents, monasteries and other historic buildings. It was a really wonderful place to celebrate, and I would hope that some day I might get to travel around Spain, touring each of the beautiful Paradors.
I've compiled a few photos from around the Hotel....enjoy the views!
The reception was very elegant, and was held in an old room on the upper level of the parador.
They had a wonderful meal with Brocheta de rape y langostinos sobre salsa de pimientos rojos veratos (a rape fish kebab with shellfish and pepper sauce - I had a salad instead due to the allergy), Medallon de solomillo de ternera retinta con salsa de trufas y patatas pera (a beef tenderloin with mushroom red wine sauce and pear shaped potatoes) and ended with a surtido de postres del convento (an assorted desserts of the convent). Super yummy!
Later they had the dancing/party portion of the reception in a cellar located in another part of the parador:
One last photo...they had their photographers taking polaroid photos of all of the guests and then put them into a book for the couple. It was a very nice idea, and our photo turned out quite well :D
Us trying to recreate the polaroid...wasn't quite the same.
The wedding took place in la Iglesia de San Nicolas, which was constructed in thirteen century and later reformed in the fourteenth century. It was beautiful!
Afterward the happy couple was greeted outside of the church...
Carmen's dress was beautiful and they're smiles were priceless!
After the wedding we all walked the short distance to the Parador where their reception was held. The Paradors are a chain of luxury hotels throughout Spain that were founded by Alfonso XIII, these are often in old castles, palaces, fortresses, convents, monasteries and other historic buildings. It was a really wonderful place to celebrate, and I would hope that some day I might get to travel around Spain, touring each of the beautiful Paradors.
I've compiled a few photos from around the Hotel....enjoy the views!
The reception was very elegant, and was held in an old room on the upper level of the parador.
They had a wonderful meal with Brocheta de rape y langostinos sobre salsa de pimientos rojos veratos (a rape fish kebab with shellfish and pepper sauce - I had a salad instead due to the allergy), Medallon de solomillo de ternera retinta con salsa de trufas y patatas pera (a beef tenderloin with mushroom red wine sauce and pear shaped potatoes) and ended with a surtido de postres del convento (an assorted desserts of the convent). Super yummy!
Later they had the dancing/party portion of the reception in a cellar located in another part of the parador:
One last photo...they had their photographers taking polaroid photos of all of the guests and then put them into a book for the couple. It was a very nice idea, and our photo turned out quite well :D
Us trying to recreate the polaroid...wasn't quite the same.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Castile-La Mancha, Spain
Saturday morning we left Madrid early to head to Plasencia in Extremadura. The drive, with Gabi and Anna, was quite a nice one. It's pleasant to see an landscape other than the ones you are used to in your own home. Once we were outside of Madrid, the landscape became quite beautiful. This was especially the case when we entered Castile-La Mancha.
We stopped briefly at a small town called Maqueda in La Mancha for breakfast. We pulled over to find a small bar/restaurant called Bar el Castilla (named such for the castle down the road).
The bar/restaurant was small, and only had two customers standing at the bar. We were greeted at the door by a scruffy looking dog, that seemed curious about us visiting.
Went inside and ordered a bit of food for breakfast and some coffees as well.
We had this absolutely delicious Manchego cheese with bread. How awesome it was to have such good food from the region it comes from!
We continued on after breakfast towards Plasencia, but not without seeing the Castle of Maqueda:
This castle apparently dates back to the 15th century and is now the residence of the Guardia Civil (the police basically) and was declared a national historic monument in 1931.
On the road again, we passed by groves of olive trees, herds of sheep, and all of the beautiful countryside. It was interesting to me, and maybe I was just not in the right place....but I saw none of the fabled wind mills from Don Quixote. I did however see, towards the outside of the state a very large collection of solar power panels (several fields worth, thousands of them), and I can't help but wonder how Don Quixote would battle the solar panels if that had been the case so many years ago!
We stopped briefly at a small town called Maqueda in La Mancha for breakfast. We pulled over to find a small bar/restaurant called Bar el Castilla (named such for the castle down the road).
The bar/restaurant was small, and only had two customers standing at the bar. We were greeted at the door by a scruffy looking dog, that seemed curious about us visiting.
Went inside and ordered a bit of food for breakfast and some coffees as well.
We had this absolutely delicious Manchego cheese with bread. How awesome it was to have such good food from the region it comes from!
We continued on after breakfast towards Plasencia, but not without seeing the Castle of Maqueda:
This castle apparently dates back to the 15th century and is now the residence of the Guardia Civil (the police basically) and was declared a national historic monument in 1931.
On the road again, we passed by groves of olive trees, herds of sheep, and all of the beautiful countryside. It was interesting to me, and maybe I was just not in the right place....but I saw none of the fabled wind mills from Don Quixote. I did however see, towards the outside of the state a very large collection of solar power panels (several fields worth, thousands of them), and I can't help but wonder how Don Quixote would battle the solar panels if that had been the case so many years ago!
Friday Night Tapas in Madrid
Friday night we met with Anna and Gabi who had arrived from Barcelona to travel to Plasencia for the wedding. As everyone in Madrid does on a Friday night - we went for tapas.
The original place we were going to go to, our usual, was too crowded and so we headed on and ended up at a place where we could sit outside (although we had to wait for a table to open up, which only had two seats, and then almost fight over another chair, and wait another ten minutes for the fourth chair!). It was a busy night for the tapas bars!
Chorizo a la Sidra (Chorizo made with Cider)
Pimientos Padrones (kind of a fried hot pepper)
We got those two dishes, and cheese and patatas bravas (not pictured because they were delicious and were eaten quite quickly!) It was a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening :D
Friday, March 20, 2009
Interesting Statuary in Madrid
On our long long walk through the city this afternoon, I noticed something when we stopped to look at the map. While Felipe was orienting us, I was looking at the surrounding buildings and saw an unusual shape on the rooftop of the building across the street (this was the Calle de las Milaneses - a street connecting the Calle de Santiago to the Calle Mayor). If you look at the top of the yellow building, just near the building next to it, it looked like this:
Looking closer, you could see that it was an unusual statue of a human with wings that looked as if it was "crashing" into the building. After snooping on the internet, I learned that I had unwittingly found the other statue of Lucifer the fallen angel. It certainly looks as if it could be very painful - as falling from Heaven and the grace of God might pain you.
There is more information on the statue in an article done by El Pais, the Spanish newspaper (this article is in Spanish)
The other statue of the "fallen angel" Lucifer was something I encountered on one of my last trips to Madrid, and stands atop a fountain in el Parque del Buen Retiro:
The two statues look very different, but either way, it is well depicted the pain and terror that I am sure they were trying to tell the story of.
Looking closer, you could see that it was an unusual statue of a human with wings that looked as if it was "crashing" into the building. After snooping on the internet, I learned that I had unwittingly found the other statue of Lucifer the fallen angel. It certainly looks as if it could be very painful - as falling from Heaven and the grace of God might pain you.
There is more information on the statue in an article done by El Pais, the Spanish newspaper (this article is in Spanish)
The other statue of the "fallen angel" Lucifer was something I encountered on one of my last trips to Madrid, and stands atop a fountain in el Parque del Buen Retiro:
The two statues look very different, but either way, it is well depicted the pain and terror that I am sure they were trying to tell the story of.
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