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Spain: Holy Week in Granada: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 8

By dorothy stainbrook + on April 25, 2012 in Spain - travel & recipes

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“Christ of the Judgement” float, depicting sentencing of Jesus

It has been Holy Week in Spain since we arrived and today (Sunday, April 8th) marks the end of a series of “procesions” happening daily in the villages and cities throughout Spain. Seville, in the Andalusia province, seems to be the epicenter of the Easter processions, but as we cannot make it there on Sunday, we will watch several processions in Granada where my daughter is living. *note: if you call these processions “parades” many of the Spanish people will not understand you.

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“Christ of the Judgement” float showing acting out of sentencing

While they celebrate the passion of the final events surrounding Jesus Christ’s life (especially the betrayal, the crucifixion, and the resurrection), it is not a light, frivolous type of parade celebration, but rather a respectful, somber remembering. The raucous, lighter celebration in Seville comes later, at the end of April. This is know as the April Fair and is apparently a very merry celebration with plenty of eating and drinking revelry.

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Float of the Virgin Mary

The processions start at the churches and end at the church, and there is usually only one float per procession. The float itself is artistically intricate and is comprised of pieces of artwork that reside in the church itself all year long.

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Men carrying float of Virgin Mary on backs

One of the astounding things to me is the floats are carried on the backs of people (men), all adding to the pain and suffering that surrounds the Easter events. The men bear the floats on their head and necks and carry the floats in 20-minutes shifts. The floats can weigh up to 2 tons, and it is said that some men carry the float until they collapse.

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Penitentes getting ready for Procesion

The hooded penitents, talked about in an earlier post, lead the procession, swinging incense and setting the serious tone. The penitents are often followed by a band with beating drums or wailing singers… introducing the float. The finale on Sunday is typically a float of the Virgin Mary, representing the hope of resurrection.

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Alhambra from the top of the Albaycin

After the processions and lunch back at Senora’s house, we took the cab up to the Albaycin to view the Alhambra. The Alhambra is noted in all the travel books as a sight not to miss, and I’m sure it is spectacular. Based on our own individual interests and time constraints, we chose to view the Alhambra from afar (the top of the Albaycin) and not take a tour of the inside.

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Harpist at the Albaycin

The Albaycin area itself was such a throwback to the 70′s for Cris and I. It seemed to be a utopian mecca of hippies enjoying themselves in the same way they did back in our own college days in Eugene, Oregon.

The first person we came across was the harpist with dreadlocks, and as the smell of marijuana increased, so did the number of dogs and smiling hippies (not to be confused with hipsters). The similarities of the Albaycin to Eugene in the 70′s were remarkable: juggling, marijuana, lots of dogs, long hair (though dreadlocks had not come in at that time), love/peace/community, and the need of hot showers.

The things we noticed that had changed were: the dogs did not have scarves on their necks, there weren’t as many nursing moms and babies, and there were a lot more tatoos. Ah, love that some things remain the same even in the new world of technology.

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Spain – Avila, Toledo & Granada: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 7

By dorothy stainbrook + on April 22, 2012 in Spain - travel & recipes

IMG 2472 Avila closeup 1024x645 Spain Avila, Toledo & Granada: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed Day 7

Walls around Avila

Avila was our starting place this morning, with Toledo in mind as the place we would spend most of the day, then ending up back in Granada at my daughter’s study abroad home (with her “other mom” as she calls her).

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Avila, encircled by medieval walls

Avila, a national landmark, is an ancient city completely encircled by perfectly preserved medieval walls. Unfortunately we missed the treat of eating the Yemas. Yemas are pastries made by the local nuns that are likened to soft-boiled egg yolks that have been cooled and sugared. Sounds like something I could get in to….next time I guess.

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Tesla & Cris with Cervantes (Don Quixote)

Most of our day was spent in Toledo, and it is a day we will never forget! Cris’s shirt has permanent sweat stains, and we’re talking that cold sweat that comes from unmitigated fear. Seeing Spain by car allowed us to set our own schedule and get into places the buses would not go, but in Toledo we got sucked into a maze of very narrow, steep, cobblestone streets where no car should ever go. Add to that the gawkers and tourists in the streets and you have the perfect storm of “what not to do while in Spain”. This is one of those times when we should have read our touring book, where it noted: “…streets barely wide enough for a man and his donkey, let alone an automobile.” It was a nightmare of a maze and it took us forever to get out of it. We were definitely ready for a few bottles of that touted Spanish sherry when we got out!

Food enjoyed in Toledo:

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vino de Jerez finos

We ate at one of the more expensive places listed in the travel books we had with us, Asador Adolfo, and while it was good, it didn’t live up to the words in the book.

The Spanish sherry, vino de Jerez, we had heard so much about was wonderful; we had finos, the dry one;
Tesla had a squid dish that was really good
I provided the laughs by hoarding the dessert and scowling if their forks came near it (and it wasn’t even mine – it came with Cris’s meal…oh well). I’m not sure what it was, but it was great! Some sort of layered tiramisu-type dish.

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Squid at Adolfos in Toledo

Dessert at Adolfos

Lessons Learned:

Spanish women can walk on cobblestone and everywhere else with stiletto heels; tennis shoes with crew socks and capris are a true “tell” that you’re a tourist, probably American.
Spain is very aware of water and energy use. You order water in restaurants if you want it, there are signs in every hotel asking you not to let the water run, lights in many areas are timed or motion-sensitive, very few dryers in residences, you pay 2 cents at the grocery store if you want a plastic bag, and there are many, many smart cars on the road.
If you visit Toledo by car, park your car, get out and walk!!! Even smart cars will have trouble driving in these streets.

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Spain – Santander to Segovia: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 6

By dorothy stainbrook + on April 21, 2012 in Spain - travel & recipes

Bay of Biscay to Segovia to Madrid

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Jamon Sampling Setup in Santander

We got up early to do some shopping and sightseeing in Santander and Santilliano del Mar along the northern coast (or Bay of Biscay). Shopping was focused around food and wine, and we visited many of the gourmet deli shops. Most of them offered samples of quality olive oils, cheeses, wines and, of course, Jamon. The sampling set-up for the Jamon was efficient, but looked a little barbaric if you are not a meat-eater.

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Shopping in Santander

We bought some wonderful olive oil, a box of membrillo and some balsamic vinegar. We asked everywhere about the ability to bring Jamon Seranno back on the plane, as the customs booklet was not very clear on the requirements. Everyone had a different opinion. We decided to try to bring back only a vacuum-packed chorizo package rather than an expensive type of Jamon. Fortunately we went this route because even the vacuum-packed meat was taken from us in customs. They said a man came through last week with some expensive Jamon, which they confiscated, and then they fined him $300.00 on top of that for not declaring it on his customs sheet. I told the customs officials it was not clear on their website what was allowed and they got rather defensive, pulled out their customs booklet, started to read it…..and then just stopped and moved us on. Hm-m-m.

On to Burgos:

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Morcilla in window of shop

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Gothic Cathedral in Burgos

Food enjoyed in Burgos:

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Garbanzo Bean Soup in Burgos

We stopped for lunch in a small (two-table plus bar) restaurant on the Plaza de Santa Maria by the elaborate Cathedral de Santa Maria in Burgos. The family running this restaurant was having soup from a big cauldron. It was not on the menu but it looked good, with garbanzo beans, greens, Bacalao and eggs. We asked if we could have some of that stew/soup and they were delighted to serve us family style. Tesla didn’t feel well so she wasn’t eating as much as the restaurant family thought she should and they started to worry that she didn’t like the soup. When they found out her stomach hurt, the home remedies started coming out quickly. She was served some great mint tea for her stomach and given a lot of advice. Advice flowed freely at this restaurant…between the family, to the customers, and anyone else that happened to be within earshot (see lessons learned below).

They ended our meal with a french toast type of dessert that was also served family style with them. I think we became part of their American family by liking their food, asking questions, and having a sick child. It was a great meal!

Lessons Learned on this leg of trip:

IMG 2461 on way to Toledo from Avilla 300x219 Spain Santander to Segovia: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed Day 6

Finally a "to go" coffee from McDonalds - "Large"

Coffee comes in small, strong units, even when ordered as “Americano” and even when ordered from McDonalds. Cris had a hard time with this and although he loved the Jamon, he was happy to get back to his large mug of weak American coffee.
Most restaurants are family owned and the smaller ones will often treat you like family; we started quite an animated, argument amongst the family members and customers in Burgos when we asked if we could bring Jamon back to the states on the plane. Mom, dad, grandpa, the aunts and all the customers got into a debate on what was the correct answer and what their “friends’ experiences were. They completely forgot about us during the heated debate and the question never did get answered.
Mint tea will be offered if you don’t eat their food enthusiastically. Vinegar and oil will be rubbed around your nose if you are stuffed up.

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Spain, Zaragoza to Bilbao: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 4

By dorothy stainbrook + on April 18, 2012 in Spain - travel & recipes

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Penitents in Procession during Holy Week

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Penitents during Holy Week

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Panaderia in Bilbao with Chocolate Penitents

We happened to be visiting Spain during Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. Holy week is all about the “passion” of the events around Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and his resurrection. Every town had a daily afternoon “procesion” , where the churches bring out dramatic Passion floats displaying Christ in some stage of passion (more on this in a later post). Before these floats appear however, lines of hooded “penitents” march somberly down the streets. The penitents (penitentes) are somewhat disturbing, their faces masked with pointed hooded robes that elicit feelings of the Ku Klux Klan. They are different organizations (or clubs – think Elks Lodge) that are anonymously paying their penance in public, and they apparently have worn these hoods long before the Klan existed. Still… anonymous figures with pointy hoods, swinging incense, and accompanied by beating drums are a little on the disturbing side for me. Figures of the penitents are everywhere; made into key chains, figurines, and even chocolate (as shown in the window of this panaderia in Bilbao).

Vineyards around Haro

Some Lessons Learned in the rural part of central Spain:

The country-side of Spain seems to be covered with either olive groves or vineyards (more olive groves overall). Something we questioned as we drove along was “Where were all the pig farms?” For a place that seems to idolize the Jamon, we couldn’t see any pigs or pig farms. One butcher explained to us that the pigs are essentially treated as an annual crop, harvested every year, then cured, keeping only a brood stock for next years harvest. Those Iberian pigs who grow up in the forests on an acorn-fed diet must be in areas we didn’t see.
In Alagon (it seems only in Alagon), it is typical for groups of older men to eat lunch together, order a bottle of wine, and commence to add sparkling water to it. Called fizzy wine. We didn’t ever find out if this was to get a fizzy taste or to make the wine go further. Every table in the restaurant (except ours) did it however.
People in Spain take their meals nice and slow. If you want to leave and get going, don’t expect a waiter to bring your bill around just because your plates and glasses are empty. You must ask (la cuenta por favor) for the bill, and even then, don’t expect anything to happen quickly. I liked relaxing during meals, but spending the whole afternoon at the table was something that went against my grain…places to go, people to see you know.

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Plantains, eggs & tomato rice in Albagon

Food enjoyed at Hotel Los Angeles in Alagon:

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Creamy Spinach and Garlic with Egg

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Meatballs & Mushroom Sauce

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Pears poached in Red Wine

We stayed in Bilbao for the evening, but decided to go back to Haro in the morning for a wine tour of one of the Bodegas. See tomorrow’s post for the “Bodega Tour”. M-m-m-m

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Taking Jamon seriously

I’ve mentioned before how much the Spanish people love their Jamon. This photo to the right was taken in one of the hotel lobbies. Look at the number of security cameras surrounding this Teurel Jamon! And there were even more than is shown, but I couldn’t fit them into the camera frame. They take their Jamon seriously here in Spain.

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Spain, Valencia inland to Teurel: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 3

By dorothy stainbrook + on April 17, 2012 in Spain - travel & recipes

Octopus in Mercado Central

After spending most of our third day in Spain in the coastal city of Valencia, we headed inland away from the heavily touristed beach areas and into some very rural country.

Probably the biggest disappointment of the trip is that the Mercado Central in Valencia closed before we had a chance to really see much of it. The Mercado Central is a huge, fabulous “Farmers’ Market” and is housed in one of the most splendid examples of secular Gothic architecture in Spain (from the 1920s). Beautiful building with stained glass windows and vendors selling everything you could possibly imagine from the earth and the sea. I thought the St. Paul Farmers’ Market was fairly comprehensive, but these locals have the world of food at their fingertips every day. Here’s a few of the vendors we could get photos of before they closed up:

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varieties of olives and capers - Mercado Central

IMG 2274 tomatoes in mercado central 300x225 Spain, Valencia inland to Teurel: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed Day 3

Popular Variety of Tomato in Spain

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Sardines at Mercado Central - Valencia

Some things we learned during our travels to the inland part of Spain included:

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Pruned Grapes waiting for Summer

Although Spain currently has a 20% unemployment rate, it is not noticeable from all outward appearances. Cris was noting that a similar unemployment rate in the US was during the Depression and the photos burned in my mind of the Depression included long ration lines and people hanging out idle on the streets in run down cars, ragged clothing and dirty. When I asked a relative of my daughter’s senora about this he said it was because the extended family units were so strong that they take in and take care of the ones out of work. He said it would be “impossible” that a brother would not support a sibling out of work. All I know is there was no visible signs of human suffering in anywhere we traveled and we went into rural areas, mountain villages, and tourist areas.
Spain has the highest production of olives in the world, but Italy has a hold on the processing and distribution of olive oil, and apparently it is due to the control of a few families.
It seems every small hill or knob in the inland areas has a castle of some size atop it, and all are in some stage of disrepair.

Some food we enjoyed on our third day:

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lunch menu in Valencia at Mercado Central

Lunch was in Valencia on the Plaza del Mercado. It was so good and so relaxing that we stayed too long and hence missed out on time in the Farmers’ Market (see above). The menu is typically laid out so that you choose one of a variety of dishes in each of 3 categories (appetizer, main dish, and dessert). Between the three of us we covered a lot of this menu, sharing of course.

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Merluza a la Plancha

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Carmelized Flan

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"Retains the Earth" on menu in Teurel

After walking and sightseeing in Valencia (visited the Oceaneagraphic), we headed to Teurel for dinner. We were now in the heart of rural central Spain where food from the farms rather than the sea was prevalent. We had a little more trouble communicating here, as the regional accents are different and we are getting close to Basque country where the language can be completely different. Our restaurant in Teurel offered such things as Morro on the menu, translated to pig snout in English. Maybe next time. We did decide to try what translated to “Retains the Earth”, even though we weren’t sure what we were going to get. Everything that came was great and I’m sure the “Nose” would have been good also if we had been that adventuresome. Here’s what we did try:

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"Retains the Earth"

Cod with Peppers
Retains the Earth (pork cuts)
Sardines and Cheese
White Asparagus and Jamon
Green Salad with Goat Cheese and Nuts
Some great Wine

IMG 2299 Teurel 300x225 Spain, Valencia inland to Teurel: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed Day 3

Salad with Goat Cheese and Nuts

Left Teurel in good spirits and arrived at our hotel in Zaragosa at 1:00 am and hit the beds, small though they were.

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Spain: Holy Week in Granada: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 8

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Spain – Avila, Toledo & Granada: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 7

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Spain – Santander to Segovia: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 6

Bay of Biscay to Segovia to Madrid

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Spain, Zaragoza to Bilbao: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 4

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Spain, Valencia inland to Teurel: Lessons Learned and Food Enjoyed – Day 3

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