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Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

It’s Sevilla, Not Seville

Posted in Biking, Europe, Food, Music, People, RTW Trip, Spain, Travel on February 12, 2012| 1 Comment »

We chose to take an early morning train from Granada to Sevilla so that we could check out some of the Andalusian landscape along the way. Much to our surprise, seemingly all we saw from the train windows were endless rolling hills covered with olives trees. We had been offered olives with pretty much every meal since arriving in Spain, but hadn’t really connected the dots. Did you know that Spain is the world’s largest producer of olives?!

After arriving in Sevilla, we met up with some friends who are living there as English teachers. It was fun to connect with people we know after nearly a month of solo traveling. No, we’re not sick of each other, but a familiar face always has a way of making you feel at home.

Our main mode of transport while in Sevilla was bikes, via a bike share program called Sevici (for all you Denver people, it’s similar to B-Cycle). Thanks to Blake and Danielle, we were able to use the bikes for free!

Mike checking out a bike at the Alameda Sevici station

Riding around allowed us to cover much of the city in just a couple of days. A few of our favorite sites were the Plaza de España & Catedral de Sevilla, and we also enjoyed exploring the neighborhoods of Alameda, Santa Cruz and Triana.

La Plaza de España was built in 1928 for a world’s fair. It is surrounded by the beautiful Parque de María Luisa.

Fountain in the center of La Plaza de España

The Giralda Tower, as seen from the orange tree courtyard at La Catedral de Sevilla

View of Sevilla from the top of the Giralda Tower at La Catedral de Sevilla

Our nights in Sevilla were filled with tapas and flamenco. El Ambigú, which was recommended by Amy’s sister, Jennifer, was a casual place filled with locals and serving delicious tapas (you can read our TripAdvisor review here). Another great tapas place we found for a late night snack was El Rinconcillo, founded in 1670, and in operation ever since.

Tapas at El Rinconcillo – we love how chalk is used to keep track of tabs on the bar top!

Flamenco is part of the soul of Sevilla and can be seen everywhere; whether it be a flamenco school, a store selling traditional dresses, posters promoting  upcoming shows, or an actual Tabalo.

Our first flamenco experience was a performance held at La Carboneria, a flamenco venue in the Santa Cruz neighborhood that offers complimentary shows each night. This venue features ample seating, a fun bar and a casual setting. The show had no dancing, but highlighted the classic cante (singing), toque (guitar) and palmas (handclaps). It was very different but equally as impressive as the second, full blown performance that we attended the following night.

Palmas y Toque at La Carboneria

The second flamenco show, held at La Peña Flamenca Torres Macarena, was a much more intimate setting, with a raised stage and a few rows of seating on three sides. We were impressed by the dancer’s intense focus and incredible tranquil speed. Additionally, this show featured two singers which gave the performance a much more robust sound. In hopes of capturing the complex auditory component of flamenco, in addition to photos, we also took a short video which you can watch by clicking on the picture below.

After just under a week in Sevilla, we both agreed to add it to our shortlist of places we would consider living in the future. If you plan on visiting Spain, do not miss this city!

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Going with the Flow

Posted in Architecture, Europe, Food, Lodging, RTW Trip, Spain, Travel on February 10, 2012| 6 Comments »

From Valencia, we caught the midnight train to Granada, a first for both of us. Despite opting out of a sleeping car, we were still able to get a solid night’s sleep. When the train pulled into the station in Granada, we were shocked at the sight of snow-capped mountains. Our amazement was not because of their beauty, but due to our breath being taken away by the sting of cold air. Our general assumption had been that moving further south would mean slightly warmer temperatures. Wrong. Apparently Granada is situated at just over 2,000 feet and in a valley between Spain’s two tallest mountains.

View of the Sierra Nevada from Granada

After putting on all of our clothes (yes, that meant multiple pairs of pants, socks, shirts, jackets, hats and gloves), we managed to get warm enough for the walk to our hostel. The weather was the first of many situations to come where we had to just go with the flow. Here are some other examples of our forced flexibility while in Granada.

Example #2: We arrived at our guest house and were told that we had been upgraded to a better room! We not only got a private room and bathroom, but the room also had a balcony with a view of Plaza Nueva. Score.

View from our guest house of Plaza Nueva

After basking in the glory of these awesome accommodations, we went to plug in our computer only to find that there were no power outlets. Have you ever stayed in a hotel with no plugs in your room? This could have been expected in SE Asia, but Spain? Last time we checked, Spain was a well developed country. But, we just went with the flow, and used the outlet in the public area.

Example #3: Our main motivation for visiting Granada was to explore the famous ancient city and palaces of the Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

View of the Alhambra from Mirador de San Nicolás

View of the Alhambra from the Generalife gardens

In a perfect world, we would have explored the Alhambra all day, but when we arrived to purchase tickets, we were only able to gain access for four hours. There is a rigid structure of viewing sessions in place to limit the number of visitors so as to preserve this historical site. To visit the main attraction, the Nazarene Palaces, each visitor is provided with a 30 minute time slot. We weren’t given a choice, it was simply assigned. So again, we just went with the flow. If you visit the Alhambra during peak season, we recommend purchasing tickets in advance and visiting during the early morning session.

Patio of the Lions in the Nazarene Palaces

Intricately carved stone and inlaid wood door at the Nazarene Palaces

Daraxa’s Garden at the Nazarene Palaces

Arch decorated in traditional Moorish style

The Alhambra sits on top of a large hill overlooking the heart of Granada. It was constructed in the late 1300s, which makes it even more awe inspiring. The name Alhambra comes from its Moorish roots, literally meaning “the red one” in Arabic, due to the massive red stone walls that surround the city. Aside from the ornately decorated palaces, we were continually impressed by the extensively planned and still functioning irrigation system, which carries water from the mountains down through the city, to fill fountains, provide plumbing and nourish gardens.

Aqueduct at the Alhambra, gated to divert water towards specific plant beds

The Water Stairway at the Alhambra

Example #4: One fun surprise we encountered in Granada was “tapas gratis.” In most of Spain, you pay for tapas, but in Granada tapas are provided free of charge with the order of a drink! This led us to the invention of a fun dinner activity which we call “Tapa-Hopping.” This is a twist on conventional bar hopping, where you go from place to place, having a drink (and in Granada, a tapa too) at each stop. The only tricky part about Tapa-Hopping is that you have to go with the flow, because the bar chooses your tapas for you.

We enjoyed our time in Granada, despite the cold, and the Alhambra was all we had hoped for and more (unlike our failed quest for paella in Valencia).

Enjoying the views at the Alhambra

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Quest for Paella

Posted in Architecture, Europe, Food, Markets, RTW Trip, Spain, Travel on February 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

If you’ve read the About Us page of our blog, you know that we love food and that one of the main goals of our trip is to sample local flavors.  As the home of paella, we knew that we had to make Valencia one of our stops in Spain.

Pan of traditional Valencian paella

As expected, there was paella coming out of the woodwork in Valencia.  Every restaurant, take-out window and market sells paella.  It has become such a tourist spectacle, however, that it seemed somewhat forced.  We learned that “Paella Valenciana” is not the typical seafood paella that you commonly find in the States, but rather has chicken, rabbit, peas and beans intermingled with the saffron rice, as well as a strong rosemary flavor.  Here is a link to a traditional Valencian paella recipe.

While the paella wasn’t all that we had hoped for, the city had many pleasant surprises.  The old part of town has an abundance of quaint marbled plazas that seem to appear out of nowhere in the maze of small winding streets.

La Plaza del Ayuntamiento

Another part of Valencia that we loved was El Parque Natural del Turia, which stretches 9km across much of the city and is located in the bed of the river Turia which was diverted in following a massive flood in 1957.  The park is host to a wide diversity of trees, gardens, sports courts, paths and playgrounds and culminates at La Ciudad de Las Artes y Ciencias.  If you read our last post, Setting Sail, this architecture may look familiar.  It is the work of Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava, who was also the brains behind El Auditorio de Tenerife which we visited on our cruise.  His work is modern, yet reminiscent of Gaudi at times, and also marked by the use of chipped, white tiles.

The Hemispheric & Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia at La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

Us in front of Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia at La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

El Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe at La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

While our visit to Valencia began as a quest for paella, we found that this city has so many other culinary delights to offer.  We first encountered cured morcilla (blood sausage) in a restaurant in Valencia and have since been addicted, eating it every chance we get.  While blood sausage was not a new concept to us, we had never seen it in this form, dried and sliced, similar to salami.

Picnic of pan fresco, manchego fuerte and morcilla

Valencia’s main market, Mercado Central, is the largest and most impressive we’ve seen in Spain thus far. Pictures do not do it justice, as the smells, sounds and flavors make up so much of the experience.  We were impressed by how specialized some vendors are, for example, one stall sold only lemons and garlic.  Somehow the 20+ produce stands, all of which sell more or less the same product, manage to not only stay in business, but thrive!  It appears that locals have their favorite vendors and ignore the rest.  Everyone gets their share.

Jamón vendor at Mercado Central

Fishmongers at Mercado Central

Not your typical seafood

This little piggy went to market…

We are beginning to appreciate that one of the best parts of traveling is encountering the unexpected. While our visit to Valencia did not lead us to the world’s greatest paella, it did provide us with some other great adventures and delicious food.

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Leaving Barcelona

Posted in Architecture, Europe, Food, Markets, RTW Trip, Spain, Travel on January 21, 2012| 4 Comments »

We are leaving Barcelona in the morning.  What a great time it has been.  Now that we are actually on the road, living from our packs, and exploring the unknown, we have a lot more pictures and stories to share.  So without further delay, we present to you some of our favorite parts of this amazing city.

Gaudi

What a guy! The famous Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi, drew much of his inspiration from nature’s constructive beauty. Through this revolutionary style of design, he made so many incredible contributions to Barcelona.  He has even made Amy’s “Top 5 list of people to bring back from the dead to have dinner with.”  We dedicated one full day to exploring Gaudi’s contributions, including two of his most famous works El Templo de La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell.

La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia – interior of basilica, stained glass projecting on columns

View from the top of the Nativity Lift at La Sagrada Familia

Gaudi’s House at Parc Güell

Open plaza surrounded by tile benches, Parc Güell

Columns by Gaudi in Parc Güell

Mercats

We spent a ton of our time in Barcelona simply walking around the city.  While not high on the list of must sees for most tourists, we found the neighborhood “mercats” in Barcelona to be a bright point of our time here.  While exploring a quaint old part of town known as La Barceloneta, we encountered our first mercat.  Imagine the produce section of Whole Foods on steroids. These are different than the make-shift, bazar style markets that you find in much of the world.  They are a well built structure, clean/sanitary, and packed with some of the best food we have ever seen.  Upon returning from Barceloneta, we found a very similar mercat just a few blocks from our hostel in the neighborhood know as El Clot. Since we had access to a full service kitchen at our hostel, we took advantage of the incredible produce, meats and seafood to cook affordable and yummy dinners.

Fish Vendor at Mercat El Clot

Cured Meat Vendor at Mercat La Barceloneta

Sitges

After a few days in Barcelona, we were eager to get out of the city and see more of Catalonya.  Based on a suggestion from Mike’s cousin, Lilli, we hopped on a train one morning headed towards Sitges.  Sitges is a pristine beach town, just 30 minutes south from Barcelona via a regional train along the coast.  Shortly after arriving, we stopped for breakfast where Mike enjoyed toast with “pata negra” ham, the most delicious cured meat he has ever tasted, and Amy a cafe con leche y croissant. We had a fabulous time strolling the beach and walking through the narrow, well kept streets.  It was a welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona.

Cafe con Leche y Bocadillo de Jamón

Enjoying the sunshine in Sitges

Tomorrow evening we will be boarding a cruise to Spain’s Canary Islands, Portugal’s Madeira Islands and Málaga/Granada.  We found a killer deal on this cruise before leaving the States and it is an exciting change from hostel living!  Looking forward to sharing our travels upon our arrival to Valencia following the cruise.  Salud!

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Goodbye USA, Hello World

Posted in Food, RTW Trip, Spain, Travel, USA on January 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

We made it to Barcelona (as locals call it: Bar”th”elona)!  The journey to get here wasn’t without a few bumps along the way though…

We spent our last few days in the US relaxing and spending time with family in Florida.  Delicious food, great company, warm weather.  What better farewell from the States could you ask for?

Ft. Lauderdale Beach

But, three days before our flight was scheduled to depart, things got a little hectic.  The airline, Air Europa, called to inform us that they were no longer providing service from Miami to Spain.  That route simply did not exist anymore. They even sent us a very helpful automated email letting us know that the alternative flight available to us had left the week prior.  Great, thanks for giving us such advanced notice! Not.

After five hours on the phone with these people and some not so pleasant verbal exchanges, our flight was rescheduled on a different airline.  In hindsight, the challenge with the airline served as a good reminder that things don’t always go as planned.

The flight itself was not so pleasant however.  The eight hours from Miami to Madrid were pure turbulence.  Picture this: Amy’s nails digging into Mike’s arm, guy across aisle cold sweating and puking into the provided barf bag, and zero communication by the pilot as to why this was happening and when it was going to stop.  On a positive note, the food was pretty decent by airline standards and there was plenty of vino tinto to go around.

After the second leg from Madrid to Barcelona landed, we hoped on a train straight to our hostel. We have stayed in many hostels in our lives and this is without a doubt the largest one we’ve ever seen.  It is literally a high-rise of bunk rooms – 14 floors with eight rooms on each.  We are staying in a room off eight and so far so good.

Urbany Hostel, Barcelona

After not sleeping all night on our bumpy flight, we were pretty exhausted.  A quick siesta turned into a four hour nap, but gave us enough energy to explore a bit and get our first taste of the Spanish tapas dining experience.  We had some great chorizo, croquetas and tortilla.   Today we are headed out to tour La Sagrada Familia and whatever else we stumble upon.  As always, let us know if you have any suggestions of must-sees in Barcelona.

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The Journey Begins

Posted in Food, RTW Trip, Travel, USA on December 26, 2011| 1 Comment »

We are officially on our way.  While we don’t have any funny hostel stories to share, and have not eaten any exotic bugs yet, here is a taste of our lives during the past few weeks.  The trip has begun!  We are out of Denver and are even on our second stop already.  We had our camera shipped to Portland so we can begin to share some pictures with you all.  Here’s what we’ve been up to since leaving Colorado.

Stop #1: Gig Harbor, WA (well, we actually flew into PDX the night before, but drove up I-5N first thing)

Homes along the harbor

Memorial to fishermen lost at sea

Stop #2: Portland, OR

We’ve been here for 4 days so far and have over 2 weeks to go.  Being the holidays, we’ve spent a good amount of time cooking, eating and celebrating with family and friends.  No, we’re not sick of being jobless yet. And yes, we’re still enjoying being full-time travelers and bloggers.

St. Johns Bridge

Our signature dish – goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped with prosciutto

Baking 1 of 5 cookie recipes for Christmas Eve

Root veggie salad for Christmas dinner

Next up, more time in the lovely pacific NW. Also, finalizing China travel plans; it’s still months away, but the visa process is a bit involved. Looking forward to ringing in the new year as 2012 marks a year of adventure!

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Last Week in Denver

Posted in Beer, Food, Hiking, Music, Pre-Trip, RTW Trip, USA, Wine on December 12, 2011| 1 Comment »

It’s our last week in Denver. We’re done with work. We’re moving out of our apartment. And we’re enjoying lots of going-away parties.  With all the excitement and anticipation of leaving, we’re beginning to realize how much we’re going to miss this place. People often ask us if we’ll be returning to Colorado after our RTW trip, and the honest answer is we don’t know. A major goal of our trip is to live in the moment, which means making as few future plans as possible.

That being said, Colorado is an awesome place! For those who have never been, get here! For those who live here, appreciate it!  As we get all reminiscent and sappy about our years here, we wanted to share some of our favorites for locals and tourists alike…

While we still have a lot of the world to experience, Colorado has to be one of the coolest places out there.

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