Bienvenidos, January 10, 2014
After a lovely overnight with Jane Andrews and Don Bouchard in Gorham, during which we could re-think our packing and make adjustments, we headed to the airport for our 3:30 pm flight to Philadelphia on Wednesday, January 8. We encountered several delays in leaving first Portland, then Philadelphia, finally lifting out of USA on our way to Madrid at about 8pm. The pilot promised to try to make up for lost time, and that he did, landing us smoothly on Spanish soil at about 8:30 am on Thursday. The flight was good but we barely slept. Those US Air seats are fine for sitting but just too small and uncomfortable for sleeping.
European customs seems to be non-existent. We got our baggage and left the airport, without anyone asking if we had citrus fruit or had visited a farm or were bringing weapons or lots of valuables. Seems very trusting. Outside we were met with 60 degree weather, green grass, birds chirping - nirvana for Brucie! We found the shuttle bus to the city center and treated ourselves to a taxi from there to Andrea's apartment.
Andrea is the young woman whom we had met in Guatemala in 2011, when we all were volunteering at Safe Passage. She calls herself our "heart daughter", and we are very fond of her. Having grown up in Venezuela but lived in Madrid for the past 10 years, she knows the Spanish culture of both the new world and the old. She is a fantastic person, full of life and ideas and fun, a foodie like us, and obviously very generous, having opened her home to us for the second time now. It is such a gift to spend time with her and her boyfriend, Angel (AHN-hel). They are like cultural coaches for us, very knowledgeable about the history and culture of Spain with much information to share. Andrea speaks English well, and Angel is giving us a good work-out in Spanish while trying to practice his English, too. It's hard work all around!
This is a sampling of our activities for the past two days. After a wonderful home-cooked meal by Andrea, including a fabulous artichoke dish, off we went for a long walk to the Matadores, a complex of beautiful old industrial buildings which served as a slaughter house in the old days. It's now a trendy venue for all kinds of things, including a gallery offering a presentation on the papyrus scrolls discovered in Pompeii (remember our discussion about Pompeii just last week, Sam?). We then ambled along part of a long walkway that we had explored two years ago, passing dog walkers, a busy skateboarding area, a soccer field filled with young athletes, etc., until after dark. Bruce felt that he had been liberated from winter!
Today was a full-on foodie day. We made a pretense of visiting a cathedral, but it really was all about the food. Andrea and Angel introduced us to the "Latina" neighborhood of Madrid, named after a woman who had lived there and had been a scholar of many languages. It has narrow side streets and lots of eating establishments. We began with a stop to sample vermuth. It was the color of coca-cola and tasted nothing like the drink that is included in martinis. More like sherry. Then we were off to a cheese store where we restrained ourselves, buying only 3 small wedges. This was followed by an amazing ham shop, sporting large dried ham hocks hanging from the ceiling, hoofs and all. In the middle of the store was a big wheel with about 5 ham hocks speared onto it, where the young vendor was slicing off paper-thin pieces at about $80 per pound. We bought the more reasonably priced pre-packaged serrano ham. Two tapas bars followed with small dishes of delicious offerings. My favorite was the bacalao (cod) buried in aoli sauce. The breaded sauteed eggplant with bacon and cheese was pretty good, too! We topped it all off with coffee and chocolate cake to share in the back room of an atmospheric little cafe.
Of course, the tapas was accompanied by red wine and lots of good conversation. Angel and Andrea are encouraging us to hike part of the Camino, the ancient trail that Roman Catholic pilgrims have trod for centuries on their way to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. It is believed that the bones of St. James are buried there. Various trails from all over Europe lead to this religious site. Bruce and I have considered doing some of the hike - but not very seriously, I must admit. Well, we're getting more serious. We have our backpacks, our hiking shoes, and a place to leave our suitcases! We'll see. It would be at the end of our time here, in early April, if we do it.
Now it is evening. Andrea is off to her yoga class. Angel will join us all later to do some cooking, imbibing, and sampling of all those goodies that we bought today. We like this Spanish lifestyle!
Andrea's Yummy Artichoke Dish
artichoke hearts chopped serrano ham
chopped onions chopped parsley
minced garlic paprika
salt & pepper lemon juice
olive oil
Combine everything and saute in the olive oil.
Sorry for the lack of photos. Getting them from the camera to the blog is our next challenge!
After a lovely overnight with Jane Andrews and Don Bouchard in Gorham, during which we could re-think our packing and make adjustments, we headed to the airport for our 3:30 pm flight to Philadelphia on Wednesday, January 8. We encountered several delays in leaving first Portland, then Philadelphia, finally lifting out of USA on our way to Madrid at about 8pm. The pilot promised to try to make up for lost time, and that he did, landing us smoothly on Spanish soil at about 8:30 am on Thursday. The flight was good but we barely slept. Those US Air seats are fine for sitting but just too small and uncomfortable for sleeping.
European customs seems to be non-existent. We got our baggage and left the airport, without anyone asking if we had citrus fruit or had visited a farm or were bringing weapons or lots of valuables. Seems very trusting. Outside we were met with 60 degree weather, green grass, birds chirping - nirvana for Brucie! We found the shuttle bus to the city center and treated ourselves to a taxi from there to Andrea's apartment.
Andrea is the young woman whom we had met in Guatemala in 2011, when we all were volunteering at Safe Passage. She calls herself our "heart daughter", and we are very fond of her. Having grown up in Venezuela but lived in Madrid for the past 10 years, she knows the Spanish culture of both the new world and the old. She is a fantastic person, full of life and ideas and fun, a foodie like us, and obviously very generous, having opened her home to us for the second time now. It is such a gift to spend time with her and her boyfriend, Angel (AHN-hel). They are like cultural coaches for us, very knowledgeable about the history and culture of Spain with much information to share. Andrea speaks English well, and Angel is giving us a good work-out in Spanish while trying to practice his English, too. It's hard work all around!
This is a sampling of our activities for the past two days. After a wonderful home-cooked meal by Andrea, including a fabulous artichoke dish, off we went for a long walk to the Matadores, a complex of beautiful old industrial buildings which served as a slaughter house in the old days. It's now a trendy venue for all kinds of things, including a gallery offering a presentation on the papyrus scrolls discovered in Pompeii (remember our discussion about Pompeii just last week, Sam?). We then ambled along part of a long walkway that we had explored two years ago, passing dog walkers, a busy skateboarding area, a soccer field filled with young athletes, etc., until after dark. Bruce felt that he had been liberated from winter!
Today was a full-on foodie day. We made a pretense of visiting a cathedral, but it really was all about the food. Andrea and Angel introduced us to the "Latina" neighborhood of Madrid, named after a woman who had lived there and had been a scholar of many languages. It has narrow side streets and lots of eating establishments. We began with a stop to sample vermuth. It was the color of coca-cola and tasted nothing like the drink that is included in martinis. More like sherry. Then we were off to a cheese store where we restrained ourselves, buying only 3 small wedges. This was followed by an amazing ham shop, sporting large dried ham hocks hanging from the ceiling, hoofs and all. In the middle of the store was a big wheel with about 5 ham hocks speared onto it, where the young vendor was slicing off paper-thin pieces at about $80 per pound. We bought the more reasonably priced pre-packaged serrano ham. Two tapas bars followed with small dishes of delicious offerings. My favorite was the bacalao (cod) buried in aoli sauce. The breaded sauteed eggplant with bacon and cheese was pretty good, too! We topped it all off with coffee and chocolate cake to share in the back room of an atmospheric little cafe.
Of course, the tapas was accompanied by red wine and lots of good conversation. Angel and Andrea are encouraging us to hike part of the Camino, the ancient trail that Roman Catholic pilgrims have trod for centuries on their way to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. It is believed that the bones of St. James are buried there. Various trails from all over Europe lead to this religious site. Bruce and I have considered doing some of the hike - but not very seriously, I must admit. Well, we're getting more serious. We have our backpacks, our hiking shoes, and a place to leave our suitcases! We'll see. It would be at the end of our time here, in early April, if we do it.
Now it is evening. Andrea is off to her yoga class. Angel will join us all later to do some cooking, imbibing, and sampling of all those goodies that we bought today. We like this Spanish lifestyle!
Andrea's Yummy Artichoke Dish
artichoke hearts chopped serrano ham
chopped onions chopped parsley
minced garlic paprika
salt & pepper lemon juice
olive oil
Combine everything and saute in the olive oil.
Sorry for the lack of photos. Getting them from the camera to the blog is our next challenge!
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