This event as so many others was sponsored by the Valencian government. As usual there was no admission charge. Here’s a bit from a Hungarian Roma group. Click below.
My notes written as we waited:
Gary Kirkpatrick
Spanish cuisine- tapas
What is the Spanish cuisine
Tapas
Tackling this topic is difficult because of the immense breadth and depth of the Spanish cuisine. There are regional dishes and variations, ingredients galore and a long history. But I’ll be taking my cue from what you encounter as you walk around Valencia.
Probably the first thing you notice are the tapas. Tapas (the word for cover or lid) are everywhere in bars and restaurants. More than anything else, this is what Spaniards order when they go out. The servings are modest in size so you can eat multiple varieties in the course of an evening. Not that it’s a cheap way to eat anymore. Let me give you an example or two.
Peg and I went out with a group a couple of weeks ago. We went to a nearby spot. They decided as a group what to order. In a while, out came chicken croquettes (always deep fried), marinated mushrooms, patatas bravas (potatoes in a mildy spicy red sauce, about as spicy as anything gets here), some sort of chicken fingers, and a couple of other dishes. You can get slices of manchego (sheep cheese) marinated in olive oil, anchovies, calarmi frito (fried), red peppers, green peppers, tortialla española (potato omlette), patatas alioi (potatoes in a garlic mayonnaise sauce), various ways of stuffing eggs eg with tuna. The list is endless. These are run between 3.50 ($5.00) and 8.00 euros ($11) a pop. Our modest repast with our friends cost us 20 euros ($28) including beer, which runs about $5 a pint. It is not exactly a cheap night out and we were not exactly full either, but was fun- it is always fun. Another night went to a bar near our first apartment (we call it the green bar, near the Torres Serrano) and we spent 40 euros for 4 although this included a bottle of wine for 8 euros ($11).
We remember it being cheap in Madrid when we were living there, late 1998-May 1999. They’d give you some olives with your beer. The beer was maybe .75, now over $2.00 for a caña, which is about 8 oz so, very small, and $5 a pint. I am talking ordinary beer, nothing fancy. And at that time in Madrid you could get an order, una raciòn, of say patatas bravas for maybe $1, as much as $2 in a fancy place. In one place where we used to go for a beer in Madrid they gave you a small plate of paella. We do not get much free here, although there are a few such places still.
Tapas are a bit more vegetable and seafood type of item, though there are meat based tapas here, for example those ham croquettes. You get serrano ham on bocadillos, which are basic sandwiches, so they aren’t tapas though you could order them at the same time. Montaditos are more in the tapas area. They are “Things mounted on a piece of bread.” You could get a montadito with chorizo, for example, a bit of chorizo (dry sausage in the pepperoni family) . But its more veg and seafood here, and there is cheese, too, very good, strong cheese.
Tapas and the cuisine in general are heavy on the olive oil and often on the garlic as well (noticeable but never biting). There are a lot of deep fried items amongst tapas, but less so in the other meals.
Because we are close to the sea here, there is perhaps a greater prevalence of seafood. In the tapas bars you see gambas (shrimp), bocarones (small fish) and sardinias (you can figure this one out) and octopus usually in a vinegar based sauce but perhaps fried also. These days you find fish all over Spain, even fresh, of course, but there is more and greater variety on the coasts.
Tapas are about having fun as much as eating. You sit in bars, outside on the sidewalk as much as inside, for the weather permits outdoor seating year round. Your friends join you and you talk about your week, the economy, politics. Or whatever.
St Vincent Ferrer’s day parade.
Processions on St. Vincent’s day feature an effeminate Vincent flinging his index finger skyward. Curates in procession wore the bishop’s red or plain black for the rank and file. Women joined in, dressed in black, middled aged and older women, with veils and a little rigid curved piece on the back of the head from which fell more black lace. They looked quite somber and dignified. A military contingent marched in goose step and bands played. Sparse crowds watched as the city’s patron saint rolled pass, some clapping as he went by. How odd, i thought, to clap for a statue. I guess if you can believe in magic bread you can clap for a statue.
Pasta paella
Peg made a pasta paella yesterday, with clams and shrimp. Interesting you can have a saffron dish using pasta- a real thin pasta. With the excess clams I made pasta with clams today. They don’t call it a paella here, only rice with a bean called a garafon, chicken and rabbit is called a paella- there is never seafood in paella here. And this is where paella was invented.
This weekend there is a ceramic fair in the Plaza de la Virgen and the city band plays and you can dance at 11. PM that is. You know what late owls the Spanish are. At midnight there are, guess —- fireworks. And more music and dancing.
These people know how to have a good time!
Gaudi’s Barcelona and Dali’s Figueres
March 22, 2011
Photos/slide show from Barcelona, Figueres and Tarragona
[nggallery id=11 h=600 w=800]
After Fallas we drove to Barcelona, about 350 kilometers to the north. There were 6 of us in the van. Four of our good friends are here for a visit.
Barcelona is Spain’s second largest city and among the most gorgeous of Europe in large part due to the architectural style called Modernismo. Antonio Gaudi, an architect whose flamboyant style is to be found nowhere else, makes a visit here obligatory for those who want to see in person what they have marveled at in photos.
We were there just two days and in that short a time you have to see La Sagrada Familia, the Holy Family, a cathedral whose height dwarfs its footprint. The structure gives meaning to the phrase ‘over the top’: it is over the everything.
The Gothic quarter has many small streets, not haphazard as in most medieval quarters, but laid out on a grid that is left over from the Romans. On one edge you find a Roman wall. Within the quarter there are a few Roman era buildings, some medieval, others modern, including a Gaudi apartment building. This was his first apartment building, as I recall, which we stumbled across while looking for a bar for an early beer with Neal. We were returning from a visit to the Maritime Museum.
Since we came by car we had a few adventures in parking. When we first arrived we tried a garage. It was so cramped that not only was making a turn difficult, it was claustrophobic as well. We finally found a spot on the street. Parking is free between 2 and 4 pm and after 8 pm until 8 am, otherwise we tried to feed it from the parking ticket dispenser, which accept coins, bills or credit cards.
We drove to Figueres after visiting Gaudi’s park. Figueres is known for the Dali Museum. The Dali mansion is 30 kilometers outside town. The famous Cadillac that showers the mannequin occupants is gimmicky in my book, as are some of Dali’s dual image paintings, which, unlike the Caddy at least needed great skill to do.
But the man could draw, so I spent time lots of time on his drawings.
He can also paint what he wants, in various styles. A rare example of the diversity of his skills was the exhibit of his Disney movie work. It was never completed as the agreement with Disney fell apart.
I have been wanting to see this museum for years and I would not mind going again.
We left the mom and pop hotel/restaurant bar, I think it is called the Gallego, to start our return. We stopped off in Tarragona, another Roman era town perched on a cliff with gorgeous views of the Med. There’s a small excavation in the town center. They have uncovered the Forum.
Our first restaurant meal in Valencia
Spanish restaurants can be disappointing, despite having some of the best ingredients to work with. But today we were certainly not disappointed with our experience at Peregrino (the Pilgrim).
The meal started with a complimentary appetizer. Today it was a small bowl of a kind of beef stew with a few potatoes. I know it does not sound like an appetizer, but it worked. It was excellently and uniquely spiced. It came with some very good bread with a bit of olive oil sprinkled on. Some Spanish bread tastes stale no matter how fresh it is, and is very dry as if they use no oil, and there is little or no salt to boot. This was nearly as good as the best French baguette.
The offerings here are quite ambitious, especially for such a small place. For today’s specials (menu of the day) we could choose between a soup from Gallegos or a mixed vegetable plate for the first course, and between a beef joint with fried potato slices (not french fries) and a selection small fried fish for the second. (Note- Gallegos refers to the region of Galicia, which is a variation on Gaul, the Roman word for Celtic). The soup had greens in broth, and tasted like the collard green soup we’ve had in a Cuban restaurant in Tampa. My veggies were wok-cooked but tasted like a ratatouille. We enjoyed both ‘primeros platos’ a lot. The portions were ample.
We shared the stew and the fried fish, some of which looked like sardines. But don’t think of canned sardines. These are much bigger and generally milder. They were breaded lightly and deep fried. They must have used very hot oil as they were not too oily. Though not as small as canned sardines generally are, they are still a bit of a challenge to eat. They were not de-boned and the small spine was nonetheless to big to eat. They were kind of fun if you like that sort of thing, like eating crawfish. The meat was braised and tender. with a delicious light sauce. The side potatoes were well cooked.
The menu comes with a really good house wine, their own blend of 3 tempranillos. I think this grape is only or mostly grown in Spain. Nice body, good fruit. It went well with everything.
I was full before it, but the menu included dessert. They make a bunch of them here but the menu includes a choice of an almond cake, which is very Spanish, and a brownie with peanuts, which isn’t- in fact I’ve never heard of it before. Both were fabulous. The almond cake was moist and almondy enough and came with a (briefly) flaming sauce. The brownie was dense and chocolatey but I could not taste the peanuts. They were finely chopped.
For 2.45 euros, you get a delicious Segafreddo (our favorite, an Italian brand) coffee and after dinner drink. We got an alcoholic one called “Yerbas” (herbs) and another made of raspberries, but no seeds and no alcohol. I liked both. The former was a bit strong for Peg.
The service was very good. The waitress (the daughter who was filling in for the waiter who was off sick) and the mom, then later the dad, all were right on top of things. They talked to us, saw to it everything was as it should be, and said a friendly hello and goodbye.
All of this came to 15 euros each. We’ll take friends there and probably go on our own as well – it’s only four blocks from our apartment, very close to the supermarket we use.
ADATA Announces New bi-lateral “Cabana Turistica”
ADATA, an alliance of ecological groups in the Chiriqui Highlands, in the western part of Panama, has opened a “Cabana Turistica” near Rio Sereno (the Serene River), a small town on the border with Costa Rica and on the edge of the Biological Corridor. The Biological Corridor runs between South America and Canada.
The cabin is available for those wanting to visit the area. Birders, hikers, naturalists and other groups visit this area regularly. Now you can do so and support the environment. ADATA supports the environment by supporting ecologically sustainable economic activities such as organic farming including organic coffee, restaurants, tourist activities, as well as direct support for the Parque Internacional La Amistad.
$25 per person per night, $120 for groups of six or more. Ktichen, full bath, 2 bedrooms, 2 sofa bed (doubles), maximum 10 people.
For further information, contact: phone, email.
Primer proyecto 23 mayo 2011 gary
ADATA, (Alianza para el Desarrollo Ambiental de Tierras Altas), una alianza de 13 organizaciones ecologicas de Las Tierras Altas de Chiriqui, Panama, ya ofrece a turistas y grupos la posibilidad de alojamiento en Rio Sereno, en las bonitas y frescas montañas de Panama a la frontera con Costa Rica. Muy cerca se encuentra el Corredor Biològico, donde viven mas de 250 especies de aves y otros animales como el puma, y una tremenda variedad de flora tambien. La cabaña es disponible para la gente que quiere visitar esta zona, el Parque Internacional La Amistad, y el Parque Volcan Baru (nombre exacto?).
Hay sitio para 10 personas. Las ganacias apoyan …… ? Vea abajo para mas informaciòn.
Un link al email aqui.
Concert in Honor of John Barry at the James Bond Festival
This is a short video of the wonderful free concert at the Plaza de la Virgin April 9, 2011
The medieval fair, the pillow fight
On the way back from the Museum of Modern Art – new exhibitions of Matta, sculptures of Degas, and the sculptures of Balasar Lobo, and more – we wandered through the old part of the old town called Carmen and into a medieval fair.
Medieval fair in Valencia, April 2011
Video
Booths with candles, cakes and hand creams. A roped off section of birds of prey including several owls. Arabic themes- a belly dancer with two musicians walked through the narrow streets and tiny plaza; a camel or two riding youngsters on their backs. Processions of ‘princesses’ on horseback.
Susan happened upon a pillow fight in the Plaza de la Virgen. Huge pillows and big crowds, parents swatting children who swatted parents. This was part of a health fair.
All this just a few blocks from the Wine and Food Fair.
I thought the weeks following Fallas would be boring.
Odd depictions at old Templar church San Juan de la Hospital
Not far from our place there is an old Templar church (1238) from a grant from King Jaume I, who captured Valencia from the Moors. I’d read about a Templar church in The Templars, Knights of God (Edward Burman) but finding it in tourist literature is not so easy.
The building is much changed over time. It is Romanesque, but also Gothic and Baroqe in style. The tiny windows give it a Romanesque darkness and the heavy walls add to the feeling. The Moorish influences are in the rectangular plan of the single nave and the polygonal shape of the apse, according to the fabulous four page print out the give out for free, available in well translated English.
At the street entrance there are Templar crosses painted on a wall, protected by a glass or plastic panel. There is an attractive courtyard leading to the church entrance, on one side the old thick walls.
- Templar cross at San Juan Hospital
Inside you make a sharp left and to the right are Jesus, Mary and John the Evangelist hanging together. These are among the oddest depictions I have seen, followed in weirdness only by another painting in the same building. The Jesus is in one scale and the other two figures are in another. The John looks like a Mary to such an extent that I thought I was looking at a depiction of the two Marys.
- Mary on the left, an effeminate John on the right.
Here is another view of the interior in black and white:
- Iglesia San Juan de la Hospital
