Archive for January 2011

Dear friends and family,

Our last meal in Spain was in Segovia at the restaurant, Jose Maria. We got a recommendation and directions from our hotel receptionist. Very cold, Christmas decorations up (it's Dec 27).

Segovia town square.

The bar attached to the restaurant, a sort of Happy Hour going on, which lasts until God knows when. We arrived for dinner at 8:30, far too early for a self-respecting Spaniard to dine. We passed through the bar and there was almost no one eating in the dining room yet.

Spanish troubadores or tunas. Unfortunately we could barely hear them above the din.

Every fine restaurant in Spain has one, an entire Jamon Iberico. I don't know why they covered this ham's black foot; perhaps modesty.

First course - we couldn't resist: Jamon Iberico de Bellota or pata negra, acorn-fed ham. Delicious. We are probably dwelling ridiculously too long over this meal, but it was our last dinner in Spain. We're savoring (and slavering).

Both Don and Woody Allen have joked that bacon will some day be found to be good for you. Well, here is the Spanish thinking along those lines. From a British website which cites Spanish nutritional studies (http://www.ibergour.co.uk/en/jamon/beneficios_salud_jamon.html):

The fat of Iberico bellota ham contains over 55% oleic acid (a mono-unsaturated fatty acid). Rigorous scientific studies have shown that these fats exercise a beneficial effect on cholesterol in the blood by increasing the amount of good (HDL) cholesterol and reducing bad (LDL) cholesterol. Only virgin olive oil has a higher oleic acid content.

The total proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in cured Iberico hams that have consumed a diet of acorns is over 75%, making it the most "cardiohealthy" of all animal fats, even healthier than some fats of plant origin. The breed of pigs is not the only explanation; their staple diet of acorns and grasses also plays an important role.

In addition to its beneficial effect on cholesterol, Iberico ham provides proteins, vitamins B1, B6, B12 and folic acid, all highly beneficial for the nervous system and proper functioning of the brain. It is also rich in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, and in minerals such as copper, essential for bones and cartilage; calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and finally, selenium, which has been attributed with antiaging properties.

With regard to calories, 100 grammes of Ibérico bellota ham provides less than 250 kcal (roughly the same as bread) meaning that, eaten in moderation, it can be included in low calorie diets.

It is also an excellent substitute for red meat: 100 gramof ham contain 43 grs. of protein.

With regard to calories, 100 grammes of Ibérico bellota ham provides less than 250 kcal (roughly the same as bread) meaning that, eaten in moderation, it can be included in low calorie diets.

It is also an excellent substitute for red meat: 100 gram

I dunno, I always thought ham was considered a red meat. I am happy to hear of any excuse to eat this delicious substance. I only include this to absolve you of any guilt when you do go to Spain or your next Spanish restaurant.

Grilled asparagi and zucchini with shrimp; also scrumptious.

More shrimp or langoustine, grilled. Yummy.

A regional bread soup. Don liked it; I could take it or leave it.

No room for dessert, but this does remind us of the restaurant's name. A rather eccentric meal by Spanish tastes, but that's what we felt like eating.

This is the restaurant where the cute little piglet was broiled or baked and then quartered with the edge of a plate, making that unsettling crunching sound. The attractive young lady at the next table ate it with a big smile.

Back to our super comfy room at Hotel Don Felipe for a great night's sleep. Drove next morning to the Madrid Airport; had a frustrating time delivering the rental car to the right location, caught our Vuelling flight with no problems, arrived in Paris, CDG, took the train into Paris. Freezing. Don was really in the mood for Soupe de Poisson, but that's another story.

On our drive out of Segovia, we stopped and got this photo of the Roman aqueduct. Discovered if you click on these horizontal panoramas in the blog, they blow up a little larger.

Now for the D&E Starred Recommendations for Spain. Inspired by the Michelin Guide, as all the starred lists are. In deference to the Michelin, I decided to keep it to 3 stars as the top rating, but with a twist. For instance, I will do half stars.
3 stars (***) means highly recommended, a worthy destination for an extended (more than a few days) visit, and in fact we would go back.
(**.5) stars means worth a side trip or a significant detour
(**) stars means worth a small side trip
(*.5) stars means picturesque, worth a stop over if you were going that way anyway
(*) star means worth a stop over if you were going that way anyway, but might be difficult to reach (traffic, narrow winding, crazy streets, etc.)
(0) means don't stop
All ratings are totally subjective and our taste may not agree with your taste. In fact, our taste can sometimes be a little quirky.

In order of our trip:

Madrid (***) - Just for the food and museums alone. We went to the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, which were both fabulous. Mel Ramos recommended these and also the Reina Sofia Museum -- which was recommended by many and which we did not have the time to see :-( -- and the Joaquin Sorolla Museum. Squeak Carnwath recommended a little church in Madrid on the outskirts of town which has some very beautiful Goya frescos on the ceiling. So obviously we have to go back.

Toledo (**) - unless you are a big El Greco fan. For historical interest, it's important. Too fastidiously clean for us (as in cleaned up for tourists).

Plasencia (**.5) - a small, but charming town. 2.5 stars for the amazing parador. Good food.

Caceres (***) - Gorgeous historical city. Great to walk around. Can't say anything about the museums as they were closed for the holidays. Also the Fluxus Museum and the amazing natural environment on the outskirts of Malpartida de Caceres. Good food.

Merida (**) - A little over 2, really. Some nice Roman ruins. The archeological museum was closed when we were there. I've heard it's a good one. Designed by Rafael Moneo. Good food.

Ciudad Rodrigo (*) - Worth staying over, if you are driving that way, from Madrid to Portugal or vice versa, and you happen to hit it at the right time of day. Otherwise, we wouldn't bother. Hard to get into - little winding roads

Salamanca (***) - I have to give it 3 stars, although we were there for only a few hours. Beautiful city.

Segovia (***) - Close to 3 stars, but it is not very large. Charming, beautiful small city. Again, we were not there very long. Would definitely go back, even though it is hard to drive in with their little winding roads. It is fairly close to Madrid, so would probably return by train next time.

Also, on a previous trip to Southern Spain we went to:

Granada (***) - The Alhambra is a dream, incredible Moorish architecture and gardens; wouldn't book a long stay here as the city is pretty small.

Cordoba (***) - Smallish old medieval town with the mind-blowing Mestiqua; wouldn't book a long stay here as it's even smaller. Barely squeezing into the (***) category. Good food.

Seville (***) - Beautiful, fun city. The palace is second only to the Alhambra; gardens are lovely.

Love,

Era and Don

Hi all,

We've actually been home for over a week, but catching up on work, sleep, and construction at home. But let me take you back to Spain for a while.

We were on our way home and pretty much rushed through these cities.

After visiting the Fluxus Museum, we are on the road to Ciudad Rodrigo, voted by some travel writers as one of the most beautiful villages in Spain.

This is how they do it in the countryside: the Cerveza is one euro (about $1.38) and the tapas are free (fried potatos and tasty chunks of braised liver).

We were a little underwhelmed by Ciudad Rodrigo. It's a handsome enough town, but definitely suffers in comparison to Caceres, Salamanca and Segovia. Our hotel was fine, but located over the bar (a couple stories over) and the tobacco smoke was overbearing. We had to sleep with the windows open, and it was literally freezing outside. We had dinner at the hotel and it was by far the worst meal we had in Spain. We only had 2 bad meals during our visit to Spain and this was the worst. They seemed to try to make up with quantity what they lacked in quality and gave us masses of food which we could not eat.

The Spanish will no longer be able to smoke in public places after the New Year, and so everyone seemed to be lighting up and desperately puffing while they still could.

We drove out of the narrow, winding streets of Ciudad Rodrigo on the early side, and made our way to Salamanca. I love even the sound of this city; what a rhythm to its name. It is an old university town. The university was founded during the middle ages. The concept of universities was brought to us by the Moors, so I assumed that they may have founded it, but later found it was established by Alfonso IX of Leon in 1218.

For some reason, Salamanca was very easy to navigate in our car - very unusual for any city, especially an old city. We drove into the historic city (another UNESCO world heritage site) and easily found parking!

The Salamanca public library.

Salamanca is nicknamed La Ciudad Dorado, the golden city, because of the golden color of the sandstone used in its beautiful mostly Renaissance buildings.

Salamanca doorway

Salamanca, I think near some university buildings. We had our other bad meal in Salamanca, but I think this was only because we hadn't done any research or gotten a good recommendation. I think a city this beautiful with so many university students has to have good food. We pretty much stopped here only for lunch, and for Don to see an old watch museum. As you can see, a gorgeous city.

Back on the road to Segovia. At this point in our trip, I decided to try to economize and stay in a regular, reasonably priced hotel, rather than a parador, which I was sorely tempted to book for our last night in Spain. Arrived at dusk; Segovia is another beautiful hill town or small city, built defensively.

On the way to Segovia.

Narrow, hairpin roads, stone buildings on each side. We knew the street name of our hotel, but had no map. "Why is that F**ing ***Bleep** on my tail?!" "Where does he think he's going?" Don can get a little excited driving under these somewhat challenging conditions. Squeezing our car thru these little wormhole-like streets at a faster pace than we would normally comfortably go (because the guy in back of us does seem to be in some kind of emergency), craning our necks looking for any sign of our hotel, trying to catch the names as the tiny street signs flashed by. "There's a parking place!" The first available parking place we had seen in this city.

Travel Divas were watching over us, as after frantically pulling into the space and allowing our gaze to focus, we noticed that straight ahead of us was another parking space with a sign that said (in Spanish) "Reserved for Hotel Don Felipe," which was our hotel. There was a police officer and a fashionably attired Spanish lady standing nearby. He spoke about as much English as we do Spanish, but she lived part of the year in NYC and helpfully translated. Neither of them had heard of our hotel, but there was no question that the sign said "Reserved for Hotel Don Felipe." It turned out that the street we were on, Calle Daoiz, was the street where our hotel was located.

My attempt to economize paid off as Hotel Don Felipe turned out to be a wonderful hotel. We could not stay in our parking space, so we took advantage of the hotel parking. This, we were told, was down the street, first left, then look for the hotel logo and turn left. Down a steep hill, through a large group of tourists, drove alongside a cliff, and there was the hotel logo with an open garage door. Again, the parking garage was cut into the cliff. Marisha thinks she saw this hotel featured in an architectural magazine.

After parking, we were directed to a rear door. There, strains of 007 again, we entered a small lobby which looked on to a series of caves. Obviously, this is where James Bond makes his escape. Also, there was an elevator, which took us right up to the hotel lobby.

We had about 45 minutes to see the Alcazar. Full disclosure: We did not get a good photo of the Alcazar; this was snatched from the web.

Plasterwork which typically covers the buildings in Segovia. Every building seems to have a different pattern. The Alcazar's entire exterior looks to be covered in this type of plasterwork.

Looking at the walled city of Segovia from the Alcazar at dusk.

Alcazar, the Hall of Kings. A frieze representing the succession of Spanish Kings and Queens starting from Pelagius of Asturias down to Juana la Loca. They all seem to be wielding swords. Tough times.