Spain and Portugal 2009

Our Big Trip 2009 brought us on a whirlwind journey through Spain and Portugal, from April 5 - April 19. In two weeks, we pondered the old world charm of Porto while sipping sweet port, marveled at the gold magnificence of Holy Toledo, and sampled Goya and tapas in Madrid. Moving on the Andalucia, we delighted in the Moorish splendor of the Alhambra in Granada, and were astounded by fancy, flamenco footwork in Seville.

Our pilgrimage north to Santiago de Compostela gave us a chance to breathe in the fresh, green scents of the Galicia country side and we ate everything in sight as we drove east towards Basque country. Bilbao and San Sebastian treated our tummies well, before we lived like royalty in Barcelona, the crown jewel of the entire trip. The following posts chronicle each day of our trip, beginning with the most recent day.

This beautiful part of the world overwhelmed us in so many ways, and we feel changed and blessed by our incredible journey. Enjoy!

Day 14: Te Amo , Barcelona!

Why, oh why, didn't I learn Spanish in high school? I don't feel like I can adequately express how much I love Barcelona in English. Luckily, I was a big fan of the song "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna when I was a kid, and learned early on that "Te Amo" means "I love you!"

Another sunny (but supposed to be rainy) day in Barcelona, and this morning, we caught a regional train out to Cavas Freixenet, a winery located about 45 minutes outside of the city where they make cava. We didn't realize until our tour that 80% of the cava exported from Spain is under the Freixenet label. In the United States, they have a subsidiary in Napa called Gloria Ferrer, a beautiful little vineyard that makes some delicious sparkling wines.

Waiting for our tour of the facility to begin... love the brick barelled ceiling!

Cava and Champagne are essentially the same thing, except because the grapes do not grow in the Champagne region, you can't call it champagne. Instead, in Spain, cava is the bubbly of choice for celebrations. The method for producing the cava is essentially the same as champagne, and it was interesting to see how similar the caves were to the Moet Chandon champagne house I visited in Champagne last year.

Of course, all good tours end with a tasting of the product... these bubbles seriously went straight to my head.

Back in town and needing some food to edge off my buzz, we walked down the Ramblas towards La Boqueria, Barcelona's market of all markets. The Ramblas was absolutely electric on this Saturday afternoon and filled with people...

Sections of the market have traditionally sold pets..

...while other sections are reserved for street performers...

....while other sections burst forth with the colors and fragrances of flower stands.

La Boqueria stands right off the Ramblas, and you can smell the delicious food before you even see the entryway.

Right as we entered, we were greeted by the sight of a stand selling all sorts of fresh squeezed juices. My mouth began to water, as I realized that I haven't eaten a piece of fruit in a long time!

Fishmonger stands brimmed over with fresh seafood, featuring underwater critters specific to the Mediterranean Sea.

Aha... finally. Just what we were looking for. The market has little bars, grills, and cafes scattered throughout, but we found one right in the center that seemed to be bustling. We saw a couple that seemed to finishing up their lunch, and stood behind them at the counter to snag their seats when they stood up.

We ordered up a plate of fideua, which is a typical Catalan dish, similar to paella, but made with short, thin noodles instead of rice.

We also ordered the plato combinado of seafood, and were thrilled to receive clams, mussels, fried sardines, crispy octopus, calamari and cubes of fresh cod, all cooked to order by one tiny lady. Simple, pure and totally delicious.

I remember being in awe of the fruit stands when I visited La Boqueria 7 years ago, and I was glad to see that those golden images didn't exist only in my memory...

Check out the color on these figs!!

Full and happy, we both bought a cup of fresh-squeezed juice for 1 euro to sip as we walked (mine was mango-pineapple), and we veered off of the Ramblas and wandered into the Gothic Quarter. I love this old town. It seems that at every turn, around every corner, it's possible to stumble upon yet another gorgeous plaza.

I saw a man preparing to scrape off some of this colorful tagging, so I snapped a quick photo before he got started.

We wandered languidly through the streets, looking for a particular churro y chocolate place that Jack had read about. We found it at 3:55pm, and were sad to see the blinds drawn... but the note on the door said that they would reopen at 4, and they did!

We split a plate of the churros y chocolate... I mean, seriously, what's not to like and why are there no desserts like this in the U.S.?

A bit more shopping on our way back to our hotel helped us to beat out a storm which seemed to be blowing in. For dinner, we had 11 pm reservations at a restaurant called Espai Sucre in the Ribera neighborhood.

We'd read about this restaurant in, of all places, the Delta Airlines flight magazine on our initial flight to Spain. At first glance, you might think... oh, just another glitzy, modern restaurant serving avant-garde food... but then you look closely, and realize, this is a DESSERT RESTAURANT. As in, there's a 5 course tasting menu, where each course is a dessert! There were some meats and proteins on other tasting menus so you could have a full meal here, but I figured, if I could have a meal that was completely dessert, and multiple courses at that, wouldn't I? Why yes, I think I would. And I did.

I loved it! I mean, how can you resist such unique flavor combinations as bread pudding, bacon ice cream and miniature cubes of pineapple gelee? Or my fourth course, the olive oil cake with white peach ice cream, green olive foam and San Simon cheese? And then there was the Idiazable cake with foams, ice creams, gelees and powders consisting of the flavors of cherry, red beet, black beer and cacao nib...

I admit, this meal was not for everyone, and even as I write it down, I realize how weird it sounds. But it made so much sense in my mouth! I was concerned at first about eating an entire meal consisting of desserts, but actually, I did not find myself being over-sweetened or palate fatigued at all because there were so many interesting combinations balancing the tastes of sweet, bitter, salty and sour, as well as texture differences between crunchy, chewy, foamy, creamy and jelly. Every bite was like a spoonful of new ideas.

And so ended our last night in Barcelona. We took the metro back to our hotel and soaked in our last moments of Big Trip 2009. It was hard to believe that we would be leaving the next day, but we were so grateful for the time and the freedom spent together, exploring Spain and Portugal. We had incredible food, beautiful scenery, good friends, and really, the country exceeded even my highest expectations.

But of course, what makes every trip worth traveling for me these days is the time I get to spend with Jack. I love being at his side as we discover new sights, experience new cultures, taste new foods, and meet new people. We've always traveled well together, and as the years have gone on, I think that I've also come to realize that traveling has been an important part of our marriage. We've planned a big trip every year for the past five years now, and it has become a part of our annual rhythm. Traveling has brought us closer in so many ways and we've learned so many things about how the other person thinks, how the person will react to a certain situation, and how to work together to make the most out of a certain experience. All of this leads to a richness in our relationship and an alignment of mind in how we view and approach our world.

And so, we head back to real life in Seattle together. Usually I get the end-of-vacation blues, but this time, I'm more than content with sweet memories, because really, real life is pretty awesome with my husband at my side. Very sweet, indeed.

Day 13: Gawking at Gaudi in Barcelona

This morning, we caught the 8:40 am flight from Bilbao to Barcelona, and made it to our hotel by 11am to drop off our things and hit the town. As we stepped outside, Jack said, "It's supposed to rain today, should we grab the umbrella?" I shrugged nonchalantly, waved my hand, and said,
"We're from Seattle... what's the worst that could happen?"

Famous last words.

First stop? Lunch of course, and I'm pleased to report that my appetite was back in full force. We walked through our neighborhood, L'Eixample, drinking in the details of the beautiful apartment buildings, with their intricate wrought-iron balcony railings, stained glass detailings and stone molding.

Within walking distance of our hotel was a restaurant that Jack wanted to try called Hysop. We were the first diners that afternoon when they opened at 1:30pm, and we were ushered into a modern, minimalist-designed room with a brick barrel ceiling.

I loved the delicate accents of red scattered through the room... a red rose head in the vase, a long- stemmed rose hanging on the wall, a red chair surrounded by black ones along the banquette...

We both did the 3 course lunch menu, and I loved every bite of my foie salad, perfectly-cooked, crispy-skinned corvina, and rice pudding.

After lunch, we stepped outside into a thunder and lightning storm, which seemed to grow stronger with every step we took towards the Sagrada Familia, our next destination. As we walked, we ducked under some awnings and stepped into this beautiful, modernista house, labeled Casa Asia. The attention to detail and the soft, curving stone work was reminiscent of Gaudi's style. Turns out, the building hosts all sorts of events related to Asian education.

The storm let up to a light drizzle, and we ran towards the Sagrada Familia, one of the top attractions in Barcelona. Progress on the cathedral is slow... Gaudi began work on it in 1883, and work continues to this day, with a projected end date in another 25 years! I visited the cathedral about 7 years ago, and to be honest, not a whole lot has changed. I was still incredibly awe-struck by it, and Jack was also impressed by the genius behind the design. Gaudi's philosophy behind architecture stems from his experiences and observations of nature, and I did find that the spires of the cathedral resembled stalagmites in a way.

A glimpse of the Passion facade to the cathedral...

Walking into the catheral was a bit like walking into a cave, with the unique stone work and the curving streaming lines seeming more natural than man-made.

Outside, a scene of the Passion facade again above the side entrance. I found it interesting that the face of the Christ figure was left un-detailed, as was the face of the mother figure at his feet. Instead, the mother figure holds the shroud, with an imprint of His face.

After about an hour wandering through the catheral and the adjoining museum, we followed our map to another famous Gaudi design, the Park Guell. The park was originally intended to be a sort of gated, residential community, but these days, it is a whimsical park filled with the geometric shapes, patterns and lines so unique in Gaudi's work.

I loved these colorfully-tiled benches, waving gently around the outlook point.

We were so glad that the sun peaked out at this particular moment... can you seen the rainbow in the distance?

Throughout the park, there are some fantastical structures, which Jack commented, seemed sort of like an alien from outer space had come down to earth and planted itself. I added that it seems like if you touched the walls, you'd almost expect them to be warm and fleshy, and maybe a little bit sticky. But of course, they weren't.

We headed back to the hotel at 7 pm so that Jack could take a work conference call, and also so that we could rest up a bit. Since neither one of us were really hungry, we decided to take an evening stroll down the bustling Ramblas, the exciting pedestrian street that runs through the middle of the city, all the way to the waterfront.

Even at night, the street was action-packed, with street performers, artists, musicians, locals and tourists all out to check out the scene. Can't wait to see what it looks like in the day!

Day 12: The Day that I Shocked a 3 Michelin Star Chef in San Sebastian

We woke up in our cool hotel this morning in San Sebastian to a bright and sunny day... we keep lucking out with this weather. The forecast always says rain, but it holds off long enough for us to enjoy the day.

Here's a picture of the lobby of our hotel, the Astoria 7 in San Sebastian. It used to be an old movie theater, and they've kept the cinema theme and decked the place out with glamorous posters of famous movie stars...

We caught a city bus up to old town and roamed through the mercado, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the city's chefs picking up ingredients for the day, but alas, I think we were too late. We did see these unusual specimens, though...

After roaming through the Parte Vieja for a bit, we headed out to the Concha de la Playa and the beautiful beachfront promenade, with it's boardwalk atmosphere. This stretch of sand is considered to be one of the nicest beaches in all of Europe.

And then, finally, it was time for lunch. Before we embarked on this trip, we had read that this particular area of Basque country had more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else in the world. Food bloggers site their favorites, but there are so many to choose from! We settled on Arzak, a restaurant with 3 stars to it's name and over a hundred years of tradition within the same family. The restaurant had been made world famous by the previous chef, and now the kitchen is run by his daughter, who is fairly young- the same age as Jack!

I'd been looking forward to this meal for weeks, having made the reservation a month in advance, reading the reviews, and even seeing it featured on various travel shows like "No Reservations" and "Spain, On the Road Again." And then... something really sad happened. I woke up in the morning with an upset stomach and a complete loss of appetite. Just the thought of food made me feel nauseous. It was as if I'd woken up on marathon day with a bum knee. I must have overdone it at Extebarri the day before (which is still totally worth it, by the way), but was sorely disappointed that I wouldn't be able to give Arzak the full and complete attention that I was sure it deserved. We went anyways, mostly so that I could take pictures of Jack eating. And boy did he eat. I gave it my best. I really did. But when the first course came out, the plate pristinely set with two, glistening, perfect oysters stuffed with some sort of a magical concoction full of color and flavor, I ate the first one, and for the life of me, could not stomach the second. I was so sad. Our server waited to see if I would touch it, and when she realized that I wouldn't, came over to make sure the dish was acceptable. She seemed shocked. I mean, whoever sends anything back to the kitchen at this place? Perhaps I was the first?

We quickly explained that I wasn't feeling well, and they suggested amending the menu to suit my appetite, assuring me that it would be no problem at all to halt the meal at any point. There was some whispering among the hostess, the server and the water girl, and then, the chef herself came out of the kitchen, walked over to our table and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. Her eyes expressed genuine concern, and I explained to her that I had been looking forward to this meal for so long, that it was to be a high point in our trip, and unfortunately, I was feeling ill today. I seriously almost burst into tears. She was very compassionate, assured again that the meal could be amended however I wished, and even came back at the end of our lunch to check up on me and make sure that I was ok.

Well, Jack's lunch looked incredible, and I did try a bite here and there and was able to stomach another dish after the oyster, and all I can say is, I understand the hype. As good as the food was, I would give the restaurant it's 3 stars and it's ranking within the top ten of San Pellegrino's World's 50 best restaurants, just for the care and attention I received on this day. Even though I wasn't able to eat the food, at least the dining experience was a pleasant one.

For some reason, my unruly stomach was assuaged by dessert, and I was thrilled to see this beautiful plate of petit fours come out at the end of our meal.

With lunch digesting comfortably, we caught a 5:30 pm bus back to Bilbao where we would spend the night before flying back to Barcelona for the last stop of our trip. It's hard to believe that our time in Spain is drawing to a close... but I'm so looking forward to two whole days in Barcelona!!

Day 11: Off the Beaten, Basque Path

A beautiful Basque morning in Bilbao lured me out early in the day for a long walk, as Jack took care of some work from our hotel room. I strolled down the long, pedestrian avenue which lead straight to the gleaming Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry. The hulking, curving structure of steel and glass fit in with the modern cityscape of Bilbao, crowning the town with a unique edge which seems to push the envelope on this northern coast of Spain.

After we checked out of the hotel, we took one last walk around the old town and the lovely riverside.

The bright, pastel colors of old town were set off brilliantly against the black and white spots of this dalmation... notice how his eyes are also multi-colored!

One of the cool things about being married to a food blogger, is that we often find ourselves off the beaten path, whether we're at home or abroad, following our noses to some out of the way, unknown little establishment serving phenomenal food. Today was one such day. While doing his food research for our Spain trip, Jack had read about a unique asador in the countryside outside of Bilbao, which was revolutionizing the concept of the grill. Since we still had our rental car, we decided to give it a go, and followed a set of complicated directions gleaned from the internet, our maps, and the gps system, leading us deep into tiny little towns tucked in the emerald mountains of the Basque country.

We found our destination, a restaurant called Etxebarri, in the middle of a tiny town square, surrounded by small, chalet-style buildings.

The courtyard was exceedingly charming, with lovely, stone buildings surrounded by mountains, mist and sheep grazing on the neighboring hillsides. The quaint setting reminded me so much of Switzerland.

For a restaurant of such renown, we were surprised to find ourselves in pretty much an empty dining room, while the bar raged with laughter and beer downstairs.

Since Jack's the expert, I'll leave the food commentary and most of the photos for him to cover on his blog, but here are just a few samples of some of the things we delighted upon on this particular afternoon...

Caviar, lightly smoked on the grill, served warm, which punctuated the deep, rich flavor of the eggs, hinted by a light smokiness...

Baby octopus, perfectly tender, with a nice, crispy caramelization on the skin, again with a slight hint of smokiness...

We were floored by the entire meal. It really was the kind of food that changes your perspective on... life. We both put the lunch in our top 5 eating experiences ever. Since it seemed to be a slow day, we asked our server if we could meet the chef.

Victor Arguinz came out and greeted us warmly, listened kindly as we blubbered about how delicious his food was, posed jovially with us for pictures, and then treated us to an after dinner herbal liquor. Love that Spanish hospitality!

Somehow, we rolled ourselves out of the hillside, and made it into San Sebastian by 6pm, returned our rental car, checked into our hotel, and then passed out for a few hours. We woke up at around 10 pm, and, feeling the need to get in a bit of exercise, we headed out and took a midnight stroll through the quiet streets of this spectacular, beach side resort town.

Our evening ended peacefully, watching the light rippling off of the gentle waves in the river.