Regreso/Return

We slacked a bit while in Madrid. We were tired and it was a vacation after all. The longest day ever began at 6:30 a.m. Madrid time and ended at 4:30 a.m. Madrid time the next day. 22 hours.

Ending the trip with Madrid was relaxing. There was no car to worry about. We didn’t need a map. The only trouble we encountered was when Bank of America blocked Josh’s debit card, but we had enough to get by for the last two days.

We walked a lot and did Madrid things: went to the Prado and Reina Sofia, ate churros, shopped, ate a picnic lunch in el Parque Retiro. I had done those things before, but for me, the best part about returning to locations previously visited is discovering something new, even if it is very small. At the Reina Sofia, it was a series of photographs by Francesc Catala-Roca.

Last time I left Spain with tons of food and clothing, as if I would never return. This time I bought a few things (and a few bottles of wine), knowing I will go back.

Thanks for reading. I hope we didn’t bore you. I hope we inspired you to make your own itinerary and follow through on it. And if you ever go to Spain, I’d be happy to help in any way.

Corrida de toros/Bullfight

Plaza de Toros

May starts bullfighting season in Madrid and we went to tonight’s event with excellent seats in the shade (vs. sun) on the lower deck.

Tonight’s event featured El Fandi, one of the best bullfighters in the world and No. 1 in Spain.

Daniel Luque during his second fight.

The third bullfighter (there are three, each takes on two bulls) was a special treat: Daniel Luque, 19. He got two standing ovations and earned an ear from the second bull, which weighed 610 kg (over 1300 pounds).

(pictures to come. we took about 500 between the two of us…)

Mi ciudad/My city

We arrived in Madrid safe and sound yesterday (I drove.) After dropping off the car, we walked around my neighborhood, my market, where I lived. My cheese man was still there, selling his many, many cheeses.

We took a nice paseo through town (40 minute walk) to the center, Sol. I was surprised how easily the streets and their names came back to me. It felt good.

Madrid is a walking town, and we’ve been doing a lot of it. Last night we went for tapas: gambas al ajillo (shrimp in olive oil and garlic), manchego cheese (hard Spanish cheese), patatas bravas (little fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce). Today we ate at one of my favorite restaurants: La sonabresa. The menú del día includes a bottle of wine, 2 courses and dessert.

Josh: pisto manchego (ratatouille), salmón a la planca (grilled salmon), tarta de bombón chocolate (chocolate mousse cake)
Jackie: gazpacho, mero con tomate (fried grouper with tomato sauce and french fries), milhoja (cream between puff pastry)

We had churros for breakfast and had the calamares at the grandmas’ tonight, but the grandma’s weren’t there. (Calamari was still excellent.) We’ll probably go back tomorrow, just for one last chance to see them — and another ración de calamares.

Indicaciones/Directions

I like to say I was born with an internal compass. Throw me in the middle of a forest, large city or corn maze and I’ll be able to get out. With a map, I’d get out quicker. The Achille’s Heel of this gift is that if and when I lose my bearings, I literally feel uncomfortable, even sick at times.

We got lost driving into Santiago de Compostela yesterday. Josh had the map turned the wrong way, and we spent at least half an hour driving around the city. Today, while driving from Santiago toward Madrid, the gas light went on. I pulled over in Ourense to find petrol. I wasn’t worried about not having a map or a record of where to go. Instead of driving around the city, I turned onto the equivalent of a county road toward Madrid. My Spanish driving experience had taught me that county roads have stops every 20 km or so, when driving through a tiny town. Sure enough, five kilometers later we pulled into a full service gas station.

After Pamplona, we silently agreed I’d be driving in and out of cities. I’m excited to drive around Madrid, down the wide Paseo de la Castellana, Paseo de los Recoletos and Paseo del Prado streets.

Santiago de Compostela

By the time we reached Santiago, we were hungry enough for a menú del día.

Josh: Croquetas de baccalao (white fish with béchamel sauce, lightly breaded and fried), pollo asado con ajillo y tomate (roasted chicken with garlic and tomato), flan Me: cocido de calamares (squid stew), tiburón a la plancha (grilled hake), flan For an idea of how much food that was, the portions were about double what you’d get in an American restaurant.

Overstuffed, we visited the Cathedral and met a trio of peregrinos outside. They had started the Camindo de Santiago at different points (one 6 weeks prior from Alicante) but met on the trail. One of the guys showed us his walking stick, which he has carried with him on each walk he’s taken since 2000. He said he only needs three things for his annual trip: walking boots, walking stick and credit card. More than 100,000 pilgrims finish their walks in Santiago each year. We entered the cathedral — less crowded than when I had visited — and were able to walk all the way around, go up into the Altar Mayor to touch the 13th century statue of St. James and view his tomb (“He was tiny!” –Josh).

Foto del día: May 24

Outside La catedral de Santiago de Compostela

La torre/the tower

Last night we arrived at our pensión in A Coruña, where the reception Nancho offered us Galicia’s specialty beer, Estrella Galicia. He also told us where to go for tapas. Going for tapas in A Coruña means ordering a small glass of beer/wine (corto) and a small portion of food. We had fried calamari, pulpo a la gallega(octopus), zorza (roasted pork with small potatoes), berberechos (tiny clams) and our first tortilla de patata (egg and potato omelet cake) of the trip.

Today we walked along the beach to La Torre de Hercules, the world’s oldest working lighthouse. The area around the lighthouse has been converted into a small park with sculptures that pay homage to important historical figures.

Climbing the 234 steps to the top se vale la pena for the view. Who knew the Atlantic Ocean could be so blue?

Foto del día: May 23

The Picos de Europa.

Más montañas y cuevas/More mountains and caves

If we ever stop seeing mountains or ocean on this trip, we know we’ve taken a wrong turn. This morning we drove to the Picos de Europa National Park, located in both Cantabria and Asturias regions. I drove through the mountains at a safe 70 kilometers per hour on the skinny but perfectly paved road. (The roads have been WONDERFUL, even the small teeny tiny ones. No bumps, potholes, major construction. I’m amazed at the condition, but it could be because I’m from Illinois where we have two seasons: winter and road construction.)

We stopped in Potes and visited the Monasterio de Santo Toribio de Liébana. Inside the chapel lies the largest chunk of Christ’s cross, believed to be the part where a nail passed through Jesus’s left hand. It’s housed inside a cross, behind bars and about 50 feet away from where it can be viewed.

The view was incredible.

We cut through the northern part of Los Picos on the way West. More curvy roads, traffic circles, mountains, cows.

Two hours later, we were in Ribadesella, home of La Cueva de Tito Busillo, full of Paleolithic cave paintings that can be seen on page one of the world history textbooks. We were early for the last tour of the day, so we visited the neighboring Cuevona de Ardines. After climbing 300 steps, we descended into a large chamber where we got a history lesson from a prerecorded Wizard of Oz, accompanied by the equally low-tech light projections on the wall.

The actual cave tour took an hour and a half. After hiking 700 or so meters into the cave, we saw the paintings: horses, reindeers, female genitalia (respect for fertility.)

Now we’re on our way to a new region: Galicia. Our first stop is A Coruña, the port city capital of Spain’s Northwest. Current conditions: 13 degrees Celsius, misty rain, dense fog.

Cabeza de cordero/Sheep’s brain served in its own skull

Note the teeth.

Tonight we ate sheep’s brain served in its own skull.
The waiter told us they chop off the head, cut it in half down the nose and roast it. After we ordered, we downed most of our bottle of txakoli in preparation.

The head arrived, eyeballs and tongue intact. It didn’t taste as bad as it sounds, but it won’t become one of my fave Spanish dishes. The outside was firm and the inside significantly softer, like a piece of seared tofu. Something about the texture bothered me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I remembered this morning: the texture reminded me of undercooked scrambled eggs that made me sick at summer camp one year.

Jackie, with squids and Txacolí

We also ordered the chipirones — squids cooked in their own ink. They smelled very pleasant and tasted like grilled calamari with a rich sauce. I gladly finished those off.

The dishes capped an adventurous day of eating. We grabbed some pinxtos (tastes) in Bilbao’s old town — gourmet bites featuring ingredients like seared foie grois and lobster atop slices of French bread. People bar hop in the evenings, eating pinxtos with friends and washing them down with small glasses of beer, wine or sidra (cider.) We had one of each during the evening.

Stop 1: sidra, pinxtos: fried calamari stuffed with lobster, salmon and salmon mousse, jamón iberico with mushroom.

Stop 2: Mahou (Bud Light), pinxtos: baccalao (salted white fish) marinated in olive oil, pulpo ala gallega (octopus with olive oil and paprika)

Stop 3: Bottle of txakoli, chimpirones en su tinta (squids cooked in their ink), cabeza de cordero (sheep’s brain)