Mariscos y Montañas: 2011

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Final day in Madrid

We ended our trip with a final day of shopping in Madrid - and avoiding shirtless, frat-boy-type German students (alemanes!) that seemed to be taking over the city, or at least taking over the Plaza de Sol and the Plaza Mayor.
Aside from the slew of tourists in Madrid, it is a lovely city and great for night walks to see how they illuminate the buildings and fountains. Our final night in Madrid we strolled the streets until almost 2:00 a.m. and there were still crowds of people everywhere taking photos, strolling, socializing, or just hanging around drinking and being annoying (alemanes!).
Our hotel was on a pedestrial street right off of the Plaza de Sol, which was great for shopping but a little loud at night (alemanes!). It was a great location and within walking distance of many sites, but we were a little burnt out by then, so we mostly saw the inside of Chuche (souvenir) shops!

The view of the plaza from our hotel window

Another view from our balcony

Cari in the Plaza Mayor

A picture of a bakery window - we returned later and tried many items, including the Huesos de Santo (Saint's Bones!). They were yummy but the "marrow" was too sweet for me!

Tocino de cielo - heavenly!

A few of my Spain purchases. The shops wrap every single little item, whether it's a gift or not.

Encaje de bolillo in Santiago

We were disappointed when we couldn't get to Camarinas, especially because it is known for its encaje de bolillo (bobbin lace) and even has a museum featuring women demonstrating the lace-making.
Our final day in Santiago held a great surprise, though, when we peeked into a shop and saw a few ladies making bobbin lace! We asked if we could step in to watch and they allowed us to snap a few photos. They offer classes (I would so love to learn) and we were there when a women stopped in to plan a special order for a crib set for her grandchild. Expensive but elegant.

The shop window display

Yay! The ladies inside making the bobbin lace

The shop

The pattern is printed or drawn on a piece of paper - the bobbins with thread are then pinned, moved and twisted in order to follow the pattern. Looks so confusing to me!

Beautiful pattern and color

A few finished products

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Santiago de Compostela

As we sit in an air-conditioned room in Madrid and listen to the hustle and bustle of the big city, I think back to beautiful Santiago de Compostela. In the Middle Ages Santiago de Compostela was Christianity's third most important place of pilgrimage, after Jerusalem and Rome.
Today many people walk or ride bicycles in pilgrimage to Santiago (or just for the challenge). According to legend, the apostle St. James (Sant Yago, thus Santiago) was responsible for bringing Christianity to Spain. Though martyred in Palestine, later his body was brought to Galicia on a ship. In the year 814 a hermit claimed to have been guided to rediscover the saint's tomb by a shower of stars - compostela means "field of stars". The scalloped shell is the symbol of St. James and therefore it is found all over the city of Santiago. Peregrinos (pilgrims) typically carry a walking stick with a gourd for water as well as the scalloped shell symbolizing the spirit of St. James and their ultimate goal in reaching the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
The center of Santiago is a pedestrian zone, and we walked it from end to end. Here are some of the pictures.

After a short one hour drive we arrived in Santiago and were rewarded with this beauiful view from our hotel window.

Because we were there on a Sunday, the plaza was crowded with peregrinos who time their arrival in order to attend the pilgrim's mass.

The name of this street is "street of questioning" named for the many lost pilgrims who over the centuries have stopped to ask how to find their way to the Cathedral.

With my chisel in hand I left my mark in Compostela.

Here is the symbol of St. James for all the tourist to purchase.

We went out to take a few night photos and as we walked near the Cathedral we could hear live music. There was a group of Gallego musicians in medieval garb playing traditional instruments and two guys making Queimada. We had a chance to try the Queimada, which is a traditional drink based on Orujo (which we mentioned in another posting). The alcohol is poured into a special clay pot to which sugar, coffee beans and slices of orange are added, the mixture is then heated up over an open fire. According to legend, witches (meigas) would stay well away from anyone who had been drinking Queimada. It was delicious and I got to keep my souvenir cup!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Exploring the Rias Baixas

The Rias Baixas (Lower Estuaries) area of Galicia is well-known for its beautiful sandy beaches and albarin~o wine - a very tasty white wine. Cari and I can say that we fully enjoyed both while visiting the Rias.
We also were lucky in that after sampling several varities of empanadas (typically a fish - tuna, bacalao - or beef pie) we FINALLY found one that came very close to Olga's empanadas. There are empanadas in Galicia - large trays of empanada where you cut a slice of baked pie with filling - and they are either prepared with a flaky hojaldre (phyllo-type) dough or a heartier bread-like dough. And then there are what my grandmother used to make: known as empanadillas here in Galicia. They are half-circle hand-held filled pies that are pan-fried; it makes a BIG difference in the texture and thickness of the crust. We found the empanadillas in Cambados in the morning and then passed through there again in the afternoon to re-stock our snack supply.
One other great find were the Rocas in Pontevedra. My sister Sindy would love these: a crusty meringue with a chewy honey-and-almond-filled center...absolute meringe perfection and so delicious!
We also visited the beautiful fishing village of Combarro, located on the coast and built right on top of the seaside rock. Combarro is most notable for its many ho'rreos lining the shore which provide easy access for fishermen returing to the village with their catch of the day, ready to store in the horreo. We took many beautiful pictures of Combarro but one great memory we will have is the INCREDIBLE arroz con mariscos we had for lunch. I would call it a paella gallega, but nowhere in Galicia will you see it referred to as paella - it is strictly a Galician rice and seafood dish and filled with the most amazing flavors and catch of the day!

PONTEVEDRA: Cari wasn't a fan of the cruceiro (cross) filled medieval town because of the terrible plague of graffiti in the old quarter - ruthless tagging, not even any creativity to speak of - but I really enjoyed the color of the stone and the simple architecture. Plus, we discovered the delicious Rocas here!