Spain

Spain is a place where I have a personal connection. I have 2 adult Spanish nephews who live in El Puerto de Santa Maria in the Southwest corner of Spain. I went to Spain once before, when I was 14 to visit my brother and then sister-in-law. Since then, my brother moved back to the U.S. and communication with my nephews became difficult. They came here a couple of times. However, I always wanted to go back as an adult. There seemed to always be a reason not to go – It’ll cost too much money, or I won’t be able to get by with the minimal Spanish I know. Actually, the language issue turned out not to be a problem. It seemed that each restaurant or hotel either had people who spoke English or had menus, bills, etc… in English. More problematic was the interpersonal communication as Spaniards tend to talk really fast. Once I asked them to speak more slowly (despacio por favor), we could usually comprehend each other fairly well. Google Translate also was incredibly helpful.

Finally, in 2017, I decided it was time no matter the cost. To my surprise, I landed very inexpensive flights on CheapoAir (under $400/pp roundtrip). We used to use CheapoAir a lot, but then either they seemed to go up in price or when we would check the airline directly, the prices weren’t that far off. Now I check on Google Flights or Kayak Explore.

We decided that we would need 2 weeks to explore Madrid and Southern Spain. My nephews were ecstatic. Patrick insisted that he and his girlfriend, Mari, were going to drive to Madrid (7 hours each way) to pick us up and give us a private tour of Spain. We decided not to rent a car for our time without our tour guides as there is a law in Spain that for many roads you must obtain a license first, even for visitors (or at least that was my understanding).

Food and Drinks of Spain

The foods and libations in Spain were amazing. They take as much pride in their food as they do in their country. There were tapas at most places, some were even complementary. We loved Mercado de San Miguel, which was a giant glass enclosed market in Madrid that had side by side stands selling any number of different appetizer type foods. It reminded me of a giant upscale combination of Eataly and Quincy Market in Boston. The beverages of Spain included wine (cava), beer (Cruzcampo), sherry, vermouth and tinto de verano (red wine mixed with fanta) and sometimes fruit. We did not go hungry or thirsty for sure. We noticed that the big differences in Spanish eating are, breakfast is not a big meal, just ham paté or ham and cheese slices on a roll (yuck) with coffee Americano, so I opted for churros and chocolate mostly; lunch is mid-afternoon followed by a siesta; and dinner occurs somewhere around 9pm. We noticed that dinner is often accompanied by jovial moods and people singing in the streets as they walked in groups.

Madrid

We spent three nights in Madrid before Patrick and Mari arrived. We also spent time walking around Madrid, checking out the parks and cafés. We have found that one of the best things to do in a new place is to do a food tour in the beginning of our trip. This gets us familiarized with our surroundings and gives us an understanding of local cultural differences that may be helpful for the rest of the trip. For example, we learned how to appropriately order, pay and tip (or not tip as is the custom in Spain). The Spanish food tour brought us to a district  in Madrid called Cava de San Miguel where small restaurants each have their own specialty foods. We loved Mesón del Champiñón (mushroom). They had mushrooms anyway imaginable. Their stuffed mushrooms were buttery deliciousness. We tried cod croquetas at another establishment, which are just how they sound, fish croquettes (I’m not a fish lover) and another outside of the district that specialized in jamón ibérico (delicious and an art to watch them carve it).

The best stop on the food tour was a quaint restaurant inside an adorable hotel, Posada del Dragón – Viajeros. Part of the floor inside the hotel is glass (plexiglass?) so that you can see the old archaeological dig that was uncovered during the build. This place made such an impression on us that we decided to change our reservation to stay at this hotel for our departing night in 2 weeks.

On the food tour, we were let in on a secret. There is a convent of cloistered nuns in Madrid who sell cookies through a secret window. Because cloistered nuns cannot be seen, this window is actually a lazy Susan built behind a small door. Once we found the window, we knocked and were told to put the money on the lazy Susan and shut the door. They then spun it around, took the money and put the bag of cookies in its place before spinning it back to us. They told us when it was OK to open the door to remove the cookies. It was a hoot. The cookies were pretty good too.

My absolute favorite food from the food tour was the churros and chocolate. The chocolate for dipping the churros came in a cup that you could drink, though it was pretty thick. I still dream about these with their warm soft pastry and the brown deliciousness of the chocolate. I have not found the same consistency and taste of the chocolate in the U.S.

Seville (Sevilla)

Once Patrick and Mari picked us up, we headed toward Seville (Sevilla) for a couple of nights in a hotel that Patrick had booked. We could have used another night in Seville as there was a lot to see and do. We climbed the clock tower (Giralda) of the Seville Cathedral which sounds easy, 35 ramps to the top followed by 17 steps. Well, let me tell you, it is not. The temperature was 105°F during our climb and each ramp is considered a story. I did it, but holy moly, I was feeling it afterwards. However, the view of Seville from here is amazing.

To cool off, we rented row boats in the Plaza de España and rowed around for a bit. We walked around Seville at night and watched the place become livelier as the night went on. It is a nice city, set on a river with lots of open space for people watching.

Granada

We visited Granada with Patrick and Mari, as this was one of their favorite places to get away for tapas and dancing. To me, Granada was much like any other city but nice to walk around in. We went to visit Alhambra, which is an ancient Islamic-style palace in Granada. We visited at night and Alhambra was lit up beautifully. From the fortress, the views were amazing. Be prepared for many stray cats in this area. From here, we walked down through a Moroccan influenced area of hookah bars, restaurants and street vendors. It was nice to see the different neighborhoods throughout Granada.

El Puerto de Santa Maria (“El Puerto”)

This is the town where my nephews live. We opted to stay in a waterfront hotel near the marina, Puerto Sherry, versus with either of them. El Puerto is renowned for its sherry production. We went to a sherry distillery, Osborne’s, for a tasting. We also spent time visiting with our nephews and their mother and her family. On other days we day-tripped to various sites and made time for some Flamenco dancing. Mari even joined in the dancing. After all, what is Spain without Flamenco? We walked around El Puerto and saw the bull ring there.

Day Trip to Cadiz

We took a ferry to Cadiz to have lunch and walk around the various sites there. Cadiz is very historical, an ancient port for the old Spanish Navy. You can see the ruins of old city walls and fortresses all around. There is beach all along the perimeter of Cadiz and wouldn’t you know, a look-a-like to our Zakim Bridge in Boston.

The Pueblos Blancos (Vejer de la Frontera, Ronda and Sentenil de las Bodegas)

There are several picturesque, hilltop White Villages (Pueblos Blancos) across Southern Spain. These communities have roots from the Moors and all have whitewashed homes with red-tiled roof

Vejer de la Frontera

We visited Vejer de la Frontera after our long beach day. This was such a cute, quaint village at the peak of a hill with shops and restaurants. We went to a Moroccan inspired restaurant (El Jardín del Califa) that had delicious steak. Southern Spain has big Moroccan influence due to its proximity.

Ronda

We have agreed that our favorite, most picturesque spot that we saw in Spain was Ronda. Ronda is the setting of the Disney animated film, “Ferdinand”. It sits up on a mountain top and is one of the Pueblos Blancos. The views of the surrounding gorge are incredible. One of Spain’s oldest bull rings (Plaza de Toros) is in Ronda. Ronda’s “New Bridge” (Puente Nuevo) is a 230 year old landmark bridge that is stunning to see in person. In hindsight, we would spend a night here. Our friends, Steve and Deb, visited a year later and did just that and loved it. We had lunch here in a little café. I did notice a lot of bus tours here, so not as quaint as I am sure it once was.

Sentenil de las Bodegas

On our way to Ronda, we stopped for a visit in Sentenil de las Bodegas, another of Pueblos Blancos. This village was unique in that it was built into the rocks. There are stone roofs over-hanging roads, storefronts and homes all along the winding roads through the town. Definitely worth the stop.

Beach Days

We had one beach day at Playa de las Redes en El Puerto. This was a sort of city beach with parking right of the main road with food options, etc… The beach reminded me a bit of home, being the North Atlantic, but was very hot, something we rarely see in New England.

On another day we day-tripped to a beach, Playa de Bolonia near Tarifa, on the Southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, where the North Atlantic Ocean meets the Strait of Gibraltar. We packed sandwiches and drinks as this beach does not have a lot amenities aside from its beauty. From the vast sand we could see a land mass across the water, off to the left (you can see the shadow in the first picture). We were surprised to find out it was the African continent, specifically Morocco. I forgot how close Spain is to Gibraltar and Morocco. We could have done a day trip to either, but we decided to save that for the next visit. On the ride back we stopped at one of the White Villages, Vejer de la Frontera, for a Moroccan dinner.

Cordoba

It was hard for us to leave El Puerto and our nephews, but our visit with them was complete. Jim and I went to Córdoba for a night. This city is steeped in Moorish roots evidenced by one of its main attractions, Le Mezquita, that was originally built in the late 700’s AD as a mosque but then later became a Catholic Church. Now it is a destination worth visiting. The Street of Flowers (Calleja de las Flores) was a nice site to see. We visited in September so many of the flowers were on their way out. In the Spring and early Summer, when these flowers are full bloom, it must be gorgeous. From Cordoba, we took a train to Madrid for our final night before we flew home.

Madrid Again

On our final night in Madrid we stayed at the Posada del Dragón, the hotel mentioned earlier. It did not disappoint. Each room was off a rectangular hallway that looked directly down to the courtyard of the restaurant. The room was very modern with the bathroom was enclosed in glass, which made the shower visible from the bedroom. Very different but kind of cool.

We can’t wait to go back, but as always we will want to explore new areas as well as visit our loved ones. Next up for Spain, maybe Barcelona?

Warmest regards,

Patti and Jim