Spain 2011

 Los Angeles,  Charlotte, Madrid, Toledo, Tortosa, Costa Brava, Aiguablava, Barcelona, Cardona, Siguenza, Chinchon

Thu 19 May - Sun 29 May

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Day 1 - Day 1/Travel Day

Los Angeles, Charlotte, Madrid

Thursday, May 19, 2011

4 AM, alarm clock goes off but only snoozed it once. Had coffee and smoothies and time to go to the Flyaway.

Arrived at the airport around 6 but there were no skycaps! So we had to wait in a big long line to check our bags, flight was at 7:40. Then we hiked to the end of the security line, there were about 300 people ahead of us, Dina was freaking out, but thankfully it moved pretty quick and we got to the gate with 15 minutes to spare. Whew!

By the time we got to board, though, there was no more overhead space, so Dina had to check her carry-on. Very bumpy flight to charlotte, the whole country except Arizona was covered in clouds. Had Carolina blond beers in the airport, trying to numb ourselves for the 8-hour-plus flight to Madrid.

The first leg of the trip	[Map]		Dina in the "special" section [Map]
	Away we go!! [Map]		7AM, got the car, time to roll!! [Map]

Day 2 - Day 2, Arrival Day

Parador Toledo (Top of hill)

Toledo

Friday, May 20, 2011
Was able to pick up the rental car without too much trouble and got out of Madrid pretty quickly.  Very tired arriving at our hotel, the Parador de Conde de Orgaz of Toledo (a former convent we think), but thankfully able to check in early - found it to be a beautiful, well-run and very comfortable hotel - our room had a nice balcony overlooking the charming historic city of Toledo.  We then spent a bit of time exploring the maze of narrow cobblestone streets. Already starving for lunch by noon but had a tough time finding a place that was open until 1pm - Los Cuatro Tiempos.  Enjoyed our first meal in Spain of copas de vino a la casa (house wine), and plates of jamon de serrano and queso de manchego (ham and cheese, yes, but soooo much yummier.).

Afterward found a market to pick up some supplies for the duration of the trip and they had some GOOD LOOKIN food in there!  Wanted to buy it all.

Dined late in the Parador restaurant, shared a botttle of 2008 Crianza. Dina had gazpacho (a cool refreshing tomato soup) and stuffed guinea fowl, Mitch had artichokes sauteed in extra virgin olive oil (the most amazing olive oils here!) and bisteca (steak).  Great service in the restaurant here, with a very gracious server, who delivered our desserts and remaining wine on a tray to our room so we could finish them at our leisure.

	Beautiful Old Toledo [Map]		View from our hotel, the parador Conde de Orgaz with the city of Toledo in the background [Map]
	Mmmmmmmmmmmmm [Map]
	Lookie the hams in the market!!!! [Map]		10 PM, still light out, no wonder Spaniards party late [Map]
	Aperitivo [Map]		Entrada [Map]
	Guinea Fowl with Potato Gallette & Padrone Peppers [Map]

Day 3 - Anniversario de Diez y Siete! (and End Of The World Day?)

Parador Tortosa

Toledo, Tortosa



Random Castle

 Saturday, May 21, 2011
Checked out of the Parador de Toledo and explored a bit more of Toledo's beautiful old castles, cathedrals and city walls before hitting the road for the Mediterranean coast. Following the gps, we somehow kept getting detoured into all these tiny countryside villages - quaint, sometimes like straight out of a movie - or another century - but losing precious time on a long day of driving. After twice being misguidedly directed to turn left, first into a vineyard, then a cemetary (!) we finally decided to turn the darn thing off and found our own way back to the highway.

It was a longer drive even than we expected, had hoped to stop for a break in Valencia, but found it not worthy - a disappointingly plain industrial area. Road-weary and irritable, we finally made it to Tortosa's Parador, Castell de la Zuda (Castle of the Well), about 6:30 (after passing many ladies of the evening waiting on the side of the highway) then frustratedly attempting to navigate the tangled mess of unplanned, narrow, one-way city streets that is the town of Tortosa. We were very tired so we downed a few cervezas from the bar while exploring the grounds and watching the sunset over the city and the Rio Ebro, a spectacle that did not conclude until 9 pm. Though our room was a bit disappointing in terms of luxury for the price we paid for a Saturday night stay, and in comparison to the fabulous Parador at Toledo, the castle and fortress and its views were spectacular nonetheless.

While rushing to get ready for dinner (only served until 10:30 gasp!) Mitch managed to blow out the power to the ENTIRE parador using our power coverter - whoops! Think we saw that in a movie once... Made it to dinner at the parador restaurant about 9:45. Though the service was a bit lacking, the food was fantastic. We savored another terrific bottle of Crianza, a plate of decadent iberico and chorizo with bread rubbed with tomatoes, and the most amazing Arroz Negra (black rice) paella with salty but succulent shrimps and squids, though the portion was so huge we could barely eat any if it - felt so guilty as they cleared it from our table. Ordered dessert anyway, a sinful concoction of pastry, cream and chocolate sauce - couldnt finish that either of course. Tried to watch a movie in our room but pretty much passed out immediately! Looks like the End-Of-The-World prophecies did not come true, but still we slept like Los Muertos...

	Puente de Alcantara, Toledo, Castilla La Mancha [Map]		Parador Castell De La Zuda (Castle of the Well), Tortosa [Map]

Day 4 - Bound For The Costa Brava



Parador Aiguablava



Tortosa, Aiguablava

Sunday, May 22, 2011


Parador and beach from above

 Woke up to the phone ringing at 12:30, front desk calling to ask if we'd be checking out any time soon - whoops again! Well-rested finally but in a perpetual hurry we made coffee (so glad we bought that mini electric kettle!) and packed up, touring a bit more of the vast castle grounds, then continuing our journey, already 3 pm. Off now to Aiguablava and the Costa Brava.

Arrived at the Aiguablava Parador around 5pm, delighted to find that, though not a historical building, it is a very nice hotel perched atop a hill overlooking a lovely cove, and our room was clean, spacious and comfortable, with its own balcony overlooking the cove.
.
Grateful to relax for a while and enjoy the view from our balcony, we made it to dinner about 9:30 pm, and the dining room was already mostly empty - guess it's not always true that everyone dines so late in Spain - perhaps because many of the Paradors we've been staying in are in remote locations, and many of the guests seem to be older. Had another great meal anyway - a great bottle of tempranillo, salad with artichokes, asparagus & sundried tomatoes, white beans with clams, lambchops with roasted padrone peppers, perfectly pan-seared salmon with sweet onion relish - mmmmmm.

	View From Our Balcony At Parador Aiguablava [Map]		Dressed Up For Dinner [Map]
	Standard Aperitivo Offering Here [Map]

Day 5 - Costa Brava

Aiguablava, Costa Brava

Monday, May 23, 2011

Agonized this morning about whether to spend the day walking the local hillside and lounging on the cove's pretty little beach (alongside a few topless women but thankfully not too many men in bikinis), we finally decided to go exploring in search of a historic old neighborhood in a town called Girona about an hour north, an area well-recommended by our guidebooks. Got somewhat lost trying to find it, finally had to stop for lunch in a no-frills, locals-type cafe, very little English spoken there - ordered ensaladilla (which we thought would be greens and vegetables but turned out to be a type of potato salad), gazpacho served with melon and bits of egg and ham, bacalhao (salted cod), barbecue iberico ribs - along with a couple Estrella cervezas (local beer from Barcelona), all for only about 20 euro, can't complain about that!

Not sure if we ever found the right place (the gothic quarter in Girona) - thought we might have, though it didn't seem all that special to us. Frustrated, we finally gave up. Had hoped to head further north to visit the Dali museums in Figueras and Cadaques (the latter also the town where the famous El Bulli restaurant is located, though from what we've read, it's not possible for mere mortals to dine there), but learned from the guidebooks the museums sadly are closed on Mondays, so we headed back. Enjoyed a really beautiful drive though, through picturesque rolling fields and vineyards dotted with crumbling ruins, and happened upon the beautiful Castell de Gala Dali, which the artist had bought for his wife and is now a museum. Though it too was closed, we were still able to stroll the grounds.

Returned to Aiguablava in time for a little late-afternoon beach visit, and another late-night dinner - forgoing the usual three-course menu, we instead went for a trio of starters, and did not regret it - a dish of migas (stale chunks of bread sauteed with olive oil and chorizo and topped with a fried egg, which sounds strange but is so good), a fantastic plate of local artisanal cheeses, and toasts with ratatouille, anchovies, and the most AMAZING foie gras - YUM!

Returned to our room, hooked up our iPod to the TV, and fell asleep watching movies from home. Technology rules!

	On Aiguablava Beach [Map]		Eating Like The Locals [Map]
	Indescribably Delicious [Map]		What's goin' on here?? [Map]
	Local gentleman enjoying his afternoon wine.... [Map]

Day 6 - Off To Cardona



Parador Cardona



Cardona




Aiguablava Sunrise

  Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Fearing the possibility of another oversleeping incident, we left our curtains and window open as we slept, and Dina was awoken at 6am by the morning light and the sounds of screaming seagulls, though Mitch slept blissfully until 10. Packed and ready, but hard to leave this place, it's so pretty. Hoping we'll love Cardona too, not sure what to expect.

At the cache site

Before hitting the highway though, we decided to go search for a Geocache in the hills above the Aiguablava parador - it was well worth the detour - so pretty and peaceful, with fields of wildflowers, groves of silvery olive trees, and panoramic views of the sparkling Mediterranean. Mitch had to climb some rocks to grab the Geocache, but it was a good chance to work off some of the ubiquitous pork fat!  It was hard to tear ourselves away from this place, but on we went.

The drive today was about 3 hours, but mostly a scenic and peaceful one, through postcard-pretty dairy pastures scattered with ivy-covered stone farmhouses.

There it is!

We arrived at the Duques de Cardona Parador, a 9th century castle, late in the afternoon, in time to explore its maze of internal courtyards and watch the sunset from its bastions. Our room here is somewhat dark and medieval, with no balcony, but the shuttered windows open to reveal views of the old town, ancient salt mine, and surrounding farmland.

Dining hall

Went to the Parador restaurant for a late night dinner (about 9:30 or 10:00) under the medieval dining room's stone arches and tapestries. Though the menu was also in English, we still didn't really understand what was on it, different types of selections than we'd seen before, all so unfamiliar, so dinner was just ok this time - the highlight was a baked avocado and shrimp dish that Mitch ordered - and of course another great bottle of wine. Service, unfortunately, was less than friendly - if not downright surly. But we were glad to be in one place for two nights again.

View from our room

Returned to our room to get some sleep in preparation for a daytrip to Barcelona the next day, but ended up staying late watching another movie, Swimming Pool, sort of fitting, we thought, since it's so very European (though it takes place on the French Riviera rather than Spain's Mediterranean coast).



Part of the castles defense system

 


Entry

 


Courtyard and well

 


Tower

 



Old road up



 

 

 

 

 

Day 7 - Barcelona Day Trip!

Barcelona, Cardona

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Hard time getting up this morning since we stayed up late, but excited to visit Barcelona. Of course the trip there was more than an hour back in the direction we just traveled from, but it was too late to change our hotel without incurring a penalty. Debated whether we should take a train from the nearby town of Manresa, but Mitch ultimately decided to drive - a choice we began to doubt when we arrived in the city - Barcelona es loco! Drove down La Rambla, packed with people of all sorts - parked in the tiniest garage we'd ever seen, in fact scratched a side-view mirror casing on our rental car against the concrete walls of the narrow driveway before remembering the mirrors flip closed for just such a reason. Oh well - it's a rental!

Tapas bar

Hit a tapas place briefly before wandering to the Port, then down La Rambla, admiring all the ornate architecture, including one famous Gaudi structure; past all the political demonstrators at Placa Catalunya (which turned out to be in the process of preparing for a major demonstration a couple days later, Catalans protesting the capitol government in Madrid), and through the Gothic Quarter - designer shops everywhere! Dina was so tempted, but the day was just flying by - she did get a chance to pick up some bangles from one of the many Mango's stores around the city (a very successful global fashion chain originated by Monica and Penelope Cruz). Had lunch at a second-story cafe inside a small, independent modern art museum, though we nearly weren't able to locate the entry door. The food here was also, unfortunately, unremarkable - great people-watching though, and the chance to look at some art.

Finally made it over to La Boqueria, and immediately wished we'd gone straight there. Never seen anything like this marketplace! So many vendors - stalls hung with legs of jamon, ropes of chorizo and other cured meats, great tables of ice blanketed with every type of seafood and butchery, tiny booths brimming with artisanal cheeses, caviars, foie gras, fine wines, olive oils, spices - we wanted to get an apartment in the city and just make a huge feast.  We did buy a few treats to enjoy during our stay, including a slab of the creamiest foie gras for less than 7 euro!  And some treats to bring home - saffronza (saffron), pimenton (paprika), Sal de Ibiza (mediterranean sea salt), wonderful olive oil. 

MEATS!!

Finally, at about 5pm we had to leave, since many vendors were already closing up shop and we knew we faced another major drive back to the Parador in Cardona.  Mitch was able to get us out of the city with his usual expertise, and we were back at the Parador in about an hour, and enjoyed watching the sun setting over the village and farmlands from the castle tower as the swallows swooped and dived around us - and we accidentally witnessed a marriage proposal!  We didn't have time to get out of their way - we thought the guy might lose his nerve if he hadn't just done it right then.  Who could blame him though for choosing to propose on a castle tower at sunset - what a romantic place! 

A bit tired, and not really wanting to return to the Parador restaurant for more unfriendly service, we went back to our room, mixed up a batch of our own sangria, and made a picnic of treats from La Boqueria and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening, fell asleep earlyish.

A day before the protests!

	Lunch [Map]		Museu de Art in Barcelona [Map]
	Naked Statues in Barcelona [Map]

Meats booth

Gaudi Bldg.

 

Day 8 - Cardona to Siguenza

Parador Siguenza

Cardona, Siguenza

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Another long drive today, from Cardona to Siguenza, the first part of it romantic and pretty, through more beautiful farm lands, the second part of it a bit boring, as the terrain changed to barren plains, and the farmhouses to factories.  The landscape once again became more hilly and forested as we approached our destination, the pretty little town of Siguenza, just two hours outside of Madrid.  The Parador here is another castle, the Castillo de Siguenza, and our room, though once again somewhat dark with no balcony, had one window with an idyllic view of the village.  One creepy legend about this place tells of the Queen Blanca de Borbon, who was jailed in a cell within the castle, and later assassinated, all because her husband was unfaithful and wanted to marry his mistress!

This has been our favorite village so far, quiet and charming, like a step back in time, with slightly more navigable streets, and some cute little shops and fantastic restaurants.  We stumbled upon a restaurant that is the type Dina is always in search of, called Calle Mayor (Michelin-guide recommended!) - a small but intimate and atmospheric place, family-owned, providing a luxurious dining experience with five-star service, an excellent wine list, and a menu of unusual and daring choices, of which we tried as many as we could manage:  sesos (lamb brains, breaded and fried, decadently spongy and rich), beef kidneys in red wine sauce, more foie gras, and the crowning glory, crystalllized suckling pig, with skin that crackles as you cut into it, pork fat nirvana!! 

Stayed up late again that night celebrating, glad to know we could have a relaxing time in the little town the next day.

	Breakfast! [Map]		Suckling pig and kidneys on the far plate. [Map]
	At Restaurante Calle Mayor [Map]		Chocolate truffles and tarte tatin (apple pie). [Map]
	La Cuenta [Map]

Day 9 - Relaxation and Indulgence in Siguenza

Siguenza

Friday, May 27, 2011

Really took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in and relax this morning, lounging about in our room, enjoying mimosas made with the fantastic local cava (and the ever-present "orange drink" which seems to be the closest thing you can find to orange juice - don't they grow oranges in Valencia?), self-administered spa treatments - ahhh relaxation!  Finally left the room around 1ish for a lazy stroll around the town, visited the beautiful Catedral - Dina got a chance to do a bit more shopping, finding a little fashion accessories shop called Joya de Blanca (named for the persecuted queen?) where Dina found a couple of pretty little necklaces and some earrings, all for less than 20 euro; then a Artesana Espana shop (traditional Spanish arts and crafts), where we picked up a pair of metal lizards to add to our collection from all our travels, and a beautiful hand-painted bowl which we can't wait to see hanging from the wall of our home.

Though we'd been fortunate to enjoy the most perfect weather each day of our trip so far (80 degrees and sunny for the most part), the weather changed today, becoming cool and rainy, but it was quite enjoyable walking around the town in the cooler weather.  Looking for a hot meal, we found a local hang-out, a hostel and "biker bar", El Motor, with great food - wonderful, rustic, fresh-baked bread, the best blood sausages we've tried, onion soup.  Explored the town a bit more before returning to the Parador to relax a bit more before taking a bit of time to get ready dinner - Dina's been enjoying the European custom of dressing up for dinner each evening!

Could not resist returning to Calle Mayor Restaurant again. Though we've been having great wines with dinner each night for around 20 euro, everywhere we went, this time we splurged on the Remelluri Gran Reserva 1997, about 37 euro - all we can say is WOW - such a bottle in an American restaurant could easily cost $75 or more. Perhaps because the proprietors recognized our profound appreciation of what they do there, they really spoiled us this evening, providing a complimentary aperitivo of carpaccio of smoked tuna loin with a sauce of crushed black olives. Then, there it was on the menu - we just had to try it - Pigs feet! Our server looked doubtful that we ordered it as a starter and we soon understood why - talk about being rich and decadent - so fatty and delicious! Though honestly we couldn't understand how you could even make a main course out of it either, it was that heavy.  Then Mitch tried the baby goat with garlic and Dina just had to go for the suckling pig that Mitch had the night before - never had it like that anywhere else.  Naturally we were much too full for dessert, but the restaurant gave us complimentary liqueurs to conclude our meal.  Needless to say, we fairly stumbled back to the hotel, and immediately collapsed into food comas.

	Pig's feet at Calle Mayor [Map]		[Map]
	La Catedral de Siguenza [Map]		Baby goat with garlic potato chips and suckling pig at - where else? - Calle Mayor [Map]
	Lunch at Boda El Motor [Map]

Day 10 - Our Final Day - Chinchon

Parador Chinchon (Behind Plaza)

Siguenza, Chinchon

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Wierd, bizzare art

Awoke the next morning definitely feeling the effects of the previous day's and evening's excessive over-indulgence.  Dina kept moaning she will never eat pork again!  Had a hard time dragging ourselves from bed and re-packing our suitcases (it seems Dina's belongings were scattered everywhere!), to head to our next destination for our final night's stay, a town called Chinchon, a couple hours drive, just half an hour outside of Madrid.  When we arrived there, we kept driving in circles looking for the Parador only to discover that we went right past it several times. They need better signs!!!!!

Corridor

This Parador was once a monastery, also very pretty, though the town wasn't as nice as Siguenza, a bit more urban.  Since it was a Saturday night stay, the room was also more expensive than all the others, and we had to pay extra for separate parking down the street, the air contitioning in the room didn't work, the pool was not open, and we again had no balcony, only a window that opened to a very noisy courtyard.  Altogether disappointing compared to Siguenza, but we tried to make the most of it.  The town's center was just down the street, called Plaza Mayor - we read that at certain times of year they have bullfights there - glad we missed that at least (though we had watched some on TV out of curiosity but found it to be so brutal).

Donkey rides in the plaza

We had some tapas out on the Plaza, watching all the families and the children getting burro rides - Mitch had artichokes and jamon, Dina some gazpacho, nice and light. We learned the hard way that a bocodillo is basically a sandwich on plain bread with no condiments, and that they make sangria with sugary soft drinks, and then add more sugar to it - far too sweet for us. We wandered about briefly aftward, Dina found a little clothing boutique where she bought a dress and blouse, very inexpensive, but then were just both too worn out for anything more.  Returned to our room to rearrange our suitcases, which had become quite disorganized with all the unpacking and repacking.

The plaza at 10 PM

We went back out to the Plaza for dinner, choosing a balconada restaurant (which turned out to be very cramped seating - the waiter could scarcely get by - Mitch had foie gras (he's now hooked!) and some small lamb chops, Dina ordered gazpacho again, and white beans (should have realized of course they would have big chunks of pork in them!), but could scarcely eat any of it, still recovering from the night before!  The highlight was actually the complimentary patatas bravas, garlicky fried potatoes, a popular favorite (and great hangover food!) - wish we'd tried them sooner!  As we dined, cheers rang out through the Plaza, as we learned later that Barcelona's football (soccer) team squared off against Manchester United, and was apparently victorious 3-1.

Exhausted, we tried to get to bed early, though it was already midnight.  Set our alarms for very early the following morning, must go home now... :-(

	Our room in the monastery at Chinchon [Map]		Tapas in the Plaza Mayor [Map]
	The streets of Chinchon [Map]		Dining a la balconada

Day 11

Chinchon, Madrid, Charlotte, Los Angeles

Sunday, May 29, 2011
Reluctantly awoke at 5am, still dark, very tired; Arrived at the airport by 6am as the sun began to rise. Dumped the rental car (just dropped off the key per their instructions since it was so early in the morning, wondering what will happen with the damage to the rearview mirror, also a big stain on the upholstery courtesy of Dina). Proceeded through a somewhat elaborate security process, where we were questioned multiple times. Our gate was moved three times, our flight delayed more than two hours, but somehow they managed to make up the time on the flight, only 8 hours instead of the 9 1/2 they originally anticipated.  So we had plenty of time for customs in Charlotte - including a fairly intensive baggage search at security.  The next flight was ontime and went fine - just so tired of it by that point.  Luckily caught the Flyaway bus as soon as we emerged from the airport, picked up our car, drove home, and collapsed into bed as soon as we got there, after more than 20 hours of traveling.  All in all, our first trip to Europe was absolutely wonderful and we really fell in love with Spain, but it's so good to be home in our own bed at last!  Already can't wait for our next adventure though!

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