Cordoba, Spain

My arrival into Cordoba was in the very early morning hours. I first sat from some time at the bus station, as I had looked ahead of time to plan my day and found that everything in the city would be closed for some time after my arrival. After arranging my baggage, putting it in a locker for the day, and resting on a bench in the station, I set out to explore the city as daylight broke. It was lovely to see the sun coming up while looking across this bridge and seeing the natural light overtake the lights along the river.

When the hour came for the Mesquita to open, I stood in a long line that had formed my the many other people hoping to enter. Because it was the start of the day, a significant portion of the line was allowed inside to the empty building, so although the line was long, the wait was reasonable. I had read that there is always a line to see this remarkable building. 

This is one beautiful portion of the ceiling in the Mezquita mosque cathedral. The interior has a number of different textures, materials, patterns, and overall interesting architecture. However, the mere expansive size of the building is remarkable to view, in addition to the building being the only one in the word that is a mosque and cathedral in a shared space. This occurred when one of the largest mosques in the world was converted into a Christian church, but with the intention to preserve the building that was already there. To me, it felt like such a confused identify and clearly the awkward shift of one culture upon another. 

The city was filled with winding roads, so narrow that most would not even accommodate a car, and certainly not more than a single car for those streets that were slightly wider. I was left with the impression that many restaurants and places to board for the night surrounded the attraction brought on by the Mesquita, but that most of the other spaces were homes of locals. As I anticipated little to do in the city, I spent only part of one day there in order to see the Mesquita and then continue on my journey to the next city. 

I did also stop to visit their market, but the one that is promoted on the internet was limited to open air dining options rather than being the food market that I had hoped for. 

One beautiful memory that I have was noticing dates along the side walk that had dropped from trees above. They are one of my favorite fruits and it seemed such a waste to see them trampled on a public sidewalk!

Seville, Spain

Seville was certainly a pleasant place to visit. I recall alleys festooned with large sheets in order to provide shaded relief from the intense sun during the day. Then, at night, the same streets transformed into alleys filled with glowing lights and meandering couples admiring them. I discovered several little gems along my wanderings through the city. 

Contender was a fantastic restaurant that sources local and organic vegetables on the menu with an owner who patiently and enthusiastically answered my many questions. Not only was the menu enticing, they boasted an extensive list of quality vermouths and sherrys. I had so many questions about the differences between them and she explained the unique characteristics of each, displaying easy knowledge of these Andalusian fortified wines.

I ordered their most notable plate, crispy mushroom and duck confit. The complex flavors of the sauce are impossible to explain. There was depth and warmth to the seasoning and it was endlessly enjoyable.

The Plaza de Espania was as mesmerizing as it is said to be with beautiful views in every direction.

The detailed tile and stone work was fascinating to view while slowly traversing the grounds. 

La Oleoteca was an outstanding shop with unusual and highly rated olive oils. They even boasted olive oil with plankton. After many little tastes of the oils, I selected an award winning supremo organic oil. This was the description: Fruity intense green olive oil, with great complexity and clean green leaf tones highlighting first of all green apple, green banana, artichoke and almond essences. As second aromas, citric tones remember the lemon tree leaf. It has a very elegant and complex taste with a pleasant and clean first contact in the mouth, remembering us the same olfactory perceptions but emphasizing the astringency of Cornezuelo Artichoke. With a light bitter and spicy chilly taste typical of Hojiblanca variety that you can taste later at the palate. Complex, attractive and surprising olive oil.

It sounded so enticing? I could not resist! 

I also walked around the largest wooden structure, Metropol Parasol!

As in so many cities in Spain, every direction I looked contained a picturesque vantage point, making the time in the city easily enjoyable and welcoming. 

 

Valencia, Spain

 

Valenica was really a much smaller city than what I had seen before. Lovely for a quiet day of wandering without terribly much to do, but quaint! I managed to keep myself busy just enjoying the beautiful buildings and then I spend an HOURS, basically an entire day...

In the most wonderful food market I have experienced! The Central Market of Valencia is one of the largest in Europe at over 8600 square feet! This picture does not nearly capture the size of the market. It was isle upon isle of specialty stalls to look through! It was like the superstore for markets. 

Spices, olives, wine, cheese, meat, fish, and some prepared foods as well. It was a day of exploring the world of food housed in one building! I first walked through to see what was there, imagining that I would return to the vendors that seemed most interesting. I did do this, but it was very time consuming since it was so large that I lost track of how to return to the vendors that I wanted to revisit! It was a wonderful experience and worth the trip! 

Salt Cured tuna

Saffron

And I even found iberico BEEF. 

True to form for me, although I had wandered around looking at food all day, I had not eaten. I was hungry when I left and found a hole in the wall cafe, Casa Belviz, selling Paella. I was happy to see that it was cooked without some of the meats that I am allergic to. Although it may not have been the most authentic, I did get to taste some without fear of having by body not tolerate. 

The other exciting find for me was a hipster coffee shop. BEAT brew bar.

I felt as though I had stumbled into a coffee shop anywhere in the world with the barista sporting a man bun and modern light fixtures dangling from the ceiling. Also, like most coffee bars, the baristas were eager to share their passion for their trade. I couldn't resist purchasing a coffee from the unusual location of East Timor. At least it was not as heavy as buying another bottle of wine! I would return to Valencia if only to wander through the market once more. 

Barcelona, Spain

I arrived to Barcelona Sants terminal very early in the morning. No businesses were open for the day yet. I decided to slowly make my way in the direction of my AirBNB, hoping to find a few stores on my To-Do list as I walked. It was drizzly and then raining after I wandered through a closed market. I watched vendors setting out their wares for the day, mostly food stalls cleaning and setting up. I also found a bathroom, always a relief when traveling. When I had decided it was time to move on, I found the rain had increased...so I pulled my poncho out of my suitcase and also stepped inside of a plastic bag, covering my foot on which I was wearing a walking boot. I hoped that it might keep it from getting wet...how would I dry it? I hoped for the best. I trudged on and felt cold, wet, and generally somewhat miserable and then I did spot one of the places that I hoped to shop. The shop boasted specialty foods and was quite small and very organized and clean, intended for an upscale clientele, of which I was acutely aware as I opened the door in my bedraggled appearance AND pulling a rolling suitcase along beside me. I hoped that I looked more like a hopeless tourist than a vagrant. I was asked to leave my belongings at the door, but otherwise the employees did not disturb me, although I did feel eyes on me and imagined their relief when I left and they undoubtedly mopped the floor behind me. 

Above I have pictured Percebes (barnacles) a seasonal crustacean considered a delicacy. I had tried to find it on restaurant menus, as it was in season during my visit, but without luck. Then, while wandering through a market, I spotted them for sale. I was so determined to try them, that  I was undeterred by the thought that I would need to learn how to cook them. I took them home and boiled them briefly (60 seconds) in a pot of salted water, careful to no overcook them. They turned out beautifully and I was rewarded with delicate flesh that tasted of the sea, somehow a mix of lobster and clam. I had read that they are the most expensive seafood in the world, due to the demanding and risky task of harvesting them from boulders in the ocean while being slapped with large waves. I won't be retrieving my own, but I would definitely eat them again if given the opportunity! 

Wandering through Barcelona is like being in an architectural museum. I viewed the impressive building by Gaudy and was surprised how impressive the Sagrada Familia is in person.

The Sagrada Familia takes up an entire city block and is surrounded by tourists and vendors selling tchotchkes, but the size of the building is so impressive and so detailed that I didn't find myself distracted by the commotion of the people on the streets. 

As massive and impressive as the architecture was, I also was on my unrelenting mission to continue to gather cheese that would be difficult to purchase outside of the country. I already had a nice stash from Portugal, but wanted to experience the famous cheeses from Spain as well. I found a tiny cheese store and peppered the staff with my questions, pacing back and forth for an embarrassingly long time before deciding. The challenge of gather food while traveling is being able to carry it, so I make my purchases very deliberately. This shop boasted several cheeses with the demarkation of "world cheese award", so I felt confident that they would not disappoint. 

Another day, I was wandering through another market filled with stalls of genre specific food and found some other cheese gems. So much of the fun of searching out my cheese is interacting with the cheese mongers. They are passionate and willing to share their knowledge, with the exception of some of the very tourist heavy markets in which they look unimpressed by the English speaking customers. It goes a long way to at least attempt to speak in the local language. I was told several times that I have very good Spanish and that is simply not true, but demonstrates my belief that the effort to try to communicate does not go unappreciated.

In a large city such as this, it can be difficult to select only a few places to dine when only staying for brief period. I selected Petit Comite. It is fine dining and I stopped for lunch. I selected the gorgeous plate pictured below. The black rice provided a beautiful style of plating for the seafood. I was assured by the waitress that it was a typical type of food for the region. Although it was tasty, I did not find it as exciting as I had hoped. The rice had a crunchy texture, but the flavors were quite mild when I had anticipated stronger seafood or herbal flavors from the dish. The service was impeccable, albeit distant and did not afford the intimate and excited conversations about food that I so enjoy. 

Many of the streets o the city were packed with people as I traipsed around, especially because there was a festival the weekend that I visited, but I also found little quiet corridors that were so serene that I wanted them to be set in my memory, so I snapped pictures of a few, such as the one below.

The city was beautiful to see, but somehow did not charm me, as it does so many.

 

San Sebastian, Spain

Upon arriving to the airport in Madrid, I immediately caught a bus to San Sebastian. This had been a destination I had dreamed about for ages. The famed "foodie" coastal city where no morsel has subpar flavor. Although it was a long bus ride that immediately followed my plane trip overseas, I was undeterred  by the less the optimal schedule because I was so exited about the destination.

Late in the evening, I arrived in San Sebastian and walked from the bus station to the Pension where I was to stay during my time in the city. It was situated towards the end of a narrow street on which there were many little tapas bars. They were full of people spilling into the street since I arrived during a prime time for people to be enjoying drinks. 

The owner of the Pension was friendly and showed me to the simple room that contained two beds with scratchy blankets and flat pillows. Two shared bathrooms were in the hallway and appeared to be kept spotless. This is my travel style. Safe, clean, with a WiFi connection and as close to public transit as possible. Those are my standards. After all, I spend no time at the accommodations that I book aside from sleeping. 

I was exhausted. More tired than I remember being on other trips. I wondered, was the fatigue from the long travel by plane, bus, and then on foot? My energy was undoubtedly somewhat impacted by the fact that I was wearing an immobilizing walking boot on one foot due to a foot injury prior to the trip. Regardless of my exhaustion, I slept only briefly, waking much too early probably due to the time change. I ventured out along the streets that had transformed from the liveliness of the night before to a quiet calm. I began to get my bearings. I love how a place becomes familiar after only a day traversing it and walking is my preferred mode because I get to notice and experience so many more things when I am moving slowly. Here is a local outdoor farmer's market that I meandered by as they set up for the day. 

In general, the city was clean and quaint for wandering, although I found it to feel too much like a tourist city for my taste. Shops were pricey and highly manicured without feeling as though locals use the same businesses that I was walking past. I did find a nice cheese store, Elkano 1  (pictured below). My eyes are always fixed with a lense filtering for cheese stores! I returned later to purchase some of the cheeses that I found, but did to want to care for in the heat of my walk. 

I was somewhat daunted by the multiple places to try tapas and I had carefully pre-selected places that I thought would be of most interest due to reviews that I had read. I primarily wanted unique tastes or authentic combinations. In retrospect, with all of the research I had done, only two places gave me the "unique" experiences, but otherwise I wish that I would have just wandered aimlessly and eaten whatever looked good! Instead, I was intensely reading menus and, more than once, disappointed that what I wanted was not available because they were sold out or the food I wanted was not currently in season. 

Txakoli is an effervescent wine unique to the Basque region of Spain. It was the first wine that I tasted in San Sebastian at a fabulous (and tiny) tapas bar, La Cuchara San Telmo. Pictured below are my Txakoli and veal cheeks. I also tried the cod jowl from their menu. 

One listing factor of the tapas experience is that I do not eat gluten, so I missed out on a number of dishes that boasted tantalizing presentations. For some, when I could not resist, I just ate the topping without the bread, which I saw other people do as well. Obviously, not traditional, but also a method to avoid getting overly filled too quickly with so many tempting options. 

I did not skimp on tasting regional wines! Red, White, Rose. Anything that I had not heard of or tried before! It made me grateful that my Pension was right in the tapas bar area, so walking home afterward was no challenge at all. 

This is the view that I recall when I think of the look and feel of the bars in San Sebastian. Crowded with people and bars bursting with plates of identical bite sized snacks.

There were also hot tapas to be ordered, lest you be lead to believe that every food item on offer is out on the bar! 

Martin Berasategui. 

This was my splurge dinner in the city of food. How beautiful it was to experience. Outside of the downtown area, I took a bus to reach this location, as well as then walking several blocks from the bus stop to the restaurant's front entrance.

The view while dining provided floor to ceiling windows looking out on a calming green garden. I would be remiss if I omitted photos in this post depicting the gorgeous plating!

                 

Dare I admit that the flavored butters were one of my favorite "plates"? They were rich and sublime and unexpected.

San Sebastian is a lovely place to meander while taking in the beautiful coastline and enjoying endless bite sized plates. 

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon with your steep and cobbled streets, bright blue tiles, and graffitied buildings, how fun you were to explore. Fairly quiet streets steeply advancing up from the waterfront were joined by streets running into them with even more cobbled roads and lined with buildings often with a few people sitting outside and chatting, but otherwise deserted. On these streets I trudged along with a walking boot that ran from my toes nearly to my knee after having fractured a bone in my foot shortly before embarking on this adventure, but long enough that I most initial pain and swelling was minimizing, although exacerbated by the miles that I walked around this city. 

On my longest day, I walked ten miles. Little cars that were clown like shot past me, as did other traffic on the streets wide enough to accommodate them. 

I spent a cursory visit to the popular Time Out Market that was bursting with tourists. I looked at all the menus and cornered an employee at a stall selling liquors and wines. He answered my every question and then continued to share his knowledge about port, Madeira, and Colares, the wine that I am still regretting not adding to my suitcase. It is rare and special, a full bodied white wine. 

After breezing through the rest of the market, I headed up a steep street, as they are were, and happened by a wine bar. The bar was not open yet, but the manager was inside with a bartender, preparing for the day. They talked with me about regional wine and insisted that I taste two and invited me to return later when they were open. Again, they had so much information to share! I began to be educated about the salinity of the wines in Portugal due to the coastal location, as well as learning that most of the wine the country produces is not exported since the Portuguese drink most of it themselves. 

I was off again. My mission was findings regional cheeses. I had a list of them that I desperately wanted to try and I stopped into numerous shops, but they all seemed to have the same few choices. The cheese shop I had been headed to was either closed or relocated. Oh, dismay! But I continued, asking in the local shops where i can find "strong" tasting cheese. They all tried to help me, but it felt like a wild goose chase, not finding what I had hoped for. Nonetheless, I did find a chocolate shop, which I found underwhelming. A friend in Los Angeles had highly recommended it as her favorite chocolate of all time. Upon looking at the ingredients, there were more than three listed, so I was not interested. For me, quality chocolate is simple to allow the taste of the cacao to shine through, similar to wine or coffee. I trudged on and ended up stumbling on a sign indicating a cheese store, Queijaria, so I entered the shop and joy of joys, this was the type of place I had been longing for!!! I real dedicated cheese store with only Portuguese sourced cheese and it smelled funky like any cheese shop aught to! 

One customer was finishing his visit as I arrived. While he was still in the shop, I took time to walk around and marvel at the choices. Then, I peppered the cheese monger with questions, he gave me lots of tastes, and I made my choices. I was thrilled. Definitely a highlight of my trip!!! 

I do not remember how many cheeses I purchased, but it was quite a few because I did not know if I would find another shop like this one after my long search all day had otherwise come up empty. 

As I made my way home, I happened upon a restaurant, Mercearia do Seculo, that I had on my to-do list. They were not open yet and I had read that you must have a reservation. Again, I popped my head in to ask if dinner for one would be possible tonight. They said that I would have about an hour to wait, but that they could seat me immediately when they opened. I agreed! 

I sat on their tiny patio and took in the beautiful scenery. I wandered across the street and looked in a tiny shop and found my "souvenir". I try to collect a Christmas tree magnet from each trip that I take, so when I put up the tree annually I can recall the places that I have been, but I do not have tchotchke eyesores out in my home all year. 

The inside of the restaurant is pictured to the right.

When I was seated in the tiny restaurant, it felt like home. I asked the owner her story and she explained that she used to just have a storefront with homemade goods, such as jams, but she gradually became more popular and ultimately opened a restaurant. She grew up in another part of the country and specialized in serving the style food from the region that she grew up in. I told her that I would order whatever she recommended as most typical and authentic to her. 

She explained that it was not the most flavorful or astounding item on the menu, but her favorite reminded her of home and, with pride, she said that I would not see a dish like it served anywhere else in the city. Shark in tomato sauce with poached egg and herbs, pictured below with the triangles of bread. 

She also brought me an appetizer that was not on the menu with Lupini beans, beets, and carrots. I loved that she was excited to share her food history with me. 

Another favorite stop was a most beautiful and quaint olive oil shop, OliStori. It was brimming with oils from Portugal, each with a story to tell. The owner takes the time to do a curated tasting unlike I have had before...and I have done many olive oil tastings. She had me taste the oil in different sequences and with special technique, all while sharing the story of the producers, whom she knew personally. This was a clear indication of the level of curation of the establishment. Selecting an oil to take with me was one of the hardest decisions that I made because the bottles were large, weighing as much as a bottle of wine. I was very mindful of luggage weight limits, but moreover my own limits due to having a fractured foot with a walking boot. I recommend this as a stop if you are in the city! 

Lisbon was a lovely visit not to be missed if you are anywhere nearby! 

Lost Explorer...

After all of the months that COVID-19 has kept me very close to my home, many weeks not venturing outside of a one mile radius that I would walk to get some exercise, I knew that I was mourning the loss of travel. I recently began to identify more specifically what aspects of travel I enjoyed that are not possible right now. I miss exploring. I miss the adventure of the unknown. I miss the challenge of successfully navigating a new place and the impromptu conversations I would have along the way. I miss trying new things. I miss the myriad of information I learn about the place I am traveling, ranging from history to climate and transit. I miss the feeling of anticipation of an adventure and the energy that bursts forth as I embark on a trip. 

I have enjoyed using my time to set a routine around my home and neighborhood, but I cannot deny that nothing has replaced the excitement that I experience when on a trip! 

Earlier this year, I dedicated umpteen hours to planning a trip to Peru. In my usual style, I researched where I wanted to eat, forever worried that I will miss out on an opportunity to discover what "authentic" and unusual foods I can try while outside of the country. Then, I looked into how to travel most efficiently and cost effectively from city to city, decided how many days to stay and which part of the city I wanted to find a place to rent, using access to public transit as a primary motivator for that decision. Then, just like that, I began to hear rumblings that there was a big virus causing reduced traveling as people were being discouraged from running around the world. Remembering back to those days, I was optimistic that it was something that would clear up before my trip, but little did I know that a worldwide pandemic was beginning. Of course, the trip was canceled as travel was not allowed at that time. I remained optimistic and assumed that I would be able to take my next trip in the fall, as certainly life would return to normal after several months. The trip that I had planned to France was for September. The world was in no better shape in September than it had been in March. Therefore, again I had no choice but to stay home. 

So here I sit in my living room on election night 2020, a room I have spent more days occupying than any other place this year. When trying to see the silver lining in being at home this year, I do see the beauty in having found more gratitude for my home and enjoying the moments of stillness and. Standing in my kitchen and sipping a cup of coffee or sprawled out on the living room floor with a book without urgency to be anywhere else has afforded lovely moments of peace. Nevertheless, I eagerly await resuming my roaming around the globe, or at least around the city.