The last two days have been days to do the laundry and accomplish some basic tasks.

Monday, April 27,2015

Norm and I went to Corte Inglés Department store to find a map of Barcelona and some pens. With that task accomplished on the firat floor, we were curious about what other treasures could be found in this USA style department store… with very few US products. We rode the escalator up to the top floor, #7. Each floor was dedicated to a different product…. Clothing for men, clothing for women, clothing for children, appliances, household furniture, dishes and china, and finally, patio furniture and a cafeteria (remember, the first floor is #0). We ate in the 7th floor cafeteria… cheeseburgers, fries, and coleslaw, our first American-style food since March 16 when we left on our extended trip.

It tasted pretty good, but not as good as a hamburger at Eddy’s Interlachen Inn in Alexandria, MN.  We ate dinner later, with Al and Ingrid, at El Fredo Italian Restaurant near the condo. They treated us to grilled artichokes prior to our 3 course menu de dia: salad, lasagne, crepe with chocolate sauce. All very good.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Norm and I found our way to the Joaquin Sorolla Train Station by bus. We bought round trip tickets for our day trip to Alicante on April 30 and returning on May 1. We also bought our return trip from Barcellona on May 9 as we are staying an extra day longer than the Moldes.

After relaxing in the afternoon, we ate dinner at Kana Makan, a Syrian-Lebanese tapas bar. Every one ordered their own drink, but then all four of us had to choose the same tapa for each round of service. We had 4 rounds of tapas:

Round 1: Chili in a wrap brought because we ordered drinks

Round 2: Pollo- pechuga de pollo especiada y queso manchego / spicey chicken with manchego cheese.

Round 3: SFIHA-carne de ternera, verduras, aceite de oliva y reducción de granada. En masa fina/ beef, vegetables, olive oil and pomegranate reduction. In thin crust.

 Round 4: Kufta- mini kañaburguesa de ternera, perejil, cebolla caramelizada, y queso manchego/ mini beef burgers in a wrap, parsley, caramelized onion, and manchego cheese. (These were delicious and were our favorites.

Round 5:  Baklaua- Baklava for dessert

Here’s the menu front and back from which we made our choices. I’m a word person so I like to study the menus to help learn the language. The first side has Mondaitos (tiny tastes) and Tapitas for €1- 1 EURO; Ensalades (salads) for €3.50.

The back side of the menu has Bocadillos (sandwiches) for €4.00. Bebidas – Drinks (see the bar for prices) or Aromatic Teas and €1.80; Postres (Pastries) €1.00

 

Sunday, April 26, 2015

This was a city bus day for Norm and me. First, we took the bus to the Old Town area hoping to find an advertised craft and flea market. When we checked at the tourist information booth, we were told it had been moved to an area too far for my feet to find. So we picked up a bus route map, and selected the Bus #4 route which would take us toward the port on the Mediterranean, like turtles drawn to water. Here are some photos in the order I took them on the bus ride… Common “everywhere” types of sites.

 

April 10, 2015 Sevilla, España

We are off for a two day trip to Sevilla, staying right in the Old Town with easy walking distance to the historical sites. (Alcantara Hotel). We metroed to Malaga and took the Renfe AVE train to Sevilla. After settling in at the hotel, we walked to the Santa Iglesia Catedral de Sevilla, the largest gothic temple in the world and built over a 9th century Alhadro mosque. We took a basic tour, crossing El Patio de Los Naranjos, a patio of orange trees and an ancient brick patio, crisscrossed with tiny canals for irrigating the trees, also remaining from the ancient mosque.

M

We walked up the 35 ramps to the top of the La Giralda Tower, the only portion that remains of the 9th century mosque. It has ramps rather than steps so that the muezzin could ride his donkey or horse to the top in order to call the moslems to prayer. It was the tallest structure in Europe until  the French built the Eiffel Tower.

An upper structure was added to emphasize the Christian takeover of this mosque, a belfry, with the giradillo, a weathervane type woman.

One of the 25 bells pealed while we were up top; some of the bells date from the 1400s.

Then we had tapas at a place along our walk. I had pork cheeks in gravy… Very good, small portion. Siesta in our room while Ingrid and Al relaxed with wine, explored some more, had tea and coffee. We met up for the excellent Flamenco Show in our hotel, and then went to El 3 (Tres) del Oro for a late dinner at 9:30PM so we could experience the late night life Spain is so well known for.

*11 de avril: (sabado) Torremolinos- Castillo de Santa Clara with overnight trip to Sevilla. Ate our pre-purchased breakfast at the hotel… Usual cold cheese and ham sandwich-dry. Blah. Norm and I walked through some of the old town. Stopped for coffee, tea and a sugared churro. Took a horse carriage ride that covered many of the sites to see… Excellent narration. Walked through more of the old town, stopping at Vinela Tapas y Vinos in Plaza de Elvira for a tapa lunch. We ordered a racion of Iberic Ham, sheep cheese and sausage, blood sausage (marcilla) with bread and a tapa of sheep’s cheese and orange marmelade. Then we returned to Sevillarte-Ceramica Antigua Sevillana (www.sevillartecollection.blogspot.com) to purchase a Sevillian ceramic platter with cobalt/manganese blue trim and a lemon design. Created and painted by ROMA -Ramon and Manuel. After getting lost, we found our way out of the old town. We will soon return by AVE and metro by late evening train from Seville to Torremolinos. The Alcántara has been an excellent, but basic place to stay. It’s location is its best feature, but it is clean and comfortable as well. Just be sure to go out for breakfast!

Thursday, April 23, 2015

After a taxi ride to find a recommended restaurant, we discovered that it was full… No tables available. So we reserved for a future date and found another spot to grab a bite on Reina Plaza downtown. Norm and I found an Irish pub for traditional fare, and Al and Ingrid tried Paella Valencia (rice with chicken and rabbit). We had tried paella with chicken the previous day. Then we walked to Marques de Dos Aguas Palace, a beautiful place to see.

There is a collection of ceramica so prevalent in designs throughout history on the 3rd and 4th floors of this spectacularly refurbished palace, including the charmingly decorated kitchen.

I love all things pottery and ceramic and crystal and china, but I will include just a couple designs that I liked.

We caught a city bus to return to the Rusaffa condo, picking up some snacks at the street cafe or market nearby, and retired to catch up with the rest of our world on our digital devices.

A start of a collection of opportune moments. I hope this blog will have some additions over time.

OK! So we have been here four days and we are beginning to get our “Valencia legs”, and our “feet on the ground”! Al took the helm today, and did a good job of shepherding us around the city. That is not easy, even for a coach, when leading two elementary school teachers and one USAF Lt. Col. We decided to catch one of the city buses that roars down our street, Calle de Cadiz! Every 10 minutes! Speaking of our street… We have made quite a change from our oceanside condo to a busy city street in Spain’s third largest city.

As we sat in a corner cafe eating tapas and drinking cañas (small beers) last night, we noticed the #7 bus roaring past us every 10 minutes. Its lighted placard said it would take us to the central mercado-the large open air market downtown. Since he was up early, Al researched a bicycle rental near the central mercado, and today’s adventure was sealed. He led us from the bus stop through narrow streets between very tall old buildings, and we soon had four bikes rented, two with baskets, of course. Then we headed off, mostly on bike paths that are designated along the narrow streets, but closer to the sidewalks than the streets.

Soon we were on a wide bike path along the Turia dry river bed where all sorts of amenities for the people have been built. We rode the bike path all the way to the Mediterranean coast, (10 miles round trip) to the beautiful beach near the ferris wheel that I wrote about last blog. In a little seaside cafe, we all ate paella, a dish for which Valencia is famous.

We rode near all of the Ciudad Arts and Sciences buildings that we had viewed from the Hop-on/Hop-Off bus tour Norm and I took  a couple of days ago.

I was able to get a snapshot of one of the horticultural buildings from a different perspective. You can see the beautiful cobalt blue and manganese ceramica that frequents Spanish design and architecture over the centuries, except this shows a modern usage.

Here are Al and Ingrid.

They stopped for a quick caña after our bike ride. I snapped a picture of them from our balcony! A pleasing end to another adventure in España!

Valencia – Tuesday-Wednesday, April 21-22, 2015

Our first morning in Valencia, we settled into the condo and met with Gina, our host, to find out where things are and how we could organize our lives. We found a large Mercado – market only a block away and stocked the larder. It felt good to get settled and have a quieter more restful day. We decided to buy salad ingredients and have a salad bar for dinner here in the condo. We repeated that idea the second night also as there were enough salad ingredients for another meal. Norm and I fixed cod with our salad the first night and salmon the second night.

Today, Wednesday, April 22, Norm and I hiked across the old city to the Hop-on, Hop-off bus stop and rode both routes in order to see a bit more of what Valencia is all about and how it is laid out.  As we walked we came upon the Apple Store. I was looking at the super modern building, thinking that looked most like the vision of Steve Jobs. But no, it is the old decorative building where Apple has established itself. Notice the black and white Apple signs on the narrow end of the building. I may need to visit them, as my mini iPod slipped off the bus seat and now has a crack in the screen. Still works, and hardly shows, so … Moving on…

The most interesting to me is the Turia River bed which runs all across the city. It used to be a full-fledged river that frequently flooded. The last time it flooded in 1957, the city fathers re-routed it underground, and following the wishes of the people, used the riverbed for parks and entertainment facilities.

This is a more formal park area on the riverbed.

This areamof the riverbed is allowed to be more natural. Some had sports fields with bleachers etc.

Near the port end by the Mediterranean, they built a complex of arts and sciences facilities. They are beautiful facilities. Here are some photos taken from the top side of the bus… Moving at a pretty good clip with a lot of bounce thrown in for good measure.

 

Before we headed out on the bus for a look at the western end of town, we shared an order of chicken paella. Then climbed aboard to see the residential, business, and collegiate area of Valencia, all very attractive with wide avenues and much floral color, as usual.

Córdova, Spain – Monday, April 20, 2015

After the breakfast buffet in the hotel dining room, we quickly crossed the street to the Mezquita, the Great Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, whose ecclesiastical name is Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. Prior to mass, we could tour it free of charge and the organist was rehearsing. Hear the music and watch a video here:

Here, briefly, is its history.

1. Originally built as a Catholic christian church by the Visigoths.

2. In 711 the Muslims conquered Spain, and the two faiths SHARED (for over 7 centuries!) the building until 784 when the Caliph purchased it, demolished it, and built the grand mosque of Cordoba on its ground.

3. After the Reconquista, a period of about 700 years during which the Muslims ruled and the Catholics fought and finally reconquered Spain, King Ferdinand led Spain to reconquer this area, just prior to the discovery of the new world in 1492. The church was a Muslim Mosque at the time.

4. When King Ferdinand claimed all of Spain as his, it was converted to a Roman Catholic church. Instead of destroying the mosque, he added a Roman Catholic Christian nave, and converted it back to a Christian church.

5. Despite petitions and pleas from the Muslim leadership, they are not allowed to worship in it.

The interior architecture is phenomenal, as you can see in the pictures below.

After some wandering… Back to the sculpture garden and to Calles de Las Flores, we headed off to Aldomodar’s Gate, one of the sections of the wall that once surrounded this city.

We wandered through Aldomodar’s Gate and into the Jewish Barrio for lunch at Restaurante El Choto – Norm had these tapas: potato omelet and creamy gaspacho with a slice of hard boiled egg. Mary’s tapas: brie with honey on toast and croquettes langostino (actually shrimp). Both of us had una copa de tinto (one glass of Rioja red wine).

Norm returned to Calles de Las Flores to get a picture of the geranium-walled street with the Mezquita Bell Tower in the distance. I did the only sensible thing… Bought a coconut and mint-chocolate chip gelato and returned to the hotel lobby until it was time to grab a taxi and board the AVE train to Valencia.

We arrived in Valencia at 10:30PM and were picked up by our host’s son, in two shifts due to all our baggage, and delivered to the Russafa Barrio condo where tomorrow (Tuesday, April 21, 2015) will find us getting settled and acquainted with our new home and neighborhood. Right now, we are all a bit bleary-eyed and ready for rest.

Córdova-Sunday, April 19, 2015

We said a quick and early good-bye to Torremolinos, grabbing a cab for the Malaga Maria Zumbrano Tren Estacion at 7:30AM.

We ate a quick breakfast at our usual spot, the Orient Express Cafe in the station, and then boarded our Renfe Avance train for Cordova, on our way to Valencia which will be our launching site until May 15. The public transportation here in Spain has been clean, prompt and efficient. When we have only ourselves to transport we use the metro or the bus service, but today we were loaded down with all of our luggage and purchases. In order avoid the mule-packing system of our younger years, we enjoy the taxi services, which have also been easy an efficient to use. We arrived in Cordoba for our one night stay at the EXE Conquistador Hotel and were thrilled to find it directly across the street from the Mesquita, the Mosque-cathedral of Córdoba, the focus of our stay here. We will tour it tomorrow as it is open while most other sites will be closed on Monday.

After a quick Spanish pizza for an early lunch, Norm and I grabbed a horse and carriage ride to get an overview of the main attractions. Luckily, the ride ended very near one of the sites we wanted to see up close, the Roman Bridge.

Before we crossed it, we enjoyed the views of the Guadalquivir River which also flows through Sevilla and Granada. An ancient waterwheel and remains of a mill, Aldolafia y Molinos, can be seen from the upper walkway. A nature park and walkway has been developed along the river.

Across from the bridge is the Alcazar and the Triunfo de San Rafael Tower. The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (Spanish for “Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs”), is also known as the Alcázar of Córdoba. It is a medieval palace, a long time residence of Ferdinan and Isabella, supporters of Columbus.

Nearby, is a sculpture garden. “Sanafor de Letras” is a favorite.

While I rested at the hotel, Norm took an extended walk on the edge of the Old Town to view the Roman Temple. We viewed the impressive pillars on our carriage ride, and he wanted to get up close and personal with his camera in hand.

While he was on his walk, I enjoyed a coffee on the beautiful patio in our hotel. Cordova is renown for its patios and has a festival approaching in May which will showcase dozens of them.

As Norm was exploring, he came across a restaurant that we had been looking for, so he made reservations for us. It has a terrace eating area, so at dusk we made our way to the Pairi Daeza, it was a mild evening so we could watch the sunset over the Mezquita. Life is good!

Today and tomorrow are the last two days we will spend in Torremolinos, Andulucia, Spain before moving to Valencia, Spain for a month. After shooting out from here to Malaga (3 day trips), Ronda (1 day trip), Estepona (7 days), Gibralter (1 day trip), Seville (2 day trip), and Granada (3 day trip), we are all finding things we would still like to do, or places we would like to EAT!!! So after doing a bit of laundry and starting a bit of packing in the morning, Norm and I headed out on the Paseo Maritimo (walkway along the beach) to enjoy what has been our neighborhood for almost one month. Where has the time gone? When we are in town, we usually head out onto Carihuela Beach – a pleasant area of tourist shops and restaurants…. the area you see in this picture from our condo.

Today, we are heading in the other direction to walk a bit further than we have in the past.  Today we are going away from this area along the beach to the north. We didn’t get very far before seeing a sign for a tapa and drink for €2.50, so we stopped for lunch… I did say it was lunch time, didn’t I?

We have eaten at El Gato in the evening, so we placed an order, got some rays, and then…

took a selfie.. Of course.

Now our order arrives.. 2 beers and 2 tapas for €5. We will miss these prices, and the food is very tasty.

El Gato (The Cat) has a section of the beach where you  can rent a beach chair and umbrella. We find we get enough sun just walking on the Paseo Maritimo!

Not long before we find some sand carvers… This beast is a popular subject!

This topic is a new one! Clever!

This grill in a boat-shaped carrier is fired up for the mid-day service. From 1PM until around 3PM is the busiest, with some folks eating their mid-day meal at 4 or 5PM. Then businesses and stores will reopen until 8 or 9PM. The restaurants pull down their open-air doors until 7:30-8:00PM when they begin their dinner service which runs late into the night.

More beach umbrellas…

This little beach is called Hawaii Beach, and thev’e done a nice job of creating a Hawaiian welcome.

There is a welcoming park shaded by palm trees… Need to relax here tomorrow.

There is always a tree… Or a plant … That we wonder about. Might as well take a picture to see if we can I.D. it later.

Walking on…

This is what I was hoping to find… Las Casas de Las Navajas! It is a museum and reception hall now, but was built in 1925 by its homeowner who donated it to the city. Unfortunately, it is closed for siesta until 6PM. One of the few frustrations of Spain… hours of business are very irregular. We decide to return at 6PM for a visit, and then go to dinner at El Gato. But first, we stop for gelato on our way back to enjoy siesta

Here is its story translated from Google:  The House of Knives is a property of the municipality of Torremolinos, Málaga, Spain, declared of Historical Interest by the Ministry of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía in 1991. It is a small residential palace, begun in 1925 by Antonio Navajas, entrepreneur from Churriana dedicated to the cultivation of sugar cane in the land today that is occupied by the Málaga Airport. The property is situated on a cliff overlooking the beach of El Bajondillo and has two floors with balconies, with the ground floor for housing the family. His aesthetic corresponds to neomudéjar style that flourished in Spain-and particularly in the province of Malaga-late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, being inspired interior decoration by the Alhambra of Granada.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Immediately following the olive oil tasting, Violetta provided tapas to supplement the wine tasting – mild goat cheese slices, serrano ham thinly sliced, olives, and bread chunks. Ingrid chose to not participate and went out into Niguelas seeking a cup of hot tea. What is wrong with that girl???

Huelva, a region known for its strawberries, is making a comeback, producing lighter table wines (Condado de Huelva Blanco Joven). This a crisp delicious white wine. I don’t often drink white wine, but this one was refreshing.

Rioja, a classic region of northern Spain, produces some of the best wines in the world, some ready to drink young, others spending years in barrel and bottle before hitting the shelves. I have been drinking at least 1 glass of red Rioja every day since we arrived. It is used for the table wines and house wines in the restaurants and can be bought in the grocery stores at more than a reasonable price. Just order “una copa Tinto”, and you will soon have a generous glass of red wine in front of you!

Sherry or jerez is the Spanish wine from the southern region of Cádiz, and is enjoyed all over Andalucia. I was eager to finally sample sherry from Jerez as we didn’t make the trip to Jerez that we had wanted to do. This sherry is so sweet, being made from dried grapes (raisins) that it is frequently served over ice cream. It tasted delicious. Norm and I later ordered it over ice cream and loved it. There is a gelado flavor with raisins called “malaga”. I intend to try it soon, as I think it may derive from the raisin sherry over ice cream idea.

I did not get one single picture! Too busy drinking wine… I wonder? So I’ll just throw in this one from Granada. It shows the grand four enjoying the sunset view of the Alhambra from atop San Nicolas ridge. There’s a glass of wine nearby, I assure you.

April 2, 2015:  Yesterday took us all the way to Gibraltar where the Atlantic forces an entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

This 1400 foot limestone rock has stood its storied ground since the times before the ancient Romans and Greeks considered it one of the “two Pillars of Hercules, which marked the edge of the ancient world”. * The destination proved to offer the spectacular views we were hoping to see, even though the fog only broke briefly to reveal the very top of “the rock”.

We admired the coast of the Iberian peninsula stretching from west to east, and disappearing into the fog. Behind us, the Moroccan Coast of Africa was still enshrouded in fog, to our disappointment.

Our trip found us in a cab from our Costalita Villa to the nearby Estepona Avanza Portilla Bus Station which took us to the town of La Linea and the line demarking the political border between Spain and Great Britain. We then walked (much to my surprise, Gibraltar is a peninsula, not an island.) across the border, showing our passports as needed,

and boarded another bus to the cable car and the short ride up to the top of the rock. (By the way, the Squaw Valley cable car ride is higher, longer, and much scarier.)

We were greeted by a toddler Barbary Ape prior to getting off the cable car,

and then wandered around the top of the rock snapping pictures and watching the sea gulls below us play with and in the strong wind currents.

Following the descent on the cable car, we roamed around central Gibraltar, enjoying the evidence of the British culture.

After the two-hour bus ride back to Estepona, we had a Chinese dinner at the harbor in Estepona and taxied back to Costalita Villa, another tiring but rewarding day spent out and about, mostly on the plain in Spain.

*  Quoted from the online Encyclopedia Brittanica                                                               “Pillars of Heracles, also called Pillars of Hercules, two promontories at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern pillar is the Rock of Gibraltar at Gibraltar, and the southern pillar has been identified as one of two peaks: Jebel Moussa (Musa), in Morocco, or Mount Hacho (held by Spain), near the city of Ceuta (the Spanish exclave on the Moroccan coast). The pillars are fabled to have been set there by Heracles (Hercules) as a memorial to his labour of seizing the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon.”