So there's rice.
And then there's meat (a lot of meat). Actually, because it has been over a year since I was in this fair Iberian land, and the last time I was here I was technically a vegetarian (although I was starting to stray a little at that point, I have to admit), I have done my utmost to catch up. This means that I have not only consumed a fair quantity of embutidos, morcilla, jamón y chorizo, but also managed to eat chuletillas de cordero and chuletón (ya era hora).
Fish: ventresca de atún, which was amazingly good, emperador and seafood, not counting the tapas and montaditos whose creators mixed everything and served it in ideal quantities.
Pizza and lentejas de la madre, which are, of course, always the best.
Turrón, horchata con fartones, chocolates...That's the sweet tooth occupied. I can heartily recommend el Daniel for a merienda of Horchata and sweet things.
And then there are the wines, many and variable as the other half has had quite a different wine education to me, so finding something that we both like can sometimes be a struggle. As it turns out, we actually have similar tastes, which was discovered thanks to Ramón, the owner of El Olmo who listened to the "she's more in favour of Riojas, I'm more in favour of Ribera del Duero" and produced a perfect Crianza (Ribera del Duero) called Lambuena, which stands out as the star of the trip.
Entering somebody's life for a week can be challenging (for both), but with the stomach full, the tastebuds occupied and the senses slightly numbed by a caña or a good copa de vino, it is more do-able; combined with the sensation of being back in a land that I called home for six years, it's a pleasure.
I'm stuffed and ready to return home with my mini-paellera, my maxi-cafetera and a bag full of jamón, queso, turrones and a load of other goods bought from the market and good ol' Mercadona.
Oh, and we managed a little homemade Patxarán too, to remember the North.
Hasta la próxima, España.
And then there's meat (a lot of meat). Actually, because it has been over a year since I was in this fair Iberian land, and the last time I was here I was technically a vegetarian (although I was starting to stray a little at that point, I have to admit), I have done my utmost to catch up. This means that I have not only consumed a fair quantity of embutidos, morcilla, jamón y chorizo, but also managed to eat chuletillas de cordero and chuletón (ya era hora).
Fish: ventresca de atún, which was amazingly good, emperador and seafood, not counting the tapas and montaditos whose creators mixed everything and served it in ideal quantities.
Pizza and lentejas de la madre, which are, of course, always the best.
Turrón, horchata con fartones, chocolates...That's the sweet tooth occupied. I can heartily recommend el Daniel for a merienda of Horchata and sweet things.
And then there are the wines, many and variable as the other half has had quite a different wine education to me, so finding something that we both like can sometimes be a struggle. As it turns out, we actually have similar tastes, which was discovered thanks to Ramón, the owner of El Olmo who listened to the "she's more in favour of Riojas, I'm more in favour of Ribera del Duero" and produced a perfect Crianza (Ribera del Duero) called Lambuena, which stands out as the star of the trip.
Entering somebody's life for a week can be challenging (for both), but with the stomach full, the tastebuds occupied and the senses slightly numbed by a caña or a good copa de vino, it is more do-able; combined with the sensation of being back in a land that I called home for six years, it's a pleasure.
I'm stuffed and ready to return home with my mini-paellera, my maxi-cafetera and a bag full of jamón, queso, turrones and a load of other goods bought from the market and good ol' Mercadona.
Oh, and we managed a little homemade Patxarán too, to remember the North.
