Barcelona I - Gypsy Pickpocket

We arrived in Barcelona on Sunday night and have been having an incredible time. There are tons of great sights to see and the food is absolutely incredible. On the negative side, I (Jon) was almost pickpocketed today on the subway!

Kristi and I were riding the Metro on the way to La Rambla when a girl (around 18 years old) walked onto the train carrying a jacket on her arm. She then started to push her body against mine and inched closer and closer to me (on a somewhat uncrowded train). I then felt a hand very close to my body and then inside my pocket. Now, while the above chain of events likely would have been a turn-on to a single man and could have resulted in a date (or more), as a happily married man, I was not interetsed in a game of pocket pool and I became quite concerned. I slapped the girl's hand and she quickly exited the train. I then yelled out "pickpocket", but she had already departed the station. While I can only assume that she was a gypsy, this conclusion is a bit stereotypical, so I can only state that she was around 18 years old and not of high moral standards.

I would also like to send a direct message to this would-be pickpocket (I don't believe that she has subscribed to this blog but figure that there is a small chance she reads it).
GYPSY (OR GYPSY-ESQUE GIRL): DO NOT TRY TO PICKPOCKET ME AGAIN. THIS WOULD REALLY PISS ME OFF AND CREATE A LOT OF UNNECESSARY STRESS. IF I SEE YOU AGAIN, I WILL CALL THE TRANSIT POLICE AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ESCAPE. WATCH OUT!!

Otherwise, all is well and we will keep everyone updated on our Barcelona adventures.

Cheers,

Jon

Organic Farming in Spain

After a lot of exciting travel through Portugal and Spain, Kristi and I decided to settle down for a week with some old fashioned manual labour. When we envisioned this trip, we always wanted to include some kind of interesting / different volunteer experience and there are several organizations that help facilitate farmstays, which basically provide free room and board in exchange for 5-7 hours of manual labour (daily). We found this farmstay through Help Exchange.

Our farm was located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, about 10 km from the Mediterranean Sea (approximately 20 minutes from Orgiva, a small town).

We were close to 3,000 feet above sea level, so needless to say, there were incredible views in every direction.

The farm we stayed at was owned by a Brit who had moved to Spain from London about 5 years ago in search of an easier life. His property is over 40 acres and is currently scattered with olive and fig trees, but he is in the process of digging / planting beds to grow vegetables. Since we were basically unskilled labour, our main job was going to be to dig a giant bed. Since the property largely consisted of rocky hillside, we had to sift through significant amounts of weeds and rocks during our digging, so it took us all week to dig a bed that was about 30 x 25 feet. It was actually very refreshing to be outside in the fields all day and while we were both extremely achy each morning (especially Jon), our Tiger Balm (purchased during the honeymoon) came in extremely handy.

Outside from our laboring, we loved hiking in the nearby mountains (although one 5 km hike turned into a 15 km hike after a few wrong turns) and we also loved the food - our host was a great cook and always managed to keep us full.

Outside of all of the activities, Kristi and I definitely loved playing with the 3 dogs on the farm, Patch (pictured above with Kristi), Saff and Rocky. They definitely kept us smiling and entertained the whole week.

Following the farm (additional pictures available here) we traveled to Granada for a long weekend (post to come) and are currently in Barcelona until March 5th.

Seville III - Sports

Thankfully for Kristi and I, Seville is home to several major sports teams including basketball and two football (soccer) teams. Given how much we enjoyed the basketball game in Berlin and football match in Porto, we definitely wanted to see both in Seville.

Seville's basketball team, sponsored by the local bank Cajesol are worse than the Raptors this year, with a record of 4-17 and expected relegation next year to an inferior league. However, when we saw them play Real Madrid, they came out in full force and took the game to double overtime before lowing 95-92. As you can tell from the sepia photo at the top of this post and the scoreboard above, this was a different experience than the NBA or even the O2 Arena in Berlin. Cajesol Sevilla plays in a small, 7,000 seat gym that is part of a large athletic complex about 15 minute from the city centre. While the facility was built in the 1980's, it looks like the basketball arena was built in the 1950's and hasn't been updated since. This is what Kristi and I thought an early NBA game would be like, with no Jumbotron, a very basic scoreboard (above) and concessions sold from folding tables outside the arena. Also, because the team is so bad this year they give away a large number of tickets for free to each game. Thankfully, that led to a jam packed arena and a really loud crowd, an asset to any sporting event. The free tickets also brought out a lot of families and teens, a rarity for basketball/hockey in Toronto when tickets are priced out of the range of most working families.

Also, Seville's team mascot is a bull, consistent with the bullfighting that is common in Spain (there is a 15,000 seat outdoor bull fighting arena right in the middle of downtown). This bull looks quite different than Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull, but still, this seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the success of Michael Jordan and the "real" Bulls in the 1990's.


For those not that familiar with Spanish baksetball, the main league (the ACB) is said to present the highest level of competition outside of the NBA. We thoroughly enjoyed this game, including loving every aspect of the old-school arena, sitting in our free seats, eating sunflower seeds with the rest of the fans and cheering for the local team (and their horrible uniforms). We are definitely going to try to attend more ACB games during the rest of our Spanish adventure. PS: For those of you interested, the best player on the floor was Louis Bullock of Real Madrid.

Following the success of our basketball adventure, Kristi and I definitely wanted to make it to a football match during our Seville sojurn. There was a huge local derby taking place between Sevilla FC and Real Betis during our stay, however, tickets were too pricey and the weather was dodgy that day so we decided to avoid it. Instead, we decided to closely monitor the Spain v England friendly taking place on on February 11th and picked up tickets right when they went on sale for a very affordable 15 Euro apiece. Again, this pricing strategy (tons of tickets available from 10 - 20 Euro) may not have been profit maximizing but brought out a very loud and boistrous crowd filled with students and 20/30somethings. When Kristi and I showed up at the stadium before the match, it looked like we were joining a riot as there were beer bottles and broken glass everywhere, tons of people dressed in red and yellow cheering and a few brass bands wandering around playing some of the Spanish songs (not sure that the equivalent in Canada would be, but I just don't seem to think that "This Land is My Land" or "A Place to Stand a Place to Grow - Ontari-ari-ari-o!" would bring about the same passion.

As for the game itself, with the crowd on their side, Spain managed to outduel England 2-0 with the loudest cheers for Spanish hero David Villa as he scored in his 6th consecutive international match. The loudest boos (whistles in Spain) were saved for David Beckham, especially when he picked up a yellow card for arguing. He then continued to get jeered afterward everytime he touched the ball. The post-game celebration was a little bit tamer than the pre-game but definitely a great time.

Cordoba

A few days ago, Kristi and I decided to take a day trip to Cordoba, which is about 1.5h by train from Seville (under 1h if you take the high speed train). Between 750 and 1200 A.D., Cordoba was the capital of Moorish Spain and one of the leading centres of Muslim art and learning. Cordoba's history also includes a very large Jewish population, which was decimated during the Spanish Inquisition.

Cordoba is best known for La Mezquita, the astonishingly large cathedral/mosque that stands at the heart of La Juderia, the old Jewish quarter of the city. The first iteration of La Mezquita was built by Abd ar-Rahman I, beginning in 786, on the remains of an old church. Subsequent rulers of the Spanish Moor empire added on to the building until it reached a capacity of 15,000 parishoners. La Mezquita is an architectural wonder as the interior consists of row upon row of marble columns, supporting perfectly constructed arches (seen in the photo above). When the Christians recaptured the city in the 13th century, they transformed La Mezquita into a cathedral, but thankfully did not destroy the original mosque. We were both mesmerized by the building.

Nearby La Mezquita, is the old Cordoba synagogue (above), one of only three that survived the Spanish Inquisition. The synagogue was built in 1315 and is extremely small (I would bet that it could hold a maximum of 50 people for prayers). A lot of the building was destroyed over the years; however, some of the original stucco and stonework remains, including some of the Hebrew text that surrounded the interior (as seen in the photo below).

We also toured a small museum nearby the Synagogue dedicated to the history and customs of Jews in Spain. It was interesting to compare some of the local customs to those practiced at family gatherings and on Jewish holidays in Toronto.

We also really just enjoyed wandering around Cordoba and seeing the city (additional photos posted here). It was perfect for a day trip and similar to some of the other smaller cities that we visited in Portugal. We had some great coffee and pastries, a light lunch and then headed back to Seville by train.

Seville II - Convento Dulces (Convent Sweets)

Due to the strength of the Catholic faith in Spain, there remain many convents in the country and many nuns within these convents. In order to support themselves (beyond whatever stipend is given from the church and the local parish), many of these convents have branched out into other businesses, the most popular of which is baking and other sweets.


We are located near several convents and went out the other morning to sample these convent dulces and see how well these nuns could cook. Our first stop was Santa Paula, which is famous for its nineteen varieties of jam and marmalade. We were greeted by what may be the world's oldest nun, who would not allow me to take her photo in fear that the camera would steal a part of her soul (at least that is my translation, although I do not speak Spanish very well). At any rate, she led us into a very small room with a glass showcase full of jam. After a lot of deliberation, we decided to go with raspberry and lemon (pictuerd above).

Our second stop was much more interesting. we visited Santa Ines, which is located nearby our apartment but is more of an enclosed order where the nuns are not allowed to see the general public. Nonetheless, these enterprising nuns still run a busy baking business and have adapted the lazy susan (pictured above) to meet their needs. Upon entering the convent, there is a wall with the lazy susan, a price list and a buzzer. Instead of having to interact with the world's oldest nun (as at Santa Paula), you instead ring a bell which alerts the world's second oldest nun, and apparently despite not being allowed to see the public, she is allowed to speak with them. You let her know your order and within minutes, the lazy susan spins around and a new section contains your baked goods. You then place your money back on the lazy susan, it spins around once again and you are given your change. Obviously this hinges partially on the honor system, however, I'm pretty sure that these nuns do not get ripped off very often.

Thankfully, the nuns of Santa Paula and Santa Ines are great cooks and we have been enjoying our jams and cookies all week. We may pop into a couple of more convents to see what their specialties are and also to see if we can finally get one of these sisters to pose for a snapshot.

Seville I - Churros con Chocolate

We have arrived in Seville and are staying in a great little apartment in the Macarena district (unrelated to the 1990's dance craze of the same name). We have really enjoyed having a place of our own where we can spread out a bit more and cook, as opposed to being in a hotel room and having to search out 3 meals per day. We have especially enjoyed being able to have breakfast at home before getting ready for the day, although a couple of days ago we ventured out to enjoy one of the favorite breakfasts of the locals - Churros con Chocolate.


A churro is basically a fried piece of dough. Here in Seville, they come in straight stick-like pieces or spiral-shaped as demonstrated in the above photo from our local churreria (a place that specializes in making churros). They are generally served with drinking chocolate, which is a thicker version of hot chocolate and is the perfect place to dip your hot churro.


What is unclear to Kristi and I is how these churreria's stay in business. It seems like from a North American health perspective, churros con chocolate should be consumed at most once per month, but these places are always packed in the morning and often in the afternoon with relatively skinny Europeans enjoying these delicacies and staying thin. At any rate, we definitely will be over our self-assessed once per month allotment by the time we leave Seville as they are pretty addictive.

Southern Portugal

On our way to Spain, we thought it would be fun to rent a car and drive through some of Southern Portugal, including the Alentejo wine region and the Algarve (although it wouldn’t be beach weather).

We began in Evora, a 1,000 year-old walled city a couple of hundred kilometres east of Lisbon. We had heard great things about Evora and the Alentejo region, specifically that it had the best food in Portugal and that the people were extremely friendly. Both of these were true. We stayed in an incredible hotel (above) that was situated in an old convent that had only recently been converted, and still housed an incredible 500 year-old chapel (that hosted Sunday mass every month). All of the food that we ate in the area was also incredible. The area is known for their meat and we enjoyed some delicious lamb, wild boar and beef (among other things) as we explored the region.


Being the food capital of Portugal, Evora is also known for their desserts. Pictured above is the regional specialty, egg yolk and sugar tart. We learned that this dessert, prepared by the nuns (to earn a few Euro), came about when the nuns found themselves with extra egg yolks after using the whites to starch their wimples. The nuns cleverly mixed the yolks with sugar, thus creating the egg yolk and sugar tart! The tart was simple and delicious - a perfect ending to a great dinner.


On our second day in Evora, we took a trip to the nearby town of Estramoz for their weekly farmers market. The market has a mix of vendors, including old antiques, produce, dairy (cheese vendor above) and live chickens (not on our shopping list).


We were specifically looking for some local cheeses to try and ended up finding a bounty. The cheese in Portugal is very inexpensive given the quality and artisinal cheese tended to cost 1-3 Euro for a small round of great local cheese. We went a bit overboard on cheese, olives and honey, which resulted in a great lunch the following day (pictured above).




After two days, we departed Evora for the southern coast of Portugal, the Algarve. Since this was offseason, we only planned a short stay in the Algarve, but if it had been May or later, we definitely would have stayed for longer. In our case, we had a great couple of days and really just relaxed and didn’t venture out too much. It was relatively sleepy in our area given the season, which was fine with us.

We didn’t know very much about Portugal and its various regions, prior to our trip mainly because we expected to be spending time in Israel (as opposed to Portugal) before the violence flared up. However, after three weeks, we have built up a bit of a knowledge base on the country and have put together a list of facts / idiosyncrasies about Portugal and the Portuguese.

1. While they are experts at preparing meat and fish, the Portuguese have no idea how to prepare vegetables nor do they eat enough of them (other than the ubiquitous french fry). Other than fries, the average Portuguese meal MAY contain a few leaves of sad-looking lettuce (undressed) and perhaps (if you are lucky) some broccoli that has been steamed to death. Gordon Ramsey would not be happy.

2. The Portuguese language is pretty interesting. If you try reading it, it looks somewhat like Spanish, which has many words that the English/French speaker can pick out. However, when hearing the spoken language, it sounds more like Russian than Spanish. Note that this applies only to the dialect spoken in Portugal. We met some Brazilians on our trip who also explained that the Brazilian Portuguese sounds more like Spanish and that they even had some trouble communicating with the locals.

3. Eggs and dairy in Portugal (and much of Europe) taste about 10x better than in North America. For those who have never visited a European supermarket, the eggs and milk are not refrigerated and milk only needs to be refrigerated after opening. The eggs yolks are more orange than yellow. Kristi and I attribute this to better living standards for the hens, but are not quite sure.

We didn't take a ton of photos on this road trip, but those not in this post can be found here.

Following Portugal, we arrived in Seville on Tuesday and have been relaxing in a rented apartment that we have for 10 days (we are really excited to finally be able to cook our own food). Looking forward to posting about some of the things we have been up to.

Cheers,

J & K

Lisbon

One of the inspirations for our trip to Portugal was the recent resurgence of Lisbon. Despite being geographically located in Western Europe, Portugal had not experienced much of a cultural revolution over the past 20 years, like other capital cities. However, over the past five years there have been substantial changes to the city and it really has become an overlooked jewel.

Lisbon reminded Kristi and I of Buenos Aires, both in terms of the architecture, design and the friendliness and enthusiasm of the populace. Old neighbourhoods like Biarro Alto continue to gentrify and what used to be slums are now home to cool design boutiques, sneaker shops and bars serving mojito’s, caiperinha’s and the like.

We found a great little design hotel in the Baixa district, geographically downtown near the waterfront and close to many of the other sites and areas we wanted to visit (although pedestrian travel in Lisbon requires a lot of climbing stairs or walking uphill). Also, after relatively monotonous Portuguese food in the North, we were able to add some more international flavour to our diet, as well as experience some of Southern Portugal’s culinary charms, especially the simple but delicious char grilled fish.


One of the highlights of Lisbon was the Belem neighbourhood, a 15 minute tram ride west of downtown. Belem was the departing point for Vasco de Gama whose sailing exploits inspired a church, monastery and other monuments along the waterfront (pictured above).


As well, Belem is home to the waterside Tower of Belem(above) which was a strategic defense point for the city.


More recently, in 1960, a monument to Portugal’s explorers was built to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Henry the Navigator’s death (pictured above) and the Belem Culture Center was built in the past decade includes a modern art museum and several theatres.

Beyond its nautical history and contemporary art, Belem is home to the pantheon of Portuguese pastry, Pasteis de Belem, a bakery that was founded in 1837 and makes the best egg custard tarts in the world (pictured above). While there, Kristi and I not only were able to enjoy several of the tarts, but also watched busloads of Japanese tourists devour towering plates of these delicacies.

While this simple tart can be found in Portuguese bakeries around the world, the ovens at Pasteis de Belem reach super hot temperatures, resulting in extremely flaky and crispy pastry crusts, unlike those Kristi and have had ever sampled.


Along with exploring Lisbon, we took a day trip to Sintra (above), a 45-minute train ride westward and home to an incredible Moorish Palace and a well-restored hilltop castle.

Despite a rainy visit, we hiked about 4 km up steep and windy roads to reach the castle (above) and were able to enjoy great views of the surrounding area as well as the neighbouring Palace de Pena, a 19th century royal palace.

We were both thoroughly impressed with Lisbon’s renaissance and believe that it will continue to improve over the next decade, although along with the improvement, prices will increase and further gentrification may impact some of the city’s character. Additional Lisbon pictures can be found here. Our post-Lisbon travels include a tour of southern Portugal, ending in Seville, where we will put our feet up in a rented apartment and hopefully find time for some home cooking.

Jon & Kristi