Monday:
Arrived pretty much on time. A long wait for Passport control but no customs. The cab ride to our hotel was not cheap, but pretty efficient. I am struck by how little the cabbies know about their town. Any coordinates you give they will know, but the names of hotels, restaurants etc. do not ring a bell.
Our hotel, Alma Barcelona is really nice. Not well marked at all, and very old looking from the outside. Yet once inside you realize it's very modern and quite special. Quentin was the name of our concierge, and he was fantastic at getting us all checked in and oriented. The room is very Nordic; no artwork on the walls, wood floors and window treatments, a fantastic shower and bathroom.
Lisa and I went out to grab a bite, and walked down the Passeig de Gracia a few blocks, which is reminiscent of the Champs Élysée. We went to a side street thinking that the Tapas would be more official than the main drag, and that was wrong. Our food was plain, and pretty unremarkable. The only good thing was grilled Calamari, which was underseasoned but quite fresh and tender.
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| First meal in Barcelona |
Back to the hotel to wait for the kids, who arrived at about 5:00. We sat outside at the lovely garden bar, and had Cava. Once they were settled in we cabbed down to El Born with the intent to dine at Cal Pep, a place I had read good reviews about. The cabbie was a non-stop talker, obsessed with Barcelona football, and how they win even though monetarily they can't compete with Madrid. As a Mets' fan, I tried to compare the Yankees with Real Madrid but he would have none of it.
When we got to Cal Pep it was totally packed despite the early hour. So we ambled up to another place I'd read about called Arcano. Good choice. Despite a nasty amuse-bouche the rest of the food was wonderful. Dana and I both had Cod with Garlic mouselline which was superb. Kyle had Mushroom Ravioli that was great, and Lisa had a nice steak, which was a bit too rare even for me.
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| Why is Dana "yucking" at an obviously ecstatic Kyle? |
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| Our wacky waiter at Arcano |
After dinner we walked around El Born, which is closed to cars and feels really ancient. Lots of cool squares and alleys. Barcelona is big on alleys and walking paths. I think it is one of the most walkable cities I've ever visited. We found a Brazilian themed bar called Berimbau, had delicious Caipirinhas and a fun time.
Tuesday
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| Creepy Giant statues on Las Ramblas |
Today was to be my foodie paradise day, and it did not disappoint. We started with cafe and a snack at the hotel, then down to las Ramblas and my Mecca; Boqueria. First there was a weird place on the East side of the street where there were some giant statues. I assume these are used during parades. They were very surreal. A couple of doors down and we were in the market itself. The first thing you see are very brightly lit fruit and fruit juice stands, which are just the most colorful places you can imagine. We sought out Pinotxo's, so I could try the famous deep fried croissants made there called xiuxios, which are Indescribably delicious flaky treats filled with a custard. Josito, the famous proprietor was there, but very low-key, not loud and animated like you see in the videos.
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| Josito and the Xiuxios- great name for a band |
We wandered around, I had pulpo stuffed olives, then we stopped at a counter where I had fried artichoke hearts and baby squid. Both were fresh and delicious. We also had some smoothies at a fruit stand. The whole experience was fantastic, and I wished I had come starving, because I wanted to try much, much more.
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| My fried lunch of deliciousness |
After the Boqueria, we continued down Las Ramblas to the end, where the Columbus statue points out to the sea. We walked around the harbor to Barceloneta, the famously redone beach area, and stopped at the W Hotel for drinks.
Cabbed back to our hotel, and then spa and steam, followed by a siesta. Soon it was off to Tickets, and the tasting menu I had dreamt of for years. Tickets is in a residential neighborhood, a very non-tourist spot. We were sat right next to one of the prep stations, and our Senegalese waiter soon figured out that we were going to go the full route. I'm glad we did! Here's what I remember:
Exploding Olives- not really an olive but some kind of gelatin ball that looked like an olive, and burst in your mouth with a ton of flavor.
Cherry Tree- cherries hanging from a tree which you snip with supplied scissors. Inside the cherry is a pistachio instead of a pit. Accompanied by a little pistachio treat and purple churros that you dip into horseradish cream. That last treat was so complex in taste and texture, utterly surprising.
Jamon and Pan a Tomate- the typical tapas but on the highest imaginable level.
Toro tuna carpaccio with a dollop of beluga caviar- you wrap it up like a burrito. Heaven!
Salmon roe on a little cheese platform, a weird bite size take on lox and cream cheese.
BBQ Eel on a puffy dumpling served in a bamboo steamer basket.
A selection of Oysters...my favorite being caipirinha flavored.
Wagyu Beef on Swedish crackers.
Tandoori chicken on cinnamon stick skewers.
Mushroom pasta with Porcini mushrooms making the pasta itself.
Desserts: Orange sorbet with some bread inside in an egg shell that looked like a soft-boiled egg.
A cone with carrots on top and some kind of icy carrot filling, which I found awful.
Chocolate Eclair made out of chocolate candy and some kind of foamy middle which made it seem like the greatest Malomar of all time.
It was maybe the most expensive meal I've ever paid for, but it was also one of the best.
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| Chefs hard at work at Tickets |
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| Cherry Tree and Churros |
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| Exploding "olives" |
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| Kyle expounding on how great the eel thing was |
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| Desert-ish thing that looks like soft-boiled eggs |
Wednesday
Up in the AM and off to Sagrada Familia, for which we had 11:30 entradas. We stopped for some coffee and croissants on Calle Mallorca. It's a bit under a mile to the Church, but in that short walk I realized just how amazing a place this is. Every block has a restaurant, or a patisserie or boulangerie. Lots of small businesses everywhere. We've done away with all that in the USA.
Upon reaching the Sagrada, you are first overwhelmed by its size. You can't really see it till you are within a block, but then suddenly it takes over your entire view. Coming at it from the south, you see the more modern facade, with the crucifixion scene over the door. This has the crucified Jesus in modern style sculpture. One is so used to seeing these structures looking like Notre Dame, with the ancient statues, it is plain weird to see such a modern style. As we walk around the outside to where we gain admittance, then we see the older style renderings, representing the Nativity. Once inside the Sagrada you realize the enormity of the building. The stained glass and the light apertures are particularly striking. All the while you are hearing the sounds of the drills and hammers still at work on the roof of the place. It is at once a mishmosh and a work of unified genius, if such a thing is possible. The museum is located in the basement and is a strange agglomeration of different pictures and histories. No mention is made of the Civil War, but you can tell that in 1936 something went wrong.
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| Sagrada Familia old fashioned entrance |
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| Jesus parachuting in |
Upon leaving we found ourselves strolling away from the sea (I think it's West, but it is probably Northwest). Truly hungry, we stopped at a pizza place Tripadvisor reviewed well, and had some very tasty pizzas indeed. Then a cab took us up to Park Guell, where we had 3 PM entradas to see the Gaudi house museum. We wandered around this place with superb views of Barcelona, and into the underwhelming tour of the house. In fact, all the stuff that I thought looked so cool in the pictures was either not too special or just unavailable unless you had passes for some other thing. The tickets were not very clear about this.
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| The view from Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
Anyway, back to the hotel for a steam and swim, up for a siesta, and dinner at Bodega 1900. It was a cute place across the street from Tickets, and a nice Tapas menu with some twists. My favorite dish was Pulpo in a garlic sauce, muy rico! We also had some fine croquettes, the exploding olives again (who knew?) ice cream in a sardine can, BROWNIE, and a bunch of other good food. All for 1/3 the price of tickets. This is a Vermut bar, so we tried the famous Vermouth for a cocktail, which was quite nice. Later we went back to Eixample for a last glass of wine and bed.
Thursday
Up about 9:00, load up at the expensive buffet, and next I walk to the car rental place. I had to wait about 20 minutes to get the vehicle, but when I do, it's a very pimpy white Audi. As I take it back on the Barcelona streets I notice it stalls out at each light. I keep restarting it thinking it's all fucked up. I pick everyone up, then take us all back to the rental place to complain. This is when I discover that these newer cars in Europe have a shut down mode to save gas. I would think it would be hell on a car's starter, but I guess when it costs $80 to fill up, you need to have priorities.
Once that was figured out, I really enjoyed the vehicle. We went on the highway down to Valencia, which has lots of tolls and tunnels, but otherwise not very remarkable. As planned we stopped for lunch in L'Amlettla de Mar, at a place called Maura. A great lunch looking out at the Mediterranean Sea. I had fish soup and fried sardines, the kids had torta española and amazing gambas ala plancha. Everything was delicious.
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| Dana enjoying lunch at Can Maura in L'Amettla de Mar |
Back on the highway and into Valencia which at the outset seems quite modern in good and bad ways.
Lisa stayed at the hotel while Dana, Kyle and I went down to see the Ciudad de Artes y Sciencias, which happens to house Berklee's Valencia campus. Our cabby was a total dullard...in fact it is hard as hell to find a cab in this town; the total opposite of Barcelona. Anyway, we had another disappointment when Dana tried to get in to the Berklee campus and was rejected because she didn't have proof she was an alumnus. Like someone else would give a shit. She was pissed, but afterwards we tried to forget it by looking at the super modernistic collection of huge artifices and reflecting pools that make up this area. The whole thing looks like a futuristic world's fair that they started and then ran out of money.
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| Dana and Kyle outside Valencia's Mundo de la Manana or whatever |
We kept walking, and realized we were really going nowhere. Turning about, I began to get this helpless feeling that we would be walking all the way back to our hotel, until we saw a cab and flagged him down.
Dinner was at Raco de Turia, a lovely sit down old-fashioned joint with table cloths and a fine staff. This being Valencia, we had paella all set. Kyle and I ordered a goat cheese salad, and Dana ordered croquettes. Both dishes were top notch, as was the bread and wine we picked. The paella was not what we expected...sausages were not sliced, no mollusks to be found. The rice was delicious, but not very saffronny and our lobster was dry, as were the ribs. Desserts were scrumptious (except my crepe) and we still had a fine meal.
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| Vanquished Paella Valenciana |
Afterwards we walked around a bit before heading back to the hotel. What seemed like a dead, boring city was now teeming with life. The feel of Valencia at night is like a college town on a Saturday. It really made me change my attitude.
Friday
The plan was, no breakfast, grab the car and head to Valencia's Central Market to grab food for a picnic lunch. It was difficult to find the garage entrance, and once we did, even harder to find a space the car could fit in. It's way too big for these tiny streets and garage spaces. Once shoehorned in, we ascended to the old town center which is very picturesque. The market was no Boqueria, but then that is true for anywhere else. We walked around and Lisa was sad she couldn't find any of those great coconut and fruit juices like the one she had gotten in Boqueria. I was disappointed that no one else wanted to load up with bread and cold cuts and do a picnic stop. Instead we went across the street and had tapas at one of the places adjacent to the market. There was a very loud gypsy busker, who vocally sounded ok but had no clue how to tune his guitar. Finally he finished and we could enjoy our lunch.
On the road by 12:30, with a few stops and one traffic jam, we got to Granada by 6:10. Wending through the tiny streets to our hotel was challenging, but I know that is the last we will see of the car until we drive to Seville. The Hotel Alhambra Palace is on the hill approaching The Alhambra itself, and it faces the town. Our rooms, despite being the most expensive in the hotel have no terraces, which I find disappointing as hell since the ad for the hotel shows a room with a terrace. It turns out not to matter very much, since the weather is so cool. Anyway, we have a beautiful view, and we complimented it with cocktails on the hotel's terrace.
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| Lisa and the spectacular view from the bar at Alhambra Palace |
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| Crazy drinks at Alhambra Palace Bar |
At night we hopped a cab to the Carmen Mirador de Aixa, which is in the Albaycin quarter. The restaurant has a drop dead gorgeous view of The Alhambra, and we watched it as the sun set and the lights on the Palace came on. Unforgettably beautiful. The weather was cool, and Kyle was freezing since he only had a shirt on. The food there was fine, especially the steaks and the desserts. But it was really about the view! After dinner we were all exhausted so we went back to the hotel.
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| Alhambra at dusk from Carmen Aixa |
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| Dana and Kyle freezing at Carmen Aixa |
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| Wayne and Lisa dressed properly for Carmen Aixa |
Saturday
Up too early to make sure our Viator tour picks us up at the Hotel. The staff there helped me out by contacting them...my understanding had been correct, they would get us at 10. The bus came by, took us up the hill and we were separated into groups by idioma, handed out little Walkmen to receive the guide's spiels (so he didn't have to yell), and proceeded to the Alhambra. Words cannot describe this place, however I can relate some of the interesting stuff I learned.
1) The Sultan was a jealous guy...he once killed 36 men because he found out one of them was doing his main woman, but he didn't know which one.
2) Muslim fountains don't gush, Christian fountains do.
3) the Genarlife mansion was only used during the daytime since it is out of the fortified walls.
4) the phrase "The only conqueror is Allah" is written on the walls of the buildings about 10 zillion times.
5) Musicians hired to play for the steambaths were blind so they couldn't be peeping the Sultan's harem.
6) the views from this place are maybe even more impressive than those from the Carmens OF this place.
Fernando, our tour guide was very good, very funny and just plain interesting. Even though the whole thing took 3 hours, the time flew by. All of us found it worth the time and money to see this place using the tour guide.
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| Lions of Judah fountain |
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| Beautiful reflecting pond |
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| View of the Albaycin from the Alhambra |
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| Christian fountains in the Generalife |
After the tour, we walked down the hill and into the center of old town Granada. We stopped for some tapas on the main street at the bottom of the hill, Calle Reyes Catolicos. The food was eh, but the people watching was amazing. Apparently this is the big wedding weekend in Granada, so there are brides and bridal parties all over town. We then walked over to the Granada Cathedral, which is kind of shoehorned into the jigsaw of old town, so there are not a lot of good angles for pictures. A block or two away we found the Market of San Agustin, which again resembled a tiny version of Boqueria, with more cafes and stools than the one in Valencia. We decided to start our taparia there that night. A bit more wandering, and finally our legs gave out and we cabbed back up the hill to the Hotel for siesta. Well at least we thought so, but the wedding party at our hotel was staying on our floor and the walls were paper thin, so sleep was not easily accomplished.
At night, we ventured back into town straight to the market, and Dana and I shared the 4 oyster, 6 sushi 2 Cava special at one of the stalls. Lisa got some pork loin and steak sandwiches, and I got a Tapa of the best Jamon Iberico I had tasted since the one at Tickets. The big difference? 1 Euro for this tapa! Then we ventured out into the barrio to see if it was true that as long as we ordered a drink, we got free food. Our first stop was a modern looking joint, and I figured that this would be a good test of the free food theory. After we all ordered drinks, a few minutes passed, and out came four little bowls of beans and ham! How cool? We drifted to another bar, this one packed with locals and brightly lit...ordered some wine ( delicious local red) and poof! Croquettes!
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| 3rd bar of Taperia |
Across the main drag and we heard live music....a cover band and a small square filled with dancers. The band was quite good, and the dancers were too. Then, up a small alley to another place. Another round, and more croquettes showed up.
Across the tiny alley was another place where they kept lowering the metal gate, and doing some kind of singalong. They were having a great time and we were jealous, because it was obviously for locals only. Dana and Lisa kept smiling at the guys, and finally one told us of another bar that was open late, and that he and his buds might go there and drink some more. So we went there, a place called Taberna de la Chica. Another cute place, where I finally got some dry sherry. This time, they let us choose the tapa, so I picked more Jamon. They gave us a platters full, and Kyle and I went to town. Igor was the name of the guy who invited us, and shortly after we got there he and his buddies showed up. The music over the system was totally flamenco, and I really felt like THIS was the authentic Granada experience I had been looking for. What a great night!
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| Granada Square Dancing to cover band |
Sunday
DAMMIT. We have to leave Granada. A very short night's sleep and everybody is hung over, but into the car and off to Sevilla. The drive is only 2.5 hours, but of course Lisa needed to pee like 100 times. I have taken to calling her Hitler Bladder. Maybe I should just call it Sepp. Many of the rest stops on the Autovia were closed, so we had to actually take an exit and find a gas station and restaurant that was manned so she could pee. Not a real friendly place, but at least we got the job done. We pulled up to the hotel at noon, dropped our bags and cabbed over to the train station so the kids could check their bags. I got ripped off at the exchange place there, but whatever.
We quickly cabbed over to Santa Cruz neighborhood. Kyle was obsessed with getting some art for their trip commemoration, so we stopped at a bunch of touristy spots. We walked to a small plaza for lunch, and the first place we went the waiter never came over to us. The second place, we got attended to immediately, and when the food came out we realized why. It was really substandard for Spain. Awful, actually. Well, we wandered some more, knowing the clock was ticking, and I realized we needed to see some sights before the kids hopped on the train, so I prevailed upon all to walk with me over to the Plaza de España, which according to everything I'd seen on YouTube was the one can't miss deal in Seville. You could see one of the towers from the street so we bore down upon it. Nothing prepared us for the enormity of the place, and the absolute beauty of it. It looks like a renaissance era plaza like the ones you would find in Florence or Paris, but in actuality it was built in the 1920's for a World's Fair.
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| Best ever shot of Dana and Kyle |
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| Plaza Espana in all its glory |
The kids only had like 10 minutes to enjoy it, which they did, and we stuffed them in a cab so they could catch their train. Lisa and I walked over to the river to see the Torre de Oro, and then across the bridge into Triana. The area we saw was really just kind of run down, and the sky was darkening. There were no cabs to be found, so we kept walking in the direction of our hotel hoping a cab would come by but one never did. It began to rain, and we were getting tired and agitated. Finally, I saw a hotel on the map, figured I could suck down a quick beer while the concierge called us a cab, and that worked like a charm!
So for a few hours we had no plans. The hotel is enormous...3 circular buildings about 4 stories tall connected to a Convention Center and at the foot of a weird bridge shaped like a giant harp. It is also next door to Seville's version of Great Adventure, a place called Isla Magica, so there are a mix of young business people and families. There are also some fine restaurants and a very nice pool area. Sadly it is still about 20 degrees cooler than usual, so swimming is out of the question. We took a short siesta, then a 1/2 mile walk to dinner, across the bridge into the Alfalfa district to a place called Duo Tapas, that had a decent selection of food. That was no easy task, since most of the better restaurants in Seville close Sunday afternoons at 4:30.
The neighborhood was pretty hip looking, mostly young locals or students abroad. I had Tuna Tartare, which was not really fresh but tasty. Lisa ordered melted Provolone which was delicious and one of her favorite things she ate here. I also ordered some tenderloin which was so so.
We were both still pretty burnt out so we went right back to the hotel to sleep. We heard from the kids who were at their hotel but had found out just how huge Barajas airport is.
Monday
Today's plan is to go to the center of the old town to see the Giralda Tower, the huge Cathedral, and maybe the bullring. Also Calle Sierpes for shopping is on the docket. Ódio las compras! While that is true, I do want to see Calle Sierpes itself because of reading about the processions that take place there during Semana Santa.
After a substantial and free desayuno , we hop a cab at the hotel and he lets us off right near the Cathedral. The weather is a touch warmer today, and it seems perfect for sightseeing and photos. I have one other goal for the day....I must have fideuá!
The Cathedral is as promised, the biggest thing you can imagine. I will not prevail upon Lisa to go inside, since I need to hold that card for when we get to the Toledo Cathedral. As we walk around, it is very ornate, with many tiny minarets and a quite detailed facade in front. Then we saw the brick walls of the Alcazar and it's ancient gate. I guess after seeing the Alhambra, I'm fine with skipping this. Soon we turn the corner and have a full-on view of the ancient Giralda tower, with its changing structure reflecting first Moorish influence then Christian. It is pretty spectacular in person.
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| Wayne dwarfed by the Cathedral and Tower in Sevilla |
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| Gigantic Cathedral from the rear |
Lisa is frustrated by the lack of quality products, so finally she gives in. We need to pee (surprise!) so we stop at a street cafe near the shopping area. A bitchy waitress gets me Cappuccino and Lisa hot chocolate which is really more like melted chocolate. Despite bitchy waitress, it would have been fine but there was some kind of kiosk being painted next to us and the smell was terrible.
Next we wandered down to the river so I could at least see the bullring from the outside since Lisa refused to go inside and see it from there. I can't really blame her, or anybody for finding this too horrible to patronize in any way. It's difficult to see anything about the Maestanza bullring from the outside, so we turn our attention to the riverfront. The other side looks very inviting, and we comply by crossing the bridge and finding a riverfront cafe in Triana.
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| Lisa enjoying the view from our cafe in Triana |
There is a table of four middle aged people next to us, and Lisa immediately recognizes them as Americans. It turns out they are all originally from Belize, and now live in various parts of the states; Florida, NYC and NJ. They are really fun and funny, and we have the best time finding out all the stuff we have in common.
After lunch, we wander Triana for a bit, including a trip to the market which sadly is closing for the day. There are as usual some references to the Jewish history there, but not a lot. It is now time to give up and head back to the hotel for a siesta...which I plan to do at the pool.
Our main plan tonight is to head to La Carboneria for a Flamenco show, first finding a place to eat that is nearby. Our cabbie seems bent on getting us as close as possible to the club, which is ridiculous since the streets are so tiny. He does, and as we get out of the cab, a woman runs up to us having heard that we were heading for La Carboneria to tell us that it doesn't open until 8:30. Very nice of her, even though we were aware of it. There was no way for her to know that Lisa's anality had to be heeded, and that we were simply ascertaining the exact whereabouts of the club, in order to know exactly how many steps it would be from where we ate dinner to the front door. After explaining this, and actually finding the aforementioned front door, we looked down one winding street for outdoor cafes but found nothing. We returned to our drop place where there was a place called Cafe Levies, but I did not like the menu choices. I forced us to go down a block or two in the other direction where there were a couple of nice joints, and we went to the one ranked higher in TripAdvisor, Cafe Carmela. The food was indeed good there, and I was now happy.
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| Senor Autentico |
We got to La Carboneria about 9:00, and the place seemed deserted, with one solitary old man hanging out. Then we realized there was another room, with long benches next to tables, and a few people already settled in to see the show that would start at 9:30. We got great seats, and settled in, Lisa with Sangria, me with a sherry. While we were waiting, a stooped old man in a sombrero came in and sat on a high stool in the corner, hat pulled down over his face. How bloody authentic can you get?
The guitarist sat down first and began noodling. Soon he was joined by a younger man with a close shaven beard and glasses. Next to them was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, who was also about 5 months pregnant. It turns out she was their Merch girl, and the singer's wife or S.O.
Finally the singer joined in, and people began to pipe down. Even so, it was hard to hear, with no amplification. They sounded really good, despite the singer looking like he was constantly and repeatedly asking "why did you run over my cat?" Soon they were joined by a small version of Ricky Ricardo,who Lisa correctly identified by his heels and his red bandana as the guy who would be dancing. The show really got going when he stood up and went at it--we were mesmerized!
What truly impressed me the most was how they changed tempi, accelerating and decelerating with almost machine like precision and coordination. It was....fenominal! When the show ended I went up to singer and merch girl to try and convey my astonishment, but they really didn't seem to get my gist.
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| The Flamenco guys |
When the show was over, much to Lisa's chagrin, I requested that we walk back to Plaza de España to see it lit up at night, and despite much protesting, she acquiesced. Once there, I was glad we did it, it was fairly empty, but strikingly beautiful at night....a truly unforgettable tableau.
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| Plaza Espana at night |
Once back in our room, we started to fall out, but Lisa checked on Dana's flight and suddenly gasped. It was saying "Diverted". What the hell? Then we saw it was diverted to....WINNIPEG? Whahwhawhawhawhat? After frantically trying to reach the airline and surfing Twitter and Safari for a clue as to what was happening, she saw that the plane had landed in Winnipeg, and I tried to call her. The call went through, and Dana told me that one of the passengers had gone into diabetic shock, so they landed and got him/her medical attention. So much for a restful night for any of us!
Tuesday
Up early and on the road to Toledo. I went down to get the car out of the garage armed with my credit card and a 50 € bill, and the machine wouldn't take either. I was about to freak, because it had my ticket and wouldn't spit it back out. There was a woman from the hotel there, thankfully, who let me pull up to the gate and she buzzed me through. So....free parking!
4.5 hours on the road through Extremadura, La Mancha and Castille. The countryside went from mountainous to great plains to rolling hills. Finally we get to our hotel, the famous Parador. You kind of get a glimpse of the view on the approach road, but nothing prepares you for the view from their terrace. My smart wife figured she should check on whether we got a terrace with that view, recalling our Granada letdown, and guess what? No! The Junior suite has no terrace. I definitely confirmed that there was a terrace with the original person I talked to, and I can't figure this one out at all. Anyway, there was one room available and Lisa landed it! My hero!
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| Toledo from our terrace in Parador- a view worth fighting for! |
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| Wood and Ivory in the Coro |
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| The pipes |
It was a beautiful day, and we walked down to the Jewish quarter, with Lisa popping into a store here and there and finally finding a fan she liked. There was lots of touristy crap, swords everywhere, and assorted junk. But the streets in the Jewish Quarter had little Stars of David and Chais tiled into them, and we found an old converted synagogue that was turned into a church and now into a museum. It wasn't the greatest, but at least there was some record of Jewish history in the town. It was called the Museum of Sefardi. The best part were the little courtyards that were peaceful places. I expected a lot of noise from Michener's description of Toledo, but it was strikingly quiet there.
Next door to the Sefardi was the El Greco house, another museum, and we were surprised to not pay any entrance fee. Once inside we realized why...there's no real exhibit there, and it actually was not El Greco's house, but a recreation of what one wealthy Toledan thought El Greco's house might have looked like. I wanted to go see more stuff, but old Avon walker said she had enough.
Once back at the hotel, I grabbed us some Cavas, and we went up to the room to take in the spectacular view. The entire panorama of Toledo is in front of you, and it is breathtaking. From right to left (in honor of my Sephardic brethren), there is a castle on the east bank of the Tajo River, the Tajo itself with it's bridges, the Alcazar, a huge rectangular building, the Cathedral itself, the ancient Synagogue now a different church, the many buildings surrounding them curving down to the river in front, the Carmelitas on the west side of town and the west curve of the Tajo's flow, with the bridge clearly represented in El Greco's panorama painted from the same perspective. After a while up there, I ventured down to the pool for a dip. It was stil pretty hot even though it was after 6:00 pm, and I went into the pool, which was like taking an ice bath.
The view from the pool is nice too, but ours was better.
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| YEAH BABY! |
We grabbed a cab back to town, and I told the cabbie to take us to Restaurante Adolfo, which he did....I mean all the way there, nearly running over pedestrians in the narrow alleys which should be off limits to cars. Anyway, we walked away from the Cathedral and over to Plaza Zocodover, which is obviously the main square in Toledo.
It is beautiful, and the walk there featured some cool stores and markets that I really wanted to check out, but Lisa is obviously not feeling well, so we head back to the restaurant and get ready to try some weird Adolfo dishes. The Maitre D' is chubby, a bit from central casting. The menu is weird for sure, but two items hit me...duck foie gras over grilled bread and braised pork cheeks. When I order, the maitre d' suggests I go for suckling pig, but the sight of them wheeling out a baby pig with head on is something that I am sure will ruin Lisa's vacation. So I opt for the cheeks, which I have had from veal and it has been like the tenderest stew. Lisa goes tenderloin, so I know I'll have something I like.
The duck pate comes out and it is foie gras with no guilt. Delicious...but the bread is kind of sweet. There is also a tomato compote on the side, which doesn't really go, but is very tasty regardless.
The pork cheeks are delicious, but too fatty, and there is this weird kitinous part, that is just unappetizing. I should have had the suckling pig, but told them to carve in the kitchen. Lisa's tenderloin is good, and she is not feeling well, so it's like we are back when her stomach was driving her crazy and I ate all of her food.
When dessert time rolls around, I ask about the roof, and all those hours watching YouTube vids finally pays off. We have coffee and dessert on the roof, watching the sun set over Toledo, a block from the Cathedral and a few from the old synagogue. It is simply indelible; something I will never forget.
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| The roof view from Adolfo |
When we come back down, there is Adolfo himself, glad handing and ready to pose. We had a nice conversation in Spanish with him and his daughter, and then it was back in a cab and up to the hotel.
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| Me and Adolfo |
