Marbella

Marbella on the southern coast of Spain is a gem. I roadtripped it down and spent my spring break there. It is far more relaxed than the busy streets of Barcelona and has gorgeous beaches, great food and wonderful people. The neighboring "city" of Puerto Banus I could have done without as it was a bit flashy and pretentious for my tastes. Otherwise, it's perfection. Old town Marbella is straight out of a painting with it's cobblestone streets, colorful buildings and air that smells of orange blossoms. The beaches are dotted with little fish restaurants with some offering grill boats. I don't think that's what they're actually called, nonetheless, they are wooden boats in the sand that function as wood grills for all the fresh local seafood that Marbella bequeaths unto its visitors. We had fresh sardines and shrimp off the grill. It was all cruncy with sea salt crystals and covered in lemon. I'm not a gifted enough writer to really embody how wonderful my trip was to this place. Suffice it to say that I have never felt more relaxed, more content nor have I ever hated leaving somewhere so much in my life. Old town Marbella is full of quaint artisan stores and yes, more food. Plaze de Naranjas is a mini square within old town Marbella that has copious amounts of orange trees and we sat and had wine underneath them. I need to stop here on Marbella as it's depressing me that I am not there now.

On the way down to Marbella, we stopped in Valencia for an overnight. Valencia is a city that I am dying to go back to. It's known as the city of "arts and sciences" and lives up to the title with elaborate buildings that house museums of many types and it also has the largest aquarium in Europe. We tried to go to the aquarium but the tickets aren't cheap and we soon figured out that it's the biggest aquarium in Europe because it has more eateries than a middle American strip mall. Okay, enough jadedness. Regardless, Valencia's beach strip is huge and is lined with bars and restaurants where one can sit with a jug of sangria in the sun. We ate at La Pepica, a fairly renowned Paella joint that Hemingway frequented. We had the Paella Negra which gets it's name from the fact that it has black rice (from squid ink) as opposed to the traditional saffronic yellow shade. It was delicious and truly special. I have never been to city that simultaneously possesses the size of an urban center with the genuine small town beach attitude of somewhere like Marbella. Though we were there briefly (one night on the way to Valencia and we stopped for lunch there on the way back, too.) it's not something I will forget.

The drive allowed me to see the diverse landscape of Spain. We drove through La Mancha and I kept my eyes glued to the scenery, trying to imagine Don Quixote and Sancho Panza mulling about. Much of what we saw between Barcelona and Marbella (excepting Valencia) was agricultural and green. Most notable, were all the olive trees and vineyards that had not a tinge of pretense. There were no big glitzy wine tasting tours or gold mansions. Most likely, it was just a grandma and grandpa maintaining familial traditions. Also, as you drive south, you see several massive cardboard bulls positioned in the hills, staring down at you. It is the national animal of Spain so it isn't entirely random.


Spain is a diverse, beautiful country with the best food hands down of any other country that I have ever been to. The people in the southern part are smiley, tan and relaxed. You never feel like you "need" to "do" anything or "hurry" or "go". You just sit and that's it. That's why it is perfect. It it effortless and it is perfect. How bout them apples?

A Ladies Date

This evening was fantastic (aside from me having to come home and listen to the loud NY boys across the hall make base-caveman sounds as they chug copious amounts of alcohol). Marleth and I had this lovely evening planned quite a bit ago. I had been wanting to go see a Classic Spanish guitar concert ever since I'd thought of coming to Barcelona. We researched it and found out that Manuel Gonzalez (considered one of the best Spanish guitarists in the world & a Barcelona native) was having a series of concerts this month. We bought our tickets a month in advance and planned a fantastic dinner prior to the show. Well, that's exactly what we did.

We got our tushies on the metro L4 and got off at Jaume. We picked up our tickets at Sant Jaume and then had dinner at Taller de Tapas which was thoroughly enjoyable in it's own right. After dinner, we lazily wove our way in and out of the cobblestone street side shops, had an espresso and took plenty of self-indulgent photographs.

The show:
This was one of the most magical things I have ever experienced. This sounds over the top for me, I know. Nothing ever impresses me too much, I know this. Hear me out. This man is an artist, a genius, a musical madman. First let me describe the setting at Sant Jaume: It's an old, small, intimate, beautiful, intricate church that was full of flowers and overflowing with lit, warm, red candles. It sits on cobblestone streets and hasn't an ounce of pretense. The church smelled ever so slightly of flowers and given the small size, there were only about 40 people littering the pews.

When he began to play, I took note not so much of the music right away, rather, the way this man held his guitar. Okay, so Spanish guitarist cradle the guitar more vertically; I know this but this man held, caressed and even looked at his instrument like it was the love of his life. The first song sucked me in, then the second, then.....

Then he began to play "Asturias". It is a classic song often done by Spanish guitarists as a staple of sorts. Many songs played by or written for Spanish guitar are names of cities in Spain and neighboring countries. This song's namesake being the former Kingdom of Asturias, a now autonomous province that includes the likes of Oviedo. The song was written by Isaac Albeniz of Gerona in the late 18th C. Why the history lesson? Well folks, this song, when played at least by the great Sr. Gonzalez made me cry like a little baby. For me, the song represented an intense, rapid, fast-forward soundtrack representing the cycle of human life. That's just what it sounded like to me and as I let myself accept the music more and more, the clearer this movie in my mind became. It was a beautiful, interpersonal experience that is going to be with me forever.

Also interesting, but in a completely different way was an original piece that he had written and performed as an encore called, "Interrupted Romance". It was this lovely, romantic song that kept being interrupted by other commonly recognized songs like the "Mission Impossible" theme, "We Will Rock You", a knock on the door (he knocked on his guitar), a precocious yet invisible fly that he kept following with his eyes and soundtracking with his guitar...even picking up an empty water glass disapprovingly and then playing his guitar with the rim of the glass. The man is amazing.


It was a wonderful night.

Calcots

My apologies for the delay in posting something new (if there was anyone out there "waiting"). I wanted to write about the Calcot today. Yes. It seems much of the blog is now going in the direction of food and gastronomy, however, this is a large area of interest for both Barcelona and myself. The Calcot is a large, green onion that resembles a leek. In the Catalonian region of Spain, Calcots are a seasonal food that is typically eaten with friends/family at a BBQ type of function.

How to Prepare Calcots:

1) Take your calçots, green onions or scallions and trim the tips. Remove any dried peelings, but leave as much of the vegetable intact as you can. Once the onions are cooked, you'll be peeling off the first layer, so don't worry about trimming them too much.

2)Preheat your grill to high. Calçots are traditionally roasted over fire in an outdoor oven (in a calçotada), but they can also be cooked in a conventional oven or on top of the stove. The next best thing to the calçotada, however, is the grill.

3) Prepare the calçots by drizzling them with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Some people like to use cayenne pepper as well, but this spice (as well as the others) is optional.

4) Arrange the onions on the hot grill and let cook for about 8 to 12 minutes (scallions will take less time than green onions and green onions less time than calçots). Watch the onions carefully so as not to burn, but allow the first layer of skin to char. Occasionally turn them with tongs and continue to season them as they cook.

5) Remove the onions and wrap them in a newspaper (this is how they do it in Spain) or if you prefer you can wrap them in paper towels. Let them stand and cool for about 15 minutes.

6) Serve warm with Romesco sauce or olive oil, salt and pepper.

I recently took it upon myself to cook this local yummy for some friends at a BBQ. They went over so well that we are having an even bigger BBQ with Amber's Calcots upon request. Even the students that are born and raised here haven't cooked them but have only eaten them. My Calcots got rave reviews from natives and non-natives alike, all of whom commented on the irony of the situation.

When you have friends and family over for Calcots it is called a Calcotada. I found that cute.

The Romesco sauce that you dip the Calcot in is really what "makes" it. It's delicious. However, once on the Calcot it becomes a melodious marriage of flavor and texture. The sauce is primarily made from almonds, hazelnuts, tomato, garlic and a series of spices. Its thick and paste-like so, it sticks nicely to the lanky vegetable as one gluttonously drops the entire thing into their pie hole and chews it like it's a cud.Yum.

Jamon Serrano

Since I mentioned Jamon Serrano in the last post, I felt that I had to explain more about it as it's a big deal here.

These things are in most typical Spanish homes' kitchens. They are massive, delicious and the gastronomic pride of Spain. Just as Cod fish is San Sebastian's, Jamon Serrano belongs to certain parts of Spain. Mind you, they hang from the walls of all the butcher shops here. You see people hauling them out to take them home. You see little old women pointing to the one they want. Additionally, if one wants to regularly enjoy this specialty at home, Jamon Serrano requires its own stand and a special knife. They don't need to be refrigerated. Rather, they stay fresh by ensuring that the meat portions are fat covered and so, they remain out for view on one's ham stand, in one's kitchen. Lovely isn't it? Talk about childhood desensitization. Howver, I imagine if I had one of these (the ham and all the accoutrements) that I'd be slicing bits off every time I passed by. I have not tried this delicacy yet but I've heard nothing but good things. I'll let you know when I do.

I love the Forn de Pas everywhere

So far, one thing that I've noticed about Barcelona and the Spanish in general is that they love their pastries. The good news is so do I. A Forn de Pa in Catalan is basically what we Americans call a bakery or in Spanish you would say, "Panaderia". However, it differs in several ways from the bakeries of the Bay Area (wonderful and gourmet as they are). First, as Americans, it isn't typical to routinely grab something from a bakery everyday or multiple days within a week. Here, it is. It seems to be most commonly frequented in the mornings and/or between the long gap between lunch and dinner. Here, a croissant, a danish, a donut or a chocolate dipped heart is a normal snack when paired with a nice espresso or cafe con leche.

Don't get me wrong. The Spanish have varied diets. They eat other things for between meal sustenance. It just makes a sweet tooth like myself wide-eyed with glee. I can't help but feel understood when I see other people recognizing the perfection that is pastry. They are so joy inducing.

Now, before you all flip out about the whole "fat" thing, let me tell you that the Spanish are not fat. They walk A LOT more than Americans and the remainder of their diet is pretty darn healthy (If you ignore the fact that a cured quarter of an entire pig is a grocery staple for homes. Yes. Like, milk, eggs, one quarter of a pig ( jamon serrano)).

In addition to them being a staple in the daily life of a Catalan, they are everywhere. Every block has at least one. I am still unsure how you are supposed to know which one is better or best. They all look good to me. Today, I stopped in to one and got four mini-chocolate croissants and an espresso (see pic). Yummy.

The crazy Europeans and their partying ways

This weekend was full of fun. Given the friendly nature of everyone in my classes, I was generously invited to several social functions. Everyone does things a bit differently here when it comes to the typical concept of “going out”. Firstly, the pre-party doesn´t start until ten o'clock. Usually, everyone arranges to meet at someone´s place, music is played on their favorite system here known as “Spodify” and drinking games are played until everyone is ready to go to the club. That is everyone must drink, talk and entertain themselves and each other until two in the morning. That´s when the clubs open. You want to aim to get there between two and two thirty to avoid paying cover, which at the more upscale places can be as much as twenty euro. The clubs close around six in the morning and about half the group will go home and the other half will after party until nine or ten. I know. It is crazy.
As for this program “Spodify”, I´d like to touch more on it as it´s a big deal here. Basically, it´s a music program that one can only have if they are invited by another user. Each user is given ten invites once they are invited into the program that they can use to invite their friends. It´s only legal and useable in six countries and they are all European. Why is it special? You can type any song into the search window and listen to it for free. Any song that you can think of is on this thing. We´re talking remixes, covers, the most random, the most underground-any song. So, usually the pre-parties (at least the two I´ve been to) are held at people´s houses that are members of “Spodify”. The program becomes the center of the party and everyone aggressively overtakes each other in getting a stab and putting their song on. The best part about this is it´s actually getting incorporated into the social scene as a means of showing a girl you like her or showing someone that you think their super awesome by telling them “I think I have another invite left if you want it.”
Okay, enough about “Spodify¨.
On Friday night when Marleth and I came home after heading to Hotel Om and the Barcelonetta scene with some people, we had a slight “situation”. The cab couldn´t get down our street as someone had parked their car in the middle of where the two streets cross as they dragged their overly drunk friend from up the street into the car. No big deal, right? You tell the cabby that you´ll get out and walk half a block. Wrong. Remember, it may be five in the morning but the streets, even in our quiet neighborhood, are bustling and full of people. Not just people but really, really drunk people. We approached the front door to our building and were completely cut off as we prepared to unlock the door by an insanely drunk twenty something Spaniard who was professing his love to me. Not just professing, attempting to full on kiss me. He pulled out his ID and started rambling on about the neighborhood he was from in Barcelona. How it was the best neighborhood and how it made him special or something. We kept saying ¨Goodnight¨ and “You need to go away now” but to no avail. Finally, when I thought he was fully occupied by his own ramblings, I attempted to quickly open the door and have Marleth and I slip in and then slam the door in his face but I failed. This slimy little creature slipped in with us and finally Marleth and I had no choice but to push him out of the door. Unfortunately, Pepper Spray is illegal in Europe

La primera dia de escuela

As I drift off to sleep, I just wanted to post something quick about my first day at BES La Salle. It was a school, a campus and a student body that I have never seen or thought of ever existing. Firstly, the school is extremely small. I am not sure on official numbers here but intimate is a good describing term for the feeling you get just after a day here. Secondly, the students in the business school are from every country imaginable. There are few, if any, native Spaniards in my classes. They come from all over Europe and there are a few from Mexico and South America as well. There are noticeably larger quantities of Norwegians and Germans, however, by this I mean five or six between two of my classes. So far, they have shown themselves to be warm, welcoming and friendly. My classes are small and due to my American origin and the fact that our colleges don't base classes purely on the year of the student, I am taking classes from all four year classifications. Traditionally, the students take a set of up to nine classes each semester that are pre-picked for their major and vary slightly but only in terms of electives. This means that from the beginning to the end of their college career, the same students are together. This really makes you feel the "family" vibe here. Additionally, if one does follow this traditional class structure you have one class room and the professors rotate.

Other things to take note of:

1) It's just more laid back all around. After all, it is Spain. However, I don't think the quality of the work is included in this relaxed attitude.

2) The gym is awesome.