Woodberry in Spain

Let's do it again next year!

2011-08-11T00:03:00.000+02:00

View from our hotel room

View of our hotel

One of the main restaurant streets

Modeling new Vazva gear

Tried to take a boat tour but the captain never showed

At Madrid Zoo/Aquarium

Dolphin trainers

We enjoyed our last days in Coruna, did a bit of shopping (mostly at a Galician surf store called Vazva) and made the long train ride to Madrid. We are at an airport hotel for two nights. It is near a metro stop so we headed to the Zoo/Aquarium and then back to the hotel pool. This will serve as the last entry until we do it all again next year!

Finisterre, futbol y fiesta

2011-08-06T02:01:00.000+02:00

Three homemade Orujos, the after dinner drink of choice

Pablo

Finisterre, end of the earth

Countertop in 3 Glopes

Ribeiro, local white wine

My dish, the smaller of 3 mariscadas on the menu

Local clams, similar to razor clams

Statue honoring emigrants, of which Galicia produced plenty

Overlooking the Lonja de Finisterre

In contrast to most of Spain, an abundance of drinkable water

Robbie's lost tooth

In the middle, Gooseneck barnacles, called king of shellfish around here (percebes)

Our landlord and diver/guide for the day

The fish market auctions off fish, boat by boat, starting the price high and dropping down until there is a buyer

Horrea, the local form of silo to dry corn to feed to farm animals

Scallop empanada gallega where corn meal is used for the pastry

meaty ingredients for Caldo Gallego

My Caldo teacher

Shrimp and garlic side dish

Cooked caldo using cabbage instead of Grelos, a green with no translation to English

Of course it is the beginning of the month long summer celebration here in La Coruna. Free events are happening all month, including concerts, kids activities, etc. We went the the plaza Maria Pita, the main plaza, to see the mayor (whom we had chatted with a couple of days before) kick things off and then fireworks and a concert. We played soccer at a very nice sports complex with artificial turf. We invited along Pablo, our landlady's grandson and new buddy to our boys. The next day we took of for the end of the earth, Finisterre, where the St James pilgrimage really should end, though many stop at Santiago de Compostela. We had the chance to stop in at a couple of villages along the way and see the house our landlords own and talk with a farmer who lives right next to a 15th century castle.

Galicia has won the contest for our favorite northern Spain community and we will spend our few extra days here in a hotel near Hercules towers in a mostly natural area, right on the coast, with mini beaches and rocky coastline all around. Galicia has amazing produce, really nice, unassuming people, beautiful coastline and plenty of boy friendly parks and fields. Tonight I tried the ternera gallega, the local beef, and have learned that Galicia really produces the most coveted beef in Spain as well as ham from the Celtic Pig that rivals the famous Iberico. The rough but fertile land and sea make for hardy produce that only lacks marketing to gain fame.

More La Coruna

2011-08-02T22:11:00.001+02:00

Santiago de Compostela

Tommy was given a Real Madrid lollypop from the candy store owner who liked his jersey

La Coruna is really a beautiful city. The Maritime Walk takes you around the whole peninsula right along the coast, never losing sight of the water. At one spot there is a Roman tower to climb for even more spectacular views. We have enjoyed incredibly good food, the highlight being Caldo (missed taking a picture,) a broth made with chorizo, ham, beef, chicken, a white bean and grelos, which has no translation but is like turnip greens. Like the Fabada in Asturias, it will make a phenomenal winter dish to add to our repertoire. We hit another aquarium, which makes it 6 in Spain. We had a day trip to Santiago de Compostela where the St. James route ends and is considered an extremely holy site in the Catholic religion.

Oviedo to La Coruña

2011-07-31T13:00:00.000+02:00

Oviedo has a series of sculptures from movies and plays that took place in the city. Apparently there is a Woody Allen one from his Vicky Cristina Barcelona movie.

One of 2 Botero sculptures

¡Carbayone! An awesomelly good Oviedo pastry.

Robbie getting the vote of every dog in Spain

Our landlady greeted us with tortilla de patatas, teltilla cheese with honey,salad and country bread with fresh ingredients from her village

¡Pulpo!

Pig face

Morcilla, blood sausage. This one is sweetened with raisins

Galicias next most famous food: Empenadas

Pulpo a la feria in obligatory copper pots

We spent our last day in Oviedo exploring more of the city and its specialties, like the Carbayon pastry. We boarded a late bus to Galicia where we will spend a week in La Coruña and explore the region. Of course there is a month long celebration that just started with food booths set up and shows every day. We got some tortillita de camarones from a Cadiz booth and of course pulpo a la feria at which is the number one Galician dish. Beach and market trips were also in order. I got some great langostinos, chicken, fruit and vegetables and cooked up a simple meal using olive oil, garlic and salt. The peppers are the local padron and they are barely spicy but very tasty grilled and salted.

A few days in Asturias

2011-07-29T00:05:00.000+02:00

Asturian beans

Cudillero

Asturian cow

Bocadillo with local cheese

Covadonga

Roman Bridge in Canga

Cabrales Cheese stored in caves

We have taken some trips the last couple of days. Yesterday we went to Cudillero, a beautiful village on the sea with really nice views of the Cantabrian coast. Today, I set out early to try to hit a few spots in eastern Asturias. Two lakes in the Picos de Europa park, Covadonga (an important religious site as well as the start of the Reconquest of Spain,) and Arenas de Cabrales to see how the famous Spanish blue cheese Cabrales is made.

Santander to Oviedo

2011-07-25T23:47:00.000+02:00

Our hotel street and home to many cidrerias

pouring cider

Asturian cheeses and mebrillo

¡Fabada!

Tommy and his orange soda

We stored our bags at the hotel and headed out to see if it was clear enough to take a boat tour, but the weather did not cooperate. Another gray, drizzly day. we instead headed to a market we happened upon last night, el Mercado del Este. It is a small building with a few stores and a couple of restaurants. We had a nice lunch and headed to the bus station after picking up our bags. We had a smooth ride to Oviedo, checked into out hotel, and strolled the center before settling in at a cidreria for dinner. We had some typical Asturian dishes that were very tasty and filling. Add fabada to my list of dishes that I will make back at home, though I will save it for winter.

Santander Saturday

2011-07-24T12:45:00.000+02:00

We hit the Sardinero Beach and were very impressed with how beautiful it was. It is very long and wide beach with very clean water. It is bookended by two hills that are parks. We had lunch right at the beach and the pinchos/tapas were very creative and tasty. For dinner, we went to Barrio de Pescadores, a fisherman's village in the port where the seafood restaurants serve very fresh seafood at reasonable prices. I ordered the mariscada, which was a mound of shellfish. The razor clams really stood out. After Galicia, where we will end our food trip, it seems Cantabria is the next best seafood spot.

Santander

2011-07-23T11:58:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, we headed out for our early morning bus to Santander. Our hotel was a few blocks walk from the bus station and has a nice bay view. Two hours after our arrival, Santander kicked off a weeklong celebration, which offers live music, booths offering tapas and a drink for 2.5 euros, activities for kids, etc. all spread out around the city. We made lunch out of the few that we just outside our very centrally located hotel.

Getaria and Spanish park soccer

2011-07-21T23:11:00.000+02:00

Robbie insisted on petting this Basque Shepherd

Robbie and I took off for Getaria, what I hoped would be a fishing village not overrun with tourists. It was exactly that. We walked through the main street of town down to the port and through a nature walk out to a point where we had great water views. We came back and tried to eat at a highly recommended fish restaurant called Elkano, but they were booked solid for the day. Instead, we happened upon a very good pincho joint. We came back and our afternoon activity was soccer in the park where the boys played with a bunch of Spanish kids and overcoming the language barrier was fun to watch.

Top Pincho Chef, Ordicia Market and Bearitz

2011-07-20T23:53:00.000+02:00

Ordicia

Ordicia's Wednesday Market

Salted fish

Guindillas

Yesterday was a bit gloomy so we hit the market stalls for some ingredients so the boys could compete in a cooking competition. My nephews in CT do this all the time and our boys wanted to do the same, with pinchos as the theme. They were very creative and tasted great. We also ventured over to the surfer's beach the the strong, cold wind kept us from staying very long. At night, I took off to try the last two recommended pincho bars that a really good chef in Sevilla recommended to me. Mil Catas and El Lagar were both very tasty in a classy setting. This morning I took off for Ordicia which has a large market every Wednesday. The stalls all looked good so I snapped some photos. I also bought a boina (basque beret) which was popular with the whole family. I returned to San Sebastian and we all headed out to Bearitz, just over the border in France. On our way back we hit Hondarribia, a border town on the Spanish side.

Bilbao and Guernica

2011-07-19T16:58:00.000+02:00

We took a morning train to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim Museum. It's a beautiful building housing very modern art, not my thing. We had a fancy lunch in the museum based on recommendations and it did not disappoint, especially with the desserts. We then bused it to Guernica where we saw the highlights of the town, including the old oak tree, a political symbol of the region, and some more Chillida sculptures.

San Sebastian, funicular and more pinchos

2011-07-17T18:15:00.000+02:00

A Fuego Negro and its menu

Tuna, onions and peppers

Salmon (thick and smoked) with diced idiazabal cheese and green apple

Robbie and prize from amusement park

Chillida

mini burger

mini kebab

gazpacho pop

Ajoblanco gel

We finished off some leftovers and headed for a funicular ride up Igeldo for a look out spot and a small amusement park. Back at the base of the hill, we took some pictures by Chillida's sculptures and took off for some pinchos at Fuego Negro, which served very creative pinchos such as frozen gazpacho popsicle, a gel of ajoblanco and a mini kebab, among others. On the way home, we played some soccer on the beach.

San Telmo duck and apricot and risotto with goat cheese

ribs

Scallop

Steak and padron pepper montadito

Today, we went to the aquarium and to another recommended pinchos place called La Cucharra de San Telmo. Almost as creative as Fuego Negro, the food was great. On the way to the aquarium, we walked by a rowing regatta.

San Sebastian, beach and pintxos

2011-07-16T12:13:00.000+02:00

Madrid to San Sebastian

La Concha Beach

Some sort of festival involving Sardines and Crabs

Cool Basque puppets

and a wierd tradition of whacking people

a street in Parte Vieja full of pintxo restaurants

Meal in the apartment from market produce

In the city center

We eat standing up

Grab a plate and take what looks good

After seeing the Woodberry boys off, we took a train to San Sebastian and settled in to our apartment where we will spend a full week. The city is as beautiful as everyone says with nice architecture combined with incredible geography. San Sebastian seems to be a cove with one of Europe's best city beaches one block from downtown. As we got in to town at night, we quickly set off for some pintxos, basically mini-dishes served fresh and creatively. There are literally hundreds of pintxos restaurants in a small area, each with their own creations. The next day, Robbie and I went to the market to stock our cupboards. It will be a daily routine as we will only buy what we need to that day's lunch. After lunch, we hit the beach and then the old town, La Parte Vieja, for our next round of pintxos. I'll let the photos do the talking.

Madrid yesterday, Avila and Segovia today

2011-07-14T01:35:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we toured Real Madrid's stadium, Retiro Park, ate chocolate and churros at the famous San Gines, and had a great dinner at Bardemcilla, o hot spot in Madrid, owned by Javier Bardem and family. Today we had a trip to Avila, a beautiful walled in city. We had their famous chuleton and some delicious homemade desserts. We then headed to Segovia where we toured the cathedral and alcazar. We also had cochinillo at the famous Meson de Candido.

Madrid

2011-07-12T01:17:00.000+02:00

We took Tonibus to Madrid this morning. The boys walked through the Plaza Mayor to the Palace and Cathedral. We then had the very famous steak at Casa Paco, where Woodberry in Spain had a very long tradition.

Calpe

2011-07-10T03:24:00.000+02:00

We had a beach trip to Calpe which included a hike up an impressive monolith.

L'Estimat

2011-07-08T19:08:00.000+02:00

After classes we headed to the beach to eat at paella. To mix it up, we had arroz negro and Fideua, a noodle paella.

Central Market and Magic

2011-07-08T00:35:00.000+02:00

Our very full day started out with a class in the market led by chef Jordi Morera and then a tasting of olives, olive oils, hams and cheeses followed. Jordi showed us how important these are in Spain and how there are varieties and levels of quality that make a difference. Here is a link of a NY Times article that mentions Jordi (we got him last summer for the first time before this article came out.)

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/travel/23hours-valencia.html

We stopped in at La Lonja, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and then we returned to Jordi's restaurant for a great, imaginative Valencian lunch.

We met up again for a night of magic and dinner. Through a good friend of mine we managed to get a private performance with some of Spain's top magicians. It was a fantastic end to what was one of the most complete days of Woodberry in Spain history.

Piano and Horchata

2011-07-07T01:43:00.002+02:00

We had a pianist play some works and explain the life of a few of the top Spanish composers of classical music. Later in the afternoon we had fartons (a sweet pastry) with horchata (a milky drink made from tiger nuts,) famously from Valencia, at the famous place to have them- Daniel's.

Government and cheese

2011-07-06T02:02:00.000+02:00

Seems like as good a combination as any. We had a law professor from the University of Valencia come to talk to the boys abut how Spanish democracy, much younger than our democracy, came to be. Tonight we had a cheese tasting from one of the very high quality stalls in the Central Market give us a talk about the different regions of Spanish cheese and the importance of artisan cheese and how it differs from factory made cheese, all with tastings. We then had a great group dinner.

Dia de independencia

2011-07-05T01:41:00.000+02:00

We celebrated 4th of July with an night trip to a mall, laser tag, all-you-can-eat Asian buffet and bowling. We also met up with an ex-Woodberry Spanish teacher, Ed Denault, who had rune the Spain trip for Woodberry for 11 years and was in Valencia visiting his in-laws.

Calatrava

2011-07-04T02:08:00.000+02:00

Last night we saw a very fun Argentine movie called Un cuento chino. The boys really enjoyed and many commented on how proud they were of themselves that they could follow it with relative ease. Today we walked part of the ex river Turia to the City of Arts and Science which has many buildings by the famous architect Calatrava, who is from Valencia. Part of the city houses Europe's largest aquarium.

Night tour

2011-07-02T15:40:00.000+02:00

Last night we met at Torres de Serranos for a night tour of the city. We walked as if we were in medieval Valencia and actors popped out in character to tell us about the city. After the great tour, we stopped for a midnight dinner at Galeria, a very fun,hip bocadillo joint.

Mercado Central

2011-07-01T00:27:00.000+02:00

We took the boys to the central market which is the most impressive market in Spain, probably of all Europe. They will get a tour in a few days from one of Valencia's best chefs but today it served as a place to learn new food vocabulary. The images are downloaded from the internet so you can see what kind of market it is.

Granada to Valencia via Murcia

2011-06-30T00:20:00.000+02:00

We had our one of a kind us from Valencia come pick us up at our hotel in Granada this morning. We planned a stop in Murcia which is about half way to Valencia from Granada. We had a good, large lunch and then finished the journey where the boys met their second set of Madres. Sorry for the lack of photos. I'll right that wrong with our first full day here.

Granada

2011-06-29T00:42:00.000+02:00

We took a very early train from Sevilla to get to Granada, drop off our bags at the hotel, and make a morning Alhambra tour. The extreme heat provided us with a good opportunity to see how the muslim inhabitants knew how to use running water, scented plants and shade to create a micro-climate in the 13 century. Before dinner we went up to a look-out point to see the Alhambra in its entirety. There was a flamenco trio playing as we checked out the view. For dinner, the boys were given money and told to explore the city and to test how Granada still has the old fashion way of serving tapas.

Bolonia

2011-06-27T22:56:00.000+02:00

Today we took a bus to a beautiful beach called Bolonia with stop at the base of Vejer, a pueblo blanco. This was a spur of the moment trip as the boys chose it over going to Cordoba, which might of been overkill after the Alcazar of Sevilla and the Alhambra which will will see Tuesday.

Italica

2011-06-27T01:00:00.000+02:00

A visit to the first Roman city outside of Italy and then a typical countryside bbq was the plan for the day. Italica, built for injured Roman soldiers, provided a good idea of Roman architecture and our guide that we brought with us had an endless supply of knowledge about Roman history and how it related to this site. We saw a quick video which did a nice job simulating how Italica would look in its prime. We also saw throughout the site mosaics and board games carved into the stones. The bbq was a cut of pork called preso iberica and it was truly delicious.

Cadiz and Jerez

2011-06-26T03:03:00.002+02:00

Today was the tour of Cadiz and Jerez. The boys got to see both cities while climbing a couple of towers in Cadiz (a city famous for its lookout towers) and a sherry winery in Jerez. One of the towers was the Dark Camera where the mirrored projection showed the boys a live 360 degree view of the city. First thing off the train, however, is the standard breakfast of Andalucia- toast with tomato puree, cured ham and olive oil.

Cadiz and Jerez

2011-06-26T03:02:00.000+02:00

Guitar, Cathedral and Alcazar

2011-06-24T20:57:00.000+02:00

Today Oscar Guzman come to our class to give a great talk about classical and flamenco guitar, which included him playing some pieces for us. We then toured the outside of the cathedral and went through the inside of the Alcazar. We will go inside the cathedral and climb the Giralda after visiting Italica on Sunday.

Corpus, cultura and futbol

2011-06-23T20:50:00.001+02:00

Another full day which started with the Corpus march down main street. We then returned to the classroom for a class on the three cultures of Spain and how they got there, got along and not got along. We ended with a great talk about soccer in which this group seems to have a strong interest.

Cante y cine

2011-06-22T20:14:00.000+02:00

We had a morning full of great speakers. We started with Ana Real, whom we saw sing last night. She explained Flamenco singing and the variety of Flamenco rythms. Then she had the boys give it a try. We then had a class on Spanish Cinema.

Flamenco, dia de la musica and Al Medina

2011-06-22T02:11:00.000+02:00

This evening we went to a great flamenco show (though a tough place to take pictures) where the singer was Ana Real, who will come to our class tomorrow to talk about what she does. On the way to our dinner, a Moroccan restaurant, we passed by the main stage in Sevilla for the European Music Day where Kiko Veneno was playing, one of the best New Flamenco style artist.

Jesus, la universidad y la caridad

2011-06-20T19:47:00.000+02:00

Today we had a special class that we started last summer when I was introduced to a phenomenal teacher named Jesus. I asked him to take us someplace very special to people from Seville and he showed us on of the most incredible chapels which is found inside an ex hospital called La Hospital de la Caridad. It is full of Murillo's work and it is meant to teach people about the importance of charity in Catholisism through art. Before this tour we rented space in the ex tobacco building which is now part of the university of Seville. We had a quick but intense class on Romanticism with the lyrics of a Spanish pirate.

Plaza de Toros

2011-06-19T21:07:00.000+02:00

Sunday was bullfight day and we had our usual shade tickets right in front of the action. Seville is considered one of the premier places to see a bullfight as it is the capitol city of where bullfighting was born. It is also revered for the color of the sand it has in the ring.

Gymkhana and Cortijo

2011-06-19T08:53:00.001+02:00

Yesterday the boys went on a scavenger hunt (called a gymkhana in Spain) were they had to find certain plaques, order specific local dishes and ask people on the street to perform. To prove they had completed the tasks, they took pictures and filmed each task.

Today we went to an Andalusian ranch called un cortijo. There we were greeted with drinks, shown how gazpacho is made, taken on a tour of how they raise fighting bulls, given a class by a professional bullfighter, allowed to fight baby bulls in their ring, and then served a great meal of grilled steak and chorizo criollo.

Santa Cruz

2011-06-17T01:15:00.000+02:00

Today, before classes, we had a good walk through Barrio de Santa Cruz, which is the odd name for the old Jewish quarter. It is a true maze of very narrow streets, designed by the Arabs for shade and to create a wind tunnel effect. Tonight, the boys opted for a flamenco bar. I have included some pictures of tapas I had for lunch today as this is the city where tapas were first made. These were from a fantastic place called Enrique Becerra. Also, on the way to meet the boys for the evening activity I happened to pass a small procession and I only had my cellphone camera so I took some low quality pictures. I asked the ladies that posed for me and they said it was the Rocio de Sevilla which I think is a "cowboy/flamenco" style fiesta.

Music class and Triana tour

2011-06-15T19:49:00.000+02:00

Our guest speaker is a singer in a rock band who gave us a brief history of Music in Spain which included youtube, powerpoint and cd's. We then toured what I feel is the heart and soul of Sevilla and that is the Triana neighborhood. We intermingled historical sites with tapas as we would end up eating at three different restaurants along the route. The food was delicious as the first and third were very traditional and the second was a more modern take on tapas.

Piropos, tapas y vino

2011-06-15T03:02:00.000+02:00

We had a full day of classes. Students picked up a free newspaper on their way to school which will serve as one of their textbooks. They also began their study of literature and grammar that is not normally found in textbooks. We then had a guest speaker talk about piropos (pick-up lines) and then we quickly headed to the bus station for a short ride to a large restaurant where we were to have a class on tapas and wine. The boys first toured the facilities and then tried their hand at helping the cook make two classic Spanish dishes, tortilla de patatas (potato omelet) and salmorejo (think thick gazpacho.) We then had a five course meal from the restaurant and a very well synchronized wine tasting which taught the boys about the varieties of Spanish wine and how they pair with different dishes. The wine expert is one of the most respected in all of Spain and really did a great job explaining the many aspects of wine.

Cell phones

2011-06-14T00:24:00.000+02:00

Because of the delay of getting to Spain, today was our first chance to get cell phones. We did this as part of our tour and also as part of showing them the route from their apartments to the school. While at the school the boys had a chance to send a quick email. They has all their meals with their families and everyone seems quite happy with their homestay families. We met up again at night to give the boys a chance to socialize. Trying not to embarrass them any further I kept my camera in the pocket and offer you this snapshot of the cathedral on my way back to the hotel.

Barcelona by day, Sevilla by night

2011-06-13T00:35:00.000+02:00

Metro station

Escalators up to Parc Guell

Obligatory shot with Iguana

Intense game of boliche on the way back from Parc Guell

Mont Juic

Paella at Port Olimpic

Arroz negro (squid ink)

Mr. Collier organized an impressive day for us to cover as much ground as possible before our 7pm flight to Sevilla. We started by checking out, storing our bags, and having a typically light Spanish breakfast. We were then off to Parc Guell, which was intended to be a residential community designed by Gaudi but was never completed and now has some very interesting remnants like the long, serpentine bench (if a bench could be famous. this one is it,) and, of course, the iguana, which is one of the symbols of Barcelona. We then took some gondolas up to the castle on Mont Juic and then down to the port were we headed for a big paella lunch. We picked up our bags and headed to the airport where we caught our plane with time to spare. We surely could have used another day in Barcelona as we had to cut out two museums (one for Picasso and the other for Joan Miro) as well as a great tour of the Palau de Musica Catalana. We got to Sevilla without much of a hitch (save for one taxi breaking down) and met the families at our usual meeting spot. As what happens every year, I forgot to take pictures of the handoff of the boys to their new Spanish mothers. It's a sight to see as you can feel how ready the mothers are to spoil their new sons.

Day 1, take 2

2011-06-12T02:22:00.000+02:00

Top of La Rambla

La Boqueria

Eating in the market

Hamming it up

Plaza just off of La Rambla

Gaudi's Casa Batllo

In Batllo

Batllo rooftop

Asador Aranda

Grilled lamb

Chatting with a local with a longboard at metro stop

In fear of reliving our first attempt to get to Spain I will not recount those events and rather start the blog with our long awaited arrival to Barcelona. The first group to arrive met with Mr. Collier and were taken to a great place to get introduced the the tapa culture, El Taller de Tapas. I love the word taller because when used to describe the arts it is a place where people can work on what they love, more than the workshop that the dictionary would tell you it means. When all but one of us had arrived we went to La Boqueria and the boys were given money and told to go through this amazing food market (look it up on the internet) and find something good to eat. Before we headed out I bought them enough of arguably the best ham in the world, Joselito, to sample. We then toured the strange street Las Ramblas, full of vendors, performers, locals and tourists and went through the gothic quarter. We picked up our last student and headed to see two of Gaudi's homes, Batllo and Pedrera. The group split in two and chose which house they wanted to tour. After a bit of free time we headed out to a fancy restaurant that specializes in roasted lamb and had a great meal. We took the metro home and are ready to get a good rest before we hit the streets again tomorrow morning. Overall, the boys are being well fed, housed and exposed to some of the great architecture of Barcelona. Our hotel also happens to have a rooftop pool with 360 degree views of the city.

Final Post - Madrid

2010-07-15T03:23:00.001+02:00

Our last full day we hit Retiro Park, had patatas bravas where they originated, ate at the most famous churros con chocolate place, took a final exam, and had our steak dinner where Woodberry has been going for probably more than 20 years, the one and only Casa Paco.

Day 31 - Avila - Segovia

2010-07-14T01:22:00.000+02:00

We left early to catch a train to Avila, a beautiful walled in city also famous for its chuleton (think big t-bone steak.) We then headed to Segovia to see its many monuments and dine on its famous cochinillo (suckling pig.)

Day 30 - Madrid

2010-07-13T01:56:00.000+02:00

We started the day with a breakfast mixer in the Plaza Mayor with a girls school where my wife and I used to work in California. We mixed the tables and had a chance to compare programs. We then did a walking tour of the Cathedral and some residential neighborhoods. We had a grilled meat lunch and then some frre time to shop or recover from the crazy night we had celebrating Spain's big win (a newspaper had a photo of one of our students celebrating.) We then tried to see the parade with the players but the multitude of fans slowed it down too much for us to wait so we went the the Reina Sofia museum and then took a metro to dinner. When we exited the metro the team buse was about to pass so we had front row spots by pure luck. We then had a great dinner at Bardemcilla.

Days 28 and 29 - Valencia - Madrid

2010-07-12T00:43:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was free for the students to enjoy one last day at the beach and enjoy Valencia's great host families. Today we arrived in Madrid as is we had planned to be at the epicenter of the country's inevitable first World Cup championship. Before the craziness began, we caught an hour of the Prado Museum.

Day 27 - Valencia

2010-07-09T18:27:00.000+02:00

We had an incredible morning as we hired one of the top chefs in Valencia to take us through Spain’s best produce market to teach us the tricks of the trade on how to pick fresh fish, vegetables, etc. Then, back at his restaurant, he taught us the levels of quality within cured hams and the variety of olive oils, among many other things. Then he kicked us out of his restaurant so he could prepare a huge lunch for us (while we took a quick tour of the Lonja, the medieval stock market) that combined both classic and innovative dishes. The most modern was the gazpacho that had some ingredients frozen, some in foam and mixed together was simply delicious. The traditional baked rice dish, arroz al horno (blood sausage, rib meat, potato, tomato and garbanzo beans,) tasted even better than it looks in the photo.

Day 26 - Valencia

2010-07-08T23:27:00.000+02:00

We had our second art class which helped prepare us for our visit to the Reina Sofia Museum this Sunday. After lunch we met up again to have the famous Valencian drink- Horchata with Fartons, a sweet pastry. We went to probably the most famous horchataria- Daniel.

Day 25 - Valencia

2010-07-08T00:46:00.000+02:00

We rearranged the schedule so that we could be free to watch the Spain - Germany semifinal World Cup game. During the day, however, we had our first art class to help us prepare for the museums in Madrid. I have struggled to make a good contact for this class and decided this year to take a shot in the dark and ask at the Valencia museum of modern art (IVAM) for some help. They gave me the numbers of some art guide companies. I called one and tailored the class to the Prado one day and Reina Sofia the next. Today's class was mediocre but I spoke with the teacher and hope that we can make some adjustments and improve the Reina Sofia class.

Day 24 - Valencia

2010-07-06T23:44:00.000+02:00

Today we had a really nice piano class where the boys leaned about some great Spanish composers and heard some of their work played by a piano teacher one floor below our classrooms. Ed Denault first found this woman when he heard her music flow into our classrooms and he recognized the composer. Then we met after lunch to walk around the City of Arts and Science where there are many futuristic looking buildings. many of which built by Calatrava, who is from Valencia. We then headed to a restaurant where we had a wine and cheese tasting and explanation of how important different artisanal cheeses are and how to "marry' them with both wine and "confit."

Days 22 - 23 - Valencia

2010-07-06T00:53:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, we celebrated the 4th of July with a mall trip with laser tag, chinese buffet, and some bowling. Tonight we had a night tour of medieval Valencia with actors popping out of doorways playing different roles from the 16th century.

Day 21 - Calpe

2010-07-04T00:23:00.000+02:00

We met at the bullring to load onto a bus for a beach trip to Calpe, a town about 2 hours south of Valencia. The pictures will show that the main event is actually a scary hike up a huge monolith. Everyone dared to hike though one group went before lunch while the other group went after lunch.

Day 20 - Valencia

2010-07-02T23:37:00.000+02:00

Today the boys had a very complete explanation from a very well known law professor from the University of Valencia about the structure of the Spanish government and how it came to be.

Days 18-19 - Valencia

2010-07-01T23:49:00.000+02:00

The last couple of days have been a quick introduction to Valencia. We took a quick tour of the center of town and the fantastic Central Market. Last night we met up for a really good Italian meal and an interesting Spanish movie - La vida empieza hoy. It was a bit shocking for our students but less so than most Spanish movies. Today, after classes, we had a big seafood (razor clams and local mussels called clochinas) and paella meal right on the beach.

Days 15-17 - Sevilla - Granada - Valencia

2010-06-29T23:30:00.002+02:00

We headed to Granada by train and had a nice trip up to a lookout over the Alhambra. We then had dinner in the center of town, right next to the catherdral (2nd largest in Spain after Sevilla's.) After exploring the city we headed back to our hotel which used to be a monestary. We woke up to head out to a morning tour of the Alhambra and the Generalife Gardens. Our tour guide did a great job explaining what we were seeing and after we ended the tour we met our bus to Valencia back at the hotel. We are here now and will resume our classes tomorrow.