Hola. Ira Returns from Spain
Nov 2nd, 2012, 07:56 AM
#61
ek - my favourite recipe with sardines/pilchards [which we can get fresh from time to time in Cornwall] is the sicilian one that combines the fish with onions, sultanas, fennel, breadcrumbs and pasta.
here's a good version:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...ardines-106272
sadly the pilchard factory in Newlyn [which was the last of the many businesses that used to preserve the fish and export them, mainly to the Ligurian coast] closed down about 5 years ago. I don't know where the Ligurians get their pilchards now.
here's a good version:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...ardines-106272
sadly the pilchard factory in Newlyn [which was the last of the many businesses that used to preserve the fish and export them, mainly to the Ligurian coast] closed down about 5 years ago. I don't know where the Ligurians get their pilchards now.
Nov 3rd, 2012, 07:04 AM
#62
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Hi all,
After breakfast, and the first of several “goodbye”s to Patrick, I took the metro up to Tetuan and a short walk to the Europcar office where I picked up a Peugot 308 Diesel. Good car, drives well, 45 mpg in the mountains, which is very nice when you have to pay 1.32 E/L for diesel. Gasoline was about 0.45 E/L more.
With the aid of my, usually, trustworthy TomTom GPS I returned to the hotel where we said “goodbye” to Patrick again, loaded the car and drove around the block so that I could retrieve my hat and say “goodbye” to Patrick again.
We followed the A2 to the N230 to the A1606 onto an unexpectedly, well-paved access road leading up the mountain to an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, very old, recently restored town where we had to stop to pull in the side mirrors before negotiating our entrance through an arch onto the central plaza and La Hospedería de Roda de Isábena (www.hospederia-rdi.com/ ), which I can highly recommend.
The drive up, on very good roads, was quite scenic – much like visiting the American West. Scrub land, mixed with fertile fields, mesas, buttes and noble mountains in the distance. The major difference was that it took only 3 hours to get to the mountains.
Highlights of the journey, other than the beautiful mountain views – the castle at Benabarre, a mountain shepherd, with his dog, tending a flock of sheep, and a partridge flushed from cover beside the road.
The Hospederia is a very nice, well-kept, comfortable lodging, sharing the plaza with the Romanesque Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Roda d'Isàvena, consecrated in 1067 but dating back to before 984.
Our good-sized, comfortable room on the first floor (US second), with French doors onto a little balcony overlooked the valley and the Isavena river. (The bare stone wall behind the twin beds was a nice touch.)
We arrived and settled in just about the time that a storm, which had been following us up from Barcelona, arrived. Slowly, but steadily, the mountain across the valley disappeared behind a gray mist of cloud until everything – mountain, valley, nearby vegetation – had disappeared. Heavy rain lasted only an hour or so, but there was steady precipitation all that night and the following morning.
No problem. We went downstairs to the little pub for some wine and a snack. We spent a pleasant hour or so sort of communicating with local folk who spoke only a Spanish with which my Lady Wife was totally unfamiliar. Taking some bread and cheese back to the room with us, we got ready for dinner.
For those interested in cost: Wine was 4.5E for 150 ml, artisinal bread was 1.9E for a ½ kg loaf, and locally made Manchego cheese was 14E/kg.
The hotel’s restaurant is in the old refectory. Here we dined in Abbot-like solitude, attended by a very pleasant young woman with only rudimentary English. (Side note: The Cathedral was both a Bishop’s seat and an Abbey. The Bishop had a palace, while the Abbot lived with the monks.)
The 16E menu provided an appetizer of duck liver pate, “fish brochette” – 3 charcoal-grilled skewers of fish, shrimp and scallops with roe over rice – and flan for one of us. Roberta had the spinach salad with pine nuts and raisins, grilled breast of chicken and ice cream.
The food was good, the portions were generous, the service was pleasant and competent, the ambience was enjoyable. 7E for a bottle of Vinas del Vero Rosada. 3E for a liter of water. 2E for a bottle of beer.
We walked back to the hotel in the rain.
Wed 09/26
Gray and cloudy, with shrouds of mist wafting about the mountain across the valley. Still raining gently.
We walked under our umbrellas to the refectory, where we were the only ones for breakfast.
There was no menu.
We knew enough to ask for coffee. The waitress, same woman as last night, brought us a platter of croissants, toast, jams, jellies and juice. We thought this was sparse, but not unreasonable.
She then asked us something in Spanish, which we didn’t understand. Crestfallen, she asked several more questions, and left when we didn’t understand. A few minutes later, however, she returned with a tray on which were:
melon, several kinds of fruit, ewe’s milk yogurt, two kinds of toast, some cheese and a few eggs.
After a breakfast fit for a bishop, we packed up and checked out of the hotel – 127 E for all that I have described.
We had expected to visit the cathedral, but a sign on the door said that it wouldn’t be open until 1:00 PM, too late for us.
Fortunately, as I was about to go for the car, a small group of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela arrived. It seems that they had arranged for a tour at 11:30 AM. We were quite happy to join them.
The docent spoke a Spanish which Roberta didn’t understand, and the tour guide translated into a French from the Pays Basque, which I didn’t comprehend, but there was didactic material in English, so we did get, at least, the gist of what were being shown. (http://www.romanicoaragones.com/2-Ri...aIsabena00.htm )
After our visit, with a little help from the hotel staff, we loaded up the car and slowly drifted in neutral out of town and down the mountain for about 5 miles before having to put the car in gear.
more to come
After breakfast, and the first of several “goodbye”s to Patrick, I took the metro up to Tetuan and a short walk to the Europcar office where I picked up a Peugot 308 Diesel. Good car, drives well, 45 mpg in the mountains, which is very nice when you have to pay 1.32 E/L for diesel. Gasoline was about 0.45 E/L more.
With the aid of my, usually, trustworthy TomTom GPS I returned to the hotel where we said “goodbye” to Patrick again, loaded the car and drove around the block so that I could retrieve my hat and say “goodbye” to Patrick again.
We followed the A2 to the N230 to the A1606 onto an unexpectedly, well-paved access road leading up the mountain to an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, very old, recently restored town where we had to stop to pull in the side mirrors before negotiating our entrance through an arch onto the central plaza and La Hospedería de Roda de Isábena (www.hospederia-rdi.com/ ), which I can highly recommend.
The drive up, on very good roads, was quite scenic – much like visiting the American West. Scrub land, mixed with fertile fields, mesas, buttes and noble mountains in the distance. The major difference was that it took only 3 hours to get to the mountains.
Highlights of the journey, other than the beautiful mountain views – the castle at Benabarre, a mountain shepherd, with his dog, tending a flock of sheep, and a partridge flushed from cover beside the road.
The Hospederia is a very nice, well-kept, comfortable lodging, sharing the plaza with the Romanesque Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Roda d'Isàvena, consecrated in 1067 but dating back to before 984.
Our good-sized, comfortable room on the first floor (US second), with French doors onto a little balcony overlooked the valley and the Isavena river. (The bare stone wall behind the twin beds was a nice touch.)
We arrived and settled in just about the time that a storm, which had been following us up from Barcelona, arrived. Slowly, but steadily, the mountain across the valley disappeared behind a gray mist of cloud until everything – mountain, valley, nearby vegetation – had disappeared. Heavy rain lasted only an hour or so, but there was steady precipitation all that night and the following morning.
No problem. We went downstairs to the little pub for some wine and a snack. We spent a pleasant hour or so sort of communicating with local folk who spoke only a Spanish with which my Lady Wife was totally unfamiliar. Taking some bread and cheese back to the room with us, we got ready for dinner.
For those interested in cost: Wine was 4.5E for 150 ml, artisinal bread was 1.9E for a ½ kg loaf, and locally made Manchego cheese was 14E/kg.
The hotel’s restaurant is in the old refectory. Here we dined in Abbot-like solitude, attended by a very pleasant young woman with only rudimentary English. (Side note: The Cathedral was both a Bishop’s seat and an Abbey. The Bishop had a palace, while the Abbot lived with the monks.)
The 16E menu provided an appetizer of duck liver pate, “fish brochette” – 3 charcoal-grilled skewers of fish, shrimp and scallops with roe over rice – and flan for one of us. Roberta had the spinach salad with pine nuts and raisins, grilled breast of chicken and ice cream.
The food was good, the portions were generous, the service was pleasant and competent, the ambience was enjoyable. 7E for a bottle of Vinas del Vero Rosada. 3E for a liter of water. 2E for a bottle of beer.
We walked back to the hotel in the rain.
Wed 09/26
Gray and cloudy, with shrouds of mist wafting about the mountain across the valley. Still raining gently.
We walked under our umbrellas to the refectory, where we were the only ones for breakfast.
There was no menu.
We knew enough to ask for coffee. The waitress, same woman as last night, brought us a platter of croissants, toast, jams, jellies and juice. We thought this was sparse, but not unreasonable.
She then asked us something in Spanish, which we didn’t understand. Crestfallen, she asked several more questions, and left when we didn’t understand. A few minutes later, however, she returned with a tray on which were:
melon, several kinds of fruit, ewe’s milk yogurt, two kinds of toast, some cheese and a few eggs.
After a breakfast fit for a bishop, we packed up and checked out of the hotel – 127 E for all that I have described.
We had expected to visit the cathedral, but a sign on the door said that it wouldn’t be open until 1:00 PM, too late for us.
Fortunately, as I was about to go for the car, a small group of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela arrived. It seems that they had arranged for a tour at 11:30 AM. We were quite happy to join them.
The docent spoke a Spanish which Roberta didn’t understand, and the tour guide translated into a French from the Pays Basque, which I didn’t comprehend, but there was didactic material in English, so we did get, at least, the gist of what were being shown. (http://www.romanicoaragones.com/2-Ri...aIsabena00.htm )
After our visit, with a little help from the hotel staff, we loaded up the car and slowly drifted in neutral out of town and down the mountain for about 5 miles before having to put the car in gear.
more to come
Nov 3rd, 2012, 07:13 AM
#63
"who spoke only a Spanish with which my Lady Wife was totally unfamiliar"
I guess you would be generally in the Catalan or Aragonese
language area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Spain
I guess you would be generally in the Catalan or Aragonese
language area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Spain
Nov 6th, 2012, 10:40 AM
#64
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Hi again,
We took the A1605 SB through Graus to N123a, the A2211and the N138 through Sobrarbe, and then headed NW to the Sallent de Galagos from whence we headed NB to Pau.
I have in my notes: “Really, really beautiful drive along lakes, through mountains and valleys, gorges and chasms, rivers, streams and waterfalls. Gauss to Oloron was particularly scenic”. One item of special interest was the hot springs at Eaux-Chaudes. I hadn’t heard of thermal springs that high up (2300 ft).
Soon we were pulling into the parking lot at the Hotel Bristol (www.hotelbristol-pau.com ) in Pau (pronounced Po as in “po boy sandwich”) where we were met by M. Charles who took charge of our luggage and car, checked us in, deposited us in the room and made sure we were completely comfortable – all in a very pleasant, even charming, manner.
[Side note: As an American, I am not comfortable with being waited on (See Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition, vol. 4 [1840], chapter 5 a: How Democracy Modifies the Relationships of Servant and Master), but M. Charles persevered. Eventually, I came to realize that It was his job to ensure that my Lady Wife and I were properly served, and it was my job to stop trying to do his job. In short, the service at the Bristol is discreet and efficient.)
We stayed in Rm 403, which had a small balcony equipped with table and chairs, a very nice view toward the mountains from the bed and bath room, and was pleasantly furnished in “traditional” style, ie, it was not too modern for us. The bed was comfortable. The shutters kept out the morning sun. Wine with bread, cheese and fruit on the balcony was enjoyable.
Breakfast, downstairs, was the usual selection of meats cheese, breads, croissants, cereals, fruits, juices, yogurts, coffee and tea, all of which were fresh and tasty. There were trays available for bringing a breakfast up to the room if one wished to do so.
Items to note: The room was “cozy”, but the bathroom was large. One needs to speak some French or have a phrase book handy as M. Charles and Mme. Michelle’s English was only a bit better than my French. Overall, a very, very nice stay - highly recommended.
Dinner that evening was at a popular brasserie a few blocks from the hotel called “Le Berry”. Roberta had Onion soup and escargots, both of which she declared to be very good, while I herring (very very good) followed by “ris de veau”, which was the best I have had in a very long time. (Ed note: The last time the author was able to get ris de veau was in 2008.)
Wine was a dry white from the Jurançon AOC – soft and fruity on the front of the palate with a salt, aharp finish – very good with both the seafood and the meat. With coffee, 57E.
time to go vote.
We took the A1605 SB through Graus to N123a, the A2211and the N138 through Sobrarbe, and then headed NW to the Sallent de Galagos from whence we headed NB to Pau.
I have in my notes: “Really, really beautiful drive along lakes, through mountains and valleys, gorges and chasms, rivers, streams and waterfalls. Gauss to Oloron was particularly scenic”. One item of special interest was the hot springs at Eaux-Chaudes. I hadn’t heard of thermal springs that high up (2300 ft).
Soon we were pulling into the parking lot at the Hotel Bristol (www.hotelbristol-pau.com ) in Pau (pronounced Po as in “po boy sandwich”) where we were met by M. Charles who took charge of our luggage and car, checked us in, deposited us in the room and made sure we were completely comfortable – all in a very pleasant, even charming, manner.
[Side note: As an American, I am not comfortable with being waited on (See Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition, vol. 4 [1840], chapter 5 a: How Democracy Modifies the Relationships of Servant and Master), but M. Charles persevered. Eventually, I came to realize that It was his job to ensure that my Lady Wife and I were properly served, and it was my job to stop trying to do his job. In short, the service at the Bristol is discreet and efficient.)
We stayed in Rm 403, which had a small balcony equipped with table and chairs, a very nice view toward the mountains from the bed and bath room, and was pleasantly furnished in “traditional” style, ie, it was not too modern for us. The bed was comfortable. The shutters kept out the morning sun. Wine with bread, cheese and fruit on the balcony was enjoyable.
Breakfast, downstairs, was the usual selection of meats cheese, breads, croissants, cereals, fruits, juices, yogurts, coffee and tea, all of which were fresh and tasty. There were trays available for bringing a breakfast up to the room if one wished to do so.
Items to note: The room was “cozy”, but the bathroom was large. One needs to speak some French or have a phrase book handy as M. Charles and Mme. Michelle’s English was only a bit better than my French. Overall, a very, very nice stay - highly recommended.
Dinner that evening was at a popular brasserie a few blocks from the hotel called “Le Berry”. Roberta had Onion soup and escargots, both of which she declared to be very good, while I herring (very very good) followed by “ris de veau”, which was the best I have had in a very long time. (Ed note: The last time the author was able to get ris de veau was in 2008.)
Wine was a dry white from the Jurançon AOC – soft and fruity on the front of the palate with a salt, aharp finish – very good with both the seafood and the meat. With coffee, 57E.
time to go vote.
Nov 19th, 2012, 01:00 PM
#66
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Hi All,
I'm sorry that I have not been giving you a proper trip report, but I think that I picked up a really nasty something on the plane back from Spain.
For nearly 2 weeks I've been on antibiotics, anti-spasmotics, anti-infectives, anti-depressants and god-knows-what else trying to stop terrible abdominal cramps and associated unpleasant other effects.
I'm finally recovering, but I'm rather worn out.
I shall update the trip report as soon as I can think more clearly.
I'm sorry that I have not been giving you a proper trip report, but I think that I picked up a really nasty something on the plane back from Spain.
For nearly 2 weeks I've been on antibiotics, anti-spasmotics, anti-infectives, anti-depressants and god-knows-what else trying to stop terrible abdominal cramps and associated unpleasant other effects.
I'm finally recovering, but I'm rather worn out.
I shall update the trip report as soon as I can think more clearly.
Nov 19th, 2012, 01:52 PM
#67
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Ira, we're really enjoying your report, as well as the ideas others have contributed. We liked Spain a lot, including Catalonia, and are considering a return in March of 2013.
On our last vist, in September of 2010, we experienced a few of the frustrations with travel that you described. But, as you said, the time in between was great.
We hope you're feeling well real soon.
On our last vist, in September of 2010, we experienced a few of the frustrations with travel that you described. But, as you said, the time in between was great.
We hope you're feeling well real soon.
Nov 30th, 2012, 12:00 PM
#72
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Hi folks,
I'm sorry that I have written, but the meds they have given me (6 kinds) make me dizzy, sleepy and fuzzy headed.
I am recovering, however, and hope to be able to provide a shortened report on just restos and hotels over the weekend.
Happy Holidays to all.
I'm sorry that I have written, but the meds they have given me (6 kinds) make me dizzy, sleepy and fuzzy headed.
I am recovering, however, and hope to be able to provide a shortened report on just restos and hotels over the weekend.
Happy Holidays to all.
