Month: June 2017

It’s time to say goodbye to Madrid and all our new friends.

Most people hate travel days, and I am not overly fond of them. It’s a long way from Europe to California and our bodies go through such an assault with the nine-hour time change.  It takes many days for me to recuperate from a trip.  Even with these inconveniences, I’m not willing to give up the joy of travel because of a little jet lag.

The alarm rang at 3:15 AM. I’d managed to get a couple of hours’ sleep, but kept waking up in case the alarm didn’t work.  The suitcase was out at 3:30 and we were in the lobby at 3:45, along with our guide Susana and three other friends who were in the same shuttle. The driver was there.

The streets were crowded with revelers.  It was still warm out.  Madrid is a 24/7 city.  We made it to the airport in record time; the streets may have been busy but the freeway was mostly clear of traffic at 3:45 AM

The airport was filled with lots of people waiting in long lines. The staff didn’t come on until 4:00 AM with one lonely clerk processing people through..very slowly.  At 4:30 there were three clerks and the line moved faster.  After we checked in our bags, we wandered a bit getting those last-minute souvenirs and post cards.

Security was a nightmare for me.  I had to go through THREE times before I was cleared! I don’t know what triggered the alert, and neither did the security people, but I was finally allowed to proceed.  That was the only little problem of a very long day.

The flight from Madrid to Frankfurt on Lufthansa was uneventful. It was a smooth flight and we got breakfast: a tasty egg and potato omelet, with fruit, bread and juice, with coffee, tea or water.  Nice! I’m getting spoiled by European airlines  it was a two hour ten minute flight.

We had just under two hours for the transit from Madrid to Frankfurt and, for once, there were no problems;  it was, in fact, the smoothest transit I’ve had at Frankfurt.  We did not have to go through security again, to my delight, and we were able to stroll through the corridors instead of run at breakneck speed.  It was very civilized.

The best was yet to come, as we were flying back on my beloved Airbus 380 and we were in premium economy seats! I had Overseas Adventure Travel make the airline bookings, as it was cheaper to do it that way, and chose to travel via Frankfurt on Lufthansa because of this airplane. It just happened that Lufthansa offered O.A.T. a promotion when I was booking and we got the seats at a true premium price: my seat was $50 extra.  My sister’s seat cost more but together the price was about the same for the United Economy Plus seats.  We were really lucky. Ordinarily The cost can be up to 900€ per seat, one way.

Our seats were in our special cabin, just behind the cockpit, with the stairs for the second floor in front of us.  There was a curtain in front of us and a curtain behind us. Our section consisted of rows 50-56, I think.  There was a two-four-two configuration.  My sister and I sat across from each other in aisle seats, she in the center section with two empty seats in her row.  I had a lady sitting in the window seat to my left but there was plenty of room, both under the seat and across. Each seat had the large individual TV screens and there was a console containing the tray for food service.

We were served a drink before takeoff.  We each got a lovely little toiletry kit. We were given a menu with food choices, which were different – presumably better – than regular economy.  The food WAS good.  The drinks were plentiful and, if one wished to indulge, there appeared to be no limit, as I observed with a fellow passenger, who passed out after her seventh serving of varying libations.  Yuk. Mother said  “Don’t mix your drinks!”  As usual she was right and I couldn’t help but wonder how this passenger would feel when we landed. She was out like a light for most of the flight. I did manage to sleep quite a bit but my alcohol intake consisted of one glass of wine and a Bailey’s after dinner.

The airplane has 95 rows in the main cabin.  I don’t know how many rows are in the upper deck; first class was upstairs.  Most of the middle rows had only two passengers instead of four, which was nice.  We weren’t crammed in like sardines.

This plane floats, it doesn’t just fly – it’s also very very quiet.  My sister was reading her book and didn’t even realized we’d taken off.  Landing is also very smooth.

Because it is such a large plane, it is not available at all airports. It flies out of NYC, LA and SFO. There may be other airports, but I’m not aware of them. Air France has the same plane, but with different interior configurations. As a matter of fact, I’ll be flying to Paris on it in the fall, on my way to Bologna, Italy for an O.A.T. trip to Tuscany and Umbria with my friend Ann from England.  I also got the $50 promotion price on that flight and will be upstairs.  That should be interesting!

I read, watched two movies, slept, and before I knew it, the journey was over.  We landed in San Francisco, went through a computer-generated passport clearance, said hello to a real person to get our passports stamped, and proceeded to get our bags.  There was a bag problem because one of the belts didn’t work, so that took awhile. It took us over an hour to get out of the airport, then we were on BART, traveled to my stop, got in a taxi, and came home.

It’s good to be back.

After the heat wave in Spain, we were greeted with – guess what- a heat wave in California!

I’ll be working on my photos, taking a conversational Italian class, tutoring my adult students in French,  catching up on my reading, going into the City, and doing some small  trips in CA to see friends.  I’ll be in Italy in the fall, Vegas after that, and Hawaii with family for the holiday season.

Yes, travel is part of my life.

I hope you enjoyed tagging along with us.  I’ll be posting more in between trips. I have lots more photos to show!

Ciao from the sisters

Bea

and

Karen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to sleep in today, since we had no schedule and breakfast was served until 10:00. Oh, joy!  Since I have become an expert at the Spanish Breakfast Buffet, I veer toward fruits and fruit juice. Ever had cold strawberry juice? It’s delicious. I will miss the choices when I get home to my sparsely furnished refrigerator.

It’s hard to decide what to do in Madrid. This is my third visit to the city and my sister’s first, and on my last trip, we were here for almost two weeks and stayed in an apartment, so I know the city fairly well.  With the sizzling temperatures, we decided not to pound the pavement in the 90+ degree heat but enjoy the art the city has to offer in the air conditioned splendour of  its three major museums: the Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sophia.

There was a group going to the Prado so we decided to join them. Our guide Susana took us to the right line and got us in quickly.

The museum map has a list of the must-see paintings and I took her to my favorite – and most enigmatic painting. The painter is Diego Velásquez and the title is Las Meninas, The Ladies-in-Waiting. It is the signature piece in a room of portraits of royal family members, also painted by the him, and the eyes – and feet – are immediately propelled to this huge painting in the center of the circle.

 Velásquez was the painter of the court and this painting shows a large room in the Royal Palace in Madrid, with several figures: it is a strange and enigmatic work, and includes the painter himself, painting the scene in the foreground. The young Infanta Margaret Theresa is surrounded by her entourage of chaperones, including two dwarves and a dog; Velásqiez portrays himself on the left, as he is looking outward at the scene he is painting, and behind him there is a mirror which reflects the king and queen surveying the scene. It is a fascinating study and is considered the best painting in the museum.

We spent some time enjoying the fleshy nudes of the Rubens as we strolled the center hall, then went down one level for my second favorite painting in the museum, the altarpiece by Hieronymous Bosch known as The Garden of Earthly Delights.  I first saw this work in 1971 with my then-husband and he bought slides to take home. It is an amazing work, especially considering that it was painted between 1490 and 1510. It has been in the museum since 1939.

The detaIl is what makes the tryptich, of course. On the left we have the painter’s view of the Creation, with God presenting Eve to Adam, and the center shows what life with excess can produce; the nude figures are “socially engaged,” the animals are unlike anything you’ve ever seen and there are strange bubble-like conveyances, like something out of a science fiction narrative. The right hand side is what happens when it all goes to hell: darkness prevails, ugliness abounds, and there is also condemnation of the church with a pig dressed as a nun. A man is defecating money.   The details are mesmerizing.

There is a wealth of information online if you’re interested in learning more  I used Wikipedia for some basic facts.

We stopped for a drink and a bit of a rest at the Prado café. It was a madhouse  with tons of elementary and high school kids in their last week of school;   many teachers take them on field trips after their exams to fill in the hours

We were not able to take pictures of the paintings in the galleries but we could take them in the cafe-shops area so I took advantage of that.

On to the Thyssen! It’s just across the street, linked by a shady park.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is the collection of the Baron whose holdings were originally in Lugano, Switzerland.  After an unsuccessful attempt to increase the building, he moved the museum here to Madrid. With over 1,600 paintings, it is one of the largest private collections in the world and is celebrating its 25th anniversary in Madrid this year.  The Baton’s wife, Carmen, is the former Miss Spain of 1961 and has taken a pivotal role in the collection’s move to Spain as well as the installation of the works in their new home..

The collection is encyclopedic, with a smattering of the old and new, but I enjoyed the French impressionists and American works, including quite a few by John Singer Sargent.  Pop art is also represented. Fun!

The museum is large, with a lot of space to stroll the rooms. It wasn’t crowded at all, and was a very pleasant experience. We ran into a couple of people from our group who also enjoyed it a great deal.

We had a lovely lunch at the cafe, housed in the building next door. I had tuna-tomato salad

My sister enjoyed a Caprese salad, also delicious!

We walked back to the hotel, since we had to prepare for our evening. Unfortunately  we were not able to get to the Reina Sophia, which was across the street from our hotel..so close yet so far away. Our energy was shot.

we left at 5:00 for a flamenco demonstration and farewell dinner, which was held in a cave in a bar just off the Grand Via, the main shopping and entertainment street, just north of the Puerto del Sol. The flamenco group was very educational and entertaining.

Ralph and Debbie were enlisted to do some dancing. I made a video but don’t know how to upload it.  I will figure it out and send it to you.

We had a dinner of many courses after the flamenco presentation – surely a farewell feast!

Tomorrow we fly away, leaving the hotel at 3:45 AM. We should be like the  Spaniards and stay up all night.

There will be one more post from our Portugal-Spain trip.  Stay tuned. It’s not over yet…

 

After our tiring day in Toledo we were back on the bus on the road to Madrid – this time the freeway, not the back roads. We arrived at our lovely Hotel Paseo del Arte near the Atocha train station in late afternoon, and were free for the rest of the evening.

After settling in to our room, we went to the desk to ask for a recommendation. His suggestion took us to an area of tapas bars, but we found a cute place just before the main tapas bar street that looked inviting, and we had a cold soup and a beer. Perfect!

The next morning we were on a bus-and-walking tour that gave us an overview of the city.  The bus dropped us off at the Royal Palace and our walking tour began; our guide explained that the Palace was closed today, because the king was receiving the credentials of new ambassadors.  Just as she said that, royal carriages and a battalion of soldiers in horseback arrived!  It was quite a scene.

We walked around the streets of the Royal Palace and the streets that lead up to the Plaza Major, the main square in Madrid.

We explored an indoor glass-and-iron market which was built by a devotee of Gustave Eiffel where there were delicious delights, but it was expensive and seemed more like a tourist trap.  The market, however, whetted our appetite for lunch.

 

My sister and I had a very fresh-off-the-grill calamari sandwich and a coke before wending our way back to the hotel. The restaurant was on a side street of the square and the clientele was local. Excellent value!

We had a  choice for our afternoon activities: stay and explore more of Madrid  or go to Segovia?  Hmmm.. what to do? Since this was a backroads trip, we decided to see Segovia. After all, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has an ancient Roman aqueduct, a magnificent cathedral  and the fairy tale castle that inspired Walt Disney. We opted to go to Segovia.

We were greeted by the aqueduct, in pristine condition since Roman times, as we entered the city.

We strolled the streets and our guide pointed out the various architectural styles, where Jews, Christians and Muslims once again lived together side by side.

Segovia is a busy tourist town with many shops and restaurants  this is a famous restaurant which features suckling pig, a Spanish specialty .

The next stop of interest was cathedral square.  As well as the massive cathedral, there is a small church where Christopher Columbus met with Queen Isabella  and he talked her into paying for his voyage to discover new lands in 1492. History lives here!

Our last stop was at the Alcazar, or royal castle, which was also decorated in the interior, a rarity these days. Walt Disney took this castle as inspiration for his Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland and as his logo. Who doesn’t remember  that?

 

The castle-fortress rises out of a rocky crag and is one of most of the distinctive castles in Spain by virtue of its shape, like the bow of a ship. The first reference to this fort was in 1120, about 32 years after the city of Segovia returned to Christian hands. Before that, the Muslim era structure was little more than a wooden fort built over old Roman foundations  (Wikipedia).

Was it worth a visit? Most definitely! Check Wikipedia for more information on this wonderful  city.

 

On my way down the hill to the bus, I spied another sight worthy of a photo:

After we got back to Madrid we joined several friends at a new restaurant called Ôven, which was across the street from the hotel, on Calle Atocha.

How does one say “world’s greatest spinach salad” in Spanish? My sister and I both ordered it. Delicious!

Tomorrow is our last day of the tour and a free day in Madrid, followed by our farewell dinner.

Hasta mañana!

• 

After breakfast and check out in Ronda, we once again followed the back roads, gazing at fields and modern windmills before arriving for our sizzling hot day in Córdoba.

When anyone asks me what is my favorite place in Spain, I always say Córdoba, and with good reason. The Old Town is a mixture of Jewish, Christian and Arab cultures with magnificent architecture. There is tourism here, but the charm of the white-washed narrow winding streets beguile me above all else. I was here six years ago in October and was happy to return. It was more crowded and hot here than our earlier trip. I didn’t expect a heat wave in early June! I still recommend fall and spring as ideal travel times to this part of the world.  Our local guide told us that this year TripAdvisor ranked it as the #1 most popular destination.  It’s well worth a visit.

We walked over the Roman bridge to enter the Old Town.  We spent the first hour in horse-drawn carriages, going through the narrow streets, then stopped for lunch in air conditioned comfort with other friends from the group. Everyone in the group had favorites and we tasted others’ food choices. We two ordered two tapas: one was fried eggplant smothered with honey and the other was fried shrimp, all chased down with water and a cold beer. Delicious!

Our destination was the Mezquite of Córdoba, a mesmerizing eighth century mosque and one of the world’s greatest Islamic buildings.  The English translation on the pamphlet calls it the “mosque-cathedral of Córdoba.”

Córdoba has been a cosmopolitan, international city since its founding and was the largest city in Western Europe in the tenth century. What makes this site unusual and unique is that in the center of the mosque is a Catholic cathedral, where two of the world’s faiths intermingled in one building. The church was built in the sixteenth century after the Christians took over the city from the  Arab world. Instead of tearing down the mosque,  King Carlos V decided to keep it as is and have the cathedral in the center of the existing building. The result is the juxtaposition of two faiths, two points of view and two cultures in one space. If only we could all so peacefully co-exist today! We are grateful to King Carlos for his decision to blend instead of destroy a work of art and architecture. The visit brings home an important message for us all.

Our local guide Antonio then gave us a tour of the Jewish Quarter, which has been thriving for centuries.

At the end of our visit, we boarded the bus for Ubeda, where we are now located, once again, in a parador.

After a rigorous day, settling into the cool reception area was like being in a sea of tranquility.

The city of Ubeda is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of the perfectly preserved Renaissance buildings. We’re in the main square, in the center of it all. Tomorrow we meet a family and take a tour of their olive trees and mill in a nearby town. The name of their olive oil? San Francisco!

 

 

The scenic drive from Seville to Ronda included lovely fields of sunflowers and a huge lake.

The whitewashed village near the lake is reminiscent of the hill towns of France and Italy here, but here the uniform white dazzles.

To break up the journey we had a tour of a ranch where Andulusian horses were raised and trained  I didn’t have many photos because the heat was oppressive and I didn’t feel too well. We had lunch there after our tour.

We arrived in Ronda and are again staying at another parador, the Parador de Ronda, which was originally the City Hall. This is a building from the twentieth century, so its history is a young one, compared to others in which  we’ve stayed.  The building is ultra modern with the room is huge with all the modern conveniences, including our own balcony with a view of the gorge!

We did an orientation walk after arrival and Susana gave us an interesting cultural adventure.  We went into a small enclosure where cloistered Carmelite nuns live and sell their wares to the public in an ingenious way: one enters a small room, rings the bell and asks for whatever goods are displayed in the cabinet – knitted baby articles, religious tracts, desserts, and other hand made items. The cloistered nun comes to the other side of the door but does not show her face;  the exchange of money is handled discretely.

Our walks during the last two days took us through some spectacular scenery.

We attended  a home hosted dinner our last night here. Juan and Ima are veterinarians and work for the government visiting the farms, making sure that the livestock are inoculated and cared for. They have three sons, ages 13, 15, and 17.  The oldest boy will be attending high school in the U S in the fall, his younger brother is a budding cartoonists and the youngest is a scholar. The house is filled with animals: a cat, a Spanish water dog named Katy, a rabbit named Greta, a love bird and fish. They also have a large terrace with magnificent views of the city. It was a delight to sound time with this warm and welcoming family.

We are now in Úbeda, at another fantastic parador. Tomorrow we explore an olive mill and discover this delightful town.

To be continued..

 

It’s tough to say goodbye. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the beautiful Parador de Carmona.. 

Right now I’m playing catch up, as the internet is much better here in Ronda. Choosing and uploading photos took quite some time, and I’m doing the blog as I can with life going on around me, so I apologize for the length.

We’ll begin with the photos from Mérida:

Walking the Roman road over the bridge

The Temple of Diana: notice Muslim building  behind it.

Diana, not really in a good mood

Thespian sister mimics statue: “Not tonight, dear, I have a headache!”

Lunching with locals

Boy, that beer tasted good!” With ninety plus degree temps, it’s important to find the shade – or the indoor space with A/C.

Friday was a long day, but very worthwhile, as we spent time in beautiful Seville, the capital of Andalusia. It’s the fourth largest city in Spain, after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.  It’s about a 45 minute drive from our hotel.

Our local guide was Pablo, who was very entertaining and knowledgeable. He got his PhD in Texas so his English is excellent.  We did a drive around the city, then focused on the Old Town, where we had a tour of the Jewish Quarter with its tiny, tight winding streets, the Cathedral of Seville with the tomb of Christopher Columbus and the Royal Palace and Gardens, AKA the Alcazar Palace complex.

Our first stop, however, was the magnificent Plaza de España in the Maria Luisa park, which was built for the 1929 exposition. The main building material was porcelain tile.

 

We then visited the Jewish quarter with its maze of small winding steeets and shops.

The massive cathedral at Seville is the third largest  in the world, after St. Peter’s in Vatican City and St Paul’s in London. Some places just can’t be adequately captured with photos because of their size, so I focused on one item of interest: the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

Yes, he is buried there. He had several “final resting homes” after his death, including Santa Domingo and Cuba.

He had an elevated burial crypt with allegorical figures representing four kingdoms of Spain during his life: Castillo, Aragon, Novara and Leon. The tomb was installed in 1899. The tomb was orinally installed in Havana before being moved to Seville after Spain lost Control of Cuba.

No one actually knew if Christopher Columbus was a religious man or even if he’d been baptized a Catholic, but here he is. DNA testing was done to make sure the bones are really his.

Our next stop was the Royal Palace and Gardens, also called the Alcazar, located just across from the cathedral.  It was a fairly busy day but Pablo was able to get us fast tracked, and through the line quickly even though his tour with us was officially over.  We showed ID for a substantial senior discount. The buildings are very Moorish and greatly resemble the buildings of the Alhambra in Granada.

We decided it was time for a snack and a cold beer so we headed for the cafeteria, then visited the magnificent  gardens.

We went back to our ” home,” the Parador de Carmona, where we had a bit of time to rest, read, play cards,  or swim in the pool before heading off to dinner in an old olive mill. The restaurant was conveniently located down the street from our parador.

I decided I needed more food porn the next morning so I did some breakfast photos before we left for our scenic drive to Ronda.

It’s time to hit the road again..to Ronda!

 

 

 

 

We sadly said goodbye to Portugal this morning as we headed out to Spain. There was nothing dramatic as we got in the road; the signs jusr changed to Spanish and we lost an hour of time. We are now nine hours ahead of California time. We had our first comfort stop a couple of hours after leaving and about an hour and a half later, we were in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mérida. It was in the 80s at that time, with highs climbing into the 90s. No humidity though.

We left the bus and walked over the Guardiana River taking the old Roman bridge, which is in excellent condition, especially considering that it was built two thousand years ago.  Mérida was conquered by the Moors after the Romans, then by the Portuguese so it has a colorful past. The Roman ruins here are among the best preserved in Europe.

We walked across the bridge and wandered up the pedestrian street, where Susana pointed out the ham store. She went in and came out with samples for us – delicious! We climbed up to our first monument.

The Temple of Diana was our first site, at the corner of a quiet side street and a longer road.  It was a Roman site constructed in the early first century AD  after the conquest of the area by Emperor Augustus. Roman Mérida, known as Emerita Augusta, became a thriving metropolis and and an important center of power in the region.  Within the city the Temple of Diana would have become a central part of the Roman forum, where the principal civic buildings of the city stood. Among the Roman ruins were also ruins of the Muslim rule of the land, since it was conquered in 713 by the Muslim army under the leadership of Musa bin Nusair,  an interesting juxtaposition showing the layers of history on one small piece of land. The museums actually re-used and expanded the ancient buildings, bringing us the concept of recycling!

We continued up until we came to a main thoroughfare.  There was a modern building which housed parts of Roman roads which was part of one of the many renovation projects of the area.  Susana mentioned that it is now common to put garages at street level, not underground, because as soon as the city digs, there will be found ruins, so the demolition of the streets must stop in order to preserve what is underneath.

We turned right into a street with many restaurants and Susana stopped, got a few menus and discussed the specialties of the region. At the end of this long street of food choices, we came to the two most beautifully famous monuments:  the 6,000 seat Roman theater and its adjoining amphitheater, where gladiators fought animals imported from Africa and Asia. It took us about a half hour to walk among the ruins.

We had lunch on our own at a charming local brasserie, where we had potato salad, gazpacho and a beer.  It was perfect!

After lunch we explored the National Museum of Roman Arts, which housed the antiquities from the discoveries found in the town.

We were back on the bus at about 3:30 and headed to our next stop: the beautiful Parador de Carmona, at the very top of the hill in the whitewashed old city. We had an hour or so to reorganize  ourselves before heading down to the dining room for a delicious dinner at 8:30. At the evening’s end Susana took some of the group on a “digestive walk” then we were in for the night.

I haven’t been able to  upload my photos for today, so this will be sent out without them. There’s some kind of glitch and I’ve been trying to figure it out.

Just returned from a wonderful day in Sevilla, which I hope to tell you about soon – with photos I hope.

 

 

 

 

Before starting our day, we fueled up with a magnificent breakfast among the gothic arches in the cloister – what a glorious setting! The food was heavenly as well.

Our guide Susana met us in the lobby, then we went outside, and in the shadow of the Temple of Diana,  she explained to us the history of this medieval university  village.

 

We then walked through the old city, stopping by to chat with a lady named Antonia, who happened to walk out of her house. She gave us kisses and wished us a good day.

We got to the university and met two students who gave us a tour and answered our questions..

They  told us of their traditions, some formal and some funny. We were able to sit in one of the classrooms for a Q and A. They were attired in their robes which are used in ceremonial occasions, which looked quite familiar.  Was Harry Potter a member of the University of Evora? No, but J K Rawlings was living in Portugal when she wrote the books. The robes are identical!

Old and new, the medieval along with the modern – all worked together. The buildings were beautiful  and the students were a delight.

We did a walking tour of the other sites including the Évora cathedral, which has a blend of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. It is the largest cathedral in Portugal.

The church of St Francis houses the unusual Chapel of Bones, which reminds us of the transitory nature of our being. The bones were brought here by three Franciscan monks in the sixteenth century  who dug them up from local cemeteries as a warning and a reminder to the wealthy citizenry who appeared to enjoy their worldly goods a bit too much: “We bones in here wait for you to join us.” The bones were artfully arranged along the chapel walls, ceiling and columns. It was very eerie and the reactions of the people who paraded around the chapel freaked me out a bit. Some seemed to enjoy it a bit too much, whereas others were appalled. It was a thought-provoking  encounter.

 

Susana took us to the food market for a few tastings of local products, then we were free . We found an ATM for me, and a store that seemed to have lots of odds and ends that met our needs: sunglasses and souvenirs. Beatrice saw a sign for ice cream on one of the streets, so we tracked it down and enjoyed a sumptuous “lunch.”

We had free time until 5:15, when we set off for our cooking lesson from the Portuguese Cooking School. A friend and colleague of Susana’s, Sophia and her crew greeted us enthusiastically. The school is located in the patio in what was the former garage of her home, which was renovated to resemble a garden house, with plants and herbs growing outside. She was assisted by three ladies. We broke ourselves up into two groups: one group made the salads and dessert and our group made the main courses. We were responsible for a pork stew and potatoes, and a cod dish with, among other things, onions, garlic and olive oil. ..the three most important ingredients in Portuguese cooking, we were told.  Menus were given out and we will bring them home to cook for you, or you can cook for us! Sophia started us out with a chorizo appetizer and fueled our culinary spirit with plenty of sangria, which went down smoothly. It was a delightful experience even for those of us who are less than gifted in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, we must say goodbye to Portugal, as we cross over the border into Spain tomorrow. Though it is a driving day, there will be some stops around the back roads once again. We will visit Mérida, Spain, one of the most important Roman capitals on the Iberian Peninsula and step back in time for a few brief moments.

To be continued…