So, over the course of the 2013-2014 school year, I traveled Spain. I hit the last 8 autonomous communities of Spain that I had not yet visited. I fell in love with new aspects of the country and ate my way from coast to coast... to coast.
Reflecting on the journey, here are my top 3 comunidades autónomas.
#1: Andalucía
Andalucía is the home to Sevilla, which will probably always be my favorite city in the world. Sevilla was the first city to steal my heart and no matter how many times I go, the city will never get old.
Blog posts:
- Day trip to Cádiz with CIEE (September 2010)
- Day trip to Córdoba with CIEE (October 2010)
- Weekend trip to Granada with CIEE (October 2010)
- Mom in Sevilla (November 2010)
- May puente in Andalucía (May 2013)
- Almería with one of the teachers from school (August 2013)
- Sevilla with Jackie (July 2013)
- Sevilla with Justin and Christy (April 2014)
- And most other blog posts from August 2010 to December 2010
The infamous croquetas from my "secret bar"
I've been all over Spain and these were hands down my favorite croquetas of the country. The hole in the wall bar with the castle beer tap was a comfortable refuge off the beaten path. It was the first time that I felt I had discovered something on my own and it ignited a desire to uncover as many hidden treasures as I possibly could.
Favorite memory:
The first time my worlds collided
Sevilla is a city that I want to share with every person that I love. I want them to walk along the river and get lost in the winding streets that first stole my heart. When Mom came and got to meet Margarita, my host mom, and experience life in my first Spanish home, I realized the importance of knitting my two worlds together. Since then, I have gotten to explore Sevilla with Napala (my 2012-2013 Fulbright friend), Jackie (my bestie), and Justin and Christy. I have also gotten to share Madrid with Ali and Hanah, which was equally valuable when it came to sharing part of my love for Spain with friends and family.
#2: Comunidad de Madrid
HOME.
When I first arrived in Madrid, I was unimpressed. I longed for Sevilla and the international capital just didn't cut it. But over time, Madrid rubbed off on me. I fell in love with the Mercado de Chamberí and learned not only the Metro system, but also the bus system. Runs around Retiro park became routine, like the runs along Lake Macatawa in Holland and down Homestead Road in Hershey. I accurately answered both tourists' and locals' requests for directions. And whenever I got back to the airport and took the Metro back to my 5th floor apartment, I felt the same sense of belonging that I felt when I opened the front door of my childhood home or walked into LJs.
Blog posts (just to name a few):
- First days of school (September 2012)
- Global Classrooms 2013 (February 2013)
- Madrid happenings (May 2013)
- Rogers girls' adventures in Madrid (June 2013)
Favorite food experience:
It seems a little wrong that my favorite food experience in Spain's capital was an American food experience, but most of the best memories come from the unexpected. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be eating a Thanksgiving dinner alongside U.S. and Spanish officials and teachers. I didn't expect my name to be printed in gold or to be eating off of plates that had the embassy's seal. Though the Thanksgiving celebrations could have been overshadowed by the longing for friends and family, I was blessed with a meal that I never could have dreamed of.
Favorite memory:
Two years in Madrid come with too many memories to pick just one. So I chose the memory of the people. The groups that took me in and made me feel part of the community. A church group that checked up on me, prayed for me, gave me hugs when it had been a rough week. A dance family that encouraged me to push myself further, be creative, celebrate self-expression. A Fulbright family that worked as a team, supported me as I struggled with GC challenges, made me laugh when I was taking myself too seriously. I am thankful I was able to enjoy my time surrounded by such wonderful people.
#3: Galicia
The Pennsylvania of Spain. Galicia was one of my favorite places to be because it had the natural beauty that seemed just right. The rain brought lush green trees and grass that reminded me of drives through central PA.
Blog posts:
- WWOOFing in Santiago de Compostela (September 2013)
- WWOOFing once again (November 2013)
- Caminewbs de Santiago (June 2014)
Favorite food experience:
For
a long while, I didn't understand why Spaniards referred to
blackberries and strawberries as "fruits of the forest". That is, until I went
foraging in the forest for the fruits. Hidden along streams and in a
grove of chestnut trees, I picked handfuls of berries off the bushes,
distributing half in the bucket and half directly into my mouth. I
realized that they were sweeter or juicier depending on where they were
growing and I reveled in the beauty of finding such delicious food growing
naturally, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.
Favorite memory:
My entire first winter in Spain, I was cold. My apartment was slightly warmer than an icebox and I layered my pajamas in an effort to sleep through the night. I joked with my Spanish friend Juan about how my favorite place in the city was the metro, a place that was dependably warm and lent to a comfortable few moments of reading on the bench while I waited. But when I spent a weekend in Galicia in November, I snuggled into a feeling of home. I sat next to the wood-burning oven, sipping on tea and chatting away with María the same way that I would perch myself next to the fireplace at home. I was part of a household that took turns doing chores, cooking meals, and sharing in life. Though I was a visitor, I slipped into routines easily and found the family conversations in gallego easier than small-talk conversations in English. I snuggled up close to the fire and and culture without a struggle, wrapped in a blanket of acceptance.
Now from here on out, I can't say that I have a fixed order. So for the rest, I've decided to go alphabetical...
Aragón
Favorite food experience:
I don't have a picture of a single meal I ate in Zaragoza.
Earth-shattering discovery.
I had some good meals in Zaragoza, but nothing that I remember particularly well. The meal that I remember the most vividly in Zaragoza was actually the worst meal that I ate. For one of our two meals that were not served at the hotel, Brock, Napala, and I went to a restaurant on a small side street that claimed to be famous for their migas (crumbs). We all ordered migas for our first plate of our menú and were surprised to be served microwaved bowls of bread crumbs, each specialized to our order. Brock's migas con uvas (crumbs with grapes) was a bowl of warmed bread crumbs with 6 halved grapes dropped on top. Brock was feeling adventurous that day and had decided to order callos (intestines) as his second plate. But as the microwaved bowl of chewy slop was set in front of him, he realized it was not the ideal place to order callos. Oops. Thankfully, we found a La Cure Gourmande to rectify the situation with delicious cookies.
Favorite memory:
Eloisa, the teacher who told me that "Bilbao isn't very beautiful", said the same about Zaragoza. "Zaragoza? But why don't you go to Ávila? I think it is much more beautiful...." Well, Eloisa, I didn't get to organize our mid-year conference; I took what I could get and hoped for the best. But when Dan, Napala, and I arrived, our low expectations were quickly surpassed. We shed our coats to bask in the warm sunshine and stared up at the clear blue sky. We posed with the statues in the main plaza and admired the street art while munching on fresh strawberries from the market and gummies from El Rincón. Since we arrived a few hours before the rest of the grantees, we meandered without a schedule or a destination. And as we sat and chatted about life in the sun, I remember thinking what a shame it was that I had been obliged to spend a few days in such a "disappointing" city.
Cantabria
Blog post: Santander with Napala (September 2012)
Favorite food experience:
Those croquetas de marisco were quite delicious and deserve to be my favorite food experience. However, it is a shame that they are representative of the only memorable meal that I had in Santander, a city with a great deal to offer in terms of gastronomy. However, Santander was one of my first trips of my two year stint in Spain and at the time, I was figuring out how to manage my finances. Napala and I stayed with some young male Fulbrighters who tried to see how long they could outlast grocery shopping, which meant their fridge was beyond empty. One night when they came back to the apartment after we had fallen asleep, we woke up to some commotion in the kitchen... "Dude, they ate all the meat!" By "eating all the meat" they meant we had each eaten 4 small slices of chorizo out of a sliced meat pack for dinner. They had bought the meat pack on Friday (along with one bag of oranges) and expected it to be enough sustenance for four people for an entire weekend. False. Good thing our last meal, including croquetas, was darn delicious.
Favorite memory:
Leaving on the last bus home
When we prepared to leave Puente Viesgo, a city located an hour and a half bus ride from Santander, we didn't consider the fact that the bus could arrive early. (We were in Spain, after all!). The boys were in the bathroom when the last bus home arrived, leaving Napala and I to beg with the bus driver to wait for them. We didn't want to spend the night in Puente Viesgo but we didn't have keys to get back into the apartment if we left without them. So, I stood in front of the bus while yelling at the boys through the restaurant window. The thrill of the event was a good reminder anytime I traveled; Spanish public transportation is on time, even if most Spaniards aren't!
Castilla-La Mancha
Blog posts:
Favorite food experience:
Joe is a man that loves his sweets. And so
he was fully supportive when I decided it was necessary to eat marzipan
in Toledo, a city that is known for its marzipan. After a lunch of free
tapas at a bar that a local had recommended to me, we topped off the
meal with fancy desserts that begged to be repeated. Joe's especially,
since he had finished the cake he ordered before I finished taking a
picture of my sweets.
Favorite memory:
Where did they go?!
If
you are going to visit me, I am probably going to make you walk a lot. A
LOT. I am also going to man the map, sometimes leading you out of the
way so that we will walk past something that I think is worth seeing.
But you'll never know; you'll assume that I led you the most direct
way possible to our next destination. And you'll be thankful for the
free tour guide and relaxed way you can approach the city. Unless you are
Justin and Christy. And then, if your feet hurt, you will revolt,
deciding to hide from me until I remind you that in this one particular
instance, it was actually your idea to walk the entire way around the city's perimeter.
Castilla y León
Blog posts: None! Most of my time in Castilla y León was during high school and I never got around to writing about my day trip to Salamanca this past winter. Oops.
Favorite food experience:
Pig cheek
Don't knock it 'til you try it. It was absolutely delicious. Lauren, Lindsey, Matt and I wandered the city for more than half an hour trying to find a restaurant that would provide us with a quality culinary experience. When we finally found one, we got turned away because we didn't have reservations (Darn reservas!). Luckily, they gave us a good suggestion down the street and we were all pleased.
Hidden treasure in Salamanca
I had been to Salamanca when I was in high school, so it was fun to return to the city this past winter. The plaza in Salamanca is one of the most gorgeous in all of Spain and both cathedrals have hidden treasures to uncover. I first read about the astronaut, frog, and ice cream cone in 2007 when I was on my first flight to Spain. This time I knew what I was looking for! Do you see it the astronaut?
Cataluña
Blog posts:
- Weekend trip to Barcelona with Grace and Molly (October 2010)
- Stopover in Barcelona with Hanah (April 2014)
Favorite food experience:
I
feared eating in Barcelona, a popular tourist destination that mixes
quality restaurants with tourist traps, memorable culinary experiences
with meals that make you want your money and meal's worth of calories
back. I felt a responsibility to expose Hanah to all that Spanish
cuisine has to offer, but had no idea of where to go in such a major
city. Thankfully, our airbnb host gave us an excellent tapas bar
recommendation that allowed Hanah to point to everything she wanted to
try and polish it off with the waiter's recommendation on dessert. It
was absolutely delicious... the first time at a restaurant in Spain that
I wasn't left longing for a more American dessert option!
Favorite memory:
Gaudi's
architecture is truly unlike anything I have ever seen. The influence
of nature on his architecture brings refreshing life to Barcelona's city
streets and definitely gives Barcelona an attraction worth the masses
of tourists that flock there each year. After seeing Casa Batlló, La Sagrada Familia, Casa Milá, and Parc Güell, I would definitely recommend Casa Battló. The Sagrada Familia is fascinating in that you can walk through history as it is being made, however, Casa Batlló provides a thorough journey thorough Gaudi's artistic vision that makes me wish I could experience it all over again.
Blog post: Puente in Pamplona (May 2014)
Favorite food experience:
I typically have low expectations for the local museums, so the Museo de Navarra was really quite impressive. It reminded me a great deal of the Pergamon in Berlin; it had a wide variety that kept us intrigued the entire way through. Good company and good conversation were also perfect companions to my wanderings around the museum.
Comunidad Foral de Navarra
Blog post: Puente in Pamplona (May 2014)
Favorite food experience:
Solomillo de cerdo
Since
we were in Pamplona during the week, we got to enjoy a fantastic menú.
The solomillo had flakes of salt on it that made me want to invest in
quality salt. The caramelized onions and fries on the side were also
fantastic, taking the typical Spanish lunch one step further.
My favorite piece in el Museo de Navarra
I typically have low expectations for the local museums, so the Museo de Navarra was really quite impressive. It reminded me a great deal of the Pergamon in Berlin; it had a wide variety that kept us intrigued the entire way through. Good company and good conversation were also perfect companions to my wanderings around the museum.
Extremadura
Blog post: Trip to Carmen's village, Don Benito (November 2013)
Favorite food experience:
When Carmen and I headed to Don Benito with her uncle, we stopped for dinner in the historical center of the small city of Trujillo. After walking around the main plaza and seeing a little-known city in Spain, I had one of the best cuts of pig that I ate in my entire two years: face! Slightly different road-trip meal compared to the Panera "You-Pick-Two" meal that I had on the Ohio Turnpike last week.
Favorite memory:
Rice fields in Don Benito
Carmen's family owns some land to grow rice near their home in Don Benito. We drove through fields upon fields, stopping to pull some rice out of the ground and to check out the birds that were migrating through Extremadura. It was wonderful to be right in the midst of the agriculture that the region is known for.
Islas Baleares
Favorite food experience:
Ensaïmadas are found all over
Spain, but they originate from Mallorca. It is always the best to taste
something in its hometown and these delicious pastries fried in pig
lard were no different. I think we ate them three different times,
sometimes plain, other times filled with nata (whipped cream), crema (cream like you would find inside a cream-filled donut), or apricot.
Favorite memory:
Mallorca
was absolutely beautiful, but filled Lauren and I with an intrigue that
kept us wondering, "Where ARE we?!" After eating cherry pie in an
adorable German cafe and finding people unable to respond to us in Castellano,
we came to grips with the fact that island life is not the same as life on the
Iberian Peninsula. Most things were written in Spanish, English,
Catalan, and German, constantly reminding us of the interesting mix of
cultures that inhabit Palma de Mallorca.
Ropa vieja
From the snow to the beach in a matter of a few hours
Islas Canarias
Blog post: Tenerife with Fulbrighters (March 2014)
Favorite food experience:
Food
in the southern part of Tenerife was definitely not impressive. Streets
were lined with karaoke bars and Irish pubs (and sometimes Irish pubs
with karaoke). Ensaladilla rusa was listed on boards as "Russian
salad", which is a literal translation, but does create some questions
when you consider how many Russians inhabit the island. Is it the
typical Spanish Russian salad? Or does this poorly defined restaurant
that serves pizza, burgers, paella, and fish n' chips also serve a
Russian salad? Luckily, in the north of Tenerife I was able to sit on a terraza
in a tank top in the middle of March and have a dish that I had not
seen in all of Spain (while simultaneously getting a sunburn). And it
was pretty freaking fantastic.
Favorite memory:
Besides my walks on the camino
or my trips to the beach, I rarely ventured out into the natural
wonders of Spain. So, when the five of us ventured to the highest point
in Spain (an active volcano), and then watched the sunset on the beach, I
was glad I had joined this group of fascinating Fulbrighters for some
natural island adventures. Both the landscape of
Tenerife and the group dynamic had a unique beauty. I knew most of my travel companions only from our Global Classrooms meetings, but I felt like part of a
group almost immediately. I quickly forgot my fears of a weekend-worth
of awkward social interactions and instead fell into step with my fellow
travelers.
País Vasco
Blog post:
Favorite food experience:
When Napala, Chris, Meg, and I were in San Sebastián, it rained the entire time. Thankfully, we were there during a pintxos festival and we ate for about three days straight. We ate everything from pig's ear to rice with octopus in its own ink and visited more restaurants in three days than I did in Madrid in over a month.
Favorite memory:
The Guggenheim in Bilbao was a beautiful museum and was extremely enjoyable to explore. While some museums fill themselves to the brim, the Guggenheim achieved a balance of subject matter, form, and style in a manageable size collection. Walking along the river of Bilbao and seeing such intriguing architecture wasn't too shabby either, especially since the city was described by one of my co-teachers as, "not very beautiful." I'll agree to disagree on that one too, Eloisa.
Principado de Asturias
Blog post: Trip to Oviedo (September 2013)
Favorite food experience:
Erica
and I went to Gijón, partly because we had heard it was a beautiful
city and partly because Annette had told me that her favorite restaurant
in Spain was located there. I ordered the special that the waitress recommended
and to this day have no idea which fish it was, only that it was
delic-fish. We sat for hours, drinking sidra alongside old men
who were singing away in the corner and enjoying a delightful meal that
made me want to move there. It was so good that I don't even feel guilty
saying that it outshone fabada asturiana, a hearty bean soup
that left me with a food baby I had no desire to carry again. Most
Spaniards would be aghast that I didn't love the fabada; however,
it is a Spanish food tradition that I prefer in very small quantities,
which is the opposite of how it is served in Asturias.
Favorite memory:
I love telling people that in Asturias, traditional music is bagpipes and traditional dances don't resemble flamenco in the slightest. When Erica and I stumbled upon the cultural song and dance performance in the streets on Sunday morning, we were blown away. We had been living in Spain for a two years and a year, respectively, and I had never heard of such cultural traditions. Then, when we discussed our surprise, heads whipped around right and left, reminding us that people who live in lesser-known parts of Spain aren't so accustomed to having English-speakers roam their streets. Asturias was my second comunidad in my second year challenge and it served as a good reminder that I still had a lot of learning to do.
Región de Murcia
Blog post: Cartagena with Erica (June 2014)
Favorite food experience:
Tapas in the South are just irresistible. While in other parts of Spain you can get raciones,
there is something about being able to pay a few euros for a taste of
something that makes me extremely happy about life. While I waited for Erica, I
finished up Teacher Man, the last book that I had brought from the U.S., and munched on these fried slivers of eggplant drizzled in honey.
Favorite memory:
Murcia scores high on my list of favorite places in Spain because of the way so many people pass over it. Most Spaniards told me it wasn't worth visiting, but when I arrived, I found quaint streets, ancient history, and spacious beaches. La Manga, a peninsula that I hadn't even heard of during my 2 years in Spain, boasted a unique two-sea experience that left Erica and I flabbergasted as to why people would avoid such an inexpensive and enjoyable region.
La Rioja
Blog post: El Camino in Logroño
Favorite food experience:
Potatoes. Eggs. Jamón serrano. Ohhhhh, the jamón. Huevos rotos
is really a simple dish. It uses only basic ingredients and is quite
easy to replicate at home. As long as home is somewhere in Spain.
Because such a simple dish highlights the distinct flavor of a good jamón.
Such a simple dish begs for the potatoes to have been fried in the
quality olive oil that sells at Spanish grocery stores for a fraction of
the price of what I would spend for a similar product in the states.
Such a simple dish is one of those unappreciated, artery-clogging
staples that you don't value until it is gone.
Favorite memory:
Fast friends
When I headed out for the camino,
I had met Mark and Annette only 5 days prior. But their welcoming
personalities gave me no second thoughts about getting on a bus and
traveling 6 hours away from Madrid with them. We played "Zap!" for hours
on end and walked until my feet were embarrassingly sore. They showed
me how to follow the little yellow arrows, much like they helped me to
follow God's voice in the following months and years. For the next two
years we planned on continuing our trek across Spain, but we never got
around to it. In my goodbye card from house church, Annette told me that
one day we will walk the rest of the camino. I sure hope so, because there is nothing quite like spending hours walking alongside a good friend.
Valencia
Blog posts:
Favorite food experience:
In
Valencia, it makes sense that my favorite food was a paella. I still
can't believe Napala and I managed to eat that entire pan.
That was the biggest rice baby I have ever had and ever plan on having.
Then again, I am moving to China so I guess we'll see...
Favorite memory:
Mid-year seminar sounds like it should be a boring conference of lectures
and forced dinners. But it is far from that. As I talked about in both
my blog entries, the Fulbright seminars were some of the most inspiring
days of my young life. I can't even begin to describe the blessing of
being surrounded by such extraordinary people who are using their gifts
and intellect to change the world. Though my second trip to Valencia
consisted of sitting in conference rooms and following a scheduled
program, I walked away baffled at the gift that I was given not just
once, but twice.
Well, my friends, there you have it. Spain is a beautiful, diverse country with much more than meets the eye. It continues to surprise me and impress me even now.
Thank you, Spain, for all you have shared with me. I'll carry memories of your hidden beauties with me forever and share them with the world as much as I can. Starting here.
In His grip,
Amber
