SOMM Laguna

We have 4 days left on our exploration of Spain. Today in Madrid, it is cold, windy and rainy – a good day to catch up on my blog.

The music theater in Barcelona. We went to La Triviata in this amazing building.

After 4 weeks here, you realize that art in every form is everywhere and very important to Spain. Every gallery we went to had lots of school kids of all ages walking through and for the most part they seemed interested.

By the way, when people say everyone speaks English here… eh, not so much. Most people (except hospitality workers) speak English like I speak Spanish – I can get the point across but I miss so much in the conversation. Meeting a wine vendor who supplied the local wines for our cooking class spoke very little English. He and the chef had a very lively conversation about the menu and what local wines would pair well with the ingredients. I missed most of that 😟.

Seafood paella – mussels, cuttlefish and shrimp, stuffed squid – with ground pork, grilled egg plant, green beans with cured pork, and roasted pork loin. The wine was a local Verdejo for €12.

One of the amazing things about Spain is the value for the money you spend. We spent a week in Paris but here in Madrid and Barcelona, the cost is 1/2 of that in France. Wine by the glass is $3 to $6 (and not a short pour either). This wine is as good or better wine than we get back home for $12 – 18/glass. Bottled wine was $15 to $25 for the most part. Dinner entrees are $15 to $25. We did spend more in a couple of places but you don’t have to.

Stuffed squid

My new favorite aperitif wine is the local Vermouth (Vermut here). This is not the vermouth you add to a martini or the sweet vermouth from Italy. This is Demi-sec with lots of herbals and organics. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get any back home so I’m bringing a bottle.

This is a Vermut bar and all the bottles you see on the wall are local Vermuts. BTW, they range in price from $3 to $6/glass.

This is an original. It is in the Prado Museum and was a painted at the same time as the one in the Louvre. The backgrounds are different but there is a slight resemblance in the model.

This is slightly out of the time sequence but this is the inside of the Sagrada Familia. It is truly an architectural masterpiece and worth the trip all by itself. It is unlikely it will be finished in my lifetime but what a thrill to see it.

Annie and Tiff indulging in a local favorite, churros dipped in melted chocolate.

I’ll have one more post before we come back on Monday so I hope you’ve enjoyed the trip as much as we have.