Kate Connolly

Valencia: Lookout Towers, the Holy Grail and Sunny Beaches

In my last post I wrote about the half marathon so now we will turn our attention to our victory lap on the beaches of Valencia.

Valencia is a rather strange city. Like all cities and towns in Spain, it is very old. Very, very old. But it shows its age in a way that none of the other cities that I’ve been to have done. There are actually quite a number of run-down buildings. It should be noted that run-down buildings in Spain are still rather impressive. They don’t necessarily detract from the beauty of the old town or the beach but are quite surprising, nonetheless.

Anyway, on to the old town. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, the old towns are my favorite places to go. We stopped by the Mercado Central to sample some of the local fare (jamón…and juice…) and admire the saffron. Then we stopped at one of the many churches in town. That might be my only picture with an orange tree in it which is quite a shame since they were absolutely everywhere. Then I picked out a couple of places where I might want to live. But I don’t really want to live in Valencia though so I’ll just have to take them with me. We also went into the Mercado de Colón later in the day to rest up with cerveza and wine.

We focused on two major sights while we were in the old town: the Torres de Quart and the Cathedral of Valencia.

The Torres de Quart is one of the only remaining parts of the protective wall that was built around the city in the 1400s. They also happen to provide a great view, which I suppose was the point when they were built 600 years ago. Now they simply serve as a great way to look out over the city, so we climbed. And climbed. And climbed some more.

I’d say the view was worth it.

We also heard that the Holy Grail might be located in the Cathedral of Valencia so we ventured over there to take a look. I suppose it’s awfully hard to prove that something is in fact the Holy Grail so it shall always remain a mystery. Anyway the item in discussion is the Holy Chalice of the Lord Supper which is held in the Catedral de Valencia. Whether it is or it isn’t the Holy Grail, it is beautiful. Or so I’ve seen in pictures on the Internet. We happened to go in the middle of a service so we couldn’t get right up close to it…or maybe you can never get up close it, who knows.

With the old town completed, we ventured to Valencia’s real claim to fame, the beach. The beach stretches for about 3 kilometers and is lined with bars and terraces making it very easy for a pale girl like me to spend an entire day at the beach without turning as red as a lobster. I just have to pop inside every hour or so. We did have a whole day to devote to the beach so we spent some time on the beach and then sat in the shade at one of the aforementioned restaurant/terraces.

After soaking up the sun at the beach we hopped aboard the train where were treated to some really nice sights. Unfortunately, we were on a train so there is always the faint trace of the inside of the train in pictures.

Next stop: Cuenca! The next stop is Cuenca and the hanging houses. I’m just going to leave it with that so that you’re all intrigued enough to come back.

Let’s Rock and Roll!

I had been here for less than a month and I was already eyeing a half marathon in April. Races are so enticing when they are still months away and they almost always seem like a good idea at the time. But this was no ordinary race; no, this was Rock ‘n’ Roll Madrid. And if you’re going to rock, you’re not going to do it alone. (I’ve been the person in the club dancing alone and somehow it’s not as fun as when I dance around alone in my bedroom. Yeah, I do that and I’m not ashamed to share it with the ~~world~~ twenty or so people who read this blog.) So I called on my running buddy who, fortunately for me, also thinks races are a good idea at the time. So the flights were booked, the training plans were set (and then promptly ignored), and just under two weeks ago Liz and Adam took Europe. Or at least Spain.

They landed on Saturday and Sunday morning, Liz and I woke up bright and early with the same thought, ‘this might have been a bad idea.’ Sidenote: yes, Liz landed on Saturday and ran a half marathon the next morning because she is a rock star. Anyway, we made our way over to the start line where we snapped a couple of pictures and watched the skydivers.

About 15 kilometers later, we ran into our friend from Fort Worth, TX who we met at the race expo the day before. She was running the full marathon and, at that moment, we were so grateful that we were not.

At kilometer 17, we passed the entrance to the park and the finish line. Unfortunately, we had to run all the way around the perimeter of the park. Why do they do that? If I know the finish line is near I sure as heck don’t want to circle it for four kilometers.

Finally, we made it to the finish line where Lauren and Adam were waiting for us. And in true mom fashion, Lauren had the camera ready for pictures and video.

We wore our bling for the rest of the day because that is why we run these races in the first place.

Did we do anything after the race? I don’t know…my pictures fail me. But I do believe that we went to La Mina for a couple of cervezas (because we earned those bad boys) and then ventured out into the real world again. This is the only picture I have so I know that we did in fact leave the bar and do some touristy wandering.

I like the way that the tree branches frame the shot but that wire really cuts in the worst possible place.

I mentioned before that my pictures failed me. I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures in Madrid so this post will be short and sweet. That said, I did take pictures inside and atop the Cathedral of the Almudena because it’s just so pretty.

In the next edition of Liz and Adam Take Europe, Lauren and I meet up with them in Valencia where we hit the beach and see the Holy Grail…or did we? If the suspense isn’t killing you, there will also be lots of pictures so please do come back!

PS Liz: not only did you make an appearance in the post, you’re in the featured pic!

And so it begins…and ends: John and Kate and Madrid

I know, I know, this post has been a long time coming. And when you see how long it is you’ll understand why it took so long. So with that said, let’s just jump right in.

John and Kate’s European adventures began and ended in Madrid. We saw a lot of places, actually we saw a lot of places many times. In an effort to keep this post to a reasonable length I will likely combine these multiple visits and talk about them all at once. For that reason, you will see different outfits in the same places but I want to assure you that there were no costume changes in the parks…or the plazas…or the temple. Okay, and now on with the show.

The first day was a long one (more so for John than for me since he had a full night of traveling and I had a full night of sleeping). We started with some food and drink…

…and then spent the afternoon exploring, making our first (of many) stops at the Plaza de España…

…and the Templo de Debod. This temple was originally built in southern Egypt around 200 BC in honor of the god Amun. Fast forward almost two thousand years and, with the construction of the Aswan High Dam in 1960, there was an increased threat of flooding to the sacred temples in Abu Simbel. UNESCO made appeals to other countries for help to save these temples (in fact the Templo de Debod itself would have to be moved or else face a lifetime underwater.) Apparently Spain made quite the contribution and, in 1968, the Templo de Debod was given to them as a gift. It was shipped to Madrid through the port of Valencia and was then reconstructed in the middle of Parque Oeste.

We spent a lot of time wandering around the city, down side streets, through the parks so we got to a see a lot of tree-lined streets, pretty parks, and cool architecture. Like this!

There was even a carousel outside of the Corte Inglés!

However, there was a time when we thought, you know what, I want to see more. I really want to see everything and I mean everything. So we took to the sky and took a step back. Okay 2.5 kilometers back. The Teleférico was constructed in 1969 and is kind of like a chairlift taking you over the Manzanares River and over to the Casa de Campo park. Along the way out you get to see the skyline of Madrid as it gets smaller and smaller behind you and the Sierra de Guadarrama to the side in the distance.

I was apparently very excited for something. To be in the park? To go on the Teleférico? To model my coat? I don’t know..

That was it! Those are the little cars that we rode in.

There’s snow in the mountains!

There’s Madrid. All the way over there. You can see tall buildings, right?

If your eyes are really good or you have the ability to zoom in on these pictures (do you on here? I really don’t know) you might spot a dome and a couple of steeples. Well those belong to the Catedral de la Almudena, which we visited next. Construction began in 1883 and wasn’t completed until 1993 when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. More recently, it was the site of wedding of (then Prince, now King) Felipe VI to Letizia in 2004.

Wall courtesy of the Moops, I mean the Moors

We took the tour through the church museum (where we saw lots of really ornate robes and tapestries and lots of jewels; alas, weren’t allowed to take pictures) and ended with an amazing viewpoint of the city atop the dome.

Oh right, and it happens to look out over the Royal Palace which is located right next door. And what would a visit to Madrid be without the chance to ~~stalk~~ meet the royal family? (Sidenote: I’ve seen the profile of the King’s face and his hand twice but that’s a story for another time)

Somewhere in there we also had food which goes without saying but must be said so that I can include the picture of this gorgeous cheesecake. It looks like heaven, right? Yeah, it tasted like heaven too. And I highly recommend it to anyone, anywhere. Period.

We got it here and sat on this terrace and had a grand old time.

Speaking of food we went to the Chocolatería San Ginés, the most famous churro place in Madrid. It opened in 1894 and has been serving up yummy churros con chocolate ever since. Hmm, I feel like I sounded a lot like Guy Fieri there. But anyway, they’re even open 24 hours a day!

And did we stop at the La Mallorquina bakery afterwards for a sweet treat for later in the day? We sure did. And look how pretty!

From there was walked around the Puerta del Sol as early in the day as possible to try to avoid the crowds.

While there, we visited El Oso y El Madroño which was constructed in 1967 and represents the coat of arms of Madrid. Initially I had it in my head that it was a bear and a fig tree (no idea where that came from) but it’s actually even more adorable because it’s a strawberry tree. Wait, did I say adorable? I mean intimidating. Right, intimidating. It’s totally an intimating thing to have on your coat arms…

Next stop was the Plaza Mayor, the central plaza in the city. The idea for it came from Felipe II; however, construction didn’t actually get going until Felipe III took the throne. The plaza currently contains a statue of Felipe III (sorry Felipe II, but you know what they say: when you snooze, you lose). Of course the original plaza was completed in 1619 but subsequently burned down following a series of fires. The current plaza that we know and love was rebuilt in 1790 and the statue of Felipe III wasn’t actually placed in the plaza until 1848 (even though it dates to 1616). No idea where it was before then but probably in the palace for him to admire. Back then it seems that every one loved having pictures of themselves everywhere, but he was a king so of course he would have a statue. He’d probably be really disappointed to know that people are more intrigued by Fat Spider-Man (he has business cards and everything!) and the shiny llama that are currently plaza.

From there it was time to stroll down Calle Alacalá to see the Puerta de Alacalá (in the Plaza de Independencia) and the Palacio de Cibeles. But first, a drink with a view. The Circulo de Bella’s Artes has a rooftop terrace so we grabbed a beer from there and looked at miles of burnt orange rooftops and the far-off, snow-capped mountains.

And now back to the history. The Puerta de Alcalá was built as a monumental gate into the city and was built into the walls that used to surround the city. The road over which the gate stood ran from Madrid to the neighboring city of Alcalá de Henares which is how the gate got its name. It was inaugurated in 1778.

The Palacio de Cibeles, used to be the communications building, and is now a cultural center, housing art exhibits, general information, a couple of restaurants and a viewpoint of the city skyline.

From there we headed up to the Plaza de Colón, to commemorate Christopher Columbus. The National Library also lines the plaza so we walked by there first. Unfortunately the library was closed to the public so we couldn’t go in but we paid our respects to Cervantes and went on our merry way.

I know what you’re thinking, ‘this has the been the longest post ever and it’s still going?’ Yes, and I know you’re tired so let’s go relax in Retiro park.

Now that I think about it, Retiro was probably a lot more relaxing for me than it was for John, who rowed us back and forth all over the pond.

After taking in the aquatic sights and making friends with some ducks we made our way over to the Crystal Palace. The building was constructed in 1887 and was originally used as a greenhouse to display flora and fauna from Philippines; however, now it is used to showcase art. The current exhibition is on fossils so you walk in and there are bones just hanging from the ceiling. There is also a pond with a fountain out front so it makes for a pretty picture…which is why there are so many…

Last stop in Madrid: Dehesa de la Villa, my local park where we saw snowy mountains and the sunset.

Our last night in town was spent in the theater where we saw El Rey León. I’m guessing I enjoyed it a little bit more since it was all in Spanish but, hey, at least it’s a well-known story!

And now let’s really relax with some food and drink at our favorite place La Mina. Located right down the street from my apartment it became our go-to place for tapas and cervezas con limón.

And with that the trip came to end. It seems only fitting that the last picture this post would be the last picture from the trip. We’ll always have La Mina…

Barcelona and Gaudí

Okay I’ll admit it: I don’t love Barcelona. Everyone always raves about it but it just doesn’t do it for me.

A lot has happened since I last posted about “European Vacation” starring Kate and John so a quick recap: we started off by having cheese, pancakes and jenever in Amsterdam, we saw Cinderella’s castle in Bavaria, and we had beers, brats, and pretzels in Munich. Enough that people were noticeably worried when they didn’t hear about them.

Okay, all caught up. Then we went to Barcelona. We started with a free tour of the city which was, well, free. That was about all it had going for it. Our tour guide was originally from NYC but had lived in Barcelona forever, man. I’m still not completely convinced that he wasn’t drunk. But hey, at least he kept us from getting lost in the small side streets of the Gothic Quarter. For the most part.

We did learn that this type of wall decor is called sgraffito and is created by applying multiple, different colored layers of plaster. Apparently that’s where the word graffiti comes from. How did we go from chubby cherubs to illegible letters? Where did we go wrong?

We also got to see the spot where Fernando and Isabel received Columbus when he returned from his first voyage to America. He brought them back gifts and everything. We stood there for a little bit but no one brought us any gifts. I guess we didn’t look regal enough.

The spot where Fernando and Isabel received Columbus after his first trip to America. For the record, we are not Fernando and Isabel.

Anyways we saw a little bit more of the old city, including the cathedral, part of the original entrance into the city and a building that had been damaged by bombings during the Civil War.

Speaking of the Civil War (sort of), we also saw the open-air fresco by Picasso that was installed in 1962, during the reign of Francisco Franco. The mural was a celebration of the Catalán culture making its introduction during the time of Franco all the more incredible.

With the tour behind us and feeling like we had seen enough of the Gothic Quarter for the time being, we headed towards the water. But first, the Arc de Triomf and the Port de Barcelona.

The second day was all about Gaudí. I had been to Barcelona back in 2009 when I studied in Sevilla. But when I thought back to that trip I couldn’t remember going inside the Sagrada Familia. I must have gone inside, right? That just wouldn’t make sense, I mean why would we take a tour that brought us to the Sagrada Familia but didn’t take us in? Well, it turns out that I didn’t go inside the last time…because the inside didn’t exist. It wasn’t finished until 2010. That’s so weird to think of: construction started in 1882 and there wasn’t an inside until 2010. What would Ted Mosby say? Actually he would probably geek out about it.

Anyway, I’m glad I finally got to see the inside, because the inside looks like this:

So many pretty colors that I didn’t know what to do with myself.

I couldn’t really consider this a Barcelona post without some pictures of the exterior (of which only two of the facades are actually completed. Yeahh, I think their projected completion date of 2025 may be a little off.) So here we go:

And because it’s the thing to do, we saw the other Gaudí buildings, the Casa Batlló (on the left) and the Casa Milà (on the right). Call me crazy but they were kind of a letdown.

Finally we made our way out to Parc Güell. Once we got out there we spent most of our time in the park park next door instead of Gaudi’s park. When you see the views you’ll understand why…

Our last day started with a bang. In the form of an epic sunrise. It really is amazing to come alive with the sun, I could do it everyday.

And that was followed by a trip to the spa. Heaven.

So we left Barcelona on a high note and took the train through the Spanish countryside to end our trip back where we started, in Madrid.

Note: the northern countryside is a lot more beautiful than the southern countryside. Just look how mesmerizing!

Bilbao and the Guggenheim

After San Sebastián, I had one more stop: Bilbao, the capital of the Basque Country. I had about two days and didn’t really have much on the agenda outside of the Guggenheim Museum. That said, I spent my time wandering, mostly throughout the Casco Viejo (old city center). I try to spend most of my time in any city in the old city center because the architecture seems to have more character. I like the charming old buildings of years past and the narrow windy streets. I’ve admitted that I don’t quite get modern art, well I don’t really get modern architecture either.

I felt like I didn’t have a whole lot of history in the my previous post and I’m going to have even less in this one, but, oh well, the pictures are pretty.

When I first got there it was supposed to rain both days; however, the first day ended up being not so bad so that was the day that I went exploring. I was staying in the city center so I started there and gradually made my way out across the Nervión river (also known as the Estuary of Bilbao) and into the old town. This first group of pictures is from the city center (which I suppose would be considered the new town, but of course that’s all relative).

Parts of the area along the river had an oddly Scandinavian feel. It reminded me of Copenhagen…but perhaps it was just the colors. The church in the pictures is Church of San Anton, which was first built in the 15th century. Over the years additions have been made to increase the size. The Belfry Tower, the current bell tower, was constructed in the 18th century and replaced a previous one that had been damaged.

Right next to the church is the Mercado de la Ribera, a two floor market. The first floor offers tapas and drinks to be had right then and there. The top floor has cuts of meat and fish and cheeses and bottles of wine to take home and prepare. The views were great and the stained glass, impressive.

Within the old town, there was a hill with a view that overlooks the city and the mountains in the background. I do love those burnt orange rooftops.

On the way down, I was reminded why I don’t like cats. Seriously, look at those eyes. I swear they all followed me the whole way down.

Thankful for my life after passing those cats, I wandered around the town. Of course I got thirsty and hungry so I had to throw some coffee and palmeras in there.

Oh and there was also wine…

…that only took one glass

The next day I went to the Guggenheim and spent the rest of the day in the park before catching my train back to Madrid. Overall I was unimpressed with the Guggenheim. The building itself was incredible but as far as the works of art themselves? My favorite was probably the dog outside. But look at him. He’s so well trained! And trimmed!

I did like those lollipop looking things too. They kind of reminded of a more colorful bean like in Chicago. I’m making a funny face in the second to last picture but you can’t really tell. In all seriousness, the artwork in the museum is very modern and that’s not really my taste. I’m sure it’s all very impressive but it just doesn’t tickle my fancy.

From there it was on to the see the swans in the park. If only there was a swan boat to go with them.

Finally I was on my way to the train station. I said hello to John Adams, who apparently is a big deal here in Bilbao. His testimony of Bilbao and Bizkaia, and their ability to retain their heritage, is recorded in “A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787”. And I passed a building which had an intricate design on the underside of all of the terraces. How cool is that?

My train ride home was five hours so of course I needed sustenance. I overheard a tour guide saying that this bakery was one of the best in the city so I had to give it a try. It was a long ride so I got a palmera and a pastel vasco. The pastel vasco (also called Gâteau Basque) originated in the Basque region of France and is a pastry with a vanilla cream (although sometimes cherry) filling.

And so vacation came to an end…on that very, very sweet note.

San Sebastián: Sand and Sea

Yesterday I mentioned that I sometimes take too many pictures…well you’re about to bear witness to that. I blame it on San Sebastián which may be the most beautiful place that I’ve ever been. As such this post is mainly pictures, but I don’t think you’ll mind.

San Sebastián is located in the Basque Country, on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and is only about 20 kilometers from the French border. The Basque Country (or Basque Autonomous Community) is an autonomous community that was granted the status of nationality by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 which was signed by current king of Spain, King Juan Carlos I, in December of 1978. The Basque Country (or Euskadi in the Basque language) even have their own parliament and King! They also have their own language, Euskera, which sounds and looks nothing like Spanish.

But anyway back to San Sebastián (or Donostia in Euskera), the most beautiful city in all the land. It has everything: three churches, three beaches, three hills, one island, one river, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, so it’s not a partridge and it’s not in a pear tree but they do have a dove so there.

From this point on, I don’t really have any history to share with the group and I’m not going to bother to include food and drinks since I already did that in my last post. And to be honest, I have enough pictures without it. Trust me. With that said, I am going to group the pictures according to location instead of day by day. You’ll notice that I have different outfits on; although the workout outfit is always the same for both days (Penn State got some nice exposure in the Basque Country…well if anyone up there knows what a Nittany Lion is!)

First things first, let’s start in the old town. This is when the churches and the Town Hall are located.

Now let’s climb. During one of my morning runs I decided to tackle Mount Urgull. The views from the top (and actually the whole way up) were amazing. The whole area is a basically a park with lots of trails, so I looped around the hill as I made my way up. That way I was able to overlook the city, the beaches, the open waters (of the Bay of Biscay) and the coastal mountains of Ondarroa in the distance. The hill originally served as a defense point dating back to the founding of the city in the 12th century and there are military barracks and a castle (with a chapel and a 40 foot tall Jesus statue (added in 1950) that overlooks the city). Back in its day it was the site of many military operations including the Siege of San Sebastián in 1813 and the assaults of 1823, 1836, 1876 during the Carlist Wars. Of course now, the city is a touristy resort town and the area was sold to the city council in 1924 so that people like me can get view like these!

This is apparently becoming my thing

After working up a sweat, let’s hit our first beach, Playa de Zurriola (Zurriola Beach) located in the part of town known as Gros. Along the walkway just past the beach is the Dove of Peace statue which was built in the1980s as a symbol of the city’s commitment to peace, freedom, and coexistence. It’s also apparently the area for the young folk and the beaches were full of young surfers and sunbathers. Although there were quite a few families too and I definitely saw a little girl get swept up by one of the waves with her father chasing after her. She cried and then went running into the water. No harm, no foul. I mean who wouldn’t want to go running into this?

I had to cross the river to get to the beach so this is techinically the river

This is the Dove of Peace statue. It could kind of pass for a partridge in a pear tree, right?

Next the big beach, the Playa de la Concha (La Concha Beach). Remember that ad from yesterday’s post? The ad that was etched into the sand at the beach? Well this is that beach! The pictures are from a couple of different days at a couple of different times a day so you’ll see that sometimes the water is all the way out but sometimes the water is in. Imagine watching that and seeing all of your hard work being swept away?

Finally the beach that everyone forgot, Playa de Ondaretta (Ondaretta Beach). Okay that’s probably not true but it’s right next to Playa de la Concha, separated by a little piece of land that juts out into the water, so I’m going to assume. It’s got a prime view of Isla Santa Clara (Santa Clara Island) and Mount Igeldo (which has an amusement park at the top!) though so it’s doing alright for itself.

This was my favorite city of the trip. I’m sure you can see why…

Bodegas Franco-Españolas: Pinkies Out Everyone!

As you can see, I had my fair share of vino with the many, many pintxos; however, a trip to wine country wouldn’t be complete without a trip to an actual winery. When I travel, I am primarily looking for beautiful places, like this and this, but I also like to incorporate some thing particularly educational or cultural. It makes me feel like I am getting a more well-rounded experience and that I’m working my brain in addition to my clicker-happy index finger. (Sometimes I snap too many pictures, oops!)

So I figured going to a winery counts right?
1.) It’s educational: I promised I learned more than how to drink it (I had a pretty good handle on that beforehand)
2.) It’s cultural: Spain and wine practically go hand-in-hand

So there. I mentioned that Logroño is right in the heart of wine country so it should come as no surprise that they have a Ruta Enoturísrica (wine tourism route). If I had more time and a car, I might have tried to hit a couple more but when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, am I right? I’ve been to many breweries over the years (should I be admitting that?) and I can say that they all seem vaguely the same and I still couldn’t tell you how to make beer.

Anyway, I crossed the Puente de Hierro (Iron Bridge) and went to Bodegas Franco-Españolas. That bridge that you can in the distance is the Puente de Piedra (Stone Bridge). Remember that because it will come up again later. They conveniently have you pick up your tickets and wait in the gift shop. They had a lot of award-winning wines for sale but since I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway, I knew that I wouldn’t be leaving there with any of those heavy hitters. My palate is very well accustomed to the 1-3€ wines. But before you scoff, let’s be real, I’m in Spain so the 1-3€ wines are actually quite good.

After a couple of minutes the tour began, in Spanish. It was Semana Santa so there weren’t a whole lot of options available period, never mind in English. With that said, because I don’t know the technical terms associated with wine making in English, I can probably talk about wine better in Spanish than I could in English! Hmm maybe not.

We started with a brief history of the winery itself which has nothing to do with Francisco Franco, but rather the winery’s French roots. In the 1850s eager European botanists brought American vines home with them to study. Surprise! These vines were covered in phylloxera, tiny bugs, which by the end of the 19th century destroyed most of the grape growing industry in France. Since the French need their wine, some hardy winemakers moved in search of a new place to cultivate wine and landed in Logroño in the La Rioja region. They officially opened Bodegas Franco-Españolas in 1890 marrying together French wine-making know-how with the Spanish setting and resources. One year later they had their first harvest, resulting in wines such as Diamante, Royal, and Estilo Borgoña (which would later be renamed Estilo Bordón). In its 125 years of operation, the winery has played host to many an important figure, including King Alfonso XIII and Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was actually a big fan and came to winery often. I’m hoping that some of his writing prowess rubbed off on me. And I just used the word prowess so it seems to be working!

But back to the winery.

We started in the barrel room where the first fermentation takes place. The barrels are kept elevated so that they can be adjusted for climate as necessary. If it is too cool for the fermentation take place, heaters can be placed below the barrels. If it is too warm, coolers can be placed there to slow it down. Pretty neat huh?

Next stop was the room where the second fermentation takes place. The crest on the back wall is the crest of the winery and includes the building itself, the crest of Bordeaux and the crest of La Rioja, symbolizing the marriage of the two cultures.

From there we went wandering around the winery, passing barrel after barrel after barrel of wine. There is even a statue of the Virgin Mary in one of the rooms so I guess you know it’s good.

After the wine has been aged in the barrels, there is a little bit of residue left over. Hmm, what to do with that? Put it on your face of course! It makes do a great red wine scrub which will leave you with healthy youthful skin. Lesson learned: wine does a body good on the inside and the outside.

Down in the wine cellar, there are thousands of bottles. In fact, along that wall with the pipes along the top, the bottles are actually stacked back-to-back so whatever you think you see, there is actually about double!

This room is designed to have a homey feel so there are decorations throughout, including these signs and that chair with a tree sprouting through it. The tree-chair is meant to represent all that goes into wine-making, including what you see (the vines) and what you don’t see (the roots).

And because, obviously, a house isn’t a home without a Velázquez there is replica of Las Meninas along one of the walls. Only in this one, the setting is the winery itself, reflected in the pipes along the top. Those look familiar right? Oh and Velázquez himself is also hanging out downstairs. Be sure to give him a wave when you leave.

From there it was more barrels. You think you’ve seen a lot of barrels already? Well lets talk about this row of barrels here. Remember the picture earlier that I took from Puente de Hierro, looking to over the Puente de Piedra? Yeah, this row of barrels spans the distance between those the two bridges. Now that’s a lot of wine!

Next on the trip was some old advertising which I always find interesting.

First was how the advertising for Diamante had changed over the years. Originally it had been marketed toward the limited, elite class and then was gradually introduced to the masses.

Second was an old advertisement for the winery in general; however, it wasn’t just any regular old advertisement. It was an ad on the beach! That’s right, not at the beach. On the beach! This picture was taken in 1925 when the winery hired people to etch advertisements into the sand at Playa de la Concha in San Sebastián. (Keep your eyes open for that beach in the next post!) I’m not sure how economical it was considering that the tides go in and out and wash it away but it sure is unique.

Last but not least, the bodega contains an old treasure. A really old treasure. It is a vine that survived the phylloxera plague in the 1860s!

Finally the fun part: the cata (tasting).

We got to try two wines: the Rioja Bordón Reserva and the Barón D’Anglade. A little background on the two wines:
1.) The Rioja Bordón was aged in American barrels for 18 months. The pores of the wood of the American barrels are larger so that the oxidation happens much quicker
2.) The Barón D’Anglade was aged in French barrels for 24 months. The pores of the wood of the French barrels are smaller so, you guessed it, oxidation happens much more slowly.

We were at a winery so of course we went through all of the appropriate steps. After the pour, we first examined the color by holding it up to the light and placing a white napkin behind the glass to check out the color. I’m told there was a difference in the color although they pretty much looked the same to me.

After that, we smelled the wine which was actually a two step process. First we smelled it without moving around the contents of the glass. Then we smelled it again after giving a swirl. For the first wine, the Rioja Bordón, there as a definite difference in smell after swirling. The distinct odor of alcohol was noticeably diminished after giving the glass a swirl. The Barón D’Anglade had the same effect; however, the hint of alcohol was much less pronounced in both stages anyway.

Finally, finally, we got to taste it. Except that tasting it is actually a lot harder than expected. We had to take a sip, hold it in our mouth while breathing in through out mouth, then finally swallowing the wine and breathing out of our nose. When our guide first said the procedure I had visions of myself choking on the wine while taking that inhale but luckily someone else in the group did that instead of me. She was a good sport about it though. If it had been me, I would have turned a ruby red as the Rioja Bordón!

After the tasting they brought out some charcuterie and picos to accompany the wine and we were put to work finishing one of the bottles that had been opened during the tasting. I’ll take that, please and thank you. And so went my visit to the winery. I already feel more cultured.

Tune in next time when I take you to the Playa de la Concha! Alas, there will be no wine advertisements; only surfers!

Logroño

You might remember in my last post that I mentioned whisking myself away on vacation. If you had a keen eye, you might have noticed something. Yup, the train ticket was valid for the day that I actually bought it, which was Monday. Instead of my travel day, which was Wednesday. Cue the sad trombone: wah wahhh. Thankfully that was the only hiccup along the way. From there it was smooth sailing.

I started in Logroño in the La Rioja region of Spain. In other words, hello wine. I didn’t get there until late on Wednesday so I headed straight for the hotel so that I could wake up early the next day. Starting the day early in Spain is both wonderful and horrible. It’s wonderful because no one is awake so you can get the streets and the sights to yourself. It’s terrible because no one is awake so nothing is open. You can find breakfast and coffee if you look hard enough but that’s about it. Stores don’t open until 10 or 11, then they close around 2 and sometimes don’t open again until 5. How they get anything done is beyond me.

All told, I had just under two days in the city. Most of the time was spent exploring; however, I did manage to squeeze in a visit to a winery, but for now it’s all about the exploration! Anyway, I started each morning with a coffee and a napolitano or tostado and then went for a walk around the city. Notice how empty these pictures I are? I didn’t even have to try all that hard to get photos without people in them. Any people that I did stumble across during my morning strolls were very clearly not Spanish, or at least, were not local Spaniards. The Camino de Santiago passes through Logroño so there were a lot of people trekking around. I followed the seashell markers through the old town so that counts for something, right?

Lunchtime finally rolled around and it was time to do the thing that you’re supposed to do in Logroño. Pintxos! (Or pinchos!) There are loads of bars scattered around the town but there are three main streets: Calle del Laurel, Calle de San Augustín and Calle Alborniz plus an alley or two connecting them all together. Between all these streets there are probably about 50 restaurant/bars, each specializing in a certain pincho. The idea is to go from bar to bar sampling their specialities. So that is exactly what I did for the two-ish days that I spent there.

Yes, I was that person. Anyway, that about covers wandering and eating my way through Logroño. Check in with me next time when I talk about my visit to the winery! Make sure to stock up on your wine now!

Thanks Doc, It’s Been Real

I like to think that I’m a polite person. I’m always minding my please and thank you. Pleases and thank yous? Well, whatever it is, I’m doing it.

And that is why one year ago today, immediately after waking up from surgery, I proceeded to shake my surgeon’s hand and thank him for a great surgery. Or so I heard. I wish I had been lucid enough to remember that because, damn, do I sound like a badass!

I owe a lot of my current life to that surgery and I suppose that’s to be expected. After all, hearing lung surgery, the natural reaction is probably more like ‘Um, a lot of your life? How about just life. Period.’ But it never really felt that way, both looking back on it now and at the time. For me, it never really seemed that serious because, for the most part, I felt great. Except for those weeks with pneumonia. Those were terrible. Thank God for orange sherbet ice cream. Oh and whatever I did to my ribs when I fainted. Those were some dark times too. I have never wanted to sleep so badly and been so unable to do so.

Gosh, what a pathetic look

I spent quite a long time in the hospital when I really think about it. Mostly because they couldn’t immediately identify what was wrong with me. That probably should have scared me. Or at least make me worry. But it didn’t…because at the time I felt fine. I will openly admit that I had a case of the invincibles: I felt good; therefore, nothing bad could actually be happening. Plus that’s what parents are for. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not one to worry about things until there is actually something to worry about (school presentations aside, those gave me some serious anxiety). Don’t get me wrong, I can worry like the best of them; however, for my sanity, it’s much better to look on the bright side until there are actually clouds on the horizon.

I did learn some very important lessons though

With that said, after much worrying (on my parents part) and ice cream and cake eating (on my part), the mystery was solved; the culprit, identified. There in the middle lobe of my right lung was a carcinoid, basically a small tumor in the middle of my airway. You know how annoying it is when people just stop in the middle of the sidewalk and they are positioned in such a way that it is literally impossible to go around them? I hate those people. So I guess it only stands to reason that I would have one of them in my body. Jerk.

So the date was set, the room was booked, and the middle lobe was removed. I thanked the doctor, hopped on the transport table, and refused visitors for about as long as I could. So if it seemed like a long time that first day, it’s because I refused to see you people the first time around. No hard feelings, I just wanted to sleep!

I spent the next four days in the hospital, again eating ice cream and cake with just about every meal. Hospital food really isn’t so bad after all. But of course it can’t hold a candle to Town Spa, which Shelagh was gracious enough to bring me. Heaven. It was like nothing had ever happened. I hadn’t fainted. I hadn’t had pneumonia. I hadn’t had a carcinoid in my right middle lobe and they hadn’t removed a part of my lung. (Of course, I still had the epidural in so it actually didn’t feel like they had gone in and removed a part of me). John, for future reference, the way to my heart is through Town Spa pizza but I think you already know that. Bacon. Well done. Yes, I really do mean well done. I was released the next day. Granted the release date was scheduled all along but I’m pretty sure Town Spa has healing powers.

Or maybe it was the chocolate covered strawberries. They make everything better too.

The days and weeks that followed I was anxious all the time. Not anxious in a bad way, just anxious to get back to being me. I was antsy to get up and out of the house, antsy to go running, antsy to go back to work, antsy to go back to living.

And then Spain happened. I had talked about it, even dreamed about it, for years but up until then it had only been a dream. And as much as I wanted it to happen I figured it would always stay a dream because getting a job was impossible. Believe me I tried. However, after three long, winter months (wow, was it really that long?) of literally being unable to do anything, all I wanted was to do. I didn’t care that I didn’t have a job. I didn’t care that I didn’t have a place to live. I just had to go or I knew that I never would.

On the plus side, my cupcake game improved dramatically

Six months later I bought a one way ticket, packed my bags and hit the open skies. I know, six months doesn’t sound all that quick but I had a lot to do in the meantime. I had to officiate a wedding (actually two, we did sneak in that other one before my license expired!), find Nessie in Scotland (or maybe just fairies), and meet my boyfriend…just weeks before I was set to leave. Life is funny that way, isn’t it?

When I changed the calendar to January 2016 I got to thinking about January 2015. How dis appointed I was that there had been no snow for Christmas and no snow in sight when the new year rolled around. Well, they do say that you can never really know what’s coming. Three weeks later, it started snowing. A lot. And it didn’t look back. Three weeks later, with the snow finally knocking on my door, I fainted and dashed through the snow to the hospital. We had record amounts of snow and I didn’t get to make one snow angel, or build one snowman, or throw one snowball. Or shovel, come to think of it (sorry parents!)

But back to 2016. The new year opened, and I looked ahead to a year of unknowns. But one thing I did know was that this year would be different than the last year. This would be a year of action. I would be doing…something. March 23, 2016 would be very different than March 23, 2015. And so it was.

I started the day with nice long run. (I promise I did run in between those pictures, but, y’know, I have to compensate for the hospital pictures!)

Then had a nice hearty breakfast, with ~~way too much~~ just enough coffee and some episodes of New Girl (sorry Lauren, I skipped ahead!)

And later I will close out the day with a train ride to Logroño to start my Easter weekend vacation. Well, hello wine country.

…and action!

Munching in München

It seems that the general consensus on Facebook was that we had too many beers and too many pretzels in Germany, but isn’t that kind of the point? We took our first full day off to go live the life of a fairy tale, but the rest of our time there was dedicated to experiencing Munich, and all the beer that it had to offer! That meant we had to start right away so we went to a cozy little restaurant down the street from our hotel for our first night in town.

Leberkase

Wienerschnitzel

Beers

And us!

For our days in Munich, we woke up early to fit in as much as possible. Munich is a pretty small city and all of the areas of interest are in the same general area so we walked a lot.

On our way into the city center, we passed the Sendlinger Tor (conveniently located steps outside of our hotel!) which is one of only three remaining gothic town gates which were used to defend the old town.

We also happened to pass our restaurant from our first dinner in town. And it looked so cool in the daylight that we had to take pictures. Lots of pictures.

From there we made our way to the Marienplatz, the main square in the city. Both the New City Hall and the Old City Hall are located along the edges of the square. The New City Hall was constructed in a gothic style and actually kind of looks like a church from the outside. The tower includes a Glockenspeil, which reenacts two stories, three times a day (11:00, 12:00 and 17:00). The first is the story of the marriage between Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine and a joust between the two cities to celebrate their union. Spoiler alert, Bavaria wins every time. The second is the story of the dancing coopers. I kind of want to leave you with just that. ‘Dancing coopers? Whatever could that mean?‘ The story goes that during the plague the coopers took to the square and danced to convince the townspeople that it was safe to leave their houses. At the very end of the show, an owl hoots three times to signal the end of the show. And while it’s probably not the effect that they are going for, it’s pretty adorable.

After taking in the show we wandered a little bit along the streets in the old town and had some snacks along the way of course. We even made our way down to the shore of the river where I made friends with some ducks.

While we we wandering, we did stumble upon a beautiful memorial that is built right into the streets of the city. The average Munichian? (…Munichite?) well, person from Munich was not an actual supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party and did what they could to resist. One such example is the Golden Line (Goldene Linie in German). The story starts with the Bierhallputsch in 1923 where Hitler first attempted a coup. He was met by a group of police in Odeonsplatz and was defeated, ended in the death of four policemen and sixteen Nazis with many more being arrested. Fast forward a decade to when Hitler had gained control of the city and had placed a plaque there commemorating his comrades who had died there during the putsch. All who walked past the memorial were required to give the Nazi salute or would be arrested by the guard stationed there and in all likelihood sent to Dachau, the nearest concentration camp. In order to avoid that, many citizens would cut down a side street before the memorial and avoid the whole situation. Of course, the guards caught on and another guard was sometimes stationed at the other end of the street in order to catch those who refused to give the salute making travel in the area near impossible for those who resisted the Nazi party. After the war, the memorial shown below was installed to trace their footsteps and to honor their courage.

There’s no good way to transition from that but somehow a church seems like a decent option. Actually two churches. First, we went for a walk inside St Peter’s Church and then climbed to the top of the tower for the view of the city. It was quite the climb since the staircase was really narrow and there usually wasn’t room for two people to pass each other. But the view was worth it.

There is another church on the street to our hotel and it was amazingly beautiful for such a small space.

And still another one. Europe loves their churches!

Now let’s get back to light and airy: the Hofbrauhaus. I mean what is there to say besides beer, pretzels and music?

And because there hasn’t been enough food already, I’ll end with weisswurst, a traditional Bavarian sausage. It literally translates to white sausage, which is actually 100% accurate. It is traditionally eaten for breakfast and the saying goes that the sausages should not be allowed to hear the noontime chime of the bells. And because this is Germany, it is to be eaten with pretzels. So we did.