The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly in Barcelona

I don't even know where to start . . . no pictures yet for reasons it would take too long to explain, but we'll get there. Besides, I didn't take pictures of the food (would've been a little awkward to photograph my plate) which is really the most important part . . . isn't it? Why don't I start with a Spain top ten (with a sub-top ten just for food). Matt keeps asking me what was my favorite part of the trip and I can't narrow it down, so these are in no particular order (except the order in which they pop into my brain).

* The People. I know it sounds cliche to talk about the fantastic people of a country as a whole, but I have to say that the people we acquainted with were some of the most gracious individuals I've ever met. It is akin to the generous people of southern Italy ("Your sweater is pretty." ---"You like?! Here! You have it!"--"No, really,"--"yes, take it!"). It was wonderful tagging along on a business trip of sorts because we weren't just tourists taking it in with a camera. We were fortunate to have hosts who showed us the country they love.

* Santa Maria Del Mar. The Gothic architecture in Barcelona is stunning. The Barcelona Cathedral is itself a masterpiece, but in Santa Maria Del Mar, it's Gothic lite. You get the Gothic lines with out all over-the-top embellishment.

* Park Guell is a wonder. I only wish it had been a nice day in Barcelona (the one day we had in Barcelona, it was pouring, windy and cold). You have to hike it up a big hill to the park, but the pay off is stunning. The architect Antoni Gaudi had a strange and striking style (understatment). The park he created originally as a housing development for the rich and flamboyant (it never caught on). Today it is a whimsical, alice-in-wonderland park with a certain gingerbread house flair. I know little to nothing about architecture or art, but it was (or would be when it's not raining and muddy) a delightful stroll through the wierd world of Gaudi.

* La Sagrada Familia. Was I saying something about over-the-top Gothic and the strangeness of Gaudi? Well, the two are getting married at La Sagrada Familia. This church, designed by our friend Gaudi has been under construction for well over a hundred years. This fall, they should have the nave finished enough that they can host the Pope there for services without fearing he'll be rained upon. In pictures the place just looked to be a jumble of way too much of everything. Given our single day in Barcelona and our not being Catholic, we considered not even visiting. But then, our gracious hosts from previous in the trip discovered our short jaunt to Barcelona and through connections, arranged us a private tour of the church and it's construction zone by none other than the director of the construction--Gaudi died during the construction, and this guy is the new Gaudi. He told us much about the history and symbolism of the project and the whole thing took on a new perspective. Yes, it's over the top, but as I began to take each element individually, rather than trying to digest the whole of it, it was magnificent. It was also just an experience to be in the midst of a long-term church building project. I know the cathedrals of yesteryear took decades upon decades to complete, but you don't see that so much today, and to be in the midst of a century old construction project is fascinating.

* Guadarrama is a mountain village retreat outside of Madrid. This is where the main events of my husband's business trip occurred, hence we spent all of a day and a half in Madrid and the same in Barcelona, we had three and a half lovely days in this charming locale. I was originally worried I would be bored and considered staying by myself in Madrid. But, I am sooooo glad I went. After the long day of travel to Spain, followed by 36 hours in Madrid packed with whirlwind walking tours, my feet and body were itching to take it easy. Enter Guadarrama. It was lovely. The village reminded me of the towns in my mission--not so touristy, just a lot of locale flair. We stayed at a strange but lovely catholic retreat center built in what we termed the neo-prison-bunker style (was the barbed wire keeping threats out, or guests in?). But daily (3-4 times to be exact) the other two wives and I wandered into town, tested out our lack of spanish, ate churros and chocolate and made purchases by pantomime at bakeries and gift shops. It was lovely. In between excursions, I napped and read (thank you Inkmom for the fabulous recommendation--I almost completed all 650 pages in 8 days) and wandered the grounds of the retreat center. On Saturday we hiked up to a nearby reservoir and watch old men fish. It was absolutely lovely and perfect.

* My children, and being without them. We called home once, then decided it was wise not to call again. Not because it made them miss us, but because they just seemed so disinterested in us--they were having a fabulous time without us (oh, except when we did call, we had to talk Ethan down from a tantrum over the fact that he doesn't want to eat cheese pizza, but wanted pesto instead--another reason not to call). We missed our children, but it was so nice to be without them. The may have missed us a bit too, but had so much fun, who really noticed? This was the longest I've been apart from my kids (the better part of 9 days). But we all survived it well, and maybe we'll do it again sometime.

* The Walking. Although we live in a beautiful area with fields and lake and forest, walking just isn't that practical (no sidewalks, muddy trails, etc.). So, despite the traffic and noise of a big city, it was nice just to have sidewalks and subways and shops and restaurants close enough to hoof it. And hoof it we did. My aching calves and shins bore witness.

* The Ladies. An unexpected delight of the trip was the fact that two other wives came along. It was just so pleasant to chat with other camp wives, who understand and delight in the camp life as much as I do. These ladies were smart, beautiful, talented, experience, dedicated and just delightful to get to know.

* The Towels. I would have expected that in Europe, where things are smaller than in the US, I would have found hotel towels at least as ridiculously small as the typical towels in the US. Not so my friends. Never before have I stayed in hotels (four in a row, mind you, so it wasn't just a fluke) that hat towels that circumference the entire bulk of my body! Ahhhh . . . that and the bidets, they think of everything don't they?

* Buen Retiro Park. A lovely, grand park in Eastern Madrid. Every big city should have a fabulous big park.

* The food (where to begin):
1) Hot Chocolate--it's not swiss miss people, this stuff is straight melted chocolate I think, thick, creamy and dark.
2) Churros--there is nothing like dipping churros into the heavenly hot chocolate of Spain.
3) Jamon--I thought prosciuto crudo in Italy was fabulous. Now I think the Italians version is the poor step-sister of what is an incomprable tradition and industry of cured ham in Spain.
4) Breakfast--I've struggled with breakfast all my life--can't do milk and sweets (pastries, and cereal and oatmeal), they make me nasueus. But though I love eggs and such, it's all almost too heavy. But in spain, breakfast, taken a bit later (because they eat dinner at 9 pm or later) is bread and tomatoes and olive oil and cheeses and cured meats. Once I've taken in a bit of this fare, then I can handle a "second course" of some chocolate and pastries. That would more than carry me through to the 2pm lunch (well maybe a little chocolate in the late morning to tie me over).
5) Salmorejo. I knew I'd love gaspacho (seriously, it's like drinking a salad) but I didn't know how much I'd love this version of it. If I had to pick my favorite thing I ate in Spain, this is it.
6) Chocolate. European dark chocolate. Need I say more?
7) Pan seared pork chops with garlic. This was made by the dining hall at the retreat center. It was so tender and thin and well seasoned, it was fabulous. I'm going to try my hand at it for sunday dinner.
8) Tapas. Olives, bread, potatoes and spicy sauce, shrimp topped avocado & onions, fish crusted in sesame, baked mussels, ham-wrapped bread sticks, I could go on. With dinner occurring at 9 or 10 pm, a little tapas at about 6, goes a long way.
9) Three chocolate mousse. White, milk and dark, with shavings of chocolate and a cocoa dusting. mmmmmmmmm . . .
10) Bread. Bread with anything and everything. I loved their first and second courses. Often first was a hearty soup with potatoes or beans, fabulous with crusty bread.
11) Tomatoes on bread. I could live on this. Fresh tomatoes, finely pureed. toasted crusty bread, olive oil and topped with the tomatoes and sprinkled with salt. Wow!
12) Fanta. I've missed the real thing. In a country where people drink wine with every meal, us teetolalers have to have some option. I don't particularly like orange soda in the US. Check the american fanta label--all corn syrup, no juice. Fanta naranja or limon have around 8% juice, and real sugar, no corn nuthin'. No wonder it's so good.
13) Saffron. I must admit, though the paella I had was good, It wasn't so good that I had to buy a paella pan to stuff into my luggage. But the saffron was fabulous in it. I found a little spice shop and bought $10 worth of saffron (like .5 ounce) to take home and make basmati rice and the occasional paella. Oh, and I bought some cold press extra virgin olive oil there too. and chocolate. and a mortar and pestle (that was quite the carry-on albatross). Um, I need to go cook something.

Oh, was that more than 10? I suppose I'll stop for now then.

I must go unpack. I've been sleeping for two days straight trying to get beyond the jet lag. Today is clean and unpack.