Jamon, jamon......

Hi there Folks

Well, it has been a while since I have added anything and I am happy to say that it is because we have been so busy!!

The Desert Rat has been back in the Land of Oz and I know he enjoyed catching up with many people whilst there. In the meantime, I spent a couple of weeks travelling around Spain with a friend who had never been there before. It was a great opportunity for me to explore a few new places but also revisit some old faves.

We started in Barcelona – a city that I don’t know that well as when the Desert Rat and I were there a few years ago, I spent most of my time in the hotel with a nasty case of salmonella (picked up in Germany). Anyway, Barcelona is a very cool city. Lots of great architecture, fantastic museums and galleries and of course some great places to enjoy fine Spanish cuisine and wines:

Jamon stall at the market

Roy Lichtenstein Sculture near the seafront:

Winding Street in the Gothic Area

Looking over Barcelona

La Familia Segrada Cathedral (Gaudi's Last Work)

More work by Gaudi

A message on the footpath

After a few days we caught the train down to Valencia to check out the oranges, the Med, the market (Desert Rat’s favourite Spanish market) and most importantly the paella.

The Valencia Market

Paella Lunch:

Before...

After...

Funky Modern Valencian Architecture

Our next stop was Granada – home of the Alhambra, an UNESCO World Heritage site that began life as a Moorish fortress / palace / settlement in the 9th Century and which was later conquered by the Catholics. The result is a mixture of the most stunning Islamic architecture (Palacio Nazaries and Generalife), beautiful gardens, panoramic views of Granada and a huge Renaissance palace (which would be amazing anywhere else but one can’t but wish the king had kept to the Islamic theme). Words can not describe how stunning the Palacio Nazaries (the Moorish palace) is and is absolutely worth making a trip to Granada for. A hot tip for travellers though – they only let a certain number of tourists into the Palacio Nazaries per day and each person is allocated is a half hour slot during which they are allowed to enter. Make sure you read the time of that slot or you will end up running frantically to get in and nearly missing your time slot (Shame, Sahara Girl, Shame!)!!! Other hot tip, is not to drop your camera on the floor in the Palacio as it is quite hard and can bust your camera!!

Looking over to the Alhambra

Inside the Palacio Nazaries

Generalife

View from the Alhambra

After Granada, we headed up to Madrid, a place I hold very dear to my heart. We spent a few days looking around, eating well and soaking in the ambience of such a great city. Highlights included the Jamon Iberico (ham made from pigs that live in the mountains and eat acorns), the Pimientos Padron (small green chillies deep fried and covered in salt), wines from the Rioja, chorizo (Spicy Spanish sausage) fantastic coffee and some amazing pastries. Of course it wasn’t all about food, and we did manage to take in the two main art galleries, the Royal Palace and other sites.

We also went on a day trip to Segovia, one of my favourite places in the world. The Desert Rat and I have been there so many times and have taken many visitors so I have the ‘Perfect Day’ all sorted. This entails:

- 90 minute bus ride from Madrid

- Viewing the Roman Aquaduct

- Walking through the old walled city

- Checking out the magnificent Gothic cathedral

- Doing a tour of the Alcazar – a fairy tale castle built on a high ridge and with a rich history
- Lunch (more on this below)

- Walking around the base of the ridge to get the ‘money shot’ of the Alcazar (as above) and visiting my favourite church – the Iglesia de la Vera Cruz, built by the Knights Templar in the 13th Century. - Back to Madrid on the bus

Lunch is absolutely something to behold. Each town in Spain has its own gastronomic specialty and in Segovia it is Cochinillo Asado (Roast Suckling Pig). Sorry the picture is a bit blurry - flash didn't work due to above mentioned dropping of camera at the Alhambra!!

I can not tell you how good it is (except to say I am drooling while just thinking about it) and is an absolute must for anyone who likes roast animals!!! My perfect day had a small glitch as when we turned up at the restaurant that we ALWAYS go to for the Cochinillo Asado, they had taken it off the menu!!! What were they thinking? Luckily, I had been recommended another restaurant by a Spanish woman I know here so we headed back down to the base of the Aquaduct and had a fine pork meal at the Meson de Candido (restaurant can be seen in photo of Aquaduct above).

So there ends my Spanish adventure. The Desert Rat and I are now both back in Tripoli, though are hoping to head over to Rome next week for a few days. After that, I am heading off to Houston for a conference and New Orleans to catch up with our good friends Gator Girl and Swamp Boy. So stay posted….

Love to Youse All

Sahara Gal