We found a Mexican restaurant in Santander! The food wasn't as spicy as at Tex-Mex places in Texas but it was still totally awesome to order a tortilla and guacamole. And it turns out there is another Mexican restaurant in a town about 40 minutes away, so we are so going to plan a day trip. Spain has an interesting take on the whole idea of Tex-Mex. There aren't really any foods in Spain that are spicy so Tex-Mex food on the whole is very bland. Estancos (tobacco shops) sell Tex-Mex Doritos that I expected to be super spicy, but it's really just nacho cheese.
The Spanish equivalent of the Tooth Fairy is a rat. Spanish children anxiously await the morning after they have lost a baby tooth to find out if Ratoncito Peréz has visited during the night. Just thought that was cute.
If you ask a Spanish kid to draw a picture of a cat and write what kind of sound it makes, the cat would have a little bubble next to its mouth that says: “miau!” Even the cats speak Spanish.
Spaniards celebrate alot of festivals (according to the patron saint of their city) which include bullfights, fireworks, concerts, and bars open all night. Santander's Santiago Festival was held this weekend, and I got to go to a bullfight. It was a very interesting experience, but definitely not for weak stomachs, because the bulls always die in a horribly, unfair gladiator match sort of way. But I'm glad I went.
Last weekend was the excursion to Bilbao and San Sebastian. We visited the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and I thought that was the most interesting part of the trip because there just happened to be a guest exhibit about Surrealism that featured some of Salvador Dalí’s work. S. Sebastian is a beautiful little tourist city famous for its beach and relatively cheap food. I enjoyed both for a little while, though the beach was super crowded.
I just got back from León, Salamanca, and Valladolid and it was amazing. My favorite of the three is Salamanca. It has the oldest university in Spain and the most beautiful architecture. It would be so cool to study there. Plus it has one of the most amazing plazas in the world. (Ever seen Vantage Point? Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor is featured in that movie.) We took tours of all three cities, including their old gothic cathedrals, the castle in León, and important artwork.
On our way back from Valladolid today, we ate in a bodega, which is a winery that is built underground (this one was in a cave) to keep the wine cool. I tried lamb chops today, which are actually pretty good, until I started thinking about that show (… I forgot what it’s called…) with that cute little lamb that sings “The Song That Never Ends.” Then I couldn’t get it out of my head and it was kind of disturbing so I stopped eating it all together. There was another dish called morcilla that I dared not try. At first, when a waiter brought it to the table, I thought it was really burnt sausage. Then somebody explained that it was “Blood Pudding:” entrails from a pig covered in blood that blackens whenever it’s cooked. Yum.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment