Greetings from beyond the pond, Drink Eat Lovers! After an arduous and eventful journey, Amberly & I are finally in Sevilla, land of el tapeo y la siesta (eating tapas and taking naps), slowly adjusting to things here. Our budget prohibits us from eating out every meal, but suffice it to say that we have had our share of both of the above.
Highlights of our European journey so far include bonafide pub fish & chips and organic red ale in Bristol, a Favada Asturiana (bean stew with all sorts of charcuterie) in Madrid, and a good variety of fixed price menús (3 courses, bread, wine) in addition to tapas in Seville.
It´s good to be in the land of good cheap wine again. Your average red glass is a passing good Rioja, and the €0.99 bottle of Cosecha Tempranillo 2006 from La Mancha we bought for dinner last night was, at $1.51 with our current exchange rate, a far sight better than anything named Chuck you might be able to find stateside. We´ve yet to splurge on a bottle out, but with most lists at your bars and restaurants topping off at €20 or so ($29.50) for name-brand Riojas or other Spanish DOs of note, it won´t be long. Maybe as soon as tonight, since we didn´t quite find expats on short notice for a proper Thanksgiving feast.
Our short-term rental is a stone´s throw from a great little open air market that´s made for fun shopping for home cooking, although our two burner glass range leaves a bit to be desired in terms of flexibility. Long story short, we´re somewhat settled into our first stage stay, so you should start getting regular updates from me on a range of subjects.
On another note, as you celebrate Thanksgiving, give yourself a minute to pause and consider what it is you´re truly thankful for -- all the little blessings in your life, your relationships, good wine food from sustainable sources who work hard for you -- and then think about what it is you can do to share those things more widely in your world. That´s the LOVE part...
David, Glad to hear that you've made your way to Spain and settled in. My own memories of tapas are still ripe in my mind... Hope you and your wife had a wonderful European Thanksgiving!
Posted by: Sandra Chang | 23 November 2007 at 12:54 PM
Hi David and Amberly!
Sounds like you are having a blast. We brined our turkey this year, and it was awesome. I don't imagine they eat much turkey in Spain. but a turkey paella will be made with some of my left overs. and it will be eaten in honor you you two!
Happy holidays!
Shrisada
Posted by: Shrisada | 24 November 2007 at 06:40 PM
Hey there, Shrisada & Sandra! Thanks for the well wishes. We actually did have a good turkey day. We've started a "family & friends" blog to write about non-food or wine stuff: http://drinkeatlove.typepad.com/family
It's still a work in progress. The FREE Wifi we found at the public library blocks my access to it, I think b/c we called it "Wet Laundry"! LOL!!!
Hope all is well with y'all. I'll be posting more regularly and taking pictures of more food, which I keep forgetting to do!
-dc
Posted by: David C | 27 November 2007 at 07:42 AM
I loved traveling through Spain! You should try to make it to Leon where they give free tapas with any drink--even the tiny 'corto' size and each bar has its own type of free tapas!
-Vegameatarian
Posted by: Dave Hunter | 03 December 2007 at 09:57 PM
Dave, thanks for reading! We'll make it to Leon eventually, I hope. Free tapas sounds too alluring to pass up!
ps - we're not located in DC, so we aren't really qualified to answer your previous qn about wine shops... :)
Posted by: David C | 05 December 2007 at 01:22 PM