United Statesian

Suckling pig... crispy, but not dry Dear Citizens of the world! In one of my last posts -- Eating my way through Spain -- I mentioned the fact that Spanish tourism is centred around food. Segovia is no different. The "task" of visiting monuments, sights and museums is purely a way to work up an appetite. Visiting the Disney-like castle...working up an appetite! In Segovia, people most often walk around the centre, check out the aqueduct and tour the castle that locals claim to be the source of inspiration for Disneyland's logo. Then, if you have walked around enough (stopping to sample local delicacies between each monument), you can sit down, unbutton the trousers and dig in. I'm already in the pan and ready to go! Don't worry if you don't speak Spanish...most restaurants decorate their windows with cute versions of your meal... De aproveche! - The United Statesian PS Next week... Fallas I ( Fallas II) in Valencia. A good reason to eat Paella!

A weathered door from the Cathedral in Morella Dear Citizens of the World, Tourism in Spain is equivalent to eating. Most destinations are known for their gastronomy as much as their monuments. Morella, a mountain village in the North of Castellon (along the Med between Barcelona and Valencia), is no different. Local "rosemary" honey from Morella During our visit to Morella we did spend some time walking around the area and checking out the monuments; however, the focus of the day was really the lunch and specialty shopping for local foodstuffs. Local sweet wine/spirts... we decided on the Garnatxa The day did not come without it's challenges. We ate so much for lunch that it was tough to complete a proper cheese tasting -- we ended up with three types of cheese... and we normally avoid lactose! Reflection of the sky and street in a large decanter full of red wine Remember, when visiting a Spanish village there are three rules to follow: 1. Get advice on a good restaurant...

Traditional Chimneys from the Aragón region of Northern Spain -- smokeless in July Dear Citizens of the World! The new year has started and the ban on smoking seems to be holding up -- but not without some problems. I am happy to report that we were able to go out for dinner last week and we got home without smelling like smoke! This is no small feat in Spain. On a cold Saturday evening, the sidewalks were packed with smokers... a good sign that the ban is working. Most bars and cafes seem to be following the rules, but the first time I went into a café in January (partly to support the ban by spending more money in cafés and restaurants... and partly because I just wanted a coffee) was a no-go. As soon as I entered the cafe, a women lit up a cigarette and practically blew the smoke at me. Slightly shocked and frustrated, I turned around and left. Like all changes in society, it will take time to take root and for the holdouts to accept the change. Not so far in the past, teachers us...

Dear Citizens of the world! 2011 has started with a breath of fresh air, both indoors and out. As of January 2nd, it is illegal to smoke in any bars or restaurants in Spain! Now I can finally go out for a drink or coffee and not come home smelling like a musty ashtray! We decided to start our newyear by going cross-country skiing and hiking in the Spanish Pyrenees. We were blessed by sunny weather, great snow and fresh mountain air -- the only smoke being the soft, sweet smell of ceder coming for the village chimnees... As of 2011, you can only smoke at home and in the streets Enjoying the sun and snow in Benasque Whispy, smoke-like, clouds over a mountain that apears folded like a duvet Thanks for listening, The United Statesian A parting shot... Sunrise from the hotel in the village of Campo

Dear Citizens of the World! I write to you from the "kitch paradise" of the Mediterranean. Marina D'Or, Vacation City, is located on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, about an hour North of Valencia. Since Kings Day 2010, I have been coming here on weekends...and now the summer. My luck has not been good because it rained every weekend I came for the first six months. There was a bit of rain last night and there is a thunderstorm as I write this, but in general it is hot, humid, sunny and sweaty all summer long. The main street lights up at night...Spanish Vegas, but without casinos ? Marina D'Or has been designed to attract blue-collar families that dream of spending time at the beach, but feel like they are in need to be surrounded by a cheap version of Las Vegas. OK, maybe I am being a bit harsh, yet it does not feel like the Mediterranean coast of great artists like Soralla and Cezanne. The good part is that fact that I can easily jump on my bike and see lesser tra...

Dear Citizens of the world! It's Spring...time for Spanish country weddings! I have been to a few weddings but this one took the cake for length and for... rowdyness. Any celebration in Spain involves food. The wedding was three days of eating, but with a ceremony and white dress somewhere in the middle. The white dress The festivities started with a long dinner, dancing and drinking until the wee hours on Friday. Saturday morning's ceremony was "traditional" but the tossing of rice and rose pedals became a pumelling that had everyone diving for cover. After a snack of rosquilas (the local version of donuts, but with more grease), we headed off to lunch. In between the various courses, the bride and groom were "forced" by their rowdy friends to do all manner of rituals. The groom being paraded around the reception wearing only a diaper.. . After lunch came dancing, drinking, a siesta and then more eating that evening. The grooms friends cutting his t...

Classic vs Modern "McCulture diet " Dear Citizens of the world, In my last post on the fallas of Valencia I talked about the prettier and noisier side of the Fallas Festival. This post is about the satyr and parody that most of the Fallas sculptures do so well. Many are like seeing a 3-D newspaper caricature. Obama was one of the more popular topics. One big difference would be that there is no censorship and there is a lot more nudity and crude racial stereotypes that you would not see in a United Statesian version. Super Obama! ... watch that hand... Critique on the USA, but with a large Coca-cola advert behind it... Caricature on recycling... the first one on the left is recycling silicon ;-) Caricature of a Spanish politician.. . O ne of my favourite...gotta love his smile What's he looking for?... Ahhh... the key ;- ) One of the cruder ones...Usain Bolt? Local traditional clothes -- mothers and their dolls... Hope to see you again soon! The United Statesian

Dear citizens of the world! Fire seems to play a central role in many festivals in Spain -- noise is a given. The Fallas (pronounced FAIyas) of Valencia is a Spring celebration in late March where more than 400 pieces of art (Fallas) are created in the plazas and streets. On the last night, all are burned at midnight; all except the best one which gets a pardon and goes off to a museum. This was my first year going to the festival. We had all afternoon to walk around and look at some of the main "fallas" before watching one burn at midnight. A detail of Charlie... One of the top Fallas statues... hard to believe it is paper... While all this is going on, there is an incredible amount of noise. There are thousands of people -- mostly young children -- setting off loud firecrackers. A terrorist attack could happen just down the street and nobody would notice. I jumped out of my skin more than once. A small kid being "indoctrinated" into the world of BOOM ! The mermaid...

The afternoon sun through a snowy pine-forrest Dear Citizens of the World! The winter is comming to an end! Yippeeeeeee! Recently we (six fearless mountaineers from the AtuBola Group) were able to go for a hike in the mountains of Madrid. We started in Miraflores de la Sierra and went 500 meters up to Morcuera mountain pass ( gps route in wikiloc ). It was a cold day, but we had lots of sun. The Sierra is beautiful with snow and we had lots of fun trying to hike up and down some of the sections with snow that came up to our thighs. I leave you with a few pics and comments from our trip: Fall's last breath caught in the ice ... Still cold, but... Spring starts to rear it's head amongst the vestiges of last year. A mountain goat moving slowly through the snow near the mountain pass... Shadows of dead weeds... Tones of bare trees and snow... The ice-cicles mix with the roots... Pillows of snow covering the bolders... You are welcome to the villages public slaughtering...and feast!...