Christmas and a visit with friends

Jose and I have been on our Christmas vacation now for almost a week and it feels like we have taken advantage of every moment. Things have been busy to say the least. Pre-Christmas we cleaned and prepared for both the holiday and our visit with our friends, Erica and Ernie. Then we spent the 24th and 25th with Jose's family, one day with his mom's side and the second with his dad's. Santa even came to visit!


On the afternoon of the 25th we stopped at the train station on our way home to pick up Erica and Ernie. They came back to our apartment where we relaxed before heading to visit Seville the next day. We went to the Cathedral, had a big lunch at one of our favorite restaurants and walked around enjoying the Christmas atmosphere. We ended our day in the best place in Seville, the Plaza de Espana.

The next day we headed out to Cordoba to go to a winery because our friends really enjoy wine tasting. Ernie is basically a self-taught expert and one of the things he was looking forward to on their trip around Spain was being able to sample a lot of different varieties. We went to the Bodega Toro Albala where we had a great tour by a guy named Antonio who was super down to Earth and we tried a bunch of different kinds of sweet wine. My favorite was the Pedro Jimenez which was over 100 years old.


Later that day we drove into Cordoba the city to visit the Mezquita and to walk around the city center. The Mezquita is an old mosque that was later converted into the cathedral of the city. It is incredibly beautiful and the pictures you can take inside don't do it justice.

Yesterday we took Ernie and Erica to a typical market and then to Dos Hermanas, the town where we live. We then ventured back into Seville at night so they could see it all lit up. Though it is a beautiful city by day, right now with all the Christmas lights there is something incredible about the atmosphere in the center. We also crossed the river into the Triana neighborhood and did a lot of walking around.

So far we are having a great time with our friends. I love it when people visit and we are able to show them where we live. The south of Spain has so much to offer, to taste, to drink and to see. There is so much history and so many monuments, churches, castles and museums to visit. In the next few days we are planning on finishing up with seeing the rest of the sights in Seville as well as a visit to Ronda (today Ernie and Erica headed to another wine tasting in Jerez since I am not feeling to hot). Then we will all take the train together to Madrid before Jose and I head to...ISTANBUL!!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Spanish recipe: Chipirones a la plancha

Image
Ok so I know this picture is a bit blurry and I apologize but it is the final result of my having cooked chipirones a la plancha for the first time. Let me explain, chipirones are small squid and a la plancha means grilled. They are served in an olive oil, parsley and garlic sauce. At first I wasn't sold on the idea of this recipe but believe me, it is pretty awesome and super healthy. It is a really typical tapa that you can order at almost any bar here in the south of Spain. Chipirones a la plancha is usually served on a bed of lettuce or with a small side salad. Yum! Here's the how: First you need the chipirones (small squid that come with the heads and tentacles attached). I can buy them at my local grocery store in the fresh seafood section. I bought a package of 400 grams though the good thing about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you like. Allow me to also explain that here in Spain people tend to eat a lot more fish and seafood than...
Read more

La mesa camilla

Image
The mesa camilla is a very Spanish invention (in fact I believe it to be a very southernly Spanish invention). It consists of a table, a heater and a heavy, long tablecloth-like fabric that drapes over the sides. The idea is that you put the heater under the table and when you sit down you put the fabric over you like a blanket. The truth is that it does keep you quite warm. The downside is that once you get up and move, you lose the heat. Since the houses and apartments here in the south of Spain are not created for the cold (no central heating) a mesa camilla can be found almost every where.  We didn't have one last year and survived with blankets, space heaters and flannel pajamas throughout the winter. This year Jose decided we needed to get a mesa camilla. I fought the good fight (since often times they look very similar to the option in the picture above) but we ended up ordering one not too long ago.  Typically the mesa camilla is made of wood and can be stored ...
Read more

Spanish names

Image
Maaaaaaaria, I just met a girl named Maria Hopefully you just read that and sang the song from West Side Story in your head. Let's just say that from what I have experienced here in Spain, people really, really like this name. In fact, there are times when it seems like EVERY woman or girl is named Maria (or Maria de/l something) and though they might go by the second part of their name, their given one is still Maria. People definitely opt for traditional names here, unlike the US where names go through trends.  Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link which contained a GIF  (originally from The Atlantic)  showing the different female names that had been popular in the US since 1960. It is interesting to see how a name like Jennifer would be popular in one region and then would sweep the nation. Such a map would not be as cool here in Spain since not a whole lot would change. Maria. Maria del Carmen. Miriam. Marian. Mirian. Variations on a theme. Religious...
Read more