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Food Porn from the Costa Blanca: Altea, Albir, Alfaz and Benidorm
23 Apr
Perro Negro: Altea, bacalao with clams (bacalao con almejas)
Interrmezzo: Albir, lobster and mussels in Thai sauce (bogavante y mejillones en salsa Thai)
Tragantua Gran Taberna: Benidorm, octopus in garlic olive oil (pulpo al ajillo)
La Capella: Altea, Jamon bellota iberico
La Favorita Taberna: Benidorm, tapa with serrano ham, crab and shrimp (tapa con jamon serrano, cangrejo y gamba)
Sabor: Altea, carpaccio
Cerveceria Casa Juan: Alfaz, asparagus tortilla (tortilla con espárrago)
La Maja: Altea, cod on black rice (bacalao con arroz negro)
Blau Bellaguarda: Altea, roasted lamb with roasted veggies (cordero al horno con verduras asadas)
House of Jarl, Altea, brunch with paté, chorizo, perfectly cooked egg, cheeses, salad, potato with creme fraiche and dill
Rainbow seen from La Maja restaurant in Altea
3-17-18 (arcoiris)
Visual Valencia
7 AprWhen my youngest son was visiting for the summer, we took a trip to nearby Valencia, the third largest city and Spain and the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana, in the local Valenciana dialect.) Valencia was founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC, and has historical ruins from the Roman and Arab occupations. I have also shared my recommendations in a blog post of the top 10 things to do in Valencia. But now, I want to share the visual delights of Valencia, from the beautiful historic buildings, the Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange, built between 1482 and 1548, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the mind-boggling architecture of the City of Arts and Sciences designed in part by native-born Santiago Calatrava, and, of course, street entertainers, and food at restaurants and in the famous Mercat Central (Valenciana for Central Market.)
City of Arts and Sciences
City of Arts and Sciences
One of a number of exhibits at the City of Arts and Sciences
Ceiling of La Lonja de la Seda, originally painted blue with gold stars
External window at La Lonja de la Seda with view of internal stained glass
Valencia Central Market
Inside the Central Market
Yummy offal
Spectacular array of vegetables
Delicious whole calamari
Jamon bellota at the venerable Casa Vela, since 1908
Four Days of No Running Water in Altea Spain: NO BUENO!
18 Feb
Altea fountain with fresh water
Day 4 with no running water in my apartment in Altea Spain. (No bueno.) Initially, I inquired of my two neighbors in the same building had water and they did not. My contacts with the property manager, Pacqui, at Ibis Inmobliaria, were unbelievably frustrating and unprofessional.
When I told her I did not have water for two days, she asked if I had paid the bill, even though the bill goes to her office, and then I pay it every month, so she should have known that. Then she asked if the neighbor had water and when I said no, she advised me to go to the water company for info. My Spanish is pretty good about daily matters but more challenging when trying to communicate about uncommon things. I asked here via text several more times, and she dismissively replied in Spanish that something must be broken. So when will I have water, I asked her in Spanish, and she said when it is fixed, and have a nice day with a smiley emoji. In spite of my repeated requests for information, she never gave me any idea what was wrong or when I would have water. Even when I told her I would look for a new apartment because I could not function without water or without knowing when I would have it, she did not respond.
Too bad I had recently just gotten rid my cupboards of all the empty bottles which I could have used to get water from the local fountains, which fortunately provide potable drinking water at many spots around town.
Finally, I found the emergency water hotline which I called on day 4. They asked me the same questions several times, i.e. how long have you been without water, and are your neighbors without water. Then they asked me why no one had reported it; apparently neither the property manager nor the neighbor who runs a barbershop bothered to call. During that time, I observed a man working on the street on a pipe, and about half an hour after my call I had water, but I think the restoration of water was a coincidence, not due to my call. After that, the water company called back and informed me the water would again be shut off for more repairs in three days, which although inconvenient, but I can handle it with advance info.
The lack of customer service and difficulty in accomplishing bureaucratic or business tasks is one of the most frustrating things about living in Spain. It took me almost two and half months to change my internet provider. You can’t just walk into a store and buy a cell phone, nor just cancel a service and return the equipment. And don’t be surprised if what they tell you to do is different each time you go back trying to fulfill their last requirement. All that said, I still love my life here in Spain, in spite of the occasional frustrations.
MEETING PAUL BOCUSE
21 Jan
My Pressed Duck Number
There we were-unexpectedly personally greeted by Paul Bocuse at his eponymous restaurant as we ducked in from the sudden downpour. As a dedicated foodie, I was determined to make the pilgrimage to Paul Bocuse’s L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges near Lyon. If you are a lover of French food, he needs no introduction. His accomplishments and accolades are many including being named the “Chef of the Century” by the esteemed Culinary Institute of America at their Leadership Awards Gala on March 30, 2011. We had reservations for my son’s 21st birthday. Up to that point we had enjoyed a fabulous week in Paris, with fantastic food including the famed pressed duck at Tour D’Argent and many types of offal.
Once we got to Lyon, we sampled the delicious, hearty traditional cuisine Lyonnaise in the many convivial bouchons, all the while anticipating our evening at Paul Bocuse. We were surprised at the distance the restaurant was from the city, but enjoyed the cab ride through the countryside. When we arrived, we saw an unexpectedly colorful exterior on the building. Just as we were exiting the cab, the rain suddenly poured from the dark clouds. We huddled under umbrella provided by restaurant staff and scurried toward the entrance.
Paul Bocuse menu
Once inside, we were immediately greeted by Paul Bocuse who shook our hands. I am not the least enamored by movie or sports celebrities, but I was so moved at personally meeting Paul Bocuse that I was speechless. Then I stupidly bowed to him and started crying. Everything that night from the food and beverages to the service were impeccable. I had labored through the French menu with my limited French, but my fluent son had no such problem. As we were leaving, they offered us a souvenir menu, which I took in English; it just didn’t seem right, though, to order from anything but a French menu at the venerable Paul Bocuse.
16 of My Favorite Spanish Foods
6 JanI have decided to revisit some of my favorite meals and foods here in the Costa Blanca area of Spain:
First course beachside at La Maja
grilled artichokes
Chopitos (fried baby squid)
Flan
Composed salad with goat cheese
Cocido con pelotas (traditional regional favorite)
Sample of tapas served complimentarily with wine or beer
Paté plate
Salad with cheese and ham
John Dory fish with salad and fries
Sautéed fish with veggies in saffron sauce
Seafood salad
Jamon
Grilled octopus
Pimientos de padron
Paella with rabbit and calamari
Fun, Food and Music: Two Days in Javea
10 Dec
Altea
Travelling requires planning, and then when things go awry, flexibility. I love living here in Altea, on the Mediterranean, in Spain, but I also want to continue my life-long love of travelling to new places.
To that end, I have been looking to explore nearby destinations, and places further afield in Spain and beyond. However, from where I live, it is often not easily accessible to other areas of Spain, and beyond. The local tram, now over 100 years old, is a major way to travel from Altea to the north to Denia and to the south to Alicante, and destinations in between. It is about an hour by tram from Altea to Denia and two hours south to Alicante. However, the tram has been undergoing upgrades, and so now only runs to Calpe, three stops north of Altea, and then you need to transfer to a bus which substitutes for the tram. I was going to Javea, (aka Xàbia) a little less than an hour north of Altea. While dogs are allowed on the tram, when I went to the local tram station and asked if I could take my dog on the bus, (since it was a substitute for the tram), she called to ask her superiors. She told me it was not allowed.
Pepper (aka Pimienta)
So I had already made Pepper, (aka Pimienta) my small dog, a portable carrier/backpack incognito, by tacking on black scarfs inside on the netting, so I could “sneak” him onto bus public transport. But when I took the tram from Altea to Calpe, and tried to transfer to the bus for destinations north beyond, I was told I had to leave the backpack in the luggage hold in the bus, (which is the same as the animal transport policy for public buses in Spain.) I could not leave the dog in the soft backpack in the luggage hold.
So I had to regroup. I ended up taking a taxi to Javea, for 48 €. Originally I booked the Parador in Javea (paradors being historical buildings converted into hotels and restaurants), but the booking website incorrectly said they allowed dogs. Then I booked The Hotel Rodat, also a 4 star hotel. It was a lovely hotel which reminded me much of hotels in the Santa Barbara area of California. Unfortunately for me, the dog-friendly rooms were down many stairs, (with no disabled access nor rails for the stairs) and no ability to eat in any of the hotel restaurants with your dog; in Spain, usually there is outdoor seating where pets are welcomed. I was planning to eat at their 1 Michelin star restaurant. The room service only had a limited menu, and did not include any dishes from the Michelin-starred restaurant and very few from the more casual dining restaurant. A dog-friendly hotel where you cannot eat at any of the restaurants? No bueno.
Thus I proceeded to the L’Arenal beachside region of Javea where I enjoyed some snacks of berberechos and lobster soup at Fontana Restaurant. The outdoor covered roof with gas heaters allowed a cozy view of the beach walkway and all of its activities. Afterwards, I walked about two miles to the port to Varadero restaurant and bar where Destry Spigner, a local blues and soul singer was performing. In addition to enjoying his performance, I had a tasty snack of Spanish cheese and hams.
berberechos
After a restful night’s sleep, I enjoyed the garden area outside my room while Pepper played fetch. I then returned to Los Remos, a restaurant which had an enticing menu that I had seen the previous day, but was unable to eat at as the kitchen was closed after 4:00 p.m. until the dinner service. I am glad I returned as I had one of the best meals I have had in Spain, (bogavante azul) and superb mixed sautéed vegetables. While dining, I watched the busy beach area, with youngsters getting surf lessons (although there was hardly any surf), families walking and playing, and dogs running on the beach (which is not allowed in the summer, but tolerated in the winter.) Happy and sated with my outing, I returned to Altea via taxi, for the same 48€ that it cost me to get to Javea from Calpe.
blue lobster (bogavante azul)
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