Spain

Madrid Tapas are unlike anywhere else.

June 12, 2016 by Notourguideneeded 1 Comment

I love Madrid. The people there know how to live. Saben vivir. Madrid Tapas are unlike anywhere else.

They know how to dance, with their sexy flamenco. I could watch that dance all day long.

But more importantly, they know how to eat. All of Spain has dishes they are famous for… Bilbao has Pinxtos (little toasts with stuff on them), Barcelona has the best paella ever. There are olives, and wine.

But Madrid. Madrid has the reign on tapas. Yes, yes, you can get tapas all of the place. Madrid Tapas are unlike anywhere else.

No where are Tapas like they are in Madrid

Roasted potatoes with red pepper sauce. Ham. Olives. Homemade chips. Crotchets. Serrano. Little fried balls of ham. Some paella.

So, you go to a bar. You order a canita. That’s a little beer. You get the beer you get. (I already wrote a little bit about it here).

Then the first order of tapas. Then another beer and a little more food.

Tapas is the equivalent of getting nuts or popcorn in a bar in the US. But that is such a sad comparison that I can’t even take myself seriously.

Why can’t we do this here? Does everything have to be capitalized and with a price? Why can’t I just find a little place I can go, have a small beer and some randomly good food??

The photo here on this blog is a big plate of food with two beers. Total price $5. Yes we were eating with the college crowd, but who cares. The next night we went down the road and had an adult dinner, with a bottle of wine. Total price $40. That would have been $150 back home.

I have never eaten so many olives as I have in Madrid.

They are so good and so habit forming.

I was able to find the olives that I fell in love with in Madrid. They are bright green. I asked the hubs what kind were they and he said “Spanish”. Smart ass.

But alas, they were at Whole Foods in the olive bar. Appropriately marked as “Spanish Olives”.

Until we meet again Madrid.

Tell me below in the comments what your favorite tapas are.. I am always looking for new ideas and places.

Why can’t I have just a little slice of Spanish tortilla?????

June 2, 2016 by Notourguideneeded 4 Comments

Traveling brings you closer to humanity. You get to see people outside of your culture and hopefully you expand your little box of understanding the world a bit more. The more you travel the better the box you are in gets and the more engaged you are while traveling leads to better experiences. That’s why I love tapas bars in Madrid.

In other restaurants you sit at a table and formally eat. In a tapas bar, one you are in a bar, you generally are standing or resting your butt on a barstool and it is usually crowded. It is crowded because it is small. How many people can you fit into a small area? A tapas bar owner is an expert.

Cleanliness isn’t really a priority. I don’t mean this badly. Wipe your mouth with a napkin and then throw it on the floor. Then remember we are in a bar. There will be beer spilled.

And there are no decisions to be made. When you go to a regular bar: what kind of beer do you want, what do you want to eat. No.. not in a tapas bar. You want beer, you get a beer. You MIGHT be able to say what size. If you want wine, you get red. Maybe white. and then you get what you get when they give you the food. Generally the more beer you order the better the food.

First round is chips, second olives, then maybe potato, etc. I mean, you can order food in some places but that defeats the purpose of letting someone give you a little food. If you want to order food, go to a restaurant. Unless of course, you are done drinking and just want more food. But even then, get going so someone else can have your space at the bar. (did I mention the good tapas bars are packed?)

So, the hubs and I are in a a tapas bar in Madrid on our last trip. He loves Spanish tortilla. He asks the very angry looking owner if he can have a very small slice. She tells him “no, slices come in one size only”. Now if you don’t know what Spanish tortilla is, you basically make a cake using sliced potatoes and eggs. If you were in a bakery and said you want a small slice, they’d probably smile and think of the amount of money they were saving.

The angry woman only wanted to sell one size – large. We hate wasting food.

Then we saw her take the customer’s uneaten olives and put them back in the main jar. Glad we didn’t get the slice. Ugh.

But my point is that you cannot go imposing rules in a place that is by its nature supposed to be casual and laid back. She lost money that day. She could have charged the hubs a full amount and had extra to give someone else. Or she could have just given him a small sliver that he wanted. Rather she drove us away.

If you find yourself in Madrid in a tapas bar with an owner that won’t compromise on a slide of tortilla, remember not to eat the olives either.

Additional Bonus

BTW… When I got home, I made a delicious one for us. It was really easy to make and the hubs gobbled it up. I even cut him small slices to eat :).

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spanish-tortilla-recipe0.html

Barcelona

April 17, 2016 by Notourguideneeded Leave a Comment

Barcelona is one of the best cities in Europe. It is especially good if you are intimated or not quite sure if you are going to be okay in a foreign country. Because Barcelona has the cruise ports, there is a huge tourist population. It has great food, shopping, architecture and the city is easily laid out to find things. If you are looking for your first trip, I’d highly recommend Barcelona.

We have been there many times as it is a good hub between USA and other European cities. You can also read about our Spanish cruise here too.

The first thing I like to recommend in a city is the hop on hop off bus. The hubs hates these buses, but I think they are great to get acclimated to the city. Plus, in Barcelona, there are lots of things that you just need to see while driving by, such as Gaudi’s buildings. They are cool but unless you want to stop the bus is a great way to see them.

You don’t want to miss Las Rambla. It is a famous touristy street. You walk down the middle and there are lots of little carts and street art. The stores are okay but the touristy stuff is quality. I have bought scarves, magnets, etc there.

On Las Rambla, there is the major market that is a site all in its own. The colors and flavors are like nothing you have ever seen in one place. There are wine bars and restaurants on the perimeter and I highly recommend you get a bite and just take it all in while you are there.

The Sagrada Familia is a must to see. The church is Gaudi’s work of art that we worked on for 43 years before his death. The church is still being completed to this day so it is a little odd.. it is this magnificent church with construction everywhere. It is set to be completed in 2026, but we shall see. I am confident that by then other improvements will need to be made. Get there early as the lines form long and you probably need a couple hours to take it all in.

The Beach.. oh goodness. Go. I have been to many beaches in the world and the Mediterranean is unlike anything else. There are party beaches and peaceful beauties. My favorite on is about 45 minutes south in a little town of El Vendrell. You don’t have to go that far to experience the beaches though.

Things to Know when taking a Cruise in Spain and Morocco

April 11, 2016 by Notourguideneeded 1 Comment

First, Why this Cruise?

My husband’s family is Venezuelan by way of Canary Islands. My dad and I had talked about going to Morocco for a while. I was sitting in a hotel room in New Orleans watching my husband sleep, when I got an email from NCL.. “Cruise Special” (or something like that). I started looking and oh boy! For $700 we could have a 10 day cruise from Barcelona, to Canary Islands and Morocco. Let’s do this! Within hours it was an easy decision. It’s also easy to plan a vacation while you are on down time of another vacation. This is why ships have the big discounts if you book your trip while still on board. They get you when you are all in a good mood and forgetting about your light bill… but I digress.

This time, we decided to invite the family so my parents, cousin and us went. I have not laughed so much in 10 days than I did then! I highly recommend that if you need a family get away, a cruise is the way to go. Then you can do things together but also independent when you need alone time. I can’t wait to do another one… but now for our recap…

Barcelona

We started the trip in Barcelona. We got there a full day earlier so we could see a little bit and then get on the ship. This also helps because then you aren’t worried about rushing to make a flight.

We stayed at Andante Hotel and I would definitely return. The front desk guys were great and even called to make us last minute reservations. The rooms were big, clean and modern. It was just walking distance from everything we needed.

I have been to Barcelona before so we were tour guides for my family. I love showing people around and showing them the sites.

Places in Barcelona not to miss:

La Rambla – I know it is touristy, but there is always a good show going on and places to buy things. You can walk up and down for hours seeing new things and the walk is free!
La Boqueria – Never in my life have I ever seen so many colors in one place. And the smells of meat and cheese and candy, oh my! And they like to give samples. Yum! 🙂

Getting to the ship…

We got up the next day and headed down to the coast. Everyone said you can walk.

Do not walk.

After piling into two cabs, we were so happy we didn’t walk. We saw people with their luggage – it didn’t look fun at all. If you flew halfway around the globe to cruise and you want to save $10 on a cab, perhaps you can find something closer to home?

So, on the ship we went. I talked a lot on the Alaska cruise about the importance of the balcony rooms. Again, if you can, spend a little money. It isn’t as important to have a balcony as it was Alaska, but it was very nice. It’s not like out in the Caribbean where it is water and that is it;there are a few things to see along the way that you might want to have a view. Coming into the ports were nice and as we crossed the strait, although it was dark, was peaceful.

view from the balcony

this is our room — This was our room. I am standing next to a chair so it is small, but it worked fine for us.

Here is where we went (not in any order):

Casablanca (Morocco)

I did extensive research on Casablanca. I had maps, addresses, etc and researched places to eat and things to do. Then on the ship, there was a an advertisement for an excursion that took us to the Mosque and a City tour. At first I was a little annoyed with taking an excursion because I had (thought) I did my research. Well, let me say this… if you think you are just going to walk around Casablanca and check out the sites, you might find yourself very tired, lost and frustrated.

First thing is the money situation. They are not in the EU, so no euros! You are only in the city for less than a day. If you exchange money there is a process that is rather complicated. The excursions have worked out a deal with markets to take euros. Yeah, yeah you aren’t getting the full market appeal, but the point of cruise ports is to sample the culture. If you want to really get into it stay awhile, otherwise just go with the flow.

That being said, do make sure you count your money. We were almost overcharged several times (they see tourists coming!).

Now the best part… The Mosque.

I must admit that I have never been inside a Mosque or know anything about it. I was a little embarrassed when I realized how little I know about the Muslim culture in general. Our tour guide was a wonderful, progressive woman. She taught us about the washing before prayer, the traditions etc. As we would walk/drive along, she would point out random things like, “you see that chair, that is for if I get tired, but I don’t need it now”. Anyway, there is sort of a line to get into the Mosque and there is only a window of time to do it. You must go with a tour, although if you decide to ignore my advice and go alone, you can get into a tour onsite.

You take off your shoes and put them in a bag to carry with you. Know this ahead of time just in case you have a hole in your sock or something.

Then the guide walked us through the building. I have a tremendous amount of photos, so if you want to see more, contact me. It was truly an amazing structure. I have seen many cathedrals and other architecture masterpieces, but this is at the top of the list. I was in awe.

Let me also address the “women”. A few people told me that Casablanca was a very modern city and women could wear/do whatever we do here in the states. That may be so, but I did not see it. I saw many cafes with only men. Most non-tourists were covered. I would not have been comfortable walking alone, but maybe after a while you get used to it.

It is also good to note that the actual city is quite far from the ship. As much as I hate to say it, this is a place that you probably do need a guide to help you navigate.

Arrecife (Lanzarote) (Canary Islands)

Have you ever ridden a camel in the desert?? I have! But if you already have, you know it is a bit organized. They won’t let you take off and run them or anything. But it is still very cool.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands)

This was one of my favorite stops. We wanted to go to Teide National Park and you really need to take a tour or drive yourself. We opted for the tour because there were five of us and we wanted to maximize the time rather than our usually getting lost.

The tour guide was beyond fabulous. One of the reasons we don’t like tours is because you are stuck with the guide’s itinerary. Our guide was flexible, showing us where we could see additional things.

We stopped to see the Finger of God. That was so neat to see the rock formations.

Then we headed to Teide National Park where we stood in the freezing wind and saw incredible views of the park and the volcano. I am so glad we opted for this because it was truly amazing.

Funchal (Madeira)

There is not a lot of major things to see in Funchal, so we opted to just take the hop on hop off bus and that was a good deal. Then we stopped off at a wonderful bakery/cafe. The waiter was just so funny and helped us with the menu and to pick out all our grand pastries! Funchal was a good place to see, but not a lot of spectacular sites other than at the piers.

Granada (Malaga) (Spain)

The second reason my husband wanted to go on this cruise was not to see Granada, but to take a bus to Alhambra. Many people know Alhambra, they just don’t realize they do. Remember in grade school when you were learning about Columbus and how we went to Queen Isabella for money to sail the ships around the world? He asked for the money in Alhambra!

There is a rich history of Catholic overtaking of the Moors at Alhambra. I wish we would have had more time to really study what was going on at the time. Read on it before you go so you are familiar with all of the stories.

There are guides everywhere, and if you can find a way to rent a car, you should. However, we took a bus because it is about an hour drive each way.

On a side note, here is a good write up of Columbus from the History Channel.

We decided to do the round trip back to Barcelona, and that let us have additional time in the city. From there, we parted ways with the family and my hubs and I took a quick flight to Paris to celebrate Christmas. But that is another story….

Madrid Tapas are unlike anywhere else.

I love Madrid. The people there know how to live. Saben vivir. Madrid Tapas are unlike anywhere else.

No where are Tapas like they are in Madrid

I have never eaten so many olives as I have in Madrid.