San Sebastian, Pinxtos and Mom

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

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The young French school children than scream incessantly during their recess outside my window seem to have been called back to class....so I have a few minutes in which to think and capture here a piece of my latest excursion to the great country immediately south of me, ESPANA!

My Mom has always wanted to go to Spain. And since her daughter (me!) speaks the language and has lived in the country, she courted me to be her personal guide for a 11 day trip.  I knew the pay would be bad, but the company good...and really how could I say no to going back to some of my favorite cities in the world!  We spent the first 8 nights in the south:  Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla and Granada...all places I have been to multiple times over the past 17 years...ever since I first visited Europe and studied abroad in Sevilla as a Junior in college (crap...I think I just gave away my age!).  Mom would spend the days doing the quinessential tourist activities.  I would reconnect with old and new friends.  The weather was perfect, the tapas delicious and the wine refreshing. And despite unemployment being over 30% in Andulsia, southern Spain still exuded the same wonderful, energetic spirit that I fell in love with many years ago.

Beautiful flamenco dresses in a shop window in Sevilla.

I do love the south of Spain, but for me the highlight on this trip was our last 3 nights in the northern seaside town in Spain's Basque country, San Sebastian (or Donostia in the Basque language).  This was my first time to "Pais Vasco" and San Sebastian!  Which perhaps is strange, because Donostia-San Sebastian is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Spain. It is home to beautiful golden beaches, hosts an international film festival every year that brings big international stars to its streets and boasts incredible cuisine that is renowned acrossed the globe (It is the home of FOUR 3 star Michelin restaurants! The most in any city in the world!).

On top of the world!

Really I am just on top of Mount Urgull which had spectacular views of the city, the bay and the beautiful beaches.

A graffiti reminder that I was in the home of infamous, armed seperatist organization, ETA, whose goal is to gain independence for the Basque country.  In Sevilla, while walking some of the side steets, I saw a plaque memorializing a diplomat and his wife who were assassinated in that alley by ETA members just in 2006.  However, as a note, ETA did declare this year a "permanent, general and verifiable" ceasefire and plans to end their campaign.  Time will tell...

San Sebastian's Catherdral of the Good Shepherd

PINXTOS!

The old part of San Sebastians was full of bars that served these tasty, pinxtos (pronounced pinchos).

Pinxtos are basically the same as southern Spain's tapas...small snacks to eat with your wine or beer. BUT the glorious part of the pinxto experience is that you didn't just select them off a menu and tell your server what you want...rather pinxtos magnifecently decorate the tops of bars across town...and you, the hungary patron, just grab all that look delicious to you and consume on the spot!!!  It was both a feast for the eyes and tastebuds.

A close-up of one of the delightful options at the first pinxto bar my Mom and I ever went to our first night in San Sebastian. Iberico ham, Foie Gras and Mango loving piled on a piece of baguette. Savory and sweet is always a good combination to me...and I did like this ensemble :).  San Sebastian is only 20 minutes from France...so the cuisine also had a lot of French influence.

We selected these brochettes raw from the counter...and viola! 8 minutes later they were presented to us perfectly prepared...although Mom was disappointed that they shrunk so much in the cooking process. :)

To maximize our Pinxto consuming experience Mom and I took a pinxto tour our last night in San Sebastian and in Spain.  We joined a group of 9 others to be lead through the old part of town by an English man named, Jon.  He took us to 6 different pinxtos bars.  In each bar he selected different pinxtos and paired them with local wines.  Here are some of the highlights of this evening:

BAR ONE! Jon took us to a place that had been around for 50 years, Paco Bueno...and Paco, his wife and nephew were in the kitchen cooking for us.

The barkeep is aerating our light white, local wine by pouring it from about 2 feet above the glass...normal in this northern city. 

Jon, our guide, is the profile I captured in the picture.

He used to be a finance guy in London...but 4 years ago came to San Sebastian and decided to start his food and wine education and tour company.  Very inspiring.

Paco's Pinxto for us...a yummy breaded shrimp on a stick.

Apparently the origin of the pinxto name is from the skewer or pick that "spikes" the pinxto usually to a piece of bread.

Thanks Paco for the picture!!  Bisous!!

BAR TWO!!  Jon took us to a bar that specialized in mejillones....or mussels. And instead of wine, he asked all if we were up to trying the local cider...uh, claro que si!

Fruit of the sea....and vine? Hmmm, I just realized I don't know how cider is made :)

However, I do know that this cider had only 6% alcohol....and a very interesting, light flavor.

Trying out my aerating expertise...and delightful facial expressions.

Once licked clean, mussel shells could be disposed of in a little railing that graced the bottom of the bar...so this is Mom throwing her food on the floor :)...perfectly acceptable in this non-3 star Michelin restaurant.

BAR THREE!!  This is were Jon started loosing control of our group....because he started serving red wine. :)

So beautiful...here Jon had them serve us some little green peppers that were flash fried and sprinkled with Fleur de Sel (almost like little green french fries...and not spicy!  I was worried until Jon talked me off that cliff) and delicious medium rare beef on a piece of bread...HOWEVER, I forgot to take a picture of both of them (I blame the red wine...but I think really it was that I was talking a bit too much to 2 Canadians about wine...so I guess all both fronts, I blame the wine! :) )

These squiggly things are imitation  Angulas – or baby eels. The real stuff is extremely expensive (around 1000 Euro a kilo), so imitation “gulas”, which are made from pollock, are usually used as substitute.

This is clearly the substitute...but sure look like baby eel still!!!

Mom and I were going to go back and try one...never happened, but we were still thinking big after only bar 3 :)!

BAR FOUR!!!  The bars started becoming more gourmet and the chefs were using more specialized ingredients as we moved further on the tour.  In this little lovely bar, which I don't remember a thing about other than the delightful pasta and chevre dish, I went back and complemented the chef.  Thankfully he indulged my gratitude and also gave me a little lesson on the ingredients I need to use at home to recreate his simple, but delicious dish!

Jon probably ordering us all more red wine!!! 

Here she is....the pasta chevre dish topped with a dollop of pesto!

Sooooooo good!

Mom talking to Brad, one of the wine loving Canadians I was talking to in Bar 3.

In the foreground foie gras...and local red wine.

BAR FIVVVVVVEEEE!!  Oh my!  This place was incredibly special in the fact that everything  served was edible art.  It was not your classic pinxto bar....rather wonderfully trendy with its hipster clientele and attractive bartenders.  A very contemporary Basque culinary experience.  Nice stop, Jon!

What did I tell ya...all of it, art!

More of its funkiness...

Wanted to get in the yummy food and server :)

Gigi, one of our fellow tour participants, is truly inhaling her food in this picture.

Gigi was from Hong Kong, traveling alone and incedibly funny.

Two interesting facts about Gigi: 1) her name means "penis" in Chinese and 2) her last name is "Fok" (her mother loves the move, Meet the Fockers) 

Mom and I enjoying our little smoking bbq with yet another glass of red wine.

BAR SIX...and final bar!  Jon took us here for their fabulous cheesecake.  Here we had the choice of red wine or a sweet wine.  I took red and Mom took sweet...

The facade of our last stop on our perfect and thorough pinxto tour.

One of the fun bar keeps...who also made a great gin and tonic (uh, yeah, we didn't drink red wine all night....)

End of the night...notice how big all the smiles are.

Gigi, Ellie (local from San Sebastian trying to get a job with Jon), Me, Mom and Mark (from San Diego)

 Jon is no where to be found anymore...he left our group after our 2 1/2 hour tour (probably running) and told us that we could continue enjoying ourselves at "La Vina." 

We took him up on that offer...and the guys switched to tequila shots.

Mom ended the night shortly after this picture was taken....I ended mine a few hours later drinking Moet & Chandon.  Viva Espana!  Viva San Sebastian!  Viva el Pinxto...and Jon!!

Adios Spain!!

Now headed to Italy!

The Romanitic Road and NOT Finding Romance

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****
How to start this post? 

I guess I will just start it with a snapshot of today's biggest event.  I broke up with my French lover. And I did it by telling him he was a bad lover. *Sigh* Probably not one of my finest moments, but I was being honest. However, my honesty in that moment was more to hurt than give sufficient reason for my disappointment in the relationship. I feel sad by the whole episode...regardless of the fact that the romance was doomed from the start (he was 10 years my junior).  It is always hard to say good-bye.

Ah, Romance! I find that it is all around me...in the sites I see, the places I visit, the couples I witness and the city I live in, but capturing it for myself is a bit elusive.  Perhaps that is the reason I have been a bit obsessed with it as of late, and one of the reasons why I chose to follow the "Romantic Road" in Bavaria.  I want to be around romance! Even if it is in name only.  Surrounding myself by something I want so much should bring me closer to it, right?!  I am not sure if it works like that...and the events of the last 6 hours have definitely proved that I have never been further from romance :)...but thank goodness I am an optimist!

My first stop on the "Romantic Road" was Rottenberg!

A beautiful walled, preserved medieval city. It was an "Imperial Free City" (ruled by the Roman emperor only...not a local prince, etc. They had a lot more independence cuz the Roman emperor really didn't care about them and communication wasn't so good back then...no iphone 4Gs so I hear).

What Ms. GPS!? You want me to go through that!?

I couldn't believe that I had to maneuver my Ford Fiesta through this little hole into the city!

It was only when I had a back log of 3 or 4 cars behind me that I tentatively decided to breach the wall. After all, my hotel was on the other side, and I was a bit tired of driving and I was definitely tired of the German voices on the radio (I wish German was a prettier language)!!

A view of Rothenberg from the only public accessible watchtower in the city.

It was a steep hike up, but well worth the 1Euro50 I was asked to hand over by a very lonely looking man at the top of the tower.  Apparently he and I shared the same luck on this Romantic Road.

Rothenberg's city wall! 

 This part of town was all destroyed in 1945 when Allied forces bombed Rothenberg in an attempt to devastate and demoralize the enemy.  Luckily the clouds were heavy that day, otherwise this beautiful, historic city would have been completely destroyed (much like Nuremburg).

It should have been re-bombed the following day, but thanks to an American General and a German Nazi, further carnage was not done on the city.  Much international help and resources was used to rebuild it, and today it is an incredible...and incredibly romantic...city to visit in Bavaria.

Scenes from Rothenberg.

Every corner was beautiful.

A Bavarian treat!

"Snowballs" are their name.  Basically they are deep fried, linguine style strings of semi sweet dough shaped in a ball that are covered in some sort of topping.  I tried the original with powdered sugar.

It was a good snack, but not sure I would write home about it (but apparently I will blog about it!).

The "Night Watchmen" of Rothenberg.

He does a lovely tour every night for 7 euro...I learned much about the history of the town.

Did you know that night watchman was the 3rd lowest occupation in town during medievil times?

2nd was grave digger and lowest was executioner...no surprise there.

All lovely, romantic thoughts :). And to further squelch romantic tendencies, there is a torture museum in town.

This is the wonderful Federweiss, mentioned in my last post that gave me the energy to charm the Italian couple and the Greek and German man at my "community" table.

We need to do more community tables back home :).

Ah! The reason for my 700 km trip into Bavaria!!

Schloss Neuschwanstein near Fussen!

This Disneyland-fantasy castle built by King Lugwig II was absolutely the highlight of this beautiful region.

My romantic side had chosen the destination based solely on the name of the route....little did I know it is one of the MOST popular places in Germany to visit and the most photographed castle in the world.

A closer view of Ludwig's masterpiece.

...and my favorite view!

This is a picture from one of the castle's balconies.

No pictures were allowed inside...so this was the best I could do.

Old town in Fussen.

Just some of the charm and romance of the beautiful town.

This is my autobahn work horse!

A half of tank cost around 46 euro....it was like a little nightmare each time I filled up at 1Euro60 for a liter.

80% of fuel cost in Germany is tax.

The last night of my Bavarian "romantic" tour was in a little town called Wurzberg.

I was told this bridge is in the new movie, Three Amigos...however, the movie makers made it look like it was in Paris.

As a treat my last night in Germany, I ordered just a glass of their local white.

Little did I know they would fill it to the lip of the glass....I am pretty sure that in Germany one drinks to get drunk :).  And that last night I did.

Don't worry, I didn't drink alone.  A nice German man introduced himself to me shortly after I took the above picture.  He preceded to show me some of the important places in Wurzberg (including having a closed garden opened for just us), bought me a few more glasses of local wine and took me to a pub for pizza.  Romantic? Perhaps.  However, being told, "I love you" within a few hours of meeting someone is a bit much even for this diehard.  Further, I made the mistake of giving him my French phone number (really, when will I learn!)...so I have had the distinct pleasure of fielding his ongoing texts and 8am phone calls, all professing his love and how much he misses me.  Wow! Who knew Germans could be so romantic! AND this is a man I didn't even kiss (he was a smoker...gross!)!  I guess I WAS looking for romance...but isn't it amazing how sometimes when we are granted what we wish, we find we didn't want or need it all along?

Now I am back in Paris.  Germany and the Romantic Road are but a wonderful memory.  Errant texts and all :).

As a closing note, I just got home from dinner at a local French restaurant in the 7th that my roommate and I seem to frequent all the time called Oudino's.  Because it was weighing heavy on my heart, I shared my story of lost love and romance with the owner and another local at the small bar over saumon tartare.  I received a bit of a scolding from the older, sophisticated French woman who wore round black rimmed eye glasses and carried a Prada bag.  She told me that I need to apologize to my jeune ex-lover...and tell him instead that our differences were that he was "too young".  In her words, I could have devastated him so much he may not ever have another lover.  Seriously doubtful. She also lambasted me a bit for my "American ways" when it comes to dating and  how ridiculous it is that Americans need a "plan" (the French DON"T date and they don't "plan", they just hang out...but it is still unclear to me how they ever figure out if two people are exclusive. And perhaps they don't given the commonality of outside lovers in a relationship). I told her I can only be who I am and a lot of that has to do with where I come from...I am not French.

However, I am still a romantic....and although I didn't find the romance I may have been looking for on the "Romantic Road" and devastated any type of romance with my former French friend, I think I will find it.  But perhaps I shouldn't look so hard.

At last, I Visit Germany!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Ah, Germany!  My first time ever here!  I am exhausted after an incredible and unforgettable first 4 nights of my trip with my dear friend, Kisara, and her wonderful husband, Das, who live in Dusseldorf. …but I think this Federweisser (a young German wine that tastes like fizzy lemonade) in front of me should perk me up!

Today I experienced the world famous autobahn.  I collected my black Ford Fiesta at the Dusseldorf airport at 9am this morning and hoped on A3 towards Bavaria and the “Romantic Road.”  I didn’t necessarily have the best transport to get the full autobahn experience, but my little American import did great.  At one point I rounded her out at a cool 160 km/hour (basically until she shook!), and did my best to imitate all the BMW, Audi and Porche drivers that typically zoomed by me at about 200 km/hour.  I didn’t stop once during the 317km drive, but enjoyed the country side, occasional castle in the distance and the American military radio station I found near Frankfurt that kept me singing for several hours. 

Now I am in Rothenburg, Bavaria….but my experiences here will have to wait.  I have too much to share of my time in Dusseldorf and the surrounding cities these past 4 days.

My first hours in Dusseldorf!

Kisara and Das took me on a walking tour of the city before dinner.  Dusseldorf is set along the Rhine river and is the 5^th largest city in Germany.  It is also touted as the city with the best quality of life in Germany. The "Rhine Promenade" that we are on is the most famous in the country.

I really wish I would take off that d*mn purse for pictures! Argh!

Most parts of Dusseldorf were destroyed in WW2 and now it promotes modernism. In its "New Harbor" famous architects like Claude Vasconi, David Chipperfield and Frank O. Gehry all have creations...this is one of them, and it looks stunning with the sun setting.

The trio at dinner…I had no idea what awaited me!

Dinner is served! 

Part of a pig’s leg…skin still on and bone marrow present! But it was delicious…albeit way too much for this little American.  

I have made several observations about German food and German’s eating their food since entering this country.  First of all, the food is very hardy…basically meat and potatoes (some may even say heavy! Dare I say heavier than American food! Yes!!!). Second, it is all the same color…different shades of cream set on white plates (as a note, even the taxis in Germany are cream color…coincidence!?). Salt also seems to be a favorite ingredient.  Visually it is not appealing, but I don’t think that is as important to the Germans as, say, the French because once the food is slid in front of them their mission becomes to consume the meal…not delight in its aesthetics.  At the traditional restaurant we ate at, entire tables of Germans would go silent for the 10 minutes that they all emptied their plates only to pick up conversations again once the forks were rested.  Toto, we aren’t in Paris anymore.

  A little blurry, but this is a good image of our highly volatile and dramatic server who seemed to have a love/hate relationship with our table.  I am not sure if the drama stemmed from the overwhelming number of beers he kept consuming while on the job…or if he was just being himself.  Das did a good job of finally getting what we wanted versus accepting what he was going to serve us.  Obviously he doesn’t work for tips.

 A real “Bier garten”.  

Dusseldorf has a beautiful old part of town called the Alstadt (actually the old part of town in every German city is called the Alstadt) which is also home to 260 bars/cafes all in a row.  It is considered the “longest bar in the world.”  

It is true that beer in Germany is cheaper than water…although that hasn't made me a convert.  I pay more and drink the water J …or a lot more and drink the wine. At night this old part of town just hummed with activity…and if you weren't at a café drinking a large glass of beer, you had a bigger bottle of beer in hand bought at a nearby “Kiosk “(every 100 meters!!).  Nothing is small in Germany, particularly when it comes to beer.

I spent Friday exploring Dusseldorf on my own.  After dinner the previous night, I started to think that Germans must be the biggest potato consumers in the world (they are the 4^th largest economy in the world…so they do have the resources to buy A LOT of pommes. I haven’t done the research yet to determine if my theory is true…but I did stumble on this potato stand at the market in the center of Dusseldorf.  In all my travels I have never seen a stand dedicated to just different potatoes!!  Perhaps an indication that my theory is correct…will get back to you!

ROAD TRIP!

On Saturday we headed to the birthplace of Ludwig von Beethoven and the former capital of West Germany, Bonn.  I still have Moonlight Sonata stuck in my head J after exploring his birth home. Some of the most interesting artifacts on display were the earhorns that he had crafted for him when he started going deaf at 31.  His loss of hearing tortured him so much that he contemplated killing himself regularly…only his devotion to composing kept him from ending his life early.

Our next stop was a little town called  Königswinter.  We parked Kisara’s little Volkswagen Polo and made the 45minute trek straight up a mountain so I could witness my first German castle, Schloss Drachenburg .  You will notice that a castle is precariously missing in this photo…we were wondering why we couldn’t see it either!  We passed it on the way up, but kept going in anticipation of a grand look-out over the schloss and the entire valley….which does exist, but didn’t exist this past Saturday.  Oh well. There were many laughs along the way, and the view at the top was still breathtaking…even sans castle.

Our last stop of the day was a little town about 10 minutes from the castle called, Rhondorf .  They were having a “Wienfest,” and even though Kisara and I were dragging, Das worked his charms and convinced his two girls to check out the festivities.  It was a perfect stop!  The festival was very, very small, but the wine was cheap, the town was adorable and the locals were welcoming and friendly.  We “rented”  our glasses for 2 Euro and filled them with 1 Euro wine from the region.  Our wine pourer recommended that we drink the white as the rose she was serving would “give us a headache.”  She also noted that she was pouring inferior wines to the only other stand serving different wines which were, of course, more expensive.  However, her honesty kept us coming back to fill up with her “cheap” white wine.  Frankly we loved it!

Kisara and I enjoying the fruits of the region!

At the festival we met a lovely, older German man named Theo (his name was of Greek origin) who made it his mission to introduce us to all the local foods served at the fair.  This particular item was a fried potato hash served with an apple sauce.  At first we were all hesitant about the apple sauce condiment…wouldn’t ketchup be better!!??  But after the first bite there were 3 new fans of this Rodendorf specialty.  Das even ordered another one!

This “currywurst” is served all over Germany (in fact we had the option to order it for lunch in Bonn, but opted for the plain brat with ketchup).  It is basically just a bratwurst served with a BBQ like sauce and curry powder.  According to Theo, this particular serving style of  Bratwurst became popular after WWI because our US soldiers enjoyed it so much when it was served to them during the war.  Kinda cool, eh!

One of the beautiful women working the food stand who served us the local food…but wouldn’t let us pay for it. 

A look at the festival by night with all its glorious lights.

After Theo walked us to our car and guided Kisara out of our parking spot we headed home to Dusseldorf.   To say we slept well that night is speaking mildly J. 

Theo giving his contact info to Kisara and Das next to the portable bathrooms. 

The light was really good there!

Oh, but we weren’t done yet…Sunday was just on the horizon, and Cologne awaited!

We slept in and after an interesting stop at an artist open house in a warehouse district in Dusseldorf (the most interesting artist being a young man who made intriguing images of flower bouquets, ice cream cones and underwear with fly carcasses.  I asked him where he collected all the carcasses and he said he bought them from a local fly farm…he bought them dead, not alive. I know...I was wondering the same thing.) we went to Cologne to see the “Dom”….its most famous landmark and Northern Europe's largest Gothic cathedral.  Few churches make my jaw  drop when I walk in them…this one did.  It is a Gothic masterpiece.

Germany is so good at mixing new architect with old.  It is everywhere in this fascinating country…and although I don’t know if it resonates well with me, it is beautiful and interesting.  It is a true dichotomy and a balance of past and present.

A hysterical and clever sculpture over the Rhein!  I think I took 20 shots of it…just made me smile.

These guys are from a very old hunting club that originated in the 1400s!!  There was a bit of a communication gap when Kisara and I talked to them, but I believe they continue their hunting traditions today between “social work” type activities…I am assuming charity activities, but he said “social work”.

We took this picture while we were having a snack at an Asian restaurant before heading back to Dusseldorf for dinner with a Senegalese friend of Kisara’s.  There was a mirror next to our table…so this is the result of us playing.  Super cool…mostly because we didn't have to ask anyone to take it! 

My time in Dusseldorf with my dear friends ended with this very average dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant in the Alstadt (thank goodness the wine was good!).  I love this picture so much…between us four, we represent 3 continents and together we can speak more than 8 languages.  The international community is so vibrant.

So now I am back where I started this post...still exhausted and still in Bavaria…listening to a table of 3 German men laughing their heads off (many large glasses of beer have been served).  Sometimes, perhaps for my benefit, they will slide in an English phrase here and there….regardless, their laughing has made me giggle along side of them…it is really contagious.  In fact, that is one thing I notice here more about me than in Paris…I smile at strangers more, and laugh along side of them.  I don’t do that in Paris because the Parisians don’t do that.  But here it is different.  The Germans may have a stereotype of being stoic and serious, but they smile freely and have warm, open hearts.  I am enjoying that immensely.

Just as a closing note, the laughing German men have now yelled out to me (“Cybergirl” is their name for me)…they apparently want to know more about this American girl who hasn’t lifted her head from her computer.  Let’s see what they have to say!