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The crunchy fisheyes closes this entry but it is the title 'cause it is fresh in my mind, or tastebuds...
Yesterday we had a fabo day in Figueres - caught the train from Barcelona to the Costa Brava town of Figueres where Dali grew up. The bright clean Renfe train we rode provided a real contrast to the stench of booze seeping out of five of our fellow Muscovite riders who were drinking red wine from crunpled boxes as the train pulled out of Barcelona at 9AM. After a few stops in the Catalan countryside they were deposited at one of the towns since they didn't have tickets - to be fair they were good-humoured and otherwise fine fellow travellers but the stench was truly overpowering.
Strolling in Figueres we saw a shop full of legs of pork from moderately priced to really expensive - three cured pig's legs rested on a board held up by a claw-like clamp and slices of the delicacy are shaved off upon request.
We had lunch at a fun place called Onix - the firsts were divine - guacamole and herbs, cold pasta with local seafood and anise, local cheeses, strawberries and
tarts... The mains were slightly pedestrian following the firsts but for postes the tiramasu was creative and yummy and the yogurt and fresh fruit was perfect - the free bottle of potable red wine was a bonus.
I have always enjoyed Dali and the Dali museum was cool for all - certainly gave the kids lots to talk about and explore with us. We spent a few hours there.
Throughout Barcelona and Figueres and the towns we bisected by train like Girona, there were no Spanish flags - anywhere. Imagine being in a Canadian Ciity and not seeing one Canadian flag. The reasons for this are complex but Barcelona has long been a proud socialist and anarchist rooted counterpoint to all things Madrid and Castillian - certainly the centre of opposition to the long, vicious right-wing dictatoriship of Franco. Language, food, politics and football are all proudly Catalan and they cherish their collective sense of self. A big local news article during our stay was the conversion of one of the storied bullfighting arenas into a modern community retail and public space - Barcelona is the first City in Spain to ban bullfighting - whereas Madrid's Mayor has
stated that the day the European Union bans bullfighting is the day Spain leaves the EU. BTW - Barcelona and Catalan flags everywhere.
We flew to Lisbon today and immediately commenced a love affair - lovely, slow-paced, friendly, postcard perfect and bejewelled with flowers everywhere. Kim and I both immediately loved the city. (As an aside, thus far on all local and regional subways, trains and planes in Spain and Portugal there has NEVER been a wait of more than a few minutes - includiing customs and airport security.)
Our Hotel is a converted Art Deco theatre right smack dab in the middle of town in front of a major square and boulevard with ponds, cafes and huge parks throughout - this eve four political parties held serial demonstrations seeking voter support and media coverage on our square - we could identify the Social Democrats and Communists - the others we will identify with the kids online in the morning. We swam outdoors on the Hotel's rooftop, while enjoying a glorious view of Lisbon.
For dinner we sought out what we had heard from the Portuguese mother of a schoolmate of Marika's was a true local no-fuss
Streets of Figueres
Bicycles and pedestrians strolled across and down the street - and cars just had to wait or drive slowly behind.Portuguese hole in the wall with wonderful food. Took us a while to find even when it was right under our noses.
Sure enough - the name was barely legible and we could barely tell it was a restaurant until we went in - certaiinly a place downtown where locals eat who are not heading out to a nightclub after!!!! With the waitress speaking only a few more words of English than we did Portuguese, we managed to order. Delicious for us all and cheap. Grilled pork cutlets, salmon and sardines with lots of rice and smiles - we all had lots of each.
Finally Will said he was going to eat one of my sardine's eyes - about the size of a small pea. He said it was like mashed potatooes on the outside and hard and crunchy on the inside. Marika didn't hesitate and crunched/squished one, and I figured the grown-ups needed to toss their hat in the ring so had one - Willl's description was apt. Kim couldn't stand being left behind the fishy ocular munch-in so joined in.
Loooooooong day for all of us - especially the kids so I expect this will
have more than its share of spelling mistakes when posted.
Boa noite.
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Annetta
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Dali Museum
Loved this museum when I visited in '89. Beats the one in Paris.