Blogs from Salamanca, Castile & León, Spain, Europe - page 17

So this week was Miguel's birthday. Thirty-three years well completed as they say in Spanish. We celebrated last weekend on Saturday, lot's of fun except that I was sick. So with my horrible cold and hacking cough (of course, how else would the party have been complete?) I set about making a feast for Miguel and friends in our house. I made onigiri (japanese rice triangles with fish and seaweed), Fritatta with lima beans (a kind of Italian style quiche) and Enchiladas with beans veggies and lots of hot sauce (seperate of course, Im sure I have mentioned before that Spaniards do NOT like spices, the only spices that figure into the Spanish diet are salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil....how exactly did these people establish colonies in countries with some of the spiciest cuisine in ... read more

I figured it was about time I contributed an entry about Spanish Cuisine. Im sure some of you know that the food here is quite famous for it´s....well savouryness (is that a word?) and variety. The quality and quantity changes a lot depending on where you are in Spain. For example, in the South being as how there is a lot of ocean, there is quite a bit of seafood. Fried Calamaris (squid) Merluza (hake) Mejillones (clams) the Andaluzes have it all. If you go to Sevilla, Granada or Cadíz make sure to try the Jeréz (sherry, it comes from that region) and the Manzanilla (a delicious light wine). In the Basque country there are some of the finest chefs in the country. This accounts for the fact that the majority of world famous Spanish chefs ... read more

For those of you who know me, you will agree that the perpetual thorn in my side for the past two years has been my visa issues in Spain. I supose I was a bit spoiled ("mimada" as they say in Spanish) in Japan with the whole visa thing. All I had to do to change my studnt visa to a work visa there was go to immigration with my university degree, a copy of my contract from the school where I was teaching and my passport. Two stamps and three weeks later I was ready to roll. Not so in Spain. For all non europeans thinking of making the jump accross the puddle to Spain, let me offer you some words of advice, Get A Euoropean Passport If At All Humanly Possible!!!!! Its amazing how ... read more

My Boyfriend comes from a very small village outside of Salamanca. Its a very tiny village (and I do mean tiny) that has about 250 people living there throughout the winter and maybe 300 plus there in the summer. It is an interesting place in the same way a small tribe of forrest dwellers in the amazon would be interesting. As in maybe from an anthropological point of view, but not any place you want to spend a considerable amount of time. This holds exceptionally true if you are a forigener. Being the only one in the village does lend itself to some memorable moments. I remember last year at the festival of San Miguel (which is held in the village once every year around the last weekend in September), I was there with my boyfriend ... read more

Salamanca is just about the oldest university town in Europe, and you can feel that energy in the place despite the collection of 500 year churches, monasteries, libraries and university buildings.... read more