Farewell Espana! And Getting my Story Straight

This is it, the end of this adventure.  Another six months have virtually evaporated.  But what a happy time it has been for us.  Is it because Spain is where we lived last on this journey that we love it so much or is it that we just do like it best?  Portugal was wonderful – with its magnificent rocky coastlines, steep hills, the blue ceramic tile azulejos, and of course, Lisboa!  France is always a favorite country to visit . . . the wines, the foods, and the people.  We even learned to enjoy beef tartar and duck pate there!  But Spain . . . Spain turned out to be so unexpectedly good.  Combined with previous visits we have seen much of the entire country.  The weather, architecture, landscapes, and culture differ greatly from north to south and east to west.  Rich in history and beauty, we will never forget our stay here.

It crossed my mind that my blogs tend to focus on the antiquities.  Because of that, I may leave an impression that much of Portugal, France, and especially Spain is old dating from the Roman and Medieval days.  I admit I am completely enchanted and enamored with ancient walls, castles, and palaces still standing from so long ago.  I like to place my hands on them, feel them, and know that thousands of others, real people with daily routines and struggles throughout the ages may have done the same.  I love the fact that these relics still exist.  They stir my imagination as to what life might have been like in those days.  They also remind me that while great civilizations like the Romans and leaders like great kings may accomplish amazing things in their time, life goes on and inevitably forsakes them.

To be fair though, cities and communities here have invested greatly in time, money, and effort in preserving these antiquities yet surrounding these relics are modern, sophisticated cities with zillion-dollar buildings, industries, and suburbs much like our own.   There are malls, TV and electronics stores, high-fashion designer shopping, and moderate-priced stores.  Their shoe stores look are like those in any town in the US.  People shop at supermarkets, small mom & pop grocers, as well as specialized markets for fresh and cured meats, fresh fish and seafood, cheeses, and fruits & vegetables.  In larger cities, there are first-rate hospitals and a multitude of colleges and universities.  Even smaller towns usually have one or two universities, some established hundreds of years ago.

Cities and towns are connected by highways, superhighways, and awe-inspiring bridges with choices of transportation like planes, trains, buses, metros, trams, motorcycles, electric bikes, and electric scooters.  And of course, people love to walk.  Streets outside old town areas are wide with at least four lanes of traffic; many have more.  Nearly all city streets and boulevards particularly in Andalucia, are tree-lined with sycamore or orange trees.  Sidewalks are generally wide too and have separate designated lanes for bicycles and electric scooters.  Pedestrians dare not meander into one of these lanes.  If you don’t watch where you are standing or walking, you could meet up with a fast-moving oncoming scooter or bike.

One more thing . . . orange trees are everywhere.  Over 40,000 orange trees with their glossy green leaves decorate the streets, patios, yards, parks, and gardens in Seville.  We wondered why people aren’t seen eating oranges everywhere — until we tasted one!  Called bitter orange, these oranges cannot be eaten fresh from the tree. They are harvested on farms and used, however for marmalades, medicines, perfumes, and for making Vino Naranja. 

Here’s an interesting excerpt about bitter oranges from www.andulucia.com – The city with the most vitamin C in the world:

If you wander around Seville, you might start asking yourself why there are so many orange trees in the city. Historically, the Genovese sailors introduced oranges in Europe. And it wasn’t just any type of orange tree. The variety found in the Andalusian capital is the bitter orange. There was a widespread belief that planting a tree of this originally Asian species would bring happiness to its owner. This was one of the major reasons why the Moors decided to expand the planting of orange trees throughout the peninsula.

In reality, the relationship between Seville and orange trees goes even further back in time. It was Hercules, the city’s mythological founder, who crossed Africa for the second time to obtain the golden apple of immortality, associated with the orange. Once he had the orange in his hands, Hercules rested in Seville just before fighting against Cerbero, the dog with three heads.

Hercules is a major player in the mythological hero ring here.

Speaking of fruit, Spain produces wonderful fruit . . . purple plums, apples, oranges, of course, and surprisingly, pineapples and mangos.  Most stores and markets proudly designate products from Spain.  Everything is sweet and delicious.  Their pineapples are good but don’t compare to those we had in Panama, but their mangos are some of the very best I’ve ever tasted.  They are sweet and don’t have the usual stringy texture.  An interesting variety of tiny and very pretty pears is grown here.  They are only about 2.5 to 3 inches tall and no more than two inches wide at the base.   They are sweet even when crunchy but when fully ripe you can almost stick a straw in one and sip the pear nectar.  We missed the fig season altogether on this trip.  Figs grown near the Mediterranean are unusually purple and sweet.  It was too early for ripe figs when we were in Portugal and France but when we arrived in Spain, the harvest was over.

The olives, oh the olives, here are magnificent.  They come in all sizes and levels of ripeness.  I particularly like the very green ones and the fully ripe black wrinkled ones.  You dare not buy them in jars.  Shops and markets have big vats of them.  They like to offer them smashed a bit.  I thought at first that was done to remove the seed, but no, the pit is still inside.  Cracking the olives must do something to enhance the flavor.  Often a small bowl of olives is served when you order a glass of wine.  Stan refers to them as his green vegetable choice for the meal.  We bought a few at the Triana Market a few days ago.  Some were threaded on skewers with marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red pepper.  We bought others on skewers stuffed with a hunk of cheese rolled in fresh cracked black pepper or stuffed with a big hunk of bleu cheese.  Mmm, mmm, mmm!  Expensive?  Outrageously so, but this is where they are grown . . . and you only live once!

I’m signing off for now but will be back online in January.  Our next six-month adventure will be a change from our usual with a list of exotic destinations that go from Puerto Rico to New Zealand.  I hope you will join us.

Finally, Stan and I send our wishes for a peaceful, love- and thanks-filed Christmas season.  May your days be filled with the joy of Advent and may you have special times with the ones you love.