Buenas...... from the Wandering Berkmans!
We bid Atlanta goodbye on Feb 16th and we can't say we're entirely looking to return. There was some crazy driving going on there and seeing a major accident on the highway has us saying uh no thanks. The rainy, cool weather also didn't help. On the positive side, the expansive Grant Park was 5 minutes walking, our Airbnb was cozy and had everything we needed, and we reconnected with some great friends out there.
And Don reconnected with two friends/coworkers from his DnB days and yes, met them at the same cafe on different days. Vinh and Ashok have Berkman DnB stories to tell, no doubt. Ashok committed to coming to Mexico City and we're holding him to it!
Atlanta visit highlights included--
We spent a day exploring the MLK National Historical Park and the King Center where he and Mrs. King are buried in a peaceful reflecting pool.
The original Ebenezer Baptist Church is located next to the King Center and just across the street from the new sanctuary, where Rev. Warnock is listed as Senior Pastor.
Just down the street is MLK's childhood home. Don went into the backyard and marveled at how a 10 year old MLK played there, unaware of where his life would take him.
We always like to check out the street art and the Beltline trail entrance offered blocks and blocks of talent. Check out this link for the many areas where you can take in more street art in Atlanta.
My Uber driver's advice on Atlanta dining-- chicken, chicken and more chicken. Hattie B's was the place to go, according to those in the know and the retrofitted gas station was the perfect scene for this staple. Fried chicken comes nestled on a piece of white bread and crowned with a pickle slice. And, of course, I couldn't leave the city without trying the cheese grits and black eyed peas, this one a cold salad.
We were very excited to return to Spain, this time with a home base in Las Pajanosas, a tiny town about 20 minutes outside of Sevilla. One month in and the locals are starting to recognize us at the local eateries, especially at Meson Los Cotos where the wifi is great, the coffee tasty, leche sin lactosa is always available and the staff patiently smiles as Don practices his always improving Spanish. (He's taking weekly private lessons online with maestra Paola in Barcelona. His Castellano accent is impressive!). Poor guy tho-- the accent here in Southern Spain is very much like the Cuban accent, where much of the words and phrases are "eaten" or just not finished. "Adios" becomes "Adio", "Buenas tardes" just "Buenas" and "Hasta luego" is nothing more than the (phonetically) "tah-WEH-goe."
Our Airbnb here is in a building of Moorish design with three apartments. Terrific bones, we have decided, but the host needs to take pains to make sure the property is ready for guests when they arrive. It wasn't as clean as it should have been and there were other issues (lightbulbs out, smoke detector batteries beeping, 2 forks?) that had us asking him over and over again to remedy the situation. It's rare we have to deal with this on our stays but after a week or so, all was largely fine and the apartment has been comfortable and provides all we need for a 2 month stay.
main drag, Las Pajanosas!
Heading back to our place after the first big food shopping trip when we arrived.
Back in the day, the gardener of the nearby, lush Jardin Maria Louisa lived in this whimsical house.
Moorish design abounds in Sevilla, this in the Alfalfa section of the city.
La Casa de las Duenas (Casa de Alba) had us floored with its beauty inside and out.
This former tobacco factory, now part of the University of Sevilla, is supposedly the inspiration for the opera Carmen. On the grounds-- a moat and a small jail to dissuade the workers from making off with the goods. We made sure to sing a couple of bars of La Habanera within the echoing building walls for the full Carmen experience.
Dental appointments had us head into Madrid for a long weekend via the high speed train they have here. Comfortable, on time, and frequent, the Renfe treated us well and had us in Madrid in 2.5 hours. In addition to the joy that is always dental appointments (only 2 years to go!!), we made a point of taking the time to meet up with friends we made in our earlier Madrid stay. Pauline and Borja (1st and 2nd from the right) were especially helpful in bringing to our attention that the spouse of a Spaniard (Pauline and hopefully one day Don) doesn't necessarily need full citizenship to live indefinitely in Spain, just residency-- an infinitely much easier process (no language requirement, for one). Don isn't giving up on his Spanish lessons but the prospects of restriction-free travel in Europe just became more likely.
Our jaunts into Sevilla are yet another experience where we take a picture of one beautiful building only to encounter 5 more that are equally stunning. Yes, the Cathedral and the Alcazar, each amazing in their own right, are here but on our second visit to the city we'd like to highlight the unsung heroes. The little guy, as it were.
Orange trees are eeeeevvvverywhere and the smell of the blossoms right now is amazing! During the Arab occupation of Spain, these bitter orange trees were planted for their coveted essential oil. Nowadays, the oranges are picked and sent to the UK to make marmalade. The fruit from the specially curated trees in the Royal Gardens are given to the Royal Family of the UK for their own marmalade. The leftover fruit is the bane of the existence of the municipal workers, who are seen constantly picking up fallen and crushed fruit from the street. Could be worse.
And who are we, you may ask? This month we had the always special pleasure of spending time with longtime friends Navaz and Sam during their brief visit to Sevilla. (Two Navaz visits within a month?? Lucky me!). We appreciate that they travel like we do-- make sure you're wearing good walking shoes because the steps will be many (Vaz is our hero at 30K!) and the wandering extensive but the coffee/ caña/zumo de naraja breaks will be frequent and the meals delicious. That, and they were exceptionally patient guests in our then-wonky Airbnb as we were still figuring out how the heat works and are those really roosters we're hearing at 4.30 am?? Thanks for a great visit and for your flexibility!!
Ok, you've waited long enough. Let the feast for the eyes begin!
Branching out from the usual tortilla or bacalao, we're starting to switch it up. "Pan de la casa" can be anything a restaurant wants it to be. This one included a spread of gazpacho and jamon serrano and was topped with quail eggs. Tasty!
This take on risotto, arroz con setas (rice with mushrooms) was made special by the fried onions on top. And the accompanying vermut!
Don likes his patatas bravas with the brava on the side because sometimes (why?????) it contains cumin. Hence the unadorned but still delish patatas, ready for dipping in the usually included aioli. Salmorejo is the type of gazpacho served in this area -- this recipe includes bread and it's topped with jamon and egg.
Our camera shy Madrid friends Isabel and Juan took us to a cave for lunch on our weekend visit and then introduced us to cafe bonbon, seen below in the pic. While both coffees are served in glasses, very common in Spain, instead of just regular milk like the other coffee shown, the cafe bonbon has a nice layer of condensed milk on the bottom. Bonbon-alicious. Take that, Starbucks!
On our continuing tour of trying new types of seafood, we've discovered our new fav, here called choco (cuttlefish). Less controversial and easier to eat than pulpo (octopus), whenever they have it grilled on the menu we are there.
Manchego cheese in olive oil. Enough said.
This Solomillo al Whiskey, a very popular tapa in Sevilla of pork tenderloin, was served with a pineapple relish and was given a thumbs up by foodies Vaz and Sam.
Don's brother Budd often asks "What do you DO all day???" A fellow nomad writer interviewed Don on some of the volunteer stints we've enjoyed these past 3 years. Take a look at the article here.
And finally, the SOL for this posting-- who needs Rio when you have Carnaval in Las Pajanosas?? As seen on our baby main street Calle Concepcion. Those clock ladies can boogie!
With a month or so to go here before we head to Montenegro for 2 weeks and then return to Croatia (where the kids will join us!) until the end of May, we're looking forward to hosting our good friends Carle and Andy (from Spoleto fame) who are currently traveling in Portugal. We've warned them about the roosters but they're still on board. Brave souls.
More on Sevilla and our day trips around southern Spain in our next post. Until then, we hope you're enjoying the burgeoning spring where ever you are!
Thanks for following along!
Don and Monica
atlanta, georgia, spain
As always-a fantastic travelogue-feels like I'm there with you both on these wonderful journeys--Sevilla looks absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeletethanks! and put southern Spain on your list-- she's a great visit!
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