Ham and Wine To Go

We are in the land of “jamon” / ham and we’ve been “hamming” it up! 

You see it everywhere in the bars, cafés, restaurants, supermarkets and specialty shops. 

It’s probably the number one item on any cold tapas menu.

On one of our first visits to the neighbourhood “Supermercados Mas”, the butcher gave Senor a lesson about this delectable nibble.  The butcher has taken a liking to us ... we’ve been treated to samples of various products and he has made suggestions about what we should select i.e. which oranges are the best, which  anchovies, meats & olives are typical/ traditional for tapas.

He has made us feel very welcome. I guess when the employees see you almost everyday in the shop, they start to recognize you and realize you’re not just here for a weekend. That is the reason we like to stay in one place longer than a few days. 

The display at the “Mas” supermarket.  

Senor checking out what’s on offer inside a café on one of the main shopping streets in the City Centre.

 

On one of our outings we were ready for a little something ... we discovered this wonderful spot “Flores Gourmet” ... a combination of a cheese, delicatessen and wine shop plus café! 

My kind of shopping.

I was in heaven! 

Here they have an employee who is full time on the job slicing the ham (jamon) with a special knife, long and narrow ... called a “jamerone”! 

Here Senor struck up a conversation with the slicer and expanded his knowledge about these hams. 

Of course we had to try the best “jamon” !

It was delicious! 

 

The display at the grocery shop in the El Corte Ingles department store. 

Some of these are like gold! 

Can you see the price?  

386.10€ @42.90/kg for 9 kgs (or 19.45 lbs) 

It goes well with our golden melon 2.2kg for 4.83€!  

There isn’t anything better than the saltiness of the ham (jamon) with the juicy, sweetness of melon.

Ham and melon are the perfect pairing! 

We love prosciutto with melon during the summer months.

Might have to take some of this “jamon” home as a souvenir.

Souvenirs, we don’t buy the traditional fridge magnets, key chains ... 

 We’ve bought some tins of “Bonito” tuna so tasty! 

Plus some bath soap ... 

And not to disappoint my sister I’ve been looking at linens, tablecloths, which is typically my souvenir when travelling but haven’t purchased anything yet ... 

lots to choose from, made in Spain!

Testing the BlogTouch App

Test post ... 

My blogger app has not been working to the point of much frustration. 

I’ve rewritten 3 different posts to date in the last couple of weeks. 

Plazas ... the People Places

I’m going to try once again to write / share photos through a post on the blog! My fingers are crossed that it will work. 

Today, Saturday June 9th, 2018 we ventured out for a longer stroll in search of the Plaza de España.

Saturday’s are busy days in the city .., weddings, families out and about shopping, spending time together. 

We saw several couples in the throws of tying the knot or actually already with the knot tied! 

Plaza del Salvador 

It was a longer than anticipated stroll through many plazas. 

What is a Plaza? 

When in Canada I think of it as a strip mall/ shopping centre. Many, many years ago (if my memory is correct I think it was the late 1960s) my parents owned and operated a delicatessen in a small plaza on Hamilton Road, London, Ontario. 

Definition from vocabulary.com

A plaza is an urban park or square, or another public space where people can walk, sit, and congregate. You might, for example, tell your friend to meet you in the plaza downtown with the big horse statue.

The plazas here in Spain are mainly open spaces for pedestrians (they seem to be located in every neighbourhood) ... you most likely will find benches, sometimes fountains and statues. Most are have trees and green plants. Some are beautifully landscaped with flower gardens.

Our stroll lead us to new areas of discovery (more in-depth than our tour on the bus the other day).

We wandered in and around the SAN TELMO Palace, built in 1682 as the seminary for the University of Navigators. Named after the Patron Saint of Navigators San Telmo. It once was a royal palace since 1989 it has belonged to the Andalusian government. An amazing piece of architecture ... baroque facade with statues of historical figures lining the one side of the building.

The Plaza de España is the most elaborate of plazas I’ve seen. It’s a semicircular brick building with a tower on each end designed by the architect Anibal Gonzalez for the Ibero-American Exhibit in 1929 (Expo 29).

It is surrounded by a 500 meter canal with four bridges and here you can rent boats. 

It is located in the beautiful, lush and tropical Maria Luisa Park where you can stroll in the shade of the many different trees.

Can you see the oranges?

We’re finally here ...

Ceramic lamp posts and balustrades ... 

The Plaza is popular for the horse and buggy rides especially with the newlyweds and wedding guests ... this day was no exception! 

There is so much more to this day ... I’ll share pics and stories in another post soon! 

We ended our day in our local “Plaza” for an aperitif before heading back to the comforts of our apartment. 

Seville Orange Trees line the walkways in the María Luisa Park ...