Let’s Go To The Beach

We made it safely to Torredembarra from Seville travelling over 900 kilometres in our little red Mercedes ... it is a bit larger than what we normally drive when in Europe (the Europcar rep. upgraded us to a diesel vs. gasoline, more economical she said). I think she might be right we only used one tank of fuel and Señor calculated we are getting 49 miles per gallon. 

We had ordered a VW Polo because we are so familiar with the car’s features and the size typically is small enough to get in and out of tight spaces in European villages’ narrow streets and lanes. 

Our route took us through ever changing landscapes. The highway medians lined with “gigantic” oleanders in a kaleidoscope of colours in various shades of pinks, reds, whites and a shade of peach were absolutely stunning. 

There were fields of poppies with sunflowers winking at the sun, golden coloured rock faces and fields of freshly harvested grains, tunnels through the mountains, miles of windmills and of course glimpses of the azure blue Mediterranean Sea. 

My photos from the passenger seat through the car window didn’t do the subjects any justice (bounce back from the glass). 

We spent Sunday night on the road in a smaller village El Puig de Santa Maria just 15 kms north of Valencia giving us a shorter travel day on Monday. We stopped later than expected, found a hotel, then ventured out to stretch our joints. We ended up in a cute bar/café “ El Parquet” in the square filled with locals.  Tonight Señor Honey was craving a hamburger (and it was a true “Ham” burger made from pork) and fries. The fries were the traditional Spanish “patatas” like fried potato squares with a squirt of aioli and a little romancesco. Señor was delighted with this culinary experience all the while watching the World Cup game (Brazil vs. Switzerland). 

Look at this beautiful bottlebrush tree in the square.

 A good night’s sleep, a little “desayuno” breakfast and we were on the road to Torredembarra. We arrived earlier than expected, apartment checkin was normally after 4PM ... we were going to drop off our bags and explore, however we were lucky and our little place on the beach was ready. 

I think life will be good at the Beach! 

Last Days in Seville

Our time in Seville is just zipping by ... our three weeks here is ending on Sunday (June 17th) when we checkout of our San Vicente apartment, pickup the rental car and head to our next destination. 

We originally planned on stopping one or two days at various locations over the course of our last two weeks here in Spain and playing tourist doing up the sights as we travelled north for our return flight. 

After living out of a suitcase in Málaga for the 3 days (not too much fun) we’ve decided that village/city hopping (changing hotels every other day) is not for us this trip and we’re going to take a vacation from our vacation! 

We will take two days to drive to our final destination, spending our last couple of weeks at the beach on the Mediterranean coast. 

The temperatures have been rising here in Seville ... today expected to reach 36°C, and just continuing to rise reaching 37/38°C Saturday/Sunday and early next week. With the sun shining brightly under blue skies and no cloud cover we will need to look for some cool places. 

Sounds like it’s time for some sea breezes! 

We will be able to explore the surrounding area from our home base seaside apartment in Torredembarra, a small town in the Province of Tarragona, Catalonia on the Costa Dorada if we feel the need for more adventure. 

I’ll be back later with updates from our time here in Seville.

We’re heading out to explore a bit more of this beautiful city! 

This was the view from on top of the El Corte Inglés earlier this week ... we could use this cloud cover today! 

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!