Spain 2018

I’m always sad when a vacation inevitably comes to an end. Nonetheless, it’s fun to sit down, post-vacation, and sift through all the photos taken along the way. What I quickly came to realize about this trip is that the majority of the photos were of the markets. That’s the great thing about Spain (or, for that matter, Europe). That is, seemingly every town you roll into, no matter how big or small, has a mercado central, where people shop for their daily fruits, vegetables, bread, seafood, and meat. I also love the fact that you can wander down just about any street or unassuming alley and discover a tapas bar or restaurant where you’re bound to find a good plate of food and a glass of wine for a few euros. Some people travel to visit museums and historical sites. For me, travel is first and foremost about the food (and a few lazy days on the beach).

In fact, one dish that I eagerly anticipated and ultimately proved to be a highlight of the trip was our search for really good paella. We drove 90 minutes (from Alicante) for this particular paella that we had read about (reportedly a ‘game-changer’ when it comes to paella). We were the first to arrive, a few minutes before the restaurant opened. Unfortunately, we were informed by the owner that we did not have a reservation (even though we had made one). Due to a bit of language barrier and the fact that he kept waving his hands and shaking his head back and forth, we assumed that we would not be able to eat there (as my heart slowly sank). But, luckily, this was not the case (and I still have no idea what he was trying to tell us?), as the gesturing was nothing more than the owner pointing out that all of the tables were available. Am very glad to have experienced this paella because it was unquestionably the best paella — (conejo [rabbit] y caracoles [snail]) — I’ve ever tasted. Utterly perfect to the last scrape of soccarat, that crispy rice that forms a crust at the bottom of the paella pan; paella refers to the pan (i.e, a paella pan) in which the dish is cooked. One of those things that I will never be able to replicate at home and that will be forever be etched in my brain.

Here are a few photos from places we stopped at along the way (beginning in Barcelona, proceeding south along the eastern coast of Spain, and then west along the southern coast before ending in Seville).

Barcelona…