Toledo

We'v e had a good run on food here, as well. Barcelona started poorly
- it's touristy where we stayed, and crowded, so the quality was a bit
off. But starting in Valencia food has been fresh and delicious. One
local specialty is Jamon Iberica - ham of iberia. This is basically a
pig's entire leg, smoked and sealed in wax; servings are then cut
right from the ham and served on small bagutte rolls with olive oil
and cheese. Delicious. I'm told the ham varies by region, like wine,
depending on local salts and smoke... Mmm. Markets and supermarkets
have sections filled with ham legs for take-home. Seafood has been
fresh & tasty; calimari and mussels are the highlight - again, the
secret is a garlic and butter. One night in Almeria we ordered the
tomato salad. It turned out to be a simple plate of quartered
tomatoes, covered in olive oil with some garlic chunks. But the
tomatoes were so fresh and the oil so olivey it turned out to be a
food highlight - who knew? Gazpacho here is light and brothy, served
with diced vegetables you put in yourself. There's nothing spicy hot
here like Mexican food - it gets over 100 F here regularly, so my
theory is their food is light and refreshing, like the gazpacho.
Side note: if you see a 'menu of the day' posted, and it's evening,
don't order from that menu. It's for the day. Not the evening. Made
that mistake twice now...
Toledo is much more medieval than the other towns we've been to. The
buildings are rougher, with exposed stonework and less ornamentation,
except the cathedral, which is covered in statuary nooks, and squats
over its tiny plaza like an lopsided, surly angel shrugging one stone
wing in frustration at the turistas below.
There are many painting by the great el Greco in town; unfortunately
the works are closed while the buildings are being repaired, or
they're on loan somewhere, I'm not sure which. El Greco is even buried
here, in one of the churches whose altarpieces he painted. I was
milling about, mustering up the old feelings of awe and some such,
when one of the kindly old nuns who runs the place said something in
Spanish that sounded like el Greco, and Tomb. She gestured with a
finger, then flipped a switch, and a sqaure of light appeared in the
stone floor. Underneath I could see a grey box with a stone cross
resting on a marble slab. El Greco's.
Well, on to Madrid tomorrow. Three nights left. Hope all is well with you.
--
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Mike Ramberg
mramberg@visi.com
http://grebmar.net
buy my book: http://lulu.com/mramberg