The experiences keep happening.....

Well, I've now been in Spain for 2 weeks and can now say I'm feeling a bit more comfortable. I can have general conversations with minimal difficulty with strangers; I'm managing to wade through the 4 past tenses in Spanish and cope with the very different times for dinner, sleeping etc.  I'm still experiencing new food tastes and the occasional new drinks experience as well.

Last week produced two new experiences, Wednesday night's tapas and futbol and then on Friday night - I got kidnapped. Well, that's how it felt anyway. Before you all get worried, let's start at the very beginning:

Carmen and Jose Ramon, my host family, normally have dinner around 9.30 pm. On Friday night, they had been out earlier in the evening, visiting Jose Ramon's sister. Consequently, Carmen arrived home late, hadn't organised dinner and decided to take me to their local bar/restaurant for some typical Gallego (from Galicia, in the north) food. As Galicia is mostly coastline, they have an amazing array of seafood and fish to choose from. We had a traditional dish called Pulpo a la Gallego, which is basically steamed octopus chopped in small pieces with paprika or similar on top. This was followed by Boquerones fritos (small fish much like sardines fried whole). This dish is a typical dish from the south of Spain  though and very tasty. The next taste sensation was Rabas (lightly floured and fried tentacles of a cuttlefish like creature). Think calamari as it is very similar. This is also a typical dish from Galicia.  Interestingly, if you look Rabas up in the dictionary, it says it is bait used for fishing. I enjoyed all of these snacks very much. The restaurant was like a high class fish and chip shop with bar stools and tables in one section and sit down tables and chairs in another. People also stood up at high benches to eat and drink as well. Great décor and very friendly staff. The kitchen was in the middle of the room, so you could watch everything being cooked etc. Was like kitchen theatre in a way and very enjoyable. (sorry no photos as wasn't expecting to go out for dinner).

The other difference was that this place also sold alcohol like a bar. I had some vino tinto (red wine) that was very tasty - not quite as good as the Chilean Camenere  (for those who know this) but close. This was called Rivera Del Duero. I'll be looking out for it again (I had two). Following all this food and wine, Jose & Carmen decided I needed to  experience the typical Gallego booze. This is called Orujo and come in two forms: Orujo Blanco and Orujo de Hierbas. We had the Orujo de Hierbas which is a very yellow liquid (think lemon jelly colour), served in very small glasses (smaller than a port or shot glass) and comes in something that looks like a sauce jug. It's a little sweet but not too bad and is actually a very nice drink. It's meant to help digestion. However, I'm not sure how much I drank as Carmen kept refilling my tiny glass! If I have it again, I'll take a photo or you can look it up on Google which should have a picture. Orujo Blanco is apparently worse than paint stripper - according to Jose Ramon, but as he doesn't drink at all, I'm not sure if his opinion counts!

Now to the kidnapping - after dinner as we were walking back to the apartment, Carmen and Jose were discussing music and tobacco (they both smoke). I was aware they were including me in some of this but wasn't really paying attention. When we got back to the apartment, instead of going inside, Carmen dragged me off in another direction. We seemed to be wandering aimlessly through deserted streets, only some of which I was familiar with, through late night Salamanca. It was almost midnight by this time but quite safe. Turned out Carmen had decided to take me to a few bars to celebrate the weekend. So, I'd already had 2 glasses of red wine, who knows how much Orujo, then she wants me to go to bars and drink more alcohol!! (I really should have paid more attention to what they were talking about!) I had a gin and tonic at the first as I couldn't think of anything else and didn't want more wine but managed to convince her I didn't want anything else at the next two. The one gin and tonic was quite enough as it came in a very large glass (think brandy glass). Carmen, in the meantime, had 3 whiskey and colas (whiskey & coke is a popular drink here). Think we got home around 1.30 am and that was only because when given the option of another bar or return home, I chose home.

So, I've now experienced tapas, seafood, futbol and clubbing Spanish style. What a weekend. I took pity on Carmen the next morning and told her not to bother with breakfast until 10.00 am (usually 8.00 am). It wasn't because I needed the sleep!! 

I wonder what the next experience will be .........

First Bar

 

La Dama Bar, Salamanca