A lifetime of encounters with Spain.
Posted in Reflections on Spain on May 9th, 2011
A few weeks ago I sat down at a restaurant in El Puerto de Santa Maria that serves delicious fresh seafood. I ordered one of my favorites, acedias fritas, delicious tiny flounder fried to perfection. The waiter told me that it was unavailable – it was Monday after all! The fishing boats don’t head out [...]
Posted in Amigos, Reflections on Spain on Mar 15th, 2010
I have been writing reflections about Spain and her culture over the past several years. The prevailing theme has been that the bedrock of the traditional Spanish culture is the importance they place on being together as a family, including the extraordinary way they cherish their children. A few years ago, this was the normal [...]
Posted in Corners of Spain on Jan 22nd, 2009
Sanlúcar is a classic Andalucían coastal town that is pretty much the way it was twenty years ago. It is a short drive along the Atlantic coast from Cádiz to its site at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, which used to be navigable all the way to Sevilla. It is here that Columbus drew [...]
Posted in Reflections on Spain, Tesoros on Jun 14th, 2005
Creating a delicious paella is well within the reach of a regular cook. If you use authentic ingredients to start with, you do not need to be a master chef to prepare something delightful for your friends and family. I know you will have fun experimenting – it can even be a common project, with everyone pitching in to prepare a perfect feast.
Posted in Corners of Spain, Reflections on Spain on Apr 15th, 2005
Where can you capture the essence of Spain? I suggest traveling the pilgrimage route that leads to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela. The Camino is a pathway that people of all sorts have trod for well over a thousand years. It spans northern Spain from the snow-capped Pyrenees to the windswept shores of Celtic Galicia. There in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela lie the bones of St James, the patron saint of Spain. For Spaniards Santiago is the focus of the seven hundred year Reconquista of their land from the Moors.
