We got a call from AnnieB asking if we would care to join a group of them who were having lunch at Txoko?  Annie had told us about a great chap who cooked on a farm that was about 20Km from where we are staying, and would do lunch for a group at Euro50 a head.  A txoko is a Basque cooking club and Clemente has started this one in the ruins of a 17C village.

Clemente, is a Basque who started life as an architect graduating from the University of Idaho, where he lectured for about 7 years.  His wife and ceramist, Irina Larious Fernandez de Cordoba actually owns the village and the 40,000 hectares of farm land that surround it!  Seems her family is one of the original 5 families of Spain, but she just wants be an artist.  Their house is in the old estate village, as is her studio, which they are slowly restoring as a B&B/artist resort.

The girls with Irina in her gallery

They obviously have some way to go, but what a setting!

Txoko dining.

Had a super meal – starter was Loin of Roe Deer marinated in sherry and cooked with Iberico chorizo, then Bacalou with Cannellini Beans & Fried Potatoes, and a tomato salad; dessert was his preserved peaches with whipped cream (a rarity here in southern

Clemente cooking venison in his 17C oven.

Spain).  There were 9 of us and the conversation was carried out in Spanish, English, and French – sometimes all at the same time.  What an amazing experience.

We made a quick road trip to Tarifa – the windy city of the Costa de la Luz – and therefore the kite boarding and wind surfing centre of Spain.  Tarifa is also the jumping off point for N Africa, with Tangiers just a 40 min ferry ride and Ceuta an hour.  Originally the Roman town of Mellaria with the present castle built in 960 by Guzman the Great and remained a Muslim stronghold until 1292 when it became part of the Kingdom of Granada.

Tarifa castle.

It has been through enumerable battles and sieges, but remains in really good condition despite its military history.  The old quarter of Tarifa is relatively small with the normal narrow streets and alleys.  The castle was interesting and the information provided was quite comprehensive. It even had glassed-in sections where you could look down into the excavated Roman foundations.  When we got onto the battlements we could only just keep our balance because of the gale force winds.  Not sure I would want to live in an area that has over 300 “windy” days a year.  Had an OK, but nothing special lunch, before heading back down the coast to visit Baelo Claudia, a Roman town dating back to the 2nd century BC and renowned for its salted tuna and garum (fish sauce).

Baelo Claudia with N Africa on the horizon.

It was a huge site in a spectacular setting and excavations have revealed the most comprehensive remains of a Roman town in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, with monuments such as the basilica, theatre, market and temple of Isis.

Baelo Claudia.

A super museum though we had to use Google translate on most of the exhibits. This one was quite well sign posted!

At our Txoko lunch I asked one of the guests, a local art dealer who knew Annie quite well, where was the best paella restaurant in the area?  I was told with zero hesitation it was El Nautico de Conil situated in the port area of Conil.  Consultations with our culinary guide came up with what – where?  Gary said he would start asking around and see if we could get in for lunch.  A couple of days later Gary said we had a 1.00pm reservation to get ahead of the rush as it appeared to be quite a small place, but he had to make a special request for paella as they only serve it on a Sunday.  It seems the request was supported by our being important Americans only visiting for a short time. etc., etc. On the day we were ducking and diving through small roads and sandy lanes, with a couple of stops to ask directions, before we arrived at the gates of the port of Conil, where of course there were no signs for El Nautico.  We then spied what looked to be a double portacabin with cars parked around it off to the left, with a bunch of sail boats in the background, so off we went down another sandy track.  It was El Nautico!  A small sign attached to the white portacabins confirmed it was in fact El Nautico.  In we went in and were met by two ladies, one of whom turned out to be the Chef. We were escorted to our table on a small veranda overlooking the tiny port area and the Conil yacht club.  Totally amazed to find the menus in Spanish & English!  We started with Salmorejo – a winter gazpacho – of which there was a choice of beetroot and standard – and I of course had the beetroot much to Ann’s disgust!  Outstanding – never had a chilled soup like this before – literally, thick creamy deliciousness with just a hint of beetroot.  Then it was on to a plate of grilled Gambas – really big prawns beautifully cooked.  And finally the paella!  A pile of dark saffron rice packed with prawns, clams, fish, squid and chicken was served to us individually – just what you imagined a paella should look, and taste like!  As we cleared our plates the chef came out and said they still had some more in the kitchen – would we like to finish it?  So we all had another plate of paella – a little smaller than the first – but just as delicious. When we paid the bill we were asked how we liked the paella and when we raved about it in English and Spanish we were surrounded by the chef, manager, and waiters all grinning like Cheshire cats with many gracias!

That evening Lindsey and Matt came into Jerez from Madrid by train and we had Lolo do the meet and greet.  They were only going to be with us 3 nights before heading off to Sevilla and back to Madrid to fly home.  We had arranged they attend an AnnieB sherry class, so after breakfast at El Toro we had Lolo drop them off in town.  Seems they had a whale of a time with most of the guests – 2 English couples plus Lindsey & Matt – getting pretty sloshed!  During this sherry bonding Matt arranged a round of golf with one of men for the next morning.  When Matt returned from golf we did a road trip to Zahara de la Atune, stopping at Cape Trafalgar for a beer, and then went on to Antonio’s for lunch, a high-end restaurant with views of the ocean.

Lunch at Antonio’s with Lindsey & Matt.

Matt was impressed with the Costa del la Luz and said they would return.  Next morning Lolo took them off to Jerez to catch the train to Sevilla.  Lindsey had things organised to nth degree to say the least – quite a girl.

The next week was a Gary road trip to the Grazamel highlands with a stop at Arcos for coffee.  Gary did a loop through the mountains to Grazamel where we reached around 4,000 ft and were shrouded in mist and rain with an outside temperature of 3’C/35’F!

Grazamal highlands.

We still had our winter gear with us, but it was still a tad chilly cheese and chorizo shopping!

Looking down on Zahara de la Sierra.

Then it was onto Al Largo in Zahara de la Sierra for a restorative lunch, where the Chef/owner Stefan Crites, is an American and a friend of Gary’s.  Considering the weather I went with Onion Soup and Wild Boar, while Ann stuck to her favourite food – tuna, and Gary went with Lamb Couscous, which he said was amazing – huge portions as

Wild boar at Al Largo.

well.  What really surprised me was how much more flavour and punch the food had compared to that from a Spanish chef.

The next week found us on another road trip with Gary. This time an overnight trip to Banaojan with stops along the way in the mountains. First was a visit to more Roman ruins at Acinipo, a site with no guard on duty and no admission. We just climbed over the fence and walked around.

Amphitheatre at Acinipo.

We continued through the mountains to Ronda for a mooch around the old town, purchase leather jackets, and have coffee overlooking the gorge.

Ronda.

We stopped at a Jambon shop where the proprietor was carving slices from a Iberico black footed pig.  I went in to ask if I could take photos and was immediately given a slice of ham.

Blackfoot Iberico ham.

Amazing, the best I had ever tasted with the nutty back ground taste you get from acorn fed pigs.  He was very friendly and spoke good English so I asked him about the Iberico ham rating (runs from J to JJJJJ) and how that worked.  He said it was basically a marketing scam and a way for the authorities to raise money.  He said you had to know where the animals came from, how they were raised, and whether they had had a diet of 100% acorns, but the quality control was pretty lax.  He said the black foot Iberico ham he sold came from pigs he had raised, butchered, and cured himself so he stood behind his products.  We tasted more ham, but of lesser grades, and you could certainly tell the difference.  We loaded up on Iberico and also bought wine as he had a great selection of local wines. Because of the massive gorge that runs through the centre of town it is a popular tourist destination and the town was thronged with touroides of all nationalities.  What was funny was the people who had obviously come up from the Costa del Sol as they were dressed in polyester shorts and t-shirts! I mean   this is March in a town that is over 3,000ft with the temperature running around 10’C/50’F and a stiff breeze blowing – obviously no one had engaged brain before dressing for the trip.

We stopped for lunch in Setenil de Las Bodegas which carved into the side of a mountain.

Setenil de Las Bodegas.

We ate at Bar la Tosca. We had the Mushrooms, Cheese Tarts, Cod Croquettas, and the Pork Knuckle. The Mushrooms and the Pork Knuckle were way above average for tapas, with the pork being fall off the bone delicious. On a bed of french fries – excellent. We ordered and extra mushroom so we would get 2 each, and said we would pay for it, but our waiter just laughed and said it was not a problem they could handle the extra one! Made us enjoy our food even more! Cheese tarts had different types of goat cheese in them with one being quite a strong cheese – yummy.

Onto Banaojan and the Molino del Santo Hotel owned by Gary’s buddies Andrew and Pauline Elkin who had been running the hotel and restaurant for over 20 years.

Molino del Santo Hotel.

The hotel was a converted mill, which had once been powered by the river running through the village.  Stunning setting with the roar of waterfalls and river being heard in most places.  Our king sized room with a balcony was overlooking the river so we went to sleep that night to the sound of the river.  Quite magical.

We had a very good dinner, all fish dishes, but the standout was a starter of Broad Beans & Motilla with fresh mint – a brilliant creation!  The chef is a local lad who cooked in Barcelona for a number of years before coming home.  I think his time spent in Ferran Adria country certainly paid off. What really surprised us about the hotel was that it was packed, even off-season, and all the guests were either English or American, not a single Spaniard! Fabulous breakfast and then off across the mountains via Ubrique, where our leather jackets were made, to the village of Villaluenga del Rosario, the home of Poyoya cheese. We had grown to love Poyoya cheese, which is made from goats milk, sheeps milk or a blend of the two, and has different lengths of ageing.  The aged Poyoya is like a creamy Parmesan – use some of that in a Cauliflower Cheese and see how it turns out. (which  I did – yes!)  Needless to say we loaded up with cheese to go with our Iberico ham. There’s no control going into the UK so we thought we would donate some of our goodies to Neal & Georgia as we couldn’t get them into the US.  We asked why you never saw Poyoya cheese in the US and the reply was – ask the Spanish cheese marketing board! The good old EU at its best!

As we were literally days away from leaving Andalucia we did a LuggageForward shipment of our cold weather gear, hiking boots, etc., to Scott & Lisa in Charleston.

Gary then called and said there was a restaurant in the woods above Barbate we had to try – known for its game dishes – and he had never been.  Also, he invited us to lunch at La Vista and to give us a guided tour of his town before we left.

So that Saturday it was off to Venta Luis in the coastal pine forest above Barbate. Lolo came along as our farewell treat.  Relatively early but the place was heaving!  A group of riders, horses tied up outside, were into the sherry, and in the large room off the small bar restaurant area a confirmation party was going full-bore, with much toasting and singing.  Gary, Ann, and I were the only foreigners in the place.

Lunch at  Venta Luis.

It was Venison Stew for me while the boys tucked into huge steaks, and Ann had fresh fish.  Everything came with home-made chips – yes! Gary had reserved a few bottles of Photos a Ribero de Duero which was their best red wine, and damned good it was, and went well with our hearty country dishes.  Ann stuck to sherry!  When we left they were setting up tables and chairs in the street!

Then the day before we were due to leave it was off to Medina Sidonia.  Gary was a super host and showed us round the village, including the Roman ruins that are below the village. Once again no advertising and unless you have some knowledge of the town you would never know they were there.

Town square Medina Sidonia.

The lobby of major’s office on the town square is graced by 10ft tall marble Roman statue, that really should be in a museum.

View from Medina Sidonia castle out to the coast.

Did the castle while Gary went off to arrange lunch, which had stunning views of the coast from Cadiz to Tarifa and back up into the highlands of Grazemel. A really fun day, and super lunch, but sad to say farewell to Gary, who had become a firm friend and totally made our time in Andalucia special.

On the day of our departure from Santa Lucia Lolo came to say good-bye, another part of team Gary that we had grown to love and admire. We gave him all our Spanish/English dictionary’s and phrase books together with some Euros and my wristwatch. He was in floods of tears and said he was going to miss his new friends!  Wow!

Ann was seriously considering jumping ship and never leaving Spain and it was only after I assured her we could come back whenever we wanted and Gary would look after us that she got in the car.  Checked the car back in with Mr Hertz and the nice man at the Iberia desk finally got our seat assignments sorted, which I had been unable to do, on-line or on the phone with either Iberia or BA, and BA owns Iberia!  So farewell Spain and off to London to see the kids before getting our 1st Class BA flight back to Charleston.

On-On as they say!

 

In our research we came across AnnieB’s Kitchen – a Scottish lady who had moved to Vejer to run Spanish cooking classes, sherry tastings and tours.  Sounded right up our street so we set up a sherry tasting class.  It was off season which meant we had AnnieB to ourselves for our class and what fun that turned out to be.  We had been advised to taxi in and out of town as driving was not a good idea after a sherry class!  AnnieB runs everything from her house in the centre of the old town – a 3-4 story building dating back to Moorish times. She has a swimming pool and a roof terrace that looks over Vejer and out to the North African coast. Annie has expanded her “home” over the years by buying rooms from adjoining properties, so she now has 7 rooms for people to stay for her

cooking school. Having consumed quite a bit of sherry over the years our sherry class was not a steep learning curve, but tasting ice cold Pedro Ximenez served with a wedge of orange and slices of the local almond nougat was a delicious new twist!

We had such fun and really liked Annie so we booked a cooking class for the following week.

The weather had turned pretty shitty with heavy rains and the start of the Levant. Temperatures were quite cool in the evenings so our wood pellet stove was a lovely flickering warming addition.  After dinner we would put our feet up and watch our Roku shows in front of the fire.  We were pretty much limited to NetFlix, but we did find a fascinating Spanish soap called Mar de Plastico with a Guardia Civil special investigator in the lead role.  Set in southern Spain around Tarifa and featuring the clash between the local and illegal African immigrants working farms of plastic covered vegetables – all in Spanish with English sub-titles.  We did actually pick up some colloquial Spanish that we then tested on Gary!

One of my diabetic drugs is temperature sensitive so not easy to travel with.  After my supply from England was getting low we went to the Farmacia in Vejer, which had an English speaking pharmacist. I showed him my subscription app from Roper St Francis. He said he was not familiar with the drug, but he would check it out. A few minutes later he said it was fine and he would have the subscription filled by 5.00pm.  Now that’s service!  All he asked was that Dr Cain send him a confirming email; which he did.  Super nice people and the cost cheaper than the UK.

Cooking class with AnnieB arrived and she picked us just before 10.00am and said we would have breakfast at Beca del la Frontera which was a tiny bus stop village that we passed through on the way to Barbate.  Looked like a real bus stop / truck stop place so we had never thought to try the restaurant, but Annie said it did one of the best breakfasts in the area.  So it was Tostada, ( where we learnt of the different types of bread your could order for your toast!) Tomate, Lomo Mentecca, and coffee to start our cooking adventure.  Then is was off to Barbate market which is a fish, meat, and vegetable market right in the centre of town.

We learned the local etiquette for queuing – you have to ask who was the last in line so you knew when it was your turn.  Also, no touching!  The vendor is the only one who can touch the produce so you rely totally on what he gives you.  No knocking or smelling the melons before you buy!  I suppose it is such a local market that the vendors can’t afford to mess with their customers as the word would soon spread.  We loaded up on prawns, fish, fish roe, and vegetables – all at great prices!

On our way back to the car Annie took us to her favourite bakery, which had an amazing array of cakes and pastries.  While she was buying bread for our lunch I discovered a section of “diabetico” pastries. It seems Andalusia has a high rate of diabetes and just about every bakery produces sugar-free delicacies.  I loaded up on a selection of their pastries, which turned out to be seriously good.  Just love Spain and her food!

Then it was back to AnnieB’s to prepare and cook lunch with Annie’s assistant Pepe.

Fried and marinated anchovies, garlic prawns, picadillo with fish roe, sea bream baked in salt, and an orange almond cake (an easier version of Ann’s awesome almond and orange cake made from our orange tree in Charleston) all served with sherry and a local chardonnay.

What a meal and what fun. We rolled out of cooking class with bags of food we hadn’t eaten and took another taxi home!

We added further supermarkets to our list with Mercadona in Conil and Carrefour in Chiclana.  Carrefour was the only place I could buy chilis and Mercadona had the best Nespresso capsules – you could get a Forte strength 12 – a real morning eye opener.  None of the coffee capsules were made by Nespresso and were a fraction of the price and just as good as the so called genuine article.

Gary said his ex now runs their restaurant, La Vista, in Medina Sidonia, another pueblo blanco about 15kms north of Santa Lucia, and did a great Valentines dinner – would we like to attend?

So Lolo drove us to our romantic dinner!  What a setting – on a clear day you can see just about see the whole of the Costa de Luz – and at night we could see the lights of Cadiz through to Tarifa.  A very pleasant dinner, with a heavy expat showing, where we met Gary’s ex, Kirsty.  Our bonding over food with Gary, a professional chef in his former life, developed into weekly trips to restaurants in the area that we would never have found on our own. This is where 15 years of local knowledge is so good, plus Gary’s Spanish fluency with menus and specials was a big assistance as most of the places did not have English menus or speak English. It also helped us attune to the local Spanish and its food. It was tremendous fun and it was a joy to travel with Gary. Plus Gary got to visit a few restaurants he had heard about but never had the chance to visit.  In the midst of our culinary tours we found out it was Lolo’s birthday and agreed with Gary to go shopping for suitable presents.  He had told us how Lolo had been laid off from his job of running boring machines for roads and railway tunnels for medical reasons and his pension was tiny.  Gary said clothes would be the best presents for him as he had a limited wardrobe and really didn’t have the money to buy nice clothes, so it was off to the Chiclana mall. Between us we got him a shirt, trousers, a belt and shoes – all at a very reasonable price. Of course when we finished shopping – Ann needed a new belt – it was lunch time and off to a new restaurant – Bodegas El Carretero.  It was a restaurant in a sherry warehouse in the port area of Chiclana – another great experience.  We agreed we would take Lolo out to our local restaurant – El Toro – just up the hill from our house on his birthday.

 

Lolo’s Birthday Lunch

Their speciality is ham, eggs, and potatoes, but the ham is Iberico Jamon, and the eggs fresh from their farm!  All washed down with sherry, wine and beer!  Lolo was stunned by his presents and burst into tears while giving us huge hugs.  A memorable lunch to say the least.

Then it was off to Sevilla and Cordoba.  After research and checking with Gary we booked the Hotel Amadeus la Musica, once again in the heart of the old quarter so we could park the car and walk everywhere.

And once again it was blocking the lane to unload our bags and getting instructions to the garage, which this time was in a municipal/private underground car park with 2 different security barriers; but we made it! As you will have gathered there was a distinct music theme to our hotel and the rooms were packed with musical instruments, but well run and comfortable, and great breakfasts (included) on the roof garden of the hotel.

Wandered the streets of the old town, and saw the cathedral, complete with horse ramp tower, the Alcazar with its stunning gardens, and  visited the Archaeological Museum in the exposition park built-in the 1930s, as well as the Jewish Museum and a synagogue that had been turned into a Catholic church.

The Alcazar, Savilla

 

 

Much to our dismay the town was crowded with visiting school/university groups, many of which were American, and worst of all Leicester Football Club yobs over for a league match against Sevilla.  As they were loud, intent on getting drunk, and all wore the same blue poly-something shirts we were able to avoid them most of the time.  Another eye opener was the dining scene!  We had located an Italian restaurant close to the hotel that had great reviews so rocked up at 8.30pm for an early Spanish dinner only to find the place rammed!  Full of bloody touroides who had rushed in as soon as the place opened – we got the last available table!  Our waiter was super and spoke very good English, and we asked him was it always like this?  Yes – tourists in early and then the locals come in at the normal 10.00pm dinner time. Super food and we had 3 courses – sharing each course – old people dining on the road!

Our next dining experience was a 1* Michelin restaurant about 15 mins walk from the hotel, for which we had an 8.30pm booking! We ambled through the streets of old Sevilla and out into the modern section of town, and realised we were going to be early so looked around for a drinking spot and and found one of those modern cafe/bars that are everywhere in Spain.  Fronted up to the small bar and ask for finos, which started a bottle hunt through the fridge, no fino, but there was manzanilla!  Started chatting with the lady serving us, who soon switched to English!  She was the owner of the bar and came from Chile with her husband and two children as they felt they could have a better life in Spain.  Charming, amusing, and a delight to talk to.

Rocked up at Abantal a tad late, but hey it was Spain.  Fabulous restaurant with chic ultra-modern decor and well spaced tables.  We had the 7 course tasting menu, but without all the different wines and sherries, and got our sommelier to recommend a wine that would go with the menu.  A Spanish Pinot Gris would you believe – an excellent wine that worked well.  Our 7 courses actually turned into 9 or 10 with the add-ons that kept coming out of the kitchen.  A stunning meal!

We left Sevilla in the pouring rain and headed for Santiponce about 6km north of Sevilla and the site of Italica.  Italica was the home town of Trajan & Hadrian and we had seen most of the striking finds from this site in the Archaeological Museum in Sevilla.  The amphitheatre seated 25,000 people and was the third largest amphitheatre in the Roman empire, but of the 3 guide books we checked only 1 briefly mentioned Italica.

Italica

A huge site that we briefly visited due to the pouring rain.  We were continually amazed by the amount and size of Roman ruins in Andalusia but they were never advertised or promoted and only appeared on the radar when you saw a small brown sign with a Roman name on it!

It had just about stopped raining by the time we arrived in Cordoba and found our hotel – Los Casas de le Juderia – just inside one of the gates to the old city.  No hassle parking this time as they had valet parking – yes!  Fabulous hotel with the rooms set around a series of courtyards with the reception and lounge in a converted stable block. Our room on the third floor had a huge balcony over looking the swimming pool and the old town.

Hotel Las Casas de la Juderia, Cordoba.

The room itself was really grand with 25′ vaulted ceiling and an extremely large bathroom, and not expensive!

The Mesquita, Cordoba

Visited La Mesquita Cathedral and the Alcazar of Cordoba, and the Mesquita is absolutely stunning – takes your breath away.  This huge mosque was started in 786 and expanded by later Muslims rulers until 1236, when Christianity returned and it was converted to a church, but the building totally overpowers the catholic parts and still remains to all intents a mosque, though inactive.  The Alcazar was interesting but did not come close to the Mesquita.

Cordoba Synagogue.

The old city has one of the 3 remaining original synagogues of Spain – the other 2 are in Toledo – small but well preserved.  It is also the home town of El Cordobes, the 1960s bull fighter who was known as the Beatle of the Bull Ring, and was making a name for himself when I saw him fight at Mijas in 1965!  We really liked Cordoba and our visit was far too brief – it really is a lovely little town.

Headed back to Santa Lucia with a stop of at Carrefour so we could hunker down for the weekend as it was a 3 day Andalusian holiday, which basically meant everything would be closed.

Following the long weekend we went out with Gary to a restaurant just down the coast from us – Mar y Monte – which is renowned for its aged Retinto steaks.  As you walk in the restaurant there is a chiller on your left that houses sides of the said Retinto beef. Gary had booked us a table so we could see the butcher preparing the beef and it was poetry in motion with this chap.  Behind and to his left there was huge wood burning grill that would handle the steaks – yes!  We started with grilled vegetables which included wild asparagus and mushrooms – all smothered with Parmesan.  Ann copped out and had a huge tuna steak while Gary and I went with off the bone rib-eyes.  We watched as the butcher deboned our steaks, which were about 11/2 inches thick, and held up for our approval before being thrown on the grill.  Totally amazing – one of the best I’ve eaten.  Gary found a local red we had never heard of let alone tasted, so another amazing meal with our chef on wheels Gary Biston!

The weather continued being a mixture of beautiful days followed by heavy rain – a little chilly but not cold – and considering it was just the beginning of March certainly a lot better than England!