Once a year travel - Spain (III) Castle or Alcazar

The greatest concentration of Spain's castles is in Castilla y Leon where was our main focus of this trip. "Castilla" is derived from "Castle". "Alcazar" is a castle used as a royal residence. In the 10th and 11th centuries, this region was the battleground between Moors and Christians. Most of the surviving castles were re-built as noble residences after the area was reconquered.

Oropesa was the first place we visited after we started our driving tour, but a destination not in our plan. Maybe because we felt bored after two hour on the road, maybe we were thirsty, maybe we were eager to see something different than in Madrid. A very small town and castle but took a lot of pictures, because it was the 1st castle we saw in Spain.



Birds nested at the corner of the roof of a building.

Cuidad Rodrigo's castle was converted to a parador which we stayed in the 1st night out of Madrid.



Puebla De Sanabria - We were just attracted by the wording from the guide book " A steep cobbled street leads past stone and slate houses with huge, overhanging eaves and walls bearing coats of arms, to a hilltop church and castle ..." The castle was so small and closed between 2pm-4pm. But the two was really pretty.






Medina del Campo'castle, called La Mota Castle, was orignially a Moorish castle but was rebuilt after 1440. The square shaped Torre del Homenaje has twin bartizan turrets at its corners and machiolations beneath its battlementsgreat curtain walls surround the castle.



Castillo de Coca's castle was built in the late 5th century, and is called Coca castle. It is one of Castilla y Leon's most memorable fortresses. It is now a forestry school.




Segovia's Alcazar locates at the western end of the city. It apprears like the archetypal fairy-tale castle and is said to be the model for the sleepy beauty's castle @ Disney. However, I still believe Schloss Neuschwanstein is the one. I found the Alcazar is very French style, especially the Torre del Homenaje with pointed turrets.




Toledo also has a very famous Alcazar. It was Charles V's fortfied palace stands on the site of former Roman, Visigothic and Muslim fortresses. Unfortunately, it was under repairing when we were there so couldn't go in for a visit. Another project sponsored by EU.

Once a year travel - Spain (II) Tapas, Paella & other food

本来想把吃的放在最后的。结果老是有人问吃的，所以就决定把这个先放上来。虽然不懂西班牙文，在叫吃的过程中有点困难，但是叫了之后往往出人意表，平添乐趣。

西班牙人什么都吃，跟中国人似的。最多的就是各种Tapas，就是small snacks。Tapa means cover, stemming from a bartender's practice of covering a glass with a saucer or tapa to keep out flies, the custom progressed to a chunk of cheese , or a few olives, being placed on a platter to accompany a drink。

一般饿了，冲到一个咖啡馆或者酒吧，都可以叫杯啤酒然后在柜台上选两个tapas。我们通常每次选没吃过的。



Tapa可以on the bread或者面包另外一篮。这个是我吃的最美味的， 白色的是鱼，在橄榄油和醋里浸过，又鲜又嫩。蘑菇的那个也很好吃：


这个也不错，烤章鱼：


这是一层层的酥饼，中间是沙丁鱼的馅，好吃好吃：


这个是什么？烤猪耳朵， 很不错：


好像我们的煮田螺


Sauted mushroom， 蘑菇怎么做做都很好吃：


也有海鲜馆子，


这个也是我辈中人磨牙的，螺蛳


这个没见过吧，老公说是海葵，我也不知对不对，拿起来twist一下， 里面的肉就出来了，这一盘没想到要25欧，可是十分鲜美。后来又吃过一次。


最印象深刻的是在cuenca的深夜，在这家小酒馆吃的东西：


这个黑乎乎的是猪血肠


可是知道这是什么吗？


叫了一个之后，老板切了下又烤热，吃起来有点腥气，但是还是不知道是什么

最后包了一块回酒店问前台， 说是sheep stomach - God!!! @_@ 比我们中国人还厉害。

大街小巷都有很多卖火腿的店：


很多买火腿和香肠的店也可以站在柜台前叫一杯啤酒， 来一盘奶酪火腿：



火腿是这样片下来的：


火腿可以这个价位：

也可以这个价位：


那天到La Alberca已经晚上九点多，老板介绍那里的special, 两人份，也不太贵，虽然看不懂是什么，还是叫了个：


结果，一大盆各种烤肉：计有牛肉，羊肉，猪肉，鸡肉，肉肠，和薯条。至此之后，no more meat ...


一直找Paella海鲜饭，但是大部分都是旅游点的咖啡店有这种招牌， 一看就是骗旅游者的。 知道回到马德里，上网查了两间号称最好的海鲜饭馆，吃了之后也不过如此。


不过， 从此爱上Sangaria， a refreshing mixture of red wine, gaseosa (lemanade) and chopped fruits:

第一次吃的Paella：

另外叫的一个Gazpacho, a chilled raw soup that is made by pounding bread and garlic with tomatoes, cucumber and peppers. Very refreshing ...

另外这一盘，吼吼，牛杂：

第二次吃的：

叫Sangaria 然后附送的Tapas：




听说Paella其实是有兔子肉的，可是吃了两次都没有吃到，却在偶然的一次午餐中吃到兔子肉饭。

另一份叫的是牛尾：


另外几次觉得比较有特色的：

这条trout因为加了火腿特别入味，好像我们加火腿清蒸鱼的感觉。而且印象里洋人是不吃整条鱼的，又一次印证了西班牙人民和中国人民的饮食习惯相似。


这个是suckling pig 烤乳猪。 Segovia的名菜。


这个Zamora炒饭，加了火腿和香肠， 就是有点腻


在Toledo看到这间好玩的修道院， 卖修女手工制作的糕点：

进去就是这样没有人的一个厅堂，有个橱窗，展览着几种糕点。然后要敲一个窗户，有个嬷嬷把小窗打开， 有一个转盘，放了合适的钱，然后转盘一转，就出来一盒糕点：

糕点是这样的，不太好吃：


闲暇的下午，什么也不做，就是一大杯 vino co gaseosa (wine diluted with lemonade) 在慵懒的mood之下可以说话，也可以不说：


很喜欢的拿一根小油条沾热巧克力， 早上很多人也是这样沾咖啡算早餐， 好像我们的油条沾豆浆。这间店就以巧克力为名：