Last day in Spain

Grace & I are worn out, tired and our feet look like they´ve been through the trenches of world war one. It´s our last night in Spain and we´ve made reservations at a recommended spot for some good Spanish Paella before loosing our privelege to such wonderful food.

Ah! The food. It´s been an up and down experience as travelling on a restricted budget does not allow for gourmet meals every night, but we´ve done well for ourselves despite this fact. In Paris I was delighted to be served an assortment of Charcuterie. Essentially a variety of cured meats, pate, baguette and pickles served with mustard (a dish I discovered in Vancouver prior to departure).

Spain has been relatively easy as 2 euros for a tapa would be hard for anyone to complain about. Spain seems like a place that´s very easy to do cheaply, but also very easy to spend a lot of money. We learned the ropes quite quickly and were lucky to find some excellent tapas bars in Sevilla where the food was amazing (and cheap), and the atmosphere entirely Spanish. Ie. there are certainly a fair amount of tourist traps everywhere we have been and we would be lying if we said we did not fall into them once or twice (well, maybe more).

Dan, I know you are probably the most interested in this post, so, for your reading pleasure, here is a list of some of the more memorable dishes we´ve tasted.

- Baked apple (whole) stuffed with ground pork, onion, and cinammon.
- Iberian pork loin served as a tapa with sauteed onions, roasted whole garlic and whiskey.
- Homemade melted chocolate with fresh churros for dipping.
- The entire lunch with Clement (proper French Escargot!)
- Ox Tail Tapa on our tapas tour in Sevilla.
- Baked chicken with a creamed orange sauce.
- Tinte Verano (Spanish drink which translates to: ¨a taste of summer¨)
- Fresh olives (dirt cheap) the size of walnuts.
- Fig & Honey baked chicken with couscous and roated vegetables.

And of course, this post would not be complete without mentioning the incredible wine we´ve had with each meal. No matter how restrained a budget, anyone can afford wine in these countries. 9-12 euros gets you a fantastic bottle of French or Spanish wine. None of our meals were complete without a bottle, which was usually complemented by an after dinner drink in any number of Spain´s lovely plazas.