March 03: A First Taste of Spain

Feelings of the Day: First impressions are important. They can determine how you relate to someone or something until you encounter something else to change your mind, if at all. When experiencing a culture when on vacation, even for the second time, a bad first day could sour an entire trip. There was nothing but goodness today.

Full Day’s Events: At Madrid airport we coordinated, through previous emails and Whatsapp location finder, a gracious pickup at the airport from our friends. Together we caught up on their past two weeks in Spain during the hour and a half-ish long drive NW to Medinaceli. 

Inhabited by Celts, Romans, and Moors, Medinaceli is a small town with sweeping views…unless it is foggy. After finding out the place our friends suggested we eat at was not open, but soon, we walked around town looking for a place to get a coffee to stimulate mine and Natalie’s brain state. We found a taverna that was open, not noisy, and had a very good cafe con leche (coffee with milk) until it was time to go to the restaurant El Aljibe. 

    This meal was a stupendous introduction to the central Spanish cuisine in the province of Soria. Zucchini envelope stuffed with cheese, leeks and shrimp. Castilian bread crumbs with bacon and grapes. Grilled beef entrecote. Asparagus with a deeply rich warm tomato paste. Cardoon (thistle) slow cooked mash with celery and sauce. Sliced meat and cheese with drizzled olive oil. A dessert of sheep’s milk custard. All delicious with tasty local wine and all provided by pleasant staff and a comfy setting. It was a warm introduction to Spain via my taste buds.

Next was a short drive to where we would be staying: Almazan. It is a town of 5000 that has abundant history and architecture from the early middle ages. Mainly a town populated by workers, it gets an influx of tourists from Madrid when it gets too hot in the summer. After some shopping, for groceries and supplies, we drove to our residence for the next week.

Situated next to the remnants of the town’s medieval walls it was renovated a few decades ago and is now rented out for long stays. My wife and I were staying in the bachelor pad at the back directly against the old walls. It has all the amenities and is close to everything you might need in the area. There are also a lot of cats that use the tiled connected roofs to move from one residence to another and greet the people. 

After conversation and wine, with a light salad because of the very filling lunch, it was time for bed. Being horizontal for the first time in three nights I slept deep in the darkness of exhaustion. 7.4 km and 13 flights walked.