Tuesday Morning Update

Careful students of the subject will have caught errors in my description of the Spanish hams. Serrano ham comes from "regular" pigs; the Iberian pigs that we saw are the source of the more highly prized "jamon iberica." Always more expensive than serrano ham, it is regarded by many as superior, although some consider it too "gamy."
With that correction out of the way, we can turn to today's plan. Although there is an optional bike ride through the hills around the city, it is a very hilly ride (first half), and the temperatures will be in the low nineties. (The ride, if anyone goes, won't be until after our tour of the Mezquita. Given the many things to see and do in Cordoba, I think I will pass on the riding.

We are here at a special time -- the opening of the patios. Many of the private homes here have elaborate inner courtyards or patios which can only be glimpsed from the street. During this week or ten days, many of them are open to the public.

We had last night's dinner on the roof of the restaurant shown below. Far too much to eat, as always, and all was delicious. We  left the restaurant shortly after 10, before the Spanish dinner hour was really under way!

Constantina to Cordoba -- a cork and bull story

I couldn't resist the subtitle, as it ran through my mind constantly as we passed more "dehesas" (the ranches where the bulls are raised) and many more cork trees. I stopped to get a close up photo of one of the cork trees -- it is very interesting how the cork park can be stripped from the trunk of the tree (apparently without damaging the tree.)

Today I also saw the Iberian pigs that I missed yesterday. They are bred and raised to encourage the long legs, which make for the large serrano hams, so famous in Spain. They forage for acorns in one spot, but their water source is often at some distance, forcing them to run and walk up to 20-25 kilometers a day. That's the way to develop great hams.

Jane and Charlie

As we descended to lower elevations, the terrain gave way to large groves of orange trees, as well as some of olives. The orange harvest is in full swing, and I saw lots of workers picking and packing the oranges.

We stopped for lunch at about the halfway point, and Rick (one of our guides) helped me with the subtleties of the Spanish menu. I understood that "pollo" was chicken, but what were these other words? Oh, said Rick, that will be pieces of grilled chicken. So, I ordered that and a salad. The salad was as expected, but the chicken turned out to be a plate of gizzards in a flavorful sauce. I ate a few of the livers, but passed on the hearts. I really didn't need too much to eat with the hot ride ahead of us.

The remainder of the ride was pretty flat, through agricultural lands until we got close to Cordoba. Along the way we passed an old Moorish fort, which may be restored if they come up with the funding. It is visible from great distances because the land is so flat at that point.

Our destination, Cordoba, is the site of the famous "Mezquita," originally a lavish and huge mosque, within which they built a cathedral of Gothic, Baroque and Plateresque elements. We will have a guided tour of the Mezquita tomorrow (a rest day from cycling). Since the building of the cathedral, the entire complex is under the control of the bishop. That has led to two current controversies. The first involves the Muslims who can visit their ancient mosque, but cannot worship here. The other is a  broadly held sentiment that the monument should belong to all of Spain, not just the Catholic Church.

The Mezquita

Today's ride was 67 miles, with 3350 feet of climbing. Given the heat, the rest day tomorrow will be very welcome.

Saturday Dinner and Sunday ride to Constantina

Saturday night’s dinner was special – a reminder of one of the reasons that I love these ExperiencePlus bicycle tours. One could never find this restaurant on one’s own, and even if you happened to chance upon it, you wouldn't get the experience of a pre-planned multi-course dinner. You wouldn't even recognize the establishment – an abecedaria – as a restaurant, from the outside. Peering through the doorway, you would think that it was a small establishment that sold bread and a few other odds and ends.

But inside, everything changed. Ramon, the owner took us through all three floors of the establishment, the 127^th oldest building in Seville. Despite all the historic preservation constraints, he has built it into a restaurant with several small dining rooms on various floors. We were served course after course of family style offerings, including a salad featuring smoked salmon, goat cheese and a marvelous dressing; followed by a dish of cold (cooked) potatoes, covered with a creamy gazpacho type sauce and some cured meat. Next came some cold “loma” (pork) which, according to tradition had to be eaten without utensils lest the taste be spoiled. Then some shrimp and cheeks of hake cooked in oil and garlic. For entrees, we chose between meatballs from bull meat or a delicious stew of shark meat (I had the latter). Then came family style dessert platters with two types of flan and a cheese mouse with a sweet jam accompaniment

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On Sunday morning we ate breakfast in the hotel and were on our bikes by 9 am, when it was still relatively cool. The first half of today's fifty mile ride was flat as a pancake, with mild headwinds and temperatures rising toward the 80 degree mark.

Phulipp helps Chaarlie with seat adjustment

The second half was a steady, but easy, ascent through the foothills of the Sierra Norte Mountains past cork tree groves with bulls grazing under them. The cork trees are a member of the Oak family. There are also numerous acorn bearing oak trees in this region. Although I didn't see any, the Iberian pigs (source of Spain's famous "jamon serrao"  hams) feast almost exclusively on these acorns.

Our lodging tonight is in a very pleasant farm environment. The main building dates back to the 16th century when it was an ice plant, making and storing ice in the winter and then taking it to Seville in the summer. In the 18th century it became a slaughterhouse for the pigs. Our current host bought it in 2003 and spent until 2009 turning it into an inn (I am not sure of the exact designation, but it is similar to an "agroturismo"). There is a wonderful swimming pool which was a perfect way to terminate a day or riding in the sun. Although it is only the first day of real riding, I decided to take advantage of the warm sun and do a batch of laundry which is drying outside my room as I type this.

We will have dinner here tonight. Details tomorrow.

Visit to the Cathedral and then on to the Biking

This morning at breakfast in the hotel, I met four of the six cyclists who will be my companions for the next 11 days. It turns out that we were on the same plane in from Madrid on Thursday. We compared notes on what we had done in the last day and a half, and on their recommendation, I headed for the Cathedral this morning. It opens at 11, and I was in line (a very long line) by 10:25. By 11:25, I was in the Cathedral and (per their suggestion) headed first for the Giralda (tower).

View from the Giralda (toward the Alcazar)

The Cathedral was originally a mosque, and the tower was originally the minaret. The ascent is made via a series of thirty five ramps, designed to allow access by horses and mules. There are no steps until the very end. There were several people pushing baby strollers up the ramps, and even one motorized wheel chair. The views from the top were great, with wonderful sunshine.

Back inside the Cathedral proper, I visited the tomb of Christopher Columbus and did a quick walkthrough of the remainder of the interior. In terms of volume, the Cathedral is the largest in the world. Then it was back to the hotel for our 2pm kickoff meeting.

Tomb of Columbus

At 2pm we had a short welcome meeting and then adjourned to the courtyard for fitting our bikes. Fortunately, I remembered everything – pedals, helmet, gloves, Garmin cycling computer, etc. The bike was similar to the ones that I have had in the past with ExperiencePlus – a dutch-made titanium frame bike with an ample gearing range (triple chain ring on the front).

After fitting, we were off for a short test ride on some excellent paved bike paths along the city streets. I covered some parts of the city, including the beautiful Plaza de Espana that I had not seen before. The weather was hot (about 85 degrees), and we can expect it to remain that way. I imagine that the rain gear and arm warmers will remain in the suitcase. So, a last minute to the blog and then we meet at seven for a short meeting before heading off as a group for dinner.

Tomorrow we head for Constantina – about fifty miles.

Plaza de Espana

Day 2 -- Walking thru Sevilla

I woke up this morning at the unheard of late hour of 8 am, feeling fully refreshed. I am still feeling good at 6:30 pm, so I think I licked the jet lag problem.

Breakfast in the hotel was really good. It reminded me why I usually gain about 5-7 pounds on these cycling trips, despite all the biking. Oh well, I walked a lot today, and I can always be good tomorrow.

Speaking of walking -- that is about all I did today. I thought of taking one of the hop on/hop off tour buses of the city, but the online reviews were pretty negative (unlike many other cities where I have gotten some great overview introductions to the city), and when I saw the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds on the buses, I decided to just walk. Even though I had a map, this is a difficult city to navigate because of the numerous small streets, with very limited signage. On the other hand, every street is interesting with shops of every variety and lots of good smells emanating from the restaurants and bars.

Teas for sale (one was labeled "Cannabis")

I started by crossing the river to the district of Triana and then recrossing into the main part of Sevilla on the Isabel II bridge, noted for the numerous padlocks affixed to the bridge by lovers who symbolize their commitment by throwing the keys into the Guadalquivir river.

Locks on Isabel II bridge

Closeup of locks

My first stop was the Torre de Oro (Tower of Gold) a small naval museum and tower that you can climb right on the river. Although not on the ocean, Sevilla has quite a maritime tradition because the river is navigable all the way from the sea.

Walking along the river, I cam to the Plaza de Toros (bullfighting arena) where I took the guided tour. My first pleasant surprise is that I was offered the "retiree" rate of reduce admission. Often in my travels I have found that the senior citizen rates only apply to residents of the country. (As an aside, I note that last week I was asked for proof of my age when I asked for the senior rate on the ferry to San Francisco:)). The second pleasant surprise was that I was able to follow the guided tour in Spanish sufficiently well that I did not feel the need to sit through the encore performance in English.

Plaza de Toros

Interior of Museum at Plaza de Toros

I considered touring the large cathedral here in Sevilla, but changed my mind when I saw the huge line waiting to get in. As one might imagine, there are many Catholic churches in this city, and plazas and streets often are named after various saints. I was also surprised to see that many homes and other buildings displayed the palms from Palm Sunday on the exterior of the building, wrapped in a ribbon with the colors of Spain's flag.

Palms on building

Safe Arrival in Sevilla

I wasn't planning to post until it got closer to cycling time, but since I am trying to stay awake until at least 8pm to help avoid jet lag, I thought that a quick update would be in order. It was a long, but fortunately uneventful, travel day. I had to leave home at 3:30 am on Wednesday to catch a 6:05 plane to Miami, where I had a four hour layover, then an overnight flight to Madrid, arriving about 9:30 am on Thursday and another two hour layover before flying the final leg to Sevilla. After a high speed taxi ride to the hotel (for which I was probably overcharged about 10 Euros), I was able to check in to the Plaza de Armas hotel which is very pleasant.

Tile work above entrance to Real Alcazar 

I called home using Skype -- I think the current rate is 2 cents a minute.  You can't beat it when doing foreign travel.

Innterior of Real Alcazar

After getting settled in, I started walking toward the historical central district with the Cathedral and the Real Alcazar, The latter is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe, and was originally a Moorish fort. It is immense, with many beautiful gardens and fountains, with the Moorish influence still very evident. There is also a tremendous amount of ceramic tile in use in the construction and on display in the museum rooms.

Church on a narrow alley

Following this visit, I wandered around and stopped for tapas around 5pm.  This is the busiest time for all the tapa bars, where people do some heavy snacking to tide them over until dinner that probably won't start until 10pm or later), some calimari, and a few small slices of a dried pork sausage. All were excellent.

Now I am back in the hotel, finish up email and the blog, and ready to call it a night.

Dubrovnik -- and Rain

As mentioned, the rain started immediately after we ended our cycling yesterday. As it continued on and off through the evening and into today (Thursday) we realized anew how lucky we were for the duration of our tour. Despite the rain, we ventured out around six pm for our visit to the salt works -- a series of 53 pools where sea water is evaporated and crystallized. 

At the Mali Ston Salt Works

This has been going on continuously for many centuries. It is now privately owned, having been rescued from debt by our exceedingly enthusiastic host and guide.It turns out that he is also the owner and enthusiastic promoter of our excellent seafood restaurant. In his imprpomptu "quiz" after the explanation of the salt works, I won a kilo of the prized sea salt.

Dinner consisted of many courses of seafood, starting with oysters, raw or grilled, followed by a bowl of steamed shellfish including mussels, clams and a few that I did not recognize. Next was a course with two risottos, one with squid and the black ink that gives the dish its color, and the other with 11 different varieties of shellfish. The main course was scorpion fish, accompanied by a swiss chard and potato blend. All this was topped off with a choice of desserts. I had a special kind of cake made of pasta and chocolate -- it was delicious.

Cristina tries her first oyster

Assorted shellfish

Black Risotto and Risotto with 11 Shellfish

Scorpion Fish

It was raining fairly hard this morning as we bid goodbye to Cristina, Silvija and Ante our three wonderful guides for the last 12 days. We then boarded a large bus for the trip to Dubrovnik where most of us are staying for various lengths of time before heading for various additional destinations.I had made arrangements in a hotel inside the old walled city back in November; about three weeks ago I learned that it is currently closed for renovations. (Why they didn't know this earlier is a sourced of some annoyance.) It was too late to get a different hotel in the old city, so I am in a modern hotel about a mile away. That wouldn't be bad, except for the rain. 

After checking in, I started the walk to the old city, crowded with almost as many tourists as rain drops. We saw several large cruise ships as we entered town. Most of them will be leaving by midafternoon, so it should be less crowded when I return. I was absolutely soaked by the time I got to the bottom of the hill, but made the best of it for a couple of hours before returning to the hotel. I have a walking tour booked at 4pm (about an hour from now). There seems to be a break in the weather, so I will give it a try, taking along my full rain gear. This looks like a fascinating city, and I would love to see it in good weather.

By the way -- I was the first rider in yesterday, and ended up with the yellow jersey. On that note, my blog for this tour comes to an end. Thanks for reading.

Silvija, Ante, Guy and Cristina