A few weeks ago Kesley and I went to Northern Spain with my host family. My host mother's parents (my host grandparents?) live in a rural town in the Basque Country, about forty five minutes from Bilbao. The weekend was a good opportunity to relax, take in some beautiful scenery, and enjoy the best food of my life.
The trip got off to an interesting start, as the road north had an abundance of curves. When I got out of the car, I quickly noticed the twists and turns had a profound attempt on my stomach. I usually don't get carsick, so weak knees and an uneasy stomach were new experiences for me. As I was gripping the car for support, I was able to fully take in the scenery.
Madrid is a very aesthetically pleasing city, but that is largely because of its architecture. It has greened a bit since I arrived at the end of summer, but Madrid is still quite brown. The Basque Country is a fantastic contrast to the city, with its vibrant, rolling hills and plethora of plant life.
We were given a tour of the house, garden, and the garage which also doubled as a winery. The grandfather and his son-in-law stopped their work to show us the whole process of turning grapes into wine. The garden was quite expansive, growing enough variety and quantity of plants to allow the grandparents to live off the land.
The house is quite secluded, with only a handful of other buildings in sight from the yard. The house is also pretty big, and slept nine of us comfortably.
Shortly after getting settled, we gathered around the table to have a typical, late Spanish lunch. My stomach wasn't particularly eager to be filled with food, but I wasn't about to make a poor first impression and pretend to be full.
The first appetizer was a fish and peppers dish, and it seemed to settle my stomach. After ten minutes of eating and listening to Spanish conversation (understanding one out of every five words if I really concentrated) I was able to fully enjoy my meal without feeling nauseous. The food turned out to be anything but typical, and it was all I could do to keep from scarfing down bite after bite.
Madrid is a very aesthetically pleasing city, but that is largely because of its architecture. It has greened a bit since I arrived at the end of summer, but Madrid is still quite brown. The Basque Country is a fantastic contrast to the city, with its vibrant, rolling hills and plethora of plant life.
We were given a tour of the house, garden, and the garage which also doubled as a winery. The grandfather and his son-in-law stopped their work to show us the whole process of turning grapes into wine. The garden was quite expansive, growing enough variety and quantity of plants to allow the grandparents to live off the land.
The house is quite secluded, with only a handful of other buildings in sight from the yard. The house is also pretty big, and slept nine of us comfortably.
Shortly after getting settled, we gathered around the table to have a typical, late Spanish lunch. My stomach wasn't particularly eager to be filled with food, but I wasn't about to make a poor first impression and pretend to be full.
The first appetizer was a fish and peppers dish, and it seemed to settle my stomach. After ten minutes of eating and listening to Spanish conversation (understanding one out of every five words if I really concentrated) I was able to fully enjoy my meal without feeling nauseous. The food turned out to be anything but typical, and it was all I could do to keep from scarfing down bite after bite.
After the fish and peppers came morcilla. The main components of morcilla aside from sausage are pigs blood and rice. Sound disgusting? It isn't. Morcilla has turned out to be one of my favorite Spanish foods!
After the morcilla came another plate. And then another, and another. This was troubling because I never knew when the food was going to stop coming, so I ate large portions (which were available, it wasn't rude I promise) of each new dish. All of the different foods tasted so delicious that once I tasted the dish I had to eat more if it....to really make sure that I liked it!
By the time dessert rolled around I was beyond stuffed. I knew there was going to be trouble when the grandma brought out large martini glasses full of arroz con leche. The battle was over before it started, Taste Buds 1 Over-Full Stomach 0.
Looking back, I don't regret my decision to indulge. The rice-pudding-like dessert had the perfect not quite solid but not quite liquid consistency, a pleasant sweetness, and just the right touch of citrus and cinnamon flavor. All in all, it will probably be lifetime top 5 dessert, paleo ice cream eat your heart out.
Still after the arroz con leche we had another dessert to eat, which by my count was our forty third course of the meal. This dessert was prepared in the secrecy of a back room while we waited in anticipation at the table. I tried to ask my host family what the final dessert was, but they only smiled and chuckled, eager for me to taste it.
Smaller champagne glasses were brought to the table, full of an off-white substance that had the consistency of a milkshake. The smell was fairly neutral, with a hint of lemon. At the urges of the table, Kelsey and I clinked and then tasted the dessert. A mix of sour and sweet hit my tongue, tasting a bit like ice cream with an unidentifiable addition.
As I finished the milkshake my host family explained that the mix was lemon sorbet and champagne. It is a classic dessert that is served at weddings in between courses. After getting past the initial strangeness of mixing sorbet with champagne the taste was actually quite nice, possibly something I will have to remember if I ever tie the knot.
But after the final sip of champagne and sorbet was swallowed I felt regret. The feeling of regret was emanating from my stomach, which felt like it was going to explode.
After rolling myself upstairs and onto my bed I realized that I was just going to have to wait it out.Such is the consequence of overeating. The uncomfortable, overfull feeling stayed with me for another thirty minutes, which felt much longer. The timing of my digestion worked out quite well, as we headed off for the vineyard to pick grapes a half hour after lunch.
After a short walk along an old, curvy road we arrived at the vineyard, with dozens of lines of grapes to greet us. It is worth stating again how beautiful the Basque country is. The lushness of the scenery is striking and unquestionably pleasant.
We spent about four hours cutting grapes off the vine and tossing them into buckets which were then carried to a bigger bucket in a pickup truck. Kelsey and I were already wily veteran grape pickers, as we had spent a few hours picking grapes on a TEFL social outing.
Grape picking can be made as easy or as difficult as you make it, depending on the speed that you pick the grapes. I preferred to be more leisurely in my grade picking, taking my time and talking to the other grape pickers. After a while, I was able to get into a flow state of mind, and grape picking became quite enjoyable. It was nice to be able to help out the grandparents who so generously gave me a bed to sleep on and fed me (unbelievably good food).
After the sky started to darken we took the grapes we had in our buckets and dumped them in the truck. Our work was done for the day, it was time to go back to the house and enjoy another meal made with ingredients grown on site by a kitchen magician.
After the morcilla came another plate. And then another, and another. This was troubling because I never knew when the food was going to stop coming, so I ate large portions (which were available, it wasn't rude I promise) of each new dish. All of the different foods tasted so delicious that once I tasted the dish I had to eat more if it....to really make sure that I liked it!
By the time dessert rolled around I was beyond stuffed. I knew there was going to be trouble when the grandma brought out large martini glasses full of arroz con leche. The battle was over before it started, Taste Buds 1 Over-Full Stomach 0.
Looking back, I don't regret my decision to indulge. The rice-pudding-like dessert had the perfect not quite solid but not quite liquid consistency, a pleasant sweetness, and just the right touch of citrus and cinnamon flavor. All in all, it will probably be lifetime top 5 dessert, paleo ice cream eat your heart out.
Still after the arroz con leche we had another dessert to eat, which by my count was our forty third course of the meal. This dessert was prepared in the secrecy of a back room while we waited in anticipation at the table. I tried to ask my host family what the final dessert was, but they only smiled and chuckled, eager for me to taste it.
Smaller champagne glasses were brought to the table, full of an off-white substance that had the consistency of a milkshake. The smell was fairly neutral, with a hint of lemon. At the urges of the table, Kelsey and I clinked and then tasted the dessert. A mix of sour and sweet hit my tongue, tasting a bit like ice cream with an unidentifiable addition.
As I finished the milkshake my host family explained that the mix was lemon sorbet and champagne. It is a classic dessert that is served at weddings in between courses. After getting past the initial strangeness of mixing sorbet with champagne the taste was actually quite nice, possibly something I will have to remember if I ever tie the knot.
But after the final sip of champagne and sorbet was swallowed I felt regret. The feeling of regret was emanating from my stomach, which felt like it was going to explode.
After rolling myself upstairs and onto my bed I realized that I was just going to have to wait it out.Such is the consequence of overeating. The uncomfortable, overfull feeling stayed with me for another thirty minutes, which felt much longer. The timing of my digestion worked out quite well, as we headed off for the vineyard to pick grapes a half hour after lunch.
After a short walk along an old, curvy road we arrived at the vineyard, with dozens of lines of grapes to greet us. It is worth stating again how beautiful the Basque country is. The lushness of the scenery is striking and unquestionably pleasant.
We spent about four hours cutting grapes off the vine and tossing them into buckets which were then carried to a bigger bucket in a pickup truck. Kelsey and I were already wily veteran grape pickers, as we had spent a few hours picking grapes on a TEFL social outing.
Grape picking can be made as easy or as difficult as you make it, depending on the speed that you pick the grapes. I preferred to be more leisurely in my grade picking, taking my time and talking to the other grape pickers. After a while, I was able to get into a flow state of mind, and grape picking became quite enjoyable. It was nice to be able to help out the grandparents who so generously gave me a bed to sleep on and fed me (unbelievably good food).
After the sky started to darken we took the grapes we had in our buckets and dumped them in the truck. Our work was done for the day, it was time to go back to the house and enjoy another meal made with ingredients grown on site by a kitchen magician.