Don't call me Shirley

Welcome back! Despite best intentions I have not updated the blog in a while. For fear of backlash I will attempt to update you and get things back on track. Working backwards from today, the following Spanish towns/cities have not been blogged: Jerez de la Frontera (arrived today), Iznãjar (near Cordoba and Granada), Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. I'm not going to go into great detail, because, frankly, I can’t be bothered but hopefully the following titbits will entertain.

Side note: I’ve always spelt and pronounced titbits as tidbits. Thank-you, spell checker, I might never have known.

We are, as my fingers hit the teeny tiny keyboard of our netbook, warming our steaming rain soaked feet in front of a gas heater in Jerez. For people who know Mike well, you might be surprised to hear that yesterday he bought a woollen scarf and gloves (no Tina, this does not mean you can start knitting him things) to go with the knit sweaters he bought last week. You probably heard about the winter chill that has hit the UK, I think that Spain is copping the tail end of it. It’s cold! Cold enough that Mick’s “winter” things are not doing what they ought. To us it feels colder than we’ve felt in Melbourne in many winters. I’m hoping (secretly, Mick is worried about the car and driving) that it snows. I want a Christmas miracle dammit!

Mick has just poured me a glass of one of our last bottles of Italian whites. Poderi Capecci, San Savino, Ciprea Pecorino, €8, 2009. Made from a new (to me) grape variety called Pecorino, which a pathetic amount of googling has not rendered me an expert on. The two things I can pass on with some degree of confidence are: 1. it’s an early ripening variety and 2. It’s an old variety that has fairly recently (last 20 years) been rediscovered and revitalised for a modern market (Stefano from Illuminati introduced us to it).

C- Pale yellow, hint of granny smith green, N- herbal notes, lemon and passionfruit, P- sweet fruit balanced by crisp acid, minerally tang on finish. It goes brilliantly with salty green Manzanilla Olives.

The last few nights we were staying in Iznajar, a small town on a big lake between Cordoba and Granada. From there we took two day trips to each of the more major cities, mainly, as it turned out to visit building from their Moorish backgrounds.

In Granada we spent a sunny afternoon at the Alhambra. The guide books state it is the most visited destination by tourists annually in Spain. I’m not convinced of its worth. It is a small fortress town, built a long time ago by the Moors (13 century something, who at that time were Muslim). One of the guides told us to spend at a minimum of three hours walking its cobbled lanes and mosaic-ed palaces, our feet were sore and it was cold, so, we didn’t. Also, being the most visited place in Spain meant that there were far more tourists there than our comfort levels could tolerate.

Compared to Cordoba’s Mezquita the Alhambra lacked a little awe. The Mezquita is only one building and a courtyard, but it blew us away. Give me a mosque over a church any day! Also built a long time ago by the Moors (North African Muslims who invaded southern Spain...) the mosque is a vast space, the roof is supported by endless arched columns, the sides house mini “chapels”  and in the centre of the whole thing there is a later built cathedral (go figure). Low lighting and a faint scent of cypress pine incense almost made me swoon with joy in the endless space. The might of man is surely (don’t call me Shirley, RIP Lesley Nielson) evident in this structure.

More on Madrid, Valencia and Barca (as we like to call it) tomorrow.

Lots of love.