Mallorca y Toledo

¡Mom and Dad in Sevilla!
La Mancha (molinos de Don Quijote)
Toledo sunset
Bellver Castle, Mallorca
Pallea at Enrique's Grandparents house

Sorry it’s been so long since my last entry. That means this is going to be a longer entry. I just got back to Sevilla today, after 4 nights in Mallorca, visiting Enrique and his family (Enrique lived with my family in 2004 on a foreign exchange program set up by my Spanish class). It was an amazing weekend – Enrique and his family are incredible hosts. The first night we went to a restaurant that’s known for their snails. We ordered an appetizer and Enrique’s dad and I prettymuch ate the whole plate – these snails were loaded with flavor (and it was pretty cool to see what goes on inside of a snail shell – I had to pull them out with a toothpick, and there’s a lot of their body that hides inside that shell). They’re served whole, in their shell, and they look exactly the same as the garden snails in Walnut Creek. Anyways, the meals were definitely a highlight of Mallorca. We went to all the best restaurants on the island, including one in a little town called Valldemosa, where Enrique’s parents were friends with the dessert chef. That meant free desserts for us to try, and they were some of the best that I’ve ever had! My two favorites were a hazelnut cake and a dark chocolate tort that was bathed in a sauce made from fresh oranges.

Another great meal was on Saturday night/Sunday morning. A group of 13 of us went to a restaurant in an old grainery that had a huge wood firepit in the center. A few minutes after we ordered, our waiter returned with a huge plate filled with raw meet for us to see before it was put on the grill. It was a beautiful sight, and even better when she brought it back cooked. We had an 11 pm dinner reservation, and the by the time we’d finished with desserts, it was just past 1 am; perfect timing to get to the discoteca as it opened at 2. Our whole group stayed at the discoteca until it closed (around 6:30am), and then we went out to breakfast, so by the time we got back home, it was 8am! ¡Que española somos! The next day, we had our final big meal in Mallorca, pallea made by Enrique’s grandma. It had everything in it – chicken, rabbit, calamari, peppers, and shrimp. It was by far the best weekend of food that I’ve had in a long time.

The weekend prior to this one, there was a school field trip to Toledo and La Mancha. We saw the windmills that Don Quixote fought with, and then spent a night in Toledo. Toledo’s cathedral is beautiful, actually the whole city is; it’s built up in the hills, and it’s set up like a big ancient fort.

This week is going to be a full one. I have a presentation tomorrow, and tests in all of my classes (4) coming up on Thursday and Friday. But it shouldn’t be that bad if I get some studying in these next few days. Maybe I should start that now.