Europe Fall 2024 - Last Foodie Post

The enjoyment of our apartment in El Campello with its great outfitted kitchen, beautiful views when we ate, and access to the markets, meant we did way more cooking and eating at home than going out. Still, this is a de-I travel adventure and food will always be a major component of the tapestry of our trips.

Chocolate and Churros

This is one of the Spanish classics. Their hot chocolate (when made properly) is like a hot chocolate mousse. The churros are salty crispy fried dough served with granulated sugar. What's not to like? The Valor chocolate company (a really high quality brand in our opinion) has branded restaurants all over Spain offering it. 

Whoa! That's a lot of fried dough

Well it turns out the whole thing was mostly too rich for our taste. Oh well. (BTW we did finish every last churro!)

 Home Cooking

I had a bunch of things left in the fridge and this is what I came up with

The sausage was a chorizo. I did a take on deep frying it to get a really crispy skin (something I'd not tried before). The green beans are a broad type you find all over Europe but almost never in the U.S. They were done in olive oil and garlic. The potatoes were a not quite mashed potato cooked in fat until there was a lot of crispy parts. When your grandchildren eat every last morsel of what you've cooked, you can be happy indeed.

Success Eating in Tourist Land

After our successful assault on Santa Barbara Castle in Alicante, it was time to feed the mercenaries (and their employers). The central part of Alicante along the water is 'tourist central'. You can find a lot of mediocre, over priced food. However, with us being so tired, I was not going to totally fight the realities. However, I did stay off the waterfront itself. We ate a place that was on a Plaza. The menu was pretty standard for the area. However, here is where we had a very pleasant surprise.

We purchased a number of Tapas. There is a lot...A LOT...written that these tourist restaurant dishes are not 'authentic' tapas which are small plates that go along with the long drinks process the Spanish enjoy. Nonetheless, a lot are based on things found in real tapas places. One of the major complaints is you pay way more for these in the tourist restaurant than you do in a real bar serving tapas. However, we did a bit of post eating research by looking at the cost of things on site at various places. What we found was, yes the tourist places charged much more. BUT they also were serving full servings, not small bites. For example, in the meal I will describe below, each portion was the equivalent size of 4 'real tapas' servings. Analyzing the prices accordingly, there was not that big a difference in price.

The VEFS (Viking Expeditionary Force from Sweden) relaxing, eating Spanish tapas in the conquered city of Alicante.

 

 Tempura Shrimp - Hardly a classic of Spanish cuisine but raved on by the three women of our party.

 Fried Brie, also not a classic, but again the women loved it. This place did deep frying exceptionally well.

Well Fries are Fries and the mercenaries loved them

 Now. On to what de-I loved.

Croquettas. These are so often insipid. But this version, you could really taste the ham.

Abondigas/Meatballs - these too are often tasteless. But no, here they were really flavorful

 

 And could a meal like this be complete without Ensalada Rusa? No!

 Honestly, I keep being amazed at the variations on this seemingly simple theme.

Nothing says conquest like a good Helado!

 Hasta Luego Espana

A big part of Spanish culture is taking a drink and just sitting and contemplating the world whether through conversation or just by one's self. We didn't do enough of that. But on our last day in El Campello, I did just that with a coffee as Wife did a last photo shoot.

 

 Unexpected Treat in Amsterdam

Flying back, we overnighted in Amsterdam so as to not totally kill ourselves. Airport hotels are an iffy lot at best. We were not excited at all about eating at the hotel. Fortunately there was a town only 15 minutes walk from the hotel where we found,

A sort of bar/gastropub/restaurant

The menu so intrigued us that we each had a first course while sharing the main. That turned out to be a very good idea.

Wife's whiskey and my dark beer

My first course, a selection of cold fish including tiny shrimp, smoked eel, and cured salmon. For those of us who enjoy such things, it was very delicious. The shrimp in particular were thumbs up because often they are tasteless.

 

 Wife had a French Onion Soup. She said it was a bit more tomato flavored than she usually saw. But she ate every drop. 

 

(An Observation: Wife hates, HATES, wet bread. Any moisture touching her bread product and it becomes taboo. So no dipping bread in sauces, or bread puddings, or anything like that. With ONE exception, the cheese covered bread on French Onion Soup. She scarfs this down like it is the ambrosia of the Gods. I asked for a bite to try it and was told in no uncertain terms, "No Way". Evidently cheese covered soggy bread in French Onion Soup is its own unique food group.)

It was accompanied by a very lovely dark bread.

 The main course we split was a huge wienerschnitzel with bernaise sauce, frites, and salad. We were very glad to have split it.

 UNBELIEVABLE! A really good U.S. Airline Business Class Meal!

If one flies international business class a lot (which I have over the last 15 year), you find there the quality of catering can vary substantially depending on the airline and the city from which it is flying. In general, while the food and service is miles better than in Economy, it is not usually anything to write a blog post about. This is especially true of the major American carriers (United, Delta, & American). So you can imagine how SHOCKED I was when the meal we were served on our flight from Amsterdam to was not just okay, it was excellent. I mean blog worthy.

Let's start with...

 This was one of the wine's offered. How many times before have I seen a Chateauneuf du Pape on an airline? 

0

This particular wine retails for about $50 a bottle.

The first course was a very nice cured salmon (hats off the Netherlands catering?

 Accompanied by nice Dutch dark bread and butter

 The main course was a braised Pork with white beans. It was good enough that I ate very bit.

 All in all a perfectly fine ending to our trip

A Final

SIGNS OF THE WORLD

Badhoevedorp, Netherlands, Capital of Formula One Tow Truck Racing.

Europe Fall 2024 - First Stop Amsterdam

We've found when we have multiple legs of a trip in a regions (Europe, East Asia, SE Asia, etc.), that you have more options and get better pricing when you fly round trip from the U.S. to a major hub in the area you're visiting to begin and end your trip. Then you can take short-haul flights to get you between wherever you ultimately want to be spending your time, usually more effectively for your schedule and more cost-efficiently as well. When doing our initial research, a flight in and out of Amsterdam made the most sense and allowed us to fit in our couple of days of nostalgia.

On Tuesday morning we got to the airport in plenty of time, and checked in without problem. However, the dear Magical Unicorn Pony God of Travel still had a few more tricks for us before we finally got to our destination. We're going through the TSA Pre security check and Wife's passport is denied. They ask for her driver's license. That's denied too. What the &$@!#? We're told we have to go back to the airline check-in to figure things out.

Thank goodness we have status and are going through the priority line at the airline. They look at Wife's check-in profile and all the information in it is MINE! How did that happen? Why wasn't it seen when we checked in online or when we dropped our bags off? The agent puts in the correct information. Back up to Security. Nope. It's still rejecting Wife's information. The agent calls in a superior who goes off somewhere while we wait and wait, thanking the stars we came to the airport early. Finally he comes back and says Wife's basic information is correct but her PASS ID number is incorrect (or not present) so she cannot go through the TSA Pre line. She has to go through the regular security line. If you know Wife, you know she is royally pissed. Thank goodness the TSA senior agent says he'll bring her to the front of the line. 

That ordeal over, before we board our flight, the airline agents at the gate call us up. Yup. The information on Wife's record is wrong. They scan in her passport (yet again) and we can board the plane. Our flight to Salt Lake City and transfer to our 10 hour flight to Amsterdam go smoothly. All is well until a couple of hours before we land. I need to dab some saline gel on my nose to keep it moist. I barely touch the nose and it starts bleeding again. Just as fast as before. 

Fortunately, I know the drill now. I have a spare clamp I brought from the emergency room and I'm using it, tissue and my hands to apply pressure. This I do for the rest of the flight, all the way through getting through the airport, and getting to our hotel. Roughly three hours in all. It's stressful and uncomfortable. (Try not breathing through your nose for an extended period of time. You feel like you have emphysema.) One of the attendants on the flight told me she has had this kind of problem for years because of the dryness of the air in airplanes. 

Finally getting to the hotel, I took the clamp off and found the bleeding had stopped. We were both pretty exhausted and kind of collapsed. 

Europe Fall 2024 - Lauching The Eldership On A River Of Blood

As previously noted, it is time for Wife and I to hit the road again. Gosh, I've been home from Ghana for 9 days! Isn't that long enough to get itchy and need to get back to Airport World?

Europe 2024 is intended to be a pullback from the insanity of Around the World of this spring. We are first going to Amsterdam for a couple of days of nostalgia visit (after having visited their so many times during the 12 (or was it 14) years Daughter #3 lived there. (#3 is even coming to visit us to make the nostalgia reunion complete). Then we are going to Italy. Our goal is to find another place that 'resonates' with as a place we might want to go for a longer stay. We'll be going from the Slovenia coast of the Adriatic to about half way down. Then we go to Spain, returning to El Compello where we are staying for a month. 

No Eldership voyage is considered complete without some crisis during the 24 hours preceding departure. We've had multiple electronic devices die the day before, banking issues, twice we had electrical lights disconnect from the ceiling and dangle precipitously from an electrical wire. Yesterday we decided to go with a medical based alternative.

It's around 11:30, I'm driving a short way to a drug store to pick up an item for the trip. I feel something dripping out of my nose. I put my hand to my nose and see blood. I stop the car in the parking lot. The blood is really flowing. I can't find anything to hold to my nose other than a few old face masks still in the car from Covid days. Holding these my nose, I manage to drive one-handed back to the house. 

I go from the car to the bathroom by the kitchen. Releasing the face masks, the blood gushes out in a volume greater than I've ever seen. I'm freaking out. I'm trying to get tissue and paper towels to try and staunch the flow, while pitching my nose. The bathroom sink is a total bloody mess. I keep cleaning up while trying to hold my nose with a wad of bloody paper products. 

I manage to get to my phone in the kitchen and again one-handed key in a search for what do if you have a bloody nose that won't stop. The answer is simple - get medical help. I finally call Wife down and we head to the hospital emergency room. Even though it is a holiday, there are few people in the waiting room when I get there. Of course, my mind is going overtime assuming I have a brain tumor or something, going to have to cancel our whole trip, etc. 

If you are familiar with U.S. emergency rooms you know there will be a lot of waiting...waiting to be checked in, waiting to actually get into the treatment area, waiting to be treated, waiting to be discharged. This visit did not disappoint. As soon as they checked me in the put this clamp like thing over my nose, which over the almost two hours of waiting was like some torture device from the inquisition. 

When finally seen, things had finally slowed up substantially. Turns out there are some arteries in your nose as well as veins (I guess that's pretty logical) and when they go, the flow is spectacular. Once they got things stopped, they cauterized the wound to create scabbing. 

After four hours, I was able to come home and finally get packed. 

I've taken one of the clamps with me just for insurance.

Finishing Up Euro 2016 - Trial by Cold

Our last weekend was a second visit with the #3's in their new flat in Amsterdam.  The two flights of stairs to get there to their third floor flat are a bit of a challenge. If 3A had not carried the suitcases up and down for us, I doubt if we could have done it. But their new flat has so much more space than their old one and has so much more light.

I've said this so often but it is painful to have such a good relationship with one's children and have them so far away that visits are so infrequent. Nonetheless, we had a wonderful time...discounting the freezing of our asses off. It was really cold and never got above the low 40's the three days we were there. Since it was mostly hanging around with family, I'll go right to pictures.

FOOD!

If we're in Amsterdam there is a mandatory list of street food we want to get

The absolutely best frites on the planet...no shit

Herring...got to have herring...at least I do

Waffles with chocolate sauce

(Don't think it was cold?)

Doner

Amsterdam has some of the best Turkish Doner outside of Turkey from our experience

In order below Chicken Doner Sandwich, Pide (kind of a meat, eggplant thing), and Turkish pizza with doner in it

Mandatory Art Shots

There was lots of color and light in the Serphati Park near the market

What sacrifice will a Grandmother make?

Going to the Granddaughters Hair Salon

The two stylists size up their victim...I MEAN THEIR CUSTOMER!

"Hmm what do you think?"

"I don't know. This could call for serious intervention."

"You really think so? You don't think a simple combing will do?"

"Puhlease, I am an arteeste."

"Don't you worry. We are experts."

"Agh, Don't leave me now."

The 'artists' in action

On another note, rare photographs of the elusive 3A

My daughter is a woman of complex emotions

Serious

Happy

Surprised

And occasionally 

Goofy

Let us conclude with a last dinner out where we had a wonderful, really wonderful roast beef rib