Seaside Sunday

 
 

 

Edge of day softly meets night Cádiz, Spain.

  

Andalucia

3 hours (or less) from Paris 

Mocha Monday

 

 

Breakfast without borders:

French tartine takes a dive into Spanish café con leche.

 

¡Café olé!

 

***

 

Tomorrow: back to France 

Semana Sunday

 

 

 

Inside Seville's magnificent Cathedral

 

Above: Gothic splendor and the tomb of Christopher Columbus, held aloft by four heralds representing the historic Spanish kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragon, and Navarre

 

Below: a surprise procession weaves through the streets of Cádiz

 

 

 

 

 

***

 

I’d given up on ever witnessing the grandeur of Seville’s Semana Santa - those vast, candlelit processions during Holy Week that draw the world to this ancient city every Easter, a time of crushing crowds and scarce accommodations - when I turned a corner in Cádiz, of all places, and found myself face to face with the unexpected: Nuestra Señora de la Merced seated regally under a canopy of flowers and tall glowing candles, surrounded by beating drums and marching tubas, a sudden, intimate moment of devotion slowly weaving its way through the narrow streets. And it felt like a private gift. - BPJ

 

 

Andalucia

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

 

Sitting Saturday

Sunset at the sea wall in Cádiz.

Below: Je l'ai surpris au milieu d'un chapitre… Le plus beau des détours.

  

 

Andalucia

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

Fishy Friday

 

Inside the sprawling fish and seafood market in old Cádiz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

*** 

 

Cádiz's historic food market, the Mercado Central de Abastos behind the Cathedral and steps from the Atlantic, feels like the beating heart of the city. Because Cádiz sits right on the sea, the seafood here is impossibly fresh. Dozens of stalls overflow with brilliant red carabineros, those huge scarlet prawns that look almost unreal (and translate to “police” in Spanish because the color of their shells matched the uniforms of the Spanish customs police), piles of glistening tuna, local white fish, clams, and mussels still tasting of the sea. Before locals and visitors get to pack the aisles, chefs and restaurateurs arrive earlier, in droves, for first picks, readying for the day’s offerings. It’s an enormous, loud, slightly chaotic visual feast where you don’t just buy fish - you experience the pure coastal soul of Andalucia. - BPJ

 

Andalucia

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

 

Walking Wednesday

Cádiz's historic quarter, the Casco Antiguo, is a virtually car-free labyrinth

Below: neighbors gather; a taberna opens; a 460-year old convent on a plaza off Calle San Francisco

 

 

Tapear Tuesday

 

Tapear, that distinctly Spanish custom of going out for small, shareable plates, tapas, is alive and thriving more than ever in Andalucia.

*** 

Whenever I think of the art of tapear, which is often, I think of it as an informal food crawl - moving from bar to bar, savoring delectable small dishes typically paired with a cold caña (small draft beer), wine, sherry, or vermouth. The whole experience is less a formal meal than a social ritual.

“Tomar tapas en bares y tabernas” simply means a casual, lively way of eating and connecting. Aficionados drift from place to place, sampling house specialties of the day or a few personal favorites at each stop. The classic “one bar, one drink, one tapa” rhythm often stretches into an entire evening’s entertainment. 

Tabernas hum with energy and seem to occupy almost every corner. While tapas can certainly serve as a pre-dinner appetizer, the key difference from the French apéro is this: Spanish tapas are substantial enough to become the meal itself, usually enjoyed while taberna-hopping. The focus stays on the small plates; standing or perched at the bar is perfectly normal. The French apéro (short for apéritif), by contrast, is a pre-dinner custom centered mainly on drinks, accompanied by light, casual nibbles, typically enjoyed at home or on a café terrace before a proper sit-down meal. 

Tapas themselves range from the simplest (olives, slices of jamón, cheeses) to the more elaborate (croquetas, gambas al ajillo, tortilla, seafood/fish, and two longtime personal favorites, patatas bravas and chicharrones especiales). In parts of Andalusia, such as Granada, a free tapa still traditionally arrives with whatever drink you order. ¡Salud! - BPJ 

 

 

Andalucia

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

 

Mocha Monday

 

Strong coffees and morning papers start the day near the Mercado Central.

***

All this week: more Andalucia 

Andalucia

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

 

Sunday solace

Sidewalk sipping in the south of Spain, where walls keep watch... One glass at a time.  

Andalucia

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

  

Sitting Saturday

Man with dog on the steps of the Catedral de Cádiz.

Andalucía 

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

 

Flamenco Friday

 

 

Andalucía, a perfect off-season side trip from Paris.

 

 Above: a street dancer in old-town Sevilla 

 

***

 

With August heat waves over, more and more Parisians are traveling in “shoulder months” - April/May, September/October. And with fewer crowds, lower costs, better weather, and businesses still in full swing, it’s neither too crowded nor is it deserted. Spain is a perfect choice: a vibrant world of distinct cultures and landscapes not that far away, and low-cost direct flights are easy to book. - BPJ

Andalucía 

3 hours (or less) from Paris

 (2 1/2 hours direct flight)

Travel Tuesday

Looking back: a view that never gets old.

(click to enlarge)

  

3 hours (or less) from Paris

Fly/Drive 

Cadaqués, Spain

 

Wine Wednesday

 A touch of Spain at a favorite food counter on the Left Bank.

Above: manchego cheese, jamón ibérico, a full-bodied Rioja.

 

La Grande Épicerie

 Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche

 

 

Mediterranean memory

 

A cala, one of many small inlets along the Spanish coastline near France

 

Bonnes vacances

  

***

 

3 hours (or less) from Paris

Cadaqués, Spain

 

Recommended: fly/drive

PARIS - PERPIGNAN (France)
Direct flight (1-hr 30 min) + car rental (1-hr 20 min drive to Cadaqués)

 

PARIS - GIRONA

Direct flight (1-hr 45 min) + car rental (1-hr drive to Cadaqués)

 

 

Flashback Friday

Today's flashback is to Cadaqués, Spain, just south of the French border, circa mid-80s - days of celebrations, couch squatters, droppers-in, gallery openings, seaside horchata and feasting - that we will always call home. - BPJ

 Above: large watercolors of mommy's helper ❤️ Danielle❤️ on our terrace at sunset overlooking the crescent bay and village (the artist was an Australian art student en passant, hence the kangaroos - if she spots these, I hope she contacts me!)

 

Gazpacho in heat

Above: a cobbled street in Cadaqués, Spain leads to a small market square on the bay; gazpacho andaluz w/traditional toppings

***

Looking back:

As temperatures climb towards June our Paris kitchen has been the scene of an outpouring of gazpacho, that queen of the cold soups from Spain that magically appears each summer as a primer plato, entrada or even refreshing drink in almost every restaurant, tapas bar and café from the Costa Brava to the Costa del Sol. Sometimes served with ice cubes bobbing on its surface, this simple and refreshing sopa made its way to France and now, as in Spain, it's a seasonal menu staple.

During my time in Barcelona and Cadaqués everyone I knew - including me - kept a freshly made supply cooling in the fridge. So when an industrial facsimile began showing up on supermarket shelves it didn't make sense: with a hand blender, gazpacho took almost as much time to make as it did to open a box and pour, faster than you can say “¡Hace calor!”

But mind you not just any gazpacho would do. All over Spain, at least, it had to be gazpacho andaluz from the sunny south. Less tomato and more cucumber meant a much lighter color than expected. When visiting Italian family in Rome in summer, I'd whip up a pitcherful in the late afternoon at the urging of my Tante Maria, an excellent cook who preferred hers with extra garlic. When I added a dash of cayenne pepper by accident, a version she called “Gestapo," she declared, “This replaces all of the minerals you lose in your sweat!” (She'd also insist that spaghetti al dente with nothing in it but grated parmesan and burro was a "complete food" containing "everything anyone would ever want" for optimum health).

Some prefer their gazpacho sieved until creamy smooth; others, like me, prefer texture. Either way, accompaniments of fried croûtons and assorted chopped raw veggies such as tomato, cucumber, onion and avocado add yet more structure and flavor. - BPJ

***

Recipe in June newsletter

Un café noisette

This is the French version of Spain's café cortado, an espresso to which a drop of milk the size of a hazelnut (noisette) has been added, just enough to turn the coffee the color of hazelnut.