Oviedo Festival Video

We arrived in Oviedo, Spain to find a local day-long festival taking place. It was fun to see the parade through town, that included several different bands and many marchers in folk costumes.

Jim

Zarzuela Last Evening - Road Trip Today

We enjoyed a fine Zarzuela performance, of Torroba's "Luisa Fernanda," at the Teatro Campoamor Tuesday evening. Today we drive south from Ovideo to Leon for our flight back to Madrid. The trip is winding down now but we'll be returning with many nice memories of our experiences here in Spain this time around.

Jim

On The Road To Oviedo

We have arrived in Oviedo. The four hour drive from Santiago de Compostela was pleasant with much interesting scenery especially along the Atlantic coast of Spain. We will be attending a performance of Zarzuela tomorrow evening. Today we picked up the tickets after we checked into the hotel. It's warmer and sunny here. I'll post some pictures soon.

Jim

A Legend, And A Visit To Toledo

One of the main purposes of this visit to Spain was to attend performances of zarzuela, the opera/operetta like musical works that incorporate so much of the national heartbeat. On Sunday we saw a performance of Soutullo and Vert's passionate tale of gyspsy revenge, "La Leyenda del Beso." (The Legend of the Kiss.) It was given a striking new production at the high temple of the art form, Madrid's Teatro de la Zarzuela.

On Monday we took the excellent Renfre train to Toledo, a beautiful Medieval and Renaissance town, perched on hills above the Tajo (Tagus) River. The best highlight was revisiting El Greco's masterpiece, "The Burial of Count Orgaz" in the Church of Santo Tome. His largest painting, the mural shows a mystical connection between earth and heaven, as the saints and God watch the count's soul being spirited upwards by an angel, all in a whirling Mannerist composition.

Dan

PHOTOS: The stage at the Teatro de la Zazuela - view of Toledo from the Parador

Dining In Madrid

The current development of Spanish cuisine is quite special. Though the country has long
been known for such favorites as tapas, sangria, paella a la valenciana, flan and many more specialities, in recent years Spanish cocina has rivaled French and Italian in variety, subtlety
and flavors.

On some visits to Madrid in the past we did not have good tips and encountered tourist versions of the paella or worse: tired classics. Thanks to Jim's Internet research, this time, we have already dined at two special restaurants, both in the bustling and thriving gay neighborhood, the Chueca. (Named, BTW, after a famed 19th century zarzuela composer.) At El Armario a light salad with fresh, miniature mozarella balls was followed by a balacao (cod) skewered with vegis, or the albondigas: balls made of white fish and shrimp, drenched in a stock and cream based sauce that tasted delicate and was not heavy.

For dinner at La Divina de la cocina (literally, the Goddess of Cooking) I enjoyed a tender duck served in a sauce with steamed plums, onions and a pear, while Jim had a melt in the mouth dorado fish. The lavish desserts included a velvety, extremely light cheese cake covered with an innovative cardomon sauce, and a banana-chocolate cake. As you can tell, we weren't bothering to count the calories: a twenty-fifth anniversary trip to Spain is a once in a lifetime adventure.

Most amazing of all are the delicious riojas, the red wines (or tintos in Spanish) which can rival any red wines I've ever tasted. They are full of flavors, good perfectly with the food and never feel weighty on the stomach.

We are already looking forward to our next round of exploring the current Spanish cuisine.

Dan

PHOTO: A fantastic plant-covered wall and building restoration near the Atocha Railroad station