Wrocław

The train here is packed. I am glad I have a reserved seat in first class. As I walk to my hotel there are tour groups with rolling luggage and many people carrying guitar cases. I am confused at first then I remember there is a big punk festival this weekend for the holidays.

I catch a protest of some sort as I walk to my hotel. It is constitution day so it doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. “Workers united are invincible” is on their sign. It appears to be a labor protest on constitution day.

I walk into the city center there are more guitars and artsy people. I hear music playing at a stage near my hotel. My goal is to check in quickly and check out the music.

I drop my things off and turn the corner to find a band playing a cover of “Sweet child of mine” it is busy in the courtyard but not as busy as it will be in a hour or so. The crowd slowly fills with people carrying guitars and bystanders like me. I am here in time for the annual Guitar World Record in Wrocław. People come from all over the world with their guitar to play “Hey Joe” in unison to reach a world record. If I read the news correctly I think they beat the record this year.

About the holidays this weekend, I had only scheduled 2 1/2 days to enjoy Wrocław and I later discovered that two of these days are during national holidays: May 1 Labor Day and May 3 constitution day. Not everything is closed on these days but a good number of things are and if they aren’t they close early. This means I won’t get to see all the things I want to see in town because I really only have one full day of sightseeing and part of that day is going to a festival to see some polish and international punk-ish bands (when in Rome).

I escape from the crowd temporarily to get a snack and climb the tower to see Bridge of Penitents or Witches Bridge. This is famous for its little witch dwarves overlooking the town. The view is nice but there is way too many people on the bridge at one time so I don’t stay up there too long. They really should do some crowd control at the top to make the experience better for everyone.

Georgian food to go. I love cheese so much

After the bridge I find an antique market I explore for a bit before I brave the guitar crowds once more.

While the crowd gathers a woman who used to perform with Michael Jackson is on stage. I can’t get close enough at this point to take any pictures. The crowd is a sea of guitars getting ready to play.

Finally they play their “Hey Joe” for the record recording. I walk out to beat the crowds but I hear the crowd cheering in the distance.

Some of the many dwarves in town playing little guitars for the day. Dwarves are important to Wroclaw but more on that later.

I walk down to one of the many “islands” that are connected by pedestrian bridges. The goal this afternoon is to stalk the gas lamplighter on Cathedral Island but I am way too early for that so I explore other islands and surroundings.

On one island there is a huge park with many groups picnicking, many with small foil pan metal grills. The smell of grilled sausages permeates the air and makes me really hungry. I’m waiting to eat until I get back closer to my hotel but does it smell good. I take a break to have a happy hour by the water. I watch the boats go by while I finally get a moment off my feet. Today has already been a long day.

I get to cathedral island to explore and even though most things are closed except a few restaurants there are still many people strolling around. Lines are consistently outside the college botanical garden that should be closed right now so I am not sure what is going on over there. Finally I spot the lamplighter and he moves quickly. He’s got an entourage of kids following him. He is not an official tourist attraction he’s just one of the few actually gas lamplighters left in the world. He (or someone else) lights at sundown and then they extinguish in the morning. I think I saw another in Zagreb, Croatia a couple years ago. This is not the only one but they are rare these days with electrical power.

I walk back toward the main market square where I have my eye on a Soviet communism theme restaurant that has a private room (not so private tonight since it is being used for diners). There is a long wait for food and it is just ok but I love the theming of the place so I explore the secret room quickly before I head back to my room to sleep. It’s late and I am tired after this long day.

I need to rest for touring tomorrow.

Moving on to Granada

It is very early. As I walk from my hotel to the train station this morning there are young people still coming back from the clubs, I didn’t even know there were clubs in Ronda.

It’s funny to see people coming back from the clubs when I am out catching a morning train. Seems like a lifetime ago but I used to be a person coming back from a club as the sun rises.

A thing I notice is that there are no cafe’s open for me to get a cup of coffee. My room in Ronda is the only room I stay in this trip that doesn’t have a coffee pot for me to at least make instant coffee. I can go without food but not coffee. I feel like I am going to die (being a little dramatic here). I didn’t plan this morning well at all. Fortunately the restaurant at the train station opens just in time for me to get a café con leche to go a few minutes before my train arrives.

For my journey I have to switch trains in Antequera once more; this time there is no drama. I arrive in Granada around 10:30 am but I am still many hours from check in to my hotel. I have saved instructions for taking the bus to my hotel but since I have so much time I decide to walk to get a feel for the area, it is only a 20 minute walk and the weather is not too unbearably hot, yet.

I head to my hotel and as I suspect I am way too early for my room. Instead of just dropping my bag I decide this is a great time to clean my clothes, this later proves to be a great idea because I quickly sweat through everything the next couple days. I have a laundromat mapped out down the street but I need detergent. It is challenging finding a store that carries detergent and when I do it is a very large bottle. I don’t like carrying extra weight when I travel so the plan is to just leave it for the next consumer at the laundromat. When I arrive to the laundromat I notice that none of the washers need detergent added since they all automatically provide their own. I find this to be common in Spain during the rest of my travels. I leave the detergent bottle there anyway. There is some drama with another customer and a dryer not working well. I try to chat with him in Spanish the best I can. Luckily I have my eye on one of the smaller dryers anyway.

By the time my laundry is cleaned and repacked into my backpack my room is ready at Hotel Posada del Toro. The hotel is located in a 19th century building and has lots of interesting architectural details. My room is a good size and has working air conditioning! I also have a view of the courtyard but I keep my window mostly closed due to privacy. I can see leaving this window open during cooler months though.

I drop my things and head out. The hotel is located in the old town of Granada. I eye many middle eastern restaurants nearby and I start planning which ones I want to visit later. There are also many shops selling different clothing and other things tourists may want. I am not much for shopping but I eye the displays.

I end up near the cathedral. There is a street performer break dancing so I stop to watch the performance.

I enter into the nearby Iglesia Parroquial del Sagrario. It is free and a retreat from the sun.

Around the corner is the Capilla Real de Granada or Royal Chapel of Granada. This is where some past royals are entombed, including Ferdinand & Isabella. I tour inside but they don’t allow photos.

I finally find the entrance to the Catedral de Granada and spend some time touring inside.

It is getting late and I don’t want to miss eating lunch due to siesta so I settle at an outdoor cafe that seems to be a local chain, Los Manueles Restaurante (Catedral). I order the very rich and filling noodles with prawns and squid ink sauce. It is good and I ask myself why I rarely order pasta dishes anymore. The meal gives me the energy to wander some more.

I discover the Plaza De Bib Rambla. There are a number of appetizing looking cafes here. I make a mental note to return at a later time.

I do some window shopping and wandering down the different alleys.

I’ve had a large late lunch so I’m not particularly hungry for the evening. I find a wine and cheese store where I purchase a bottle of local wine and an assortment of Spanish cheeses. I have a refrigerator to keep it all so I can snack on this the next few days. It is hot so return to my room and go to bed early. Tomorrow I have an appointment to visit the alcazar in Córdoba.

Out to fancytown, my Michelin experience

Today I spent the day exploring Ronda but tonight I have fancy dinner plans. I am dining at Bardal, a two-star Michelin restaurant.

I return to my hotel to prepare for the evening. Not important but it is a chance to display the cool hallway.

Bardal is close to my hotel. I arrive early so I walk the surrounding area and look at the bullfighting ring. I take a picture from the outside but that is the extent of my visit. I am not a big fan of using animals for sport anymore in fact I’m not sure why I am not a vegetarian….perhaps because I like the taste of meat too much to give it up totally. Maybe someday I’ll evolve.

Plaza de Toros (bullring) near restaurant

I still arrive a little early for my reservation that was made well in advance. I am a solo diner but they don’t make me feel like I am a freak as some places often do. The staff defaults to speaking English, I assume because it is a high end restaurant and most of the guests around me are English speaking. I usually take opportunities like dining out to practice my Spanish vocabulary but this meal will be too complicated for me to understand every item and I really want to know what I am eating.

I have been to only a couple Michelin starred restaurants and those were in NYC. What I am experiencing tonight is a bit different from those experiences. Dining here is expensive and I expect that but this is a once (or rare) in a lifetime experience; I am willing to pay the money for it.

Chef Benito Gomez specializes in small dishes concentrating on ingredients found regionally. There are two menu choices and I order the smaller menu with the accompanied wine pairings. The smaller menu is a good choice; even though the dishes are small in size, the sheer number of them still leave me quite satisfied at the end of the evening.

The dishes and style of serving are very unique. It is like I am looking at individual works of art as each one arrives at my table.

We begin with a long line of starters and their wine pairings.

The first course came out with 3 items…..The mushroom course

I am instructed how to eat each each item. I don’t pay attention enough to the instructions so when I try to bite down on the mushroom bun the insides explode all over the place. I’ve made a mess and it is only the first course. I like this course very much and enjoy the different ways the mushrooms are prepared.

Starting top going clockwise: Pine nuts pudding and sour juice of mushrooms, creamy mushroom and cadiz blue cheese bun, mushrooms and pine nuts infusion

There are three more courses of appetizers. Many are served on top of interesting platters that are not meant to be consumed along with the item. Fortunately I am told what I can eat and what is decoration only. This meal needs an instruction manual! For the Rossini picanha I eat in what I later learn is caveman style: I grab the bone with both hands and eat the meat out of the middle. Also in this course a tuna is served on a bed of rocks surrounded by non-edible seaweed and a sea urchin is served in stone bowl to be scooped by a wooden spoon.

From the bottom left going clockwise: tuna and seaweed, rossini picanha, sea urchin and raifort

The next starter is another type of meat I have never tried, a cock crest. I had to do some research on this afterwards; the cock crest, or comb, is the fleshy part on top of a chicken (or turkey’s) head. I read it is hard to prepare because is both a hard to clean and rare to find. In this case it served over a bowl of dried corn (not edible). No complaints with this unique course.

The last starter is the “salad”. It is a tasty inner piece of lettuce with a creamy beef sauce.

Grilled lettuce hearth and beef emulsion

Soon the main courses begin. We start with a lobster with split peas and caviar. A piece of bread accompanies the dish with a spicy Spanish salad spread.

Next is the sea anemone with green sauce. It is my first time trying a sea anemone and I am quite pleased. Look at how gorgeous this plating is?!?

Next is the calçot with payoyo cheese (a local cheese). A calçot is a type of green onion (also similar to a leek) that is grilled. It is a simple and small but very enjoyable course.

The next course is the bread course. I normally don’t get excited about restaurant bread but the two different types of breads with the accompanied olive oil and butter are amazing. I forget the story behind the butter but I love butter with a story. The calories and fat don’t count as much when the butter has a good origin story, right?

For the next four courses, the two standouts are the aubergine fricando and the baby goat. I am not a fan of the consistency and accompanying sauce for the hake cheek with corn, coriander and vanilla. I find it strange this course doesn’t work for me because I normally like fish cheeks and the flavor of coriander; perhaps the corn and vanilla combination is a turn off for me. The monkfish a la espalda is good but not one of my favorites from all the courses. The final savory course is a baby goat with spinach and a kidney with perigordine sauce. They were both very good. I’ve had goat before but never this way and this is my first time trying kidney. I’ve read it is healthy to eat organ meat. This is a good alternative since I do not care for liver.

hake cheek with corn, coriander and vanilla

Finally we reach the dessert courses and the first item is a celeriac cake with fennel. I am not a fan of fennel but I don’t mind this dish. Celeriac is a turnip like root vegetable sort of related to celery. I am not sure I’ve ever noticed it in supermarkets in the USA. The cake has a nutty flavor and the fennel compliments it. Also it isn’t too sweet. I don’t care for desserts that are overpowered with sweetness.

The next course of chocolate and almond is not overly sweet as well.

The final course it is a collection of petit-fours or smaller items. Being very full from all the food and wine I take a bite out of each one but I don’t completely finish this course.

At this point in the evening the generous wine pours kick in and the conversation volume levels get louder in the room. One of the servers brings out another piece of art, but no it is the bill only. I am also given a list of all the dishes served this evening. This is a nice touch because there is no way I can remember all that is served. I do really wish I had the wine list though because I loved most of the pairings and would have liked to share them with others. Probably the only improvement on my experience would be including the wine list at the end.

I am very glad I booked dinner at Bardal. It was worth every EURO.

A nice dinner out

While in Selcuk I decided to have a fancy night out to dinner so I went around the corner to the upscale hotel that had a rooftop restaurant. I enjoyed the sunset views (forgot pictures) and view of the pool.

I can’t remember what I ordered as an entree but this meze platter (see above) was marvelous. I tried for the first time sea beans and I love them. Growing up in Florida it seems like I should have had them before but I have not. I am going to seek them out when I return home. Also in the platter is hummus, yogurt sauce, eggplant and beets; all are excellent.

My only regret from the night is that I did not purchase this lamp that was at my table. It was the only battery powered one I saw in turkey. I really wanted a lamp but the power supply (European plugs) always kept me from buying one.

It was a great night out and I am glad I treated myself.

Ayasoluk Restaurant