Celebrating the 70's - A chronicle of time and temperature

  Sunday 29 th September 2024 A restless night and a bit of a sleep in. Around 1.00 pm Andrew decided it would be a good idea to walk 2 kms to some Roman ruins (and 2 kms back in the hot sun). You know, you’ve seen one Roman ruin … Boy, those old Romans loved their concrete. Limping along, Flashy discovered a bar, as you do. This served excellent beer and like most bars here, the beer is very cold. Fred would be very happy. We also ordered one anchovy tapas. It came out on a French style toasted baguette about a foot long, a little garlic pesto and eight large anchovy fillets.  We were happy. As we were only half way home, we made it a bit further to Fino Bar, for a rest stop for a vermut, oloroso sherry, a bottle of Alberino and some more tapas. Then arriving at our apartment, we discovered that the restaurant directly below us was open. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to who opens when and for how long. Perhaps it is a Spanish mystery that we will never solve. They su

  Saturday night Gala Dinner The Gala Dinner at Parador de Alcala was a long affair, with tapas in the garden and the main meal in a giant dining room. The menu was French inspired, small perfect serves and plenty of matching wines.  A plate of four tapas to start: Iberian ham, millefeuille of Leon jerky, avocado cream with mango tatar and prawns, crispy shrimp, and octopus with potato and sweet garlic sauce. The wine Grego 2019 Grenache.  The entrée was medallions of monkfish and lobster, scallops and shrimp on a Russian salad. Wine: Puerta del Sol 2023 Malvar. The palate cleanser a Blood Orange and Syrah sorbet followed by the main of roast beef tenderloin, carrot and coconut and confit potato. Wine: Felix Martinez Cepas Viejas 2019 Tempranillio and Syrah D.O. Madrid.  By this time, it was 11.30 pm and we pulled the pin before dessert. We weren’t the only ones either. The evening was interspersed with Flamenco guitar and a dancer. Some in the Spanish contingent were so moved, that

  Saturday 28 th September 2024 Today is the BIG day. A tour to the institute where the Spanish have every variety of grape growing for research and after a walk around, a masterclass in Madrid area wines, then the big Gala Dinner in a beautiful, converted convent. A small problem arose in the morning with Andrew suffering a touch of Delhi Belly. Must have been an off prawn. Luckily Flashy was ok, so he soldiered on alone to the masterclass. Inside a magnificent chapel, with tables laden with glasses, we had a white, three reds and a sticky wine, matched with salami, cheese and chocolate. You see, the Spanish don’t tax their wine like spirits. They consider it a food. Essential to life. And, it is often taken with a matching food such as cheese or meats. Flashy was flying solo and was picked up by the Israeli delegation of one woman and 11 men, who naturally kept pretty much to themselves. Wishing him long life many times, he enjoyed their very Jewish company. They were a little

  Friday 27 th September 2024 A smart move to have Friday off because the itinerary for today is longer than yesterday, if that's possible. A sleep in, lazy breakfast, some admin and already it’s 1.00 pm. Andrew has done the research and booked a smart restaurant called 1888 for lunch at 2.30 pm. We’ll probably be the only people there. Yes we were. An inside table and comfortable chairs and a menu with a mix of Spanish and French items. We started with a gin and tonic, just to see the theatre of the long pour and a pleasant Albarino. The starters of anchovies on toast and carpaccio of beef were paired with a 30 year old Olorosso sherry and another Albarino. The mains of rare (very rare!) duck breast with toasted grains and Andrew’s sea bass worked well with a Rioja light red. Desserts were not so inspiring, so we just has a couple of Pedro  Ximinez. While walking off lunch, we found a quiet square full of uni students, so sat down for a couple of drinks before heading back home

  Thursday 26 th September 2024 -Dinner And because there’s more mis amigos, the next stop was Bodegas y Vinedos Castiblanque in Ciudad Real. Passionate and funny winemaker, owner, his mate and the sommelier, presented three wines and more cheese and cured meats. Had enough yet? Off we go to another very industrial sized bodegas – Casa del Valle. Another boring winery tour. They really don’t need to do this. And to another masterclass of their wines from Rose to all the reds.   Ten wines in total. Many were struggling at this stage, including the two antipodeans. However dinner now beckoned. The restaurant was magnificent. Plenty of space and despite the 9.00 pm hour and full tummies, we anticipated a good meal. It was the best meal of the trip.  There must be a French chef in the kitchen as the portion sizes were small, perfectly seasoned (someone found some salt) and beautifully presented. The generous wines were also very good. We arrived back home at 12.15 am and were in bed by

  Thursday 26 th September 2024 - Lunch This was a huge day. Up at 6.30 am for a quick breakfast and a walk to the Hotel to catch the coaches on a 250 km round trip, visiting four bodegas, lunch at a restaurant; a masterclass in Madrid wines; and a stunning dinner – arriving home at 12.15 am Friday morning. First stop was a tiny, family run Bodegas Brujidero, where we were treated to a white and red wine bottled exclusively for the OMGD. 100 bottles only. The white, an Airen grape from around Toledo and the red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, also from around Toledo, were made with minimal interference – manual milled grind and no yeast starter. They were OK. Cheese and cured meats as well were offered. We then walked the 600 metres down the road to Bodegas Alcardet. This the other end of the spectrum, with a massive industrial wine making operation, on a huge footprint. Here we sampled their red, white and sparkling wines; more cheese and jamon and they gave us a bottle o

  Wednesday 25 September 2024 Sanxopanza Restaurant was the boy’s dinner venue last night. Close to home and not too hard a walk on Flashy’s dodgy ankle. At 9.00 pm, we were the only patrons – of course! Spanish was the only language, unusual. Eventually we got that ‘carne’ was meat and Flashy let Andrew order. Pointing at the menu helped too. We were delivered a 1.15 kg rare steak carved from the bone. Very delicious and a good match with the Rioja wines. Andrew made it to 10.00 pm before instantly falling asleep. We were home. He didn’t fall asleep in the street. 10.00 pm was judged as a a good sign, since tonight is the l’Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Degustateurs welcome dinner and it could be a late one. Prior to the welcome dinner, we  were treated to a Masterclass in Rioja wines. Not actually visiting Rioja this conference, they brought Rioja to us. Four of the main winemakers; each with three of their best (mainly red) wines and large samples. In a room with 200 people this was

  Sunday to Wednesday 22 to 25 September 2024 Andrew arrived and we settled in for the training for the L’Order Mondial Gourmet Degustateur International Grande Chapitre.  As Andrew arrived late Saturday night and Lady P departed for Porto early Sunday, we really were ships in the night. Sunday morning the apartment was a boys house. A walk around the neighbourhood and a visit to Alberto's for lunch, was then topped off with some sherries at la Venencia. Here the waiter put his hand over Flashy’s phone to prevent him from taking a picture. A very dangerous move indeed. However, the story is that the bar was a hotbed of communista during the revolution and all patrons were afraid of being photographed, for fear of execution. So Flashy let it go. The eye contact said it all. On departure Flashy paid in cash. The waiter gave him the thumbs-up and a smile. No tip though, we’re all comrades here! Monday saw us doing a tour of the Royal Palace, which was well done and interesting. Ve