Segovian Cochinillo in the flesh - the milky pig flesh surrounded by airy crispy skin.

Segovia.  Occupied by the Romans in 80 BC, housed the royal residence in the 15th century during the reign of Queen Isabel, and has an Alcazar which inspired Walt Disney to design California Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle.

If you're looking for a day trip out of Madrid, you must put Segovia on your list.  The aqueduct alone is worth the trip.  It is the most awe inspiring structure located in the heart of the city.  Built in the 1st century AD, the Acueducto is ENORMOUS.  862 meters long, reaching up to 28 meters high, with 163 arches.  When it was built, there was not a drop of mortar holding the over 20,000 blocks of uneven granite.  That is serious ingenuity, engineering, and labor.

And, of course, you can't go to Segovia and not eat.  You can't go, and not eat the cochinillo asado.  The region's specialty roasted baby pig.  It sounds horrible that it's a baby pig.  But, seriously, this is one of the best things I've ever eaten - and I'm from the Philippines.  We have a lot of lechon and cochinillo over here.

Right next to the aqueduct is Mesón de Cándido.  Run by family generations and hailed by celebrities and chefs from around the world.  This is the place to go to really enjoy this region's perfection for cooking cochinillo.

Here's a short clip of the plate cutting ceremony for our Segovian cochinillo.  Yes, it's so ridiculously tender, it's cut with a plate:

Post by Foodicles.

Segovia's Acueducto

Walking through Toledo's history

Spain's cities are filled with walks through history.  Toledo is no exception.  The heart of Toledo is in its Old Town.  After a series of escalator connections (or if you want, you can always trek up the steep uphill climb), you enter into the town's historic quarter.

All of the major sights are within walking distance.  You can easily spend one afternoon in Toledo.  The Catedral is an attraction worth your time.  This cathedral is said to be the heart of Catholic Spain.  Paintings and masterpieces are from famous Spanish artists.  A lavish tesoro, or monstrance, full of gold and silver is in display until its once a year parade.  The high altar is one of the most decorated and gaudy pieces of art I've ever seen.  Everything is extravagant and perfectly tells the history of Spain, its previous wealth, and its participation in Catholicism.

Aside from history, Toledo also has a food specialty.  Mazapan!  Prior to this trip, I was only familiar with marzipan; and I was not a fan.  Marzipan is too sweet and put together.  It's like overly sugared soft candy.  Mazapan completely changed my perception.  It has just the right amount of sweetness and bite to appreciate the quality of the almonds.

Toledo is a perfect destination if you're looking for a day trip out of Madrid.  You take a break from the city streets and can have a full day of walking through history.

The view from the escalator ride up to the Old Town

The narrow streets of Toledo.  Cars beware!

Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid

In the center of Madrid, next to Plaza Mayor, is another one of the capital's oldest markets, Mercado de San Miguel.  Built in 1916, the market renovated to incorporate modernism against the cast-iron architecture.  This is a traditional market for the 21st century and it bills itself as a culinary cultural centre.

33 food purveyors offer products to take home and/or consume on the premises.  In the center of the mercado are bar tables to leisurely enjoy the food and beverages sold at the market.  During day time hours, fresh ingredients like fish, meat, and fruits are sold.  At night, tapas, beer, and wine are the highlights of the market.

Mercado de San Miguel and Mercado de San Antón are a couple of the best places for food lovers in Madrid, both for locals and for tourists.  They highlight quality ingredients to take home, as well as traditional and modern tapas to enjoy on the spot.  Markets are really the place to live and learn the ways of the locals.

Mercado de San Miguel

Modern with traditional

The entrance

Mercado de San Antón in Madrid

After falling in love with markets in San Sebastian and Valencia, I was more than ready for markets in Spain's capital.

The first of the two markets (the second will be featured in my next post) is Mercado de San Antón.  A market literally around the corner from our hotel in the Chueca barrio.  It's a district full of boutique shops and neighborhood restaurants and bars.

The mercado is an three-story indoor market featuring farm fresh local produce.  The building and market was constructed in 1945, one of the oldest markets in the city.  In 2011, the government commissioned to renovate the market to bring it into the 21st century.  It's now one of the places to buy food while savoring it on the spot as well.

The market is full of delis, bakeries, butchers, fishmongers, etc on the first floor.  On the second floor there are tapas vendors, Greek cuisine, Italian cuisine, fresh seafood, desserts, and, of course, a wine bar.  On the third floor is a restaurant both indoors and with a roof terrace.  This is a place you can keep coming back to for lunch, merienda, and dinner.  In fact in the few nights were based in Madrid, we enjoyed three meals here.  The second floor is my favorite of the three.  You get to choose a variety of foods and enjoy it family style on bar height tables.  Seriously, Madrileños know how to eat well.

Mercado de San Antón

3 floors of food and eating

Madrid: Pride of city with endless amazing eats.

Madrid!  One of my absolute favorite cities in the world.  I was worried that I would be letdown after finally coming back to this city ten years later.  Wow, the city is far cooler and far better than I remember.  Madrid is still and most definitely one of the my favorite cities in the world.

It's a true city and capital full of history and culture, and it's clean.  Madrid is so alive, so trendy and fashionable while not being arrogant or stiff.  There are newer barrios and neighborhoods that are walkable and full of life and food, too.

El Corte Ingles is a standard stop for some department store shopping, grocery shopping, and eating.  It is the biggest department store group in Europe, and it's the only remaining department store in Spain.  The Gran Via location has a great Gourmet Experience on the top floor with fantastic views of the city.  You can take it all in while enjoying a selection of tapas and cuisines from around the world.

Madrid is also a city to sample the Spanish classic: churros con chocolate.  Books and Internet research lead me to Chocolateria Valor and Chocolateria San Gines.  Valor is a big name chocolate brand in Spain.  Despite the name and reviews, I actually preferred San Gines.  It has a hype for attracting decades of celebrities and big names.  The churros were fresh and crispy and the chocolate had that right amount of sweetness and darkness.  The experience of eating churros con chocolate can be done at any time of the day.  Locals, though, are known to indulge in this sweet, fried goodness in the wee hours of the morning after a long night out.  In fact, Chocolateria San Gines' hours are 9:30am to 7:00am.  Madrileños know how to party and to live, and to eat.

Walking around Madrid 

History in Seville

Our main purpose driving to southern Spain was for Jerez and Jabugo.  Sherry, tocino del cielo, and jamón.  In order to have these two day trips, we researched a city within driving distance.  Jerez does have a selection of hotels, but I'm always on the lookout for newer and clean hotels.  So that lead us to have a three day hub in the capital of Andalusia.

Seville, or Sevilla to the locals, is the region's biggest city.  In the heart of it, you can walk through centuries of medieval architecture.  Seville is an old city, though, which smells of its many horse drawn carriages trotting around the plazas and streets.  In its successful marketing, the city has drawn numerous tourists to take in this southern culture.

One of the highlights of Seville is its cathedral.  The Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede.  It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third largest church in the world.  Also, the cathedral houses the burial site of Christopher Columbus.

Because of Seville's history of cultures and religions, a segment of the cathedral is attached to an ancient mosque.  The bell tower, La Giralda, is famously a minaret from the former mosque.

Seville is a city full of history.  You can feel a bit of a grit and age in the city, as well as the chaos from hoards of tourists.  With that said, if you visit Seville be very careful of your belongings.  We experienced a man scouting our table and then acting drunk in an attempt to get to our bags.

Seville Cathedral's enormity 

Jabugo, Spain: Little Village, Huge Jamón

In a small village with a population of just over 2,500, lies one of the most important food landmarks in Spain: Jabugo.

Tucked away in the province of Huelva between the lush chestnut and oak trees, Jabugo is the dwelling place of some of the best jamón in the country.  Cold, dry winters, mild springs, and hot summers provide a unique environment for these Iberian pigs.

This little village is a great place to spend an afternoon breathing in the beautiful smell of cured ham.  Jabugo hams (as well as jamón from Salamanca) stand out among the best in the country because of their high quality of breeding and curing.

This is the place to buy jamón at an unbeatable price - as this is straight from the source.  Monte Sierra is a great stop for jamón and for a tour during the week days.  Cinco Jotas is a known brand for its high standards and quality.  Along the town's main street also lies Las Bellotas, a restaurant featuring Cinco Jotas/Sancho Romero Carvajal products.  This is a nice place to relax and sample before purchasing bigger quantities to take home.

If you love jamón and you're in Spain, it's worthwhile the trip into this little province town that holds so much value to the country.

The streets of Jabugo

The statute representing the jamón workers of Jabugo

A monument representing the village of Jabugo and its generations of workers whose hands tirelessly work everyday to produce this golden jamón, their unique jamón

Jamón legs upon jamón legs!

Tio Pepe Sherry Tasting in Jerez

Aside from the amazing tocino del cielo, Jerez is also known for its sherry production.  Sherry is fortified wine from white grapes grown in this Andalucian province.  Naturally, Jerez is home to over 20 sherry bodegaas.

The most famous bodega is Bodegas González Byass, also known as Bodegas Tio Pepe.  It is one of the biggest sherry houses, just next to the Alcázar and Cathedral.  Their sherry production opened in 1835 by Manuel María González Angel, who partnered with Robert Blake Byass.  The infamous sherry, Tio Pepe, was named after his favorite uncle and advisor, Tio Pepe.  The bodega opened in 1963 and has expanded over the years.  Today the company is run by 4th and 5th generation González family members.

The best way to learn about this bodega and the process of sherry production is by taking their tour.  There are several tours throughout the day in English, Spanish, German, and French.  Reservations can be made online and you pay when you get there.  The tours include 2 to 4 tastes of sherry and an option for tapas with your tasting.  It's only 18.50 Euro for 4 tastings and tapas.  It's worth it, and the sherry buzz you get afterwards is fun.

Tio Pepe Statue

Outside Bodegas Tio Pepe/Bodegas Gonzalez Byass

Taking in Andalucian culture in Jerez. And falling in love with their tocino del cielo.

Jerez de la Frontera is arguably one of the destinations to discover the heart of Andalucia.  It has the horse culture and the flair for flamenco.  The larger cities like Seville and Granada get more of the attention with their numerous buildings and monuments.  But, Jerez is a wonderful place to explore and to taste some of Spain's most known specialties: sherry and tocino del cielo - our two reasons to drive to Jerez for the day.

We arrived into Jerez from Seville an hour before our tour time at Tio Pepe/Gonzalez Byass Bodega (the infamous sherry producers.  More on our Tio Pepe tour in my next post).  To kill time we explored the surrounding area which holds a couple of Jerez's most known structures.  The Alcázar is a former Moorish fortress which now houses a beautiful park.  The first of the fortresses dates back to the 11th century.  Nearby is the Catedral de San Salvador.  It was built in the 17th century and became a cathedral in 1980 by Pope John Paul II.

Apart from the sherry, we were in Jerez's for one of their
most famous creations: tocino del cielo.  It translates to bacon from heaven.  It's an iconic Spanish dessert named because of its caramelized appearance, heavenly texture, and religious origin.  Tocino del cielo was created in the Convent of the Holy Spirit of Jerez de la Frontera by nuns who were given egg yolks from their neighboring sherry producers (because sherry is clarified with egg whites).

After some internet research and advice from some locals, we knew there was only one place to try it, La Rosa de Oro - neighborhood pastelería with Spanish cakes, pastries, ice creams, and sweet drinks.  It's a place for locals to savor an afternoon snack and for kids to get a treat after school.

Hands down, their tocino del cielo was the best dessert I had on the entire trip.  I'm willing to drive back to Jerez for more of this.  I can still taste the caramelized sweet silky texture.  Seriously from heaven.

Near the pastelería was a local grocery.  It was so fun to see all the local goods found only in Spain.  You can host your own tapas party at home and not have to cook a thing!

An entrance to Alcázar

The courtyard

History and Modernity in Valencia

Valencia, Spain's third largest city, is known for the beautiful City of Arts and Sciences structures and the birthplace of paella (more on Valencia's paella in my next post about Valencia's markets).  It is a beautiful coastal city that combines history and modernity, and it's worth taking the time explore.

The City of Arts and Sciences, or Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencas, is an entertainment based cultural and architectural complex.  It is the most important and known tourist destination in the city.  The structures began in 1996, with the latest addition inaugurated in 2005.

There are currently 7 structures, including an IMAX cinema and planetarium, an interactive science museum, a landscaped walk, the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe, an opera house and performing arts center, a suspension bridge, and a covered plaza for concerts and sporting events.  It sounds like a lot and in person it's even more incredible to see the architecture and modernity.

Balancing the modernity is the appreciation of history.  The Valencia Cathedral, also known as the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia, was built between the 13th to 15th centuries.  Christians, historians, and Indiana Jones fans will find it fascinating to learn that one of the chapels in this cathedral holds one of the Holy Chalices - as in, the true Holy Grail.  Christian historians say this is evidence that this chalice is a likely candidate for being the authentic cup used at the Last Supper.  It was also used by many popes, including Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

Aside from appreciating Valencia's architecture and history, there is also plenty to eat - it's Spain, after all.  Valencia is known for their chufa nuts, or tiger nuts.  The key ingredient in horchata.  There are a few famous horchaterias in the city.  We saw two of them which are right across from each other.  Horchateria El Siglo and Horchateria Sta. Catalina.  After trying one horchata in Sta. Catalina, we reached our sugar capacity with just a couple of sips.  Wow, it's incredibly sweet, and not in a way I like at all.  If you love super sweet things, you may enjoy this.  I actually preferred the horchata in Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo in Palma, which used almonds instead of tiger nuts.  It was way less sweet and had a nuttier taste as opposed to the tiger nuts' earthier taste.

Valencia's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencas

The City of Arts and Sciences

The Roman Ruins of Tarragona

Back on the Iberian peninsula after a couple of nights on the beautiful island of Mallorca.  And back in our rental van ready for the next destination.  Barcelona to Valencia for a 350 km (217.5 miles) drive, but first a stop 100 km away in Tarragona.

Along the coastal drive, Tarragona holds one of the most significant Roman sites in the country.  The description in guidebooks say this it the stop to make to take in history.  The seaside facing amphitheatre is a bit underwhelming as it's located next to a primary school as though it's not a big deal.  But on a sunny say with blue skies, you can picture history with the Romans coming in by boat.  It is amazing to think about how this was built in the 1st and 2nd centuries, B.C.

Before getting back in the car for the last of the drive, about 2.5 hours to go, we took a break for merienda, or an afternoon snack.  We're in Spain, that means to have to have a mid-day break and eat.  We stopped at Spain's most known department store, El Corte Inglés.  Every El Corte throughout the country has a grocery in the basement and at least one restaurant on its top floors, which is perfect for a meal or snack.  The Tarragona El Corte restaurant served one of the best churros con chocolate of the trip - who would have thought it was going to be here in the department store of this town.

Roman ruins in Tarragona

Sugar rush of ensaimadas in Palma de Mallorca

2 days and 2 nights in Mallorca - that's just enough time to get a little sample of the island's specialties.  Mallorca is known for their almonds, oranges, and ensaimadas.

Ensaimadas were eventually brought to the Philippines (known as ensaymadas) by Mallorcan soldiers centuries ago longing for their region's specialty.  Mallorcan ensaimadas come in varying sizes and even topped or filled with sweets and savories.

During our two short days, we were able to squeeze in three of the more known ensaimadas stores.  Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo is a famous milk bar serving ice creams, horchatas, hot chocolates, and sweets varying from the varieties of ensaimadas to almond cakes.  Forn d'es Reco is a cute little bakery that we happen to stumble upon.  It's unassuming with plenty of sweets and savories made with love over the generations.  Their ensaimada has a unique taste of almonds in the fluffy bites.  Forn Fondo is one of the more known bake shops even promoted by Jose Andres.  I actually found this to be the least tasty compared to the other two.  There are a few more ensaimadas stores I'd love to try out, but we just couldn't handle that much sweetness in the short amount of time - a great excuse for another trip to the island.

To balance the sweetness, there are a number of restaurants and cafes scattered throughout the city, many of which are of varying European cuisines catering to the groups of tourists visiting the island.

In a tiny alley off of Central Palma, La Bodeguilla is a great stop for tapas and wine.  They serve dinner choices, but I would stick with the tapas in the wine bar area which has a fun atmosphere.  Plus, with tapas you don't get overly stuffed in one restaurant and that allows you to really get a taste of a number of places during the course of one meal.

A town like Palma is all about walking around the city, getting lost, and discovering gems like Forn d'es Reco and La Bodeguilla.

Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo

Mallorca's milk bar, dating back to 1700

Sampling the specialties: Almond milk, hot chocolate, and ensaimadas

A vacation away from the vacation in Palma de Mallorca

Time for a vacation away from the vacation.  In Spain, there's no better place for this than in the Balearic Islands.  Less than an hour away from Barcelona by plane, Palma de Mallorca has it all - beaches, mountains, shopping, culture, history, and amazing food and wine.  It's literally a breathe of fresh air coming from the hoards of tourists in Barcelona.

Mallorca is especially exciting for our family of food lovers because of the island's creation of ensaimada.  But more on Mallorcan food and our eats in my next post...

For now, a little glimpse into our 3 days and 2 nights on the island.  From walking around, and especially in driving around, you can immediately tell this is Europe's playground - just take a look at Puerto Portals, Mallorca's port with hundreds and hundreds of yachts of huge proportions.

Flying into Palma de Mallorca

Panorama of the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma

Showtime at Albert Adrià's Tickets

Ferran Adrià is the world's most celebrated chef today thanks to his legacy at El Bulli and his contributions to the modern age of gastronomy.  Just one year after Ferran began his career at El Bulli at the age of 22, his younger brother joined the staff at the age of 15.

"Without Albert, El Bulli as we know it now would never have existed," claimed Ferran.  Albert Adrià eventually became the restaurant's creative director.  Any mention of Albert always brings his brother's name into the conversation.  Albert is beyond worthy of his own name.  Jose Andres worked with both brothers in El Bulli said, "Ferran may be an incredible chef, but there is no better cook in the world than Albert."

Albert Adrià is genius in his own right.  He currently has 4 restaurants in Barcelona, with 2 more opening next year.  As soon as we planned our dates, I jumped online to book a table at Tickets.  You have to reserve 60 days in advanced online.  And the availability goes out as fast as a Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake concert (or The Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney if you want to be technical about fast selling tickets).  After 3 attempts on 3 different nights (and having to wake up in the middle of the night as soon as the next day's schedule gets online), I finally scored a lunch reservation for 4!  It felt like winning the lottery.  Now I just had to wait 60 days..

The wait is so worth it.  When you enter Tickets, you know you're going to have fun, like you just got a ticket to the coolest food carnival.

I originally reserved for 4, but our party increased to 6.. well, 6 1/2 including my nephew.  Without hesitation, but with pure friendliness the hostess immediately accommodated our increase of seats.  Eating in many high end restaurants in the U.S. and Europe, I have grown weary of arrogance among the wait-staff.  There was absolutely none of that in Spain's best restaurants.  They all welcome you like you're great friends - Tickets is no exception, in fact it's incredibly kid friendly.

The menu is an extensive list of tapas.  I'm here for one meal, so it was hard to narrow down what to order.  Our waiter offered to provide us a taste of the best - either according to our budget or until our stomachs could take no more.  No pretension nor snobbery if we had a particular budget.

We chose the stomach option, and I think I could have gone for days.  Hands down, the best celebrity chef experience.  The best food experience in the world.  And the bill came out to be waay cheaper than any other tasting menu I've encountered.

I've seen all that I want to in Barcelona (the first time was all about sightseeing, and this time was all about the food).  I'm partial to Madrid and San Sebastian where there's more of an old world culture while retaining a cleanliness.  But, my love for food will most definitely bring me back to Barcelona to experience more of Albert Adrià.  Plus, he's an incredibly sweet guy who happily obliged a photo with my family.  Stand up guy, amazing cook - there's no better combination.

Albert Adrià talking to his team

Fan girl photo with Albert Adrià!

The Setting
With these tweezers as your utensils.  Kinda works like chopsticks. 

La Boqueria in Barcelona

Back in Barcelona.  Last time, we were classic tourists walking through all of Gaudi's masterpieces throughout the city.  The city was quieter just ten years ago.  Now the city is crammed with tourists from all over the world.

For any food lover, La Boqueria is a standard.  It's one of the world's most known food markets and is definitely impressive.  It overflows with fresh produce, meats, fishes, and foods to eat on the spot.  All the products are high quality and worthy of this world class market.

Go early, you'll walk among locals and those in the food industry.  Go later in the morning and early afternoon, you'll walk among hoards of tourists.  My advice is to go early and plan on eating your way around the market as you feast your eyes on all the goods.

Bombarded with fresh produce, local goods, and colors

A Catholic Pilgrimage to Zaragoza

After a short night in Logroño full of delicious La Rioja wines, cañas of beer, and plates pintxos and tapas, it was time to get back on the road and head for the next destination: Barcelona.

But first, a brief stop along the 4 hour drive in Zaragoza.  About halfway between the two cities, Zaragoza is the 5th largest city in Spain.  After reading about the city and possible sights to check out, Zaragoza became the only city in my itinerary that did not have a food-purpose.  Instead, it was a city on our list for a Catholic pilgrimage.

Prior trips to Europe always included cathedrals, churches, etc.  All were amazing, humongous, and inspiring.  And yet after seeing five or so in a few days, they became too many and the Gothic architecture started to all look the same.  While our trip now was completely food-focused, this Catholic pilgrimage in Zaragoza was a requirement for us as a family of practicing Catholics.

Zaragoza is home to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar - the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.  In January 2, 40AD, St. James (Santiago as he is locally known) saw the Virgin Mary descend atop a marble pillar here in Zaragoza.  This was the only reported apparition of Mary before her Assumption.  On the sight of the pillar, a chapel was built by St. James a year later, followed by the surrounding churches years and centuries later which eventually became what is the Basilica today.  It the first church in history to be dedicated to Blessed Mary.

Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar

Eating in Spain's wine country

When I was last in Spain, I was just 19 and starting my discovery of wines.  Years and bottles later, I now have a huge desire to explore the different wine countries around the world.  If I'm traveling near a known and delicious vineyard - I have to stop by for a taste.

Reds from La Rioja in Spain are my favorites - they are so drinkable and pair perfectly with many kinds of foods.  Just 2 hours south from San Sebastian is La Rioja, with Logroño as the capital of the region.  Logroño is a small town with amazing pintxos, which are mostly located around 2 streets.  Just 2 streets with so many options and possibilities to eat, and, of course, to continue drinking the night away.

The beauty of pintxos crawls is that you taste a variety of specialty foods while sipping on small glasses of beer or wine in every bar.  The night is as epic as you can last.

Early start to pintxos crawling

Towed away in Pamplona

Pamplona, synonymous for the running with the bulls.  A city that's famous for their 8 day festival in July full of complete madness, bulls, crowds, and tomatoes.

What happens in the city outside of those 8 days?  Not much, at all.

So how does the city earn?  Well, let me tell you...

My itinerary for the day was a drive from San Sebastian to Logroño, via Pamplona.  Pamplona is so hyped about because of the bulls and all that tomato throwing.  Since it was along the drive, it seemed like an interesting stop.  Driving through the city and into the fortressed walls, we approached narrow streets and a policeman.  We asked the policeman in black and neon yellow where we could park to walk around the old town.  "Just outside those walls."  So that's exactly where we parked.

After an hour of strolling through the town and into the Catedral's museum, we grabbed some food for the road - fresh bread and chips to eat with our jamón purchased in San Sebastian.  Walking past the gated entrance, my heart stopped.  Our van was gone!  My first thought, "Our van was stolen with all our luggages!"  Horrified, I observed the vicinity and noticed tiny towing signs and a sticker on the ground where our van was parked.  We were towed!!

On the bright side, our car wasn't stolen.  But still, we were in a foreign country and our car was towed!  What happened to parking tickets?!  A Spanish couple told us it's a permit only area - something the policeman did not mention at all.  We called the towing company who refused to speak to my brother in English, so my mom had to speak to them.  Our only option was to find our own way to the police station.

With God on our side, a cab showed up and took us to the police station 20 minutes away.  This city and town are pretty old and you can see Spain's struggling economy in these empty streets.  There's no struggle at all at the police station.  It's modern and way too nice - with its own towing entrance.

After paying a ridiculous 130 Euro fine ($173.75 USD), we found ourselves surrounded by dozens and dozens of other towed cars - I feel their pain.  We tried to ask for why we were towed so quickly, and if there's any way we can pay a lesser amount.  "City package".  WTF.  Clearly this is how they make their money outside of the 8 days in July.  And to make matters worse, the office was filled with policemen dressed like the one who told us where to park.  Truly, it's a city package.

Gated entrances

The Mugaritz Experience

We're not stopping with just one dining experience.  No way.  This trip was designed to be epic.  The schedule for the following day: Continuing my mom's birthday with dinner at Mugaritz.

The morning of this meal, we actually called the restaurant to request moving our dining time to lunch.  We had toured San Sebastian as extensively as we intended, so we were ready to drive out to the countryside and eat another highly anticipated meal.  Fortunately, they easily accommodated our request.

If you're driving, lunch is actually a better option because of the dark roads at night.  Plus, you can enjoy the outdoor setting that surrounds the restaurant while letting the wear off the alcohol before getting behind the wheel.

Mugaritz is a true dining experience in every way.  Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz has more than earned its spot in the world's top lists.  The food showcases nature's ingredients and its seasonality with every bite full of emotion, ingenuity, and execution.  The service is phenomenal, too - Spaniards have such charm.  There's absolutely no stiffness.  You enjoy fine dining, and yet you feel like a VIP at home.  The Mugaritz experience is all about the journey that brings the food towards exceptional and perfection.

Mugaritz Tasting Menu
20+ course tasting menu.  You have a choice whether you want to keep the menu closed and have a surprise for every course, or you want to read the courses and anticipate its arrival based on the title and description.

The Arzak Experience

If you make the effort to visit San Sebastian, one of the culinary meccas in the world, you have to make the effort to eat in at least one of their Michelin rated restaurants (San Sebastian holds 14 Michelin stars with a population of just 183,000).  And if you're passionate about food, you have to try to score reservations at the world's top restaurants.

And that is exactly how I formed this trip.  Every city we visited had a food destination.  Spain has specialty foods originating from certain cities or towns.  This country birthed some of the greatest chefs in the world.

Enter, Juan Mari Arzak.  What better way to start our trip than with a dining experience from the godfather of all contemporary Spanish chefs, and, perhaps, of most western chefs today.  And what better way to celebrate my mom's birthday.  Seriously, there is no better way.

Arzak is located just outside of the central parts of San Sebastian.  You enter welcomed by a formal wait staff in traditional garments.  The restaurant is classic, simple, modern, and refined.  The staff and service have that unique Spanish hospitality that graciously makes you feel at home.

We ordered the tasting menu instead of a la carte selections because we assumed this may be our only chance eating here, our once in a lifetime experience.  After eating course after course with some "whoa - that's amazing!" bites, I have a feeling this wasn't our last time.  I could go back and eat the cromlech course and lamb course all over again.  Plus, the a la carte menu had offerings now offered in the tasting menu.  And of course, the menu constantly changes according to season and availability.

The icing to the meal and the whole dining experience was meeting Elena Arzak, Juan Mari's daughter.  She walks around the restaurant unassuming and readily welcomes guests who are eager to meet her, like at our table.  What an amazing night.

Our Tasting Menu
Printed out at the end of our meal.  Complete with our course selections, special requests, and wines for the evening.