April catch-up

 

Besides lazing about, enjoying the great weather, what have I been up to lately? Lots, actually. I can't believe April is more than half over...feria season is just around the corner, summer is well on its way, and there's so much to do now that all of the dreary winter weather has been replaced by endless sunny skies, practically overnight. 

All that sun and playing outside has made me a bad blogger, so let's catch up. Here are some highlights from the first half of April:

-We met Spanish chef Angel León! He runs Aponiente, the (only) Michelin starred restaurant in El Puerto, where we celebrated our 6 monthiversary. 

The event was organized by the base and was really interesting - Chef León's concept is completely different than most Andalucian restaurants, focusing on the sea as a diverse and sustainable resource for creating modern versions of traditional dishes that would normally use meat. Yes, this chef is recreating the Spanish people's beloved pork products with seafood. We were immediately struck by how innovative and intelligent he is. 

Please ignore the fact that we both have terrible handwriting, like an angry 5 year old.

He explained the development of some of his signature dishes, while his team created them on the spot. Even better - we were able to taste them, along with sherry pairings! 

Coffee date

I admitted a while back (in this post) that I don't drink coffee. I have never been a coffee drinker...well, except for when I was studying abroad in Budapest and would order cappuccinos, because that's what you do when you're 20 and living in Europe. So, I have spent years starting my day with cold, crisp caffeine from a diet soda, specifically a diet Dr. Pepper. I know, so American/gross of me. 

When we moved to España, I really wanted to experience the Spanish way of life in every way (all while butchering the language with my Spanglish), but couldn't bring myself to order a simple café. While others drank coffees at the end of a meal, I would get another glass of Rioja (how's that for embracing the culture?) and be perfectly content.

Until I was out with a Spanish girlfriend, who suggested we stop for a café and I figured, why not give it a try? I mean, never say never, right? I learned to like dark chocolate. I lived in south Texas for 2 years. I married someone in the military. Crazier things have happened. 

One café con leche later and I was in love...

That means I can now happily order a café and do things like go on a breakfast coffee date with Graham and not look like a total Americana. Which is exactly what we did one weekend morning.