An Evening in Puerto & the Casa Flores Review

Last night, Matt and I headed out into el Puerto de Santa Maria for an adult beverage, good dinner, and just to enjoy a gorgeous Spanish summer Saturday night.

We decided to splurge a tad and try the hoity-toity Casa Flores. The vino blanco del casa (house white) was DE-lish, the lobster soup was yummy, and our meats were cooked to perfection. BUT... did we over pay for traditional Spanish food? Most Americans would say yes upon seeing that 20$ meals still come served with french fries! I say yes... and no. Yeah it was pricey, but you've got to understand that you're paying for ambiance and service too. The camareros (waiters) were significantly more prompt and attentive than the laid-back "I make salary" servers you tend to encounter in other establishments. On the other hand, some of the dishes on the carta (menu) can probably be found in a similar fashion for a lower price at other mesons, parrillas, restaurantes... etc. SO, I say that over paying at Casa Flores depends a bit upon what you order. Go with the veal, leg of lamb, lobster, or high-end fish dishes to get your euros' worth.

After dinner, we did decided the night was still young. :) I love the outdoor evening markets, so I dragged Matt along for a little shopping. I'm always a sucker for the African goods.
We ended a fabulous night with a couple games of darts and gelato. I'd love to say that I beat Matt, but it was just embarrassing. Last night was NOT my night for cricket.

POD "Time For a New Frying Pan"

Ummm yeah. This is a pathetic excuse for breakfast. In my years of cooking... I still can't seem to master eggs. I can't make a damn omelet without it falling apart. I mean, normally, I can atleast make myself a couple over easys without breaking the yolk but something went wrong this morning. I'm thinking either A) the burner was on too high, B) my frying pan is getting a little shoddy or C) I just lack the finesse for eggs. I'm going to go with B: frying pan, because... well, it just makes me feel better. :) This has been my one and only frying pan since I won it as a "you suck, but we'll still give you something for trying" prize on The Price is Right four years ago. Time for a new pan? I think so! The price is WRONG pannnnnnn!!!! ;)

POD "La Luna"

The big beautiful full moon was amaaaazing last night. Too bad the photo does it no justice. Ah well, you'll just have to come visit to see it in person. ;)

PsOD "Happy Anniversary to US"

The POD today is more like a PsOD (photos of the day) since I couldn't pick just one! Happy Anniversary Mateo!!! I cannot believe that it's already been FOUR whole years!!!
One of the first pics of us taken together. :) Just dating... Matt's first trip to Maine to meet the 'rents.
Two years later we got hitched!

Matt proudly showing off his ring while driving on our honeymoon/roadtrip across the west!

Just the two of us... so young... starting our long life together. :)

The Algarve Coast of Portugal

Well, if it appears I have neglected the blog a tad this week, you are right! The last two weeks have been very busy with Navy happenings, Matt's birthday, going away to portugal, and then our anniversary this week. Great times, just very busy!

This blog post is just a taste of the pictures I took during our trip to Portugal this past weekend. It was a quick weekend, over on Friday and back on Sunday, but it was worth it. We headed only about 3 1/2 hours away to the Algarve coast of southern Portugal. The Algarve coast is known for it's rocky, cliff strewn coastline dotted with small secluded beaches. Matt picked out a great hotel that was only blocks away from one of Portugal's most famous beaches: Dona Ana (PS. there should be a ~ over the n on Dona... but i'm too lazy to do it... and NO my old ass computer doesn't have the now standard ctrl shortcut keys, so please don't leave me a page long comment as to how to do it!)

Anyway, Dona Ana beach was great, our evening in Lagos was great, the food was great, and on the way home we even stopped at Fiesa (a giant sandsculpture competition held annually) which of course, was also great! Here's a few pictures. You can see all of them on my facebook page. I can't wait to get back to Portugal and get me some mo' PIRI PIRI chicken! YUMMO!

POD "A Party for Matty"

Just a quick shot in between packing for our next adventure, 2 nights on Portugal's beautiful Algarve Coast. Last night Matt and I celebrated his birthday with a few neighbors. (Oh yes, I donned one of these stylish hats for the fiesta.) Anyway, the beer was cold, the burgers were yummy, and the cake was... ahem. The CAKE was... Well... I'm not sure because I didn't get any, but I am assuming by the bowl I found... it was delicious!!! ;)

POD "A Trip to the Eye Doctor"

Sooo on Thursday, Matt had his usual yearly check ups. This, of course, included a trip to the eye doctor. What this annual festivity DOESN'T ususally include is a pupil dilation. :) Being blind myself, I am very familiar with this fun procedure. Matt, on the other hand, had never been "dilated." So when he strolled home with his sweet paper sunshades and creepy creature eyes... I knew what I had to do. PHOTO OP! :)Don't worry, I turned off the flash. OH and PS: SOMEONE NEEDS GLASSES!!! (That photo to come in a future POD.)

POD "Flor Loca"

What kind of crazy flower DARES to grow in the dry, Spanish summer heat without a little love from sprinklers every night?! THIS ONE. Seriously, we haven't had rain for probably 2 months. All my damn gardens (which I must add, I water by hand NIGHTLY) are starting to resemble tumbleweeds and this white wildflower and his buddies are growing happily in the pine forest, not even phased. Don't worry. I'll eventually figure out how to keep plants alive here. I'll figure it out... just about when it's time to leave! ;)

Scenes From a Pueblo Blanco: Vejer

Today Matt and I returned to Zahara de los Atunes beach (my favorite), but this time we went along with some friends! We introduced them to a great beach and they promised to show us a fantastic little spot for our late Spanish lunch!

After a few hours in the sand and sun, we traveled the short 10 minute drive to Vejer, and snaked our way up to the small cliff-clinging pueblo blanco. WOW. Our moroccan/spanish lunch was amaaaaazing and the atmosphere did not disappoint! I won't even attempt to explain it, because I'm not nearly a good enough writer (or photographer for that matter) to do it justice. Even the super-quaint hotel where you could find this hidden gem of a restaurant was great. It didn't take much time for me to decide that I would be sharing this place with future guests! (ahem Trin and Ryan, ahem madja ahem)

After lunch, before the food induced comas set in too deeply, we managed to do a bit of exploring. I might have taken a few pictures. What's new, right? :) Anyway, most of these don't even need captions. I just want you to sit back and enjoy some scenes from a pueblo blanco.

POD "Nothing Beats a Baby Butt"

After a long day in the sun, this little man was pooped! Literally! Someone needed a diaper change! BUT when exploring the rustic pueblo blancos of Southern Spain, you're lucky to find a bathroom, let alone a bathroom big enough to make the sometimes complicated diaper swap. So, most (smart and adaptive) mommies quickly learn that any semi-secluded flat surface will do!
Our friend's adorrrrrable baby boy took the change like a champ, but decided before getting dressed that he would enjoy some "freedom" and the Vejer view. Thankfully, my camera was handy and mommy gave me the OK to snag a shot of what we ALL decided was DEFINITELY the photo of the day! Beautiful pics of Vejer are to come soon... but let's be honest: nothing beats a baby butt! ;)

POD "A Glowing White Critter"

Do you see that glowing white critter in our yard? That would be Takoda basking in the rays of a beautiful 95 degree day! HAHA! I love it. Whenever I tell someone that I have a Husky here in Spain they say something like "Ohhh, poor boy, he must be DYING in that heat." RIGHT. He followed me out to the swing for some mommy-Koda time, but when I eventually retreated to the comfort of the air conditioned house, he decided he needed a few more minutes on that side. ;) Crazy boy.

POD "The Face of VICTORY!!!"

Yesterday was a victorious day. Yesterday, for the first time in LORD knows how long, I ran 4 whole miles. FOUR! (This of course was AFTER I had already walked the puppies 2 miles at 7:30 AM before it got too warm.) It wasn't very fast, and it wasn't very pretty... but I just kept my feet moving and I did it! I hope this is the first of many 4 mile jogs. I also hope that my post-jog look is a little less purple and sweaty in the future. ;)

Silly-ness in Sanlucar

Last Friday night, Matt and I headed into Sanlucar for their famous horse races. For those of you who don't know, these horse races are held only a couple times a year right on the beach when the tide is at its lowest. The beach is roped off, a ginormous big top party tent is set up and the crowds flock to the beach to place their bets and watch the horses.

Well, when we arrived, we discovered the horse races weren't until Saturday. Bummer. Ah well. Not letting it get us down, we headed for the center of Sanlucar for some exploring, tapas and drinks! :) It ended up being a pretty great Friday night. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

Matt enjoying a cold cerveza. We took a spot in the shade outside under the large canopy that stretched as a roof over the alleyway.Lots of tapas options... but it's still too early! No hot tapas till 8:30. No worries, as long as they have beer! ;)No barstools here! Matt standing at the counter of a typical Spanish bar. That is aging cheese and legs of "jamon" on the wall behind him.A shot of the bar (pig legs and all).Just a close up of the Jamon. It was delicious! No really, it's not just strange Spanish decor! They serve plates of this to customers!.Did you cross your eyes in that picture, Matthew?That's it. I'm keeping an eye on you for this one.The barrel from which our Sanlucar Manzanilla was poured! Okay one more picture before we grab some tapas for dinner.UMMM I lied. THIS is the last picture. I have been wanting to get a picture of this for a while now!! You see, Matt and I were headed to dinner and we noticed a woman putting on her helmet as she approached her moped. However, JUST before she got on, her fluffy pup hopped up ready to go! Needless to say, I asked the lady if I could snap a pic of her pooch! She was okay with that, but sadly, took herself out of the photo. Ah well, one of these days, I'll get one of these moped-riding doggies in action!

POD "Da 'KEETS!"

AHA!!!!

I HAVE FINALLY CAPTURED A PICTURE OF THE ELUSIVE WILD PARAKEET!!! MUAHAHA!

Okay, okay... so the picture isn't all that good. BUT I DID get the picture! I'm telling you, they are a bit cagey and hard to get within a good photo-taking range. Not to mention I had a big white wolf-looking dog chomping at the bit to see what we were sneaking up on, and a short black dog twisting the leash in circles around my legs, clueless of what was going on entirely. :) SO cut me some slack. I got 2 1/2 more years here. I'll work on a better photo of the 'keets. ;)

The Gardens: "Un trabajo en progreso"

The gardens in the front yard have been a trabajo en progreso (work-in-progress). In fact, they STILL are in progress! When we first arrived to Spain and picked our house, there wasn't much to the front yard! However, in a way, we were grateful there were no gardens dug by the previous occupants. This allowed us to design and dig our own gardens wherever we wanted them! Yeah, it's sort of a silly investment since we'll be leaving in a few years, but I just LOVE gardens and love gardening. Thus: I give you stage two:


Plants aren't cheap, so I started with just a few basics. My gardener was nice enough to dig the gardens and plant most of the plants for me. He also added in a few plants of his own that he brought by. The daisies (for example). How nice! Well, I thought the daisies were a great idea at first, but little did I know that they were drought-tolerant and would THRIVE into a giant bushy wall of daisy-ness. This pic was taken shortly after the daisies went in, but within a month, you couldn't even SEE the rest of the garden! My baby hibiscus (believe it or not, they are in that garden) were being EATEN by the ferocious daisies. Also, within a month from these stage two photos, half of my marigolds and other cute flowers circling the bush were looking a little sparse and brown! Grrrrr. Let me please add that on my daily "to-do-list" is watering the gardens!!! Every night, I stand out front with a hose, (probably being watched by my neighbors who are thinking "why the hell is she watering those dead flowers") giving my thirsty gardens love... and still... crap. They looked like crap. OH but not the daisies. The wall of daisies was doing just GRRRREAT. Damn daisies.

SO yesterday, I did what I vowed I wouldn't do: put more money into gardens. That's right. I took a trip to my favorite store, El Lago, and got sucked into the usual black hole of spending. ("Eh, what's another Euro!?"...as I drop my 8th cactus into the cart.) I will note, however, that this trip was not without a lot of thought and planning. I did some research online and officially decided that I would stop trying to grow a New England garden while living in Spain. SO, after much anticipation, I give you my drought-tolerant-easy to maintain-Spanish-jardin!
You can finally see my beautiful hibiscus again, and I will NOT be letting my jardinero bring daisies any where NEAR them! As previously mentioned, I purchased a sh*tload of baby cacti. Did I ever tell you I LOVE cacti? MAN I love cacti. (Hard to see, but they are in there! Zoom in by clicking on the picture)
Anyway, I am excited to see how they do living outside and how fast/slow each type grows. Seriously, if I can't grow a cactus, I give up. Anyway, I'll be taking another picture before we leave in 2 1/2 years to see how much they've changed.

Oh, and yeah, at this time, the other garden remains relatively unchanged. Took a few dead plants out, put a few others in. If you find yourself bored, do a little rain dance for my marigolds... er... something... ;)