Supermarket Sweep

The foreign foods sections of supermarkets - to me, a place of wonderment. A place where you can procure weird and wonderful ingredients from across the world and learn about the food habits of other cultures. At home in England, I'm always drawn to the Thai and Indian food sections - with ingredients I've never heard of let alone attempted to prepare. I've always wondered if natives of these exotic lands would think of these shelves as an accurate representation of their homeland, of the flavours, comforts and memories associated with their cuisine.

The answer to this question, which had never been more than a fleeting thought in Sainsbury's, hit me in the most unusual of places: in the Carrefour Superstore in Camas, Seville, when I was faced with the 'English' shelves in their foreign foods section.

It is interesting when you are faced with the things that someone in a supermarket HQ has deemed representative of your country. I have to say I was fairly impressed. I think we English people are a fairly simple race, and we're easily pleased (proved by how much I squealed when I saw the comida inglesa sign).

Things that are representative of English food according to Carrefour:

Kettle chips

Cider (Bulmers, Magners and Strongbow) - good show!

Various Jams

Various kinds of chocolate chip cookie

Short bread

Fig rolls

Tea time biscuit selection

Teacakes

Porridge oats (unfortunately not Ready Brek)

Breakfast cereals (including Weetos and Alpen, but not Cornflakes or Weetabix)

John West Tinned Tuna and Salmon

Marmite

Tetley Tea

Sunpat Peanut Butter

Bisto Gravy

Branston Pickle

Baked Beans (both Branston and Heinz)

Heinz Salad Cream

Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup

Heinz Hot Sauce (3 varieties)
Jacobs crackers

Think that pretty much sums us up doesn't it?? Apart from the addition of a full on Roast, Pie or Fish Chips and Mushy Peas, I thought they did pretty well.

 I couldn't help picking up a few treats from my supermarket sweep:

1. Branston Pickle: I had a real craving for a cheese and pickle sandwich even before I left the UK. I made one to take as a little packed lunch on my Easy Jet flight over and left it in the car. Devastated is not even the world. As soon as I saw it there on the shelf, I knew I had to have it! The most expensive of the purchases, it set me back €2.10

2. Jacob's Fig Rolls: Not everyone's favourite biscuit but I have serious food jealousy issues when my boyfriend admitted he'd bought and consumed and entire packet one day last week. Pricey, pricey, compared to the own brand ones you can find at home, at €1.76

3. Strongbow Cider: I go to uni in the West Country - Cider is pretty much a food group there buts not something you see regularly outside of the UK. It was the cheapest of the 3 ciders on offer, and the cheapest purchase I made at €1.27.

Worth it? Most definitely!

Elsewhere in the supermarket, I also found many delights (of the Sunny variety) that are no longer on sale in the UK. That is what childhood memories are made of:

I even managed to pick up an old favourite from my time in Mallorca, Sobrasada (a spicy meat spread).

Though not a patch on the homemade, farm fresh originals I used to get on the Island, it made a nice Spanish breakfast alongside some jamon and tomatoes!

Do you think Carrefour got it right? What products would you add to their shelves?

52 lists: List the things you want to make

1. A cup of tea to warm my chilly hands!
   
2. better use of my time - I'm such a procrastinator/lazy bum! I have a pile of dissertation work and Spanish books to work through but spend my life clicking through the internet mindlessly, or spending a million hours to perfect on one tiny task.
   
3. at least 100 DIYs for a whole range of things - from light up headboards to cross stitch necklaces! I always favourite them but never get round to actually making any of them: 1. I don't have anywhere to put interior design related DIYs (which are my faves) and 2. I am horrifically clumsy and would probably do myself and injury with any kind of craft tool.
   
4. banana cupcakes - unfortunately someone ate the last banana, dammit.
   
5. new friends through new hobbies - though I'm not sure 9am fitness classes are the best form of socialising!
   
6. more amazing memories during my year abroad - I'm planning a list of road trips as long as my arm to explore the south of Spain, when they will come to fruition nobody knows!
   
7. a game plan - as the end of third year comes creeping, the dreaded word career has to enter my vocabulary as the prospect of fourth year job applications loom. More importantly, I have to plan how we're going to celebrate my lovely Mr's special birthday later this year, and a holiday to celebrate graduation when it finally rolls around.

The 52 Lists project is organised by Ema over at Made in Hunters. See her list here.

My latest crazy project: The Lonely Planet Restaurant Challenge

My first two experiences of tapas here in Seville left a lot to be desired. 

I followed the advice of my boss. She told me never to visit an empty bar - the Spanish flock to where the food is best, whether there is a wait or not. Fairly sound advice, you'd think.

Typically, I must have chosen the only two tapas bars in the whole of Spain where this was not the case...cue inedible aliños (cold, seasoned dishes) in one bar and extortionately over-priced wine and jámon in another.

Disillusioned, I turned to my students for help. Questions of 'where is your favourite place to eat in Seville?' were met with a cacophony of negative responds: ' It's too expensive to eat out in Seville', 'Eat before you leave the house and then you won't be disappointed', and even the blasphemous 'McDonald's is just fine when you're sightseeing'! 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing!! This is the Mediterranean! Spain is the land of olive oil, jamón, paellas and mouth watering stews! Surely, in one of the most popular city break destinations in the country, there must be eateries to suit all budgets showcasing la auténtica España.

My last and only hope was old faithful.

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Lonely Planet - the holy grail of guidebooks.

In the past, it has led me to many a backstreet gem - most notably my favourite cafe in all of St Petersburg, Loft Project Etagi, a multifunctional hostel, come gallery, come cafe housed in a former bread factory. It has proved itself to be a useful companion on many a journey, so it was time to take the plunge for this one. Though Seville doesn't have a city guide of its own, it has a sizeable chapter in their Andalucía book (which is downloadable chapter by chapter in pdf from their website).

Lonely Planet had managed to dedicate a fairly healthily sized portion of its Seville space to restaurants with all manner of budgets in mind - perhaps they know something my students don't! Separated by district, the recommendations all have street addresses, a Euro rating to show you price ranges and forewarning of any closures.

23 weeks, 27 restaurants and 3 bars. Can it be done? I guess, we're going to find out.

I have set my self the challenge to eat my way around Lonely Planet Seville...
and you lucky people are coming along for the ride.

I'll be posting reviews of all the restaurants I visit and you can keep track of my progress on my challenge page above. So here goes...

The List.

Eating:

Barrio de Santa Cruz, Alcazár and Cathedral

Vinería de San Telmo

Catalina

Casa Tomate

Restaurante Engaña Oriza

Cafe Bar Las Teresas

Corral del Agua

Restaurante La Albahaca

Extraverde

Álavaro Peregil

Bodega Santa Cruz

Horno de San Buenaventura

El Arenal

Enrique Becerra

Mesón Cinco Jotas

Mesón de la Infanta

Mesón Serranito

El Centro

Los Coloniales

Santo Restaurante

Bar Alfafa

Robles Laredo

Bar Europa

Confíteria La Campana

El Rinconcillo

Triana

Café de La Prensa

Casa Cuesta

Ristorante Casa Nostra

Alameda de Hércules

Duo Tapas

Bar-Restaurante Eslava

Drinking: 

Baños Árabes Tetería

Bulebar Cafe

El Garlochi

Taking up something for Lent.

So yesterday was Pancake Day. Held every year on Shrove Tuesday, we spent the day gobbling down as many pancakes as we can stomach (or maybe others take a more moderate approach?).

Pancake day always holds happy memories for me. Our pancakes were an after school affair - my Grandad was always in charge of the main event (the pancakes themselves), but we were in charge of our own fillings (think a literal sugar mountain with as little lemon as I could squeeze). I always loved watching him flip them and I am now rather practised in the art myself.

As such, I couldn't let the day go unmarked...

 Smiley fillings: the tradition lemon and sugar, banana and nutella

 Sheer lemony perfection - with a lemon picked from the tree outside my window, dont ya know! Unfortunately, the banana and nutella ones didn't survive long enough for the camera to get a look in.

Pancake day is traditionally about getting rid of rich foods before you give them up over the period of Lent (of course, back in the day, butter and eggs were luxuries!). Many people take up lent related challenges of giving up chocolate or going veggie, but, lets face it, no one really wants to go without and most will cave before the week is out. 

I read somewhere that it only takes 30 days to make something a habit so instead of giving up something for Lent, I thought why not take up something and make a change.

So here goes, announcing to the internet that I will go to Pilates class two mornings a week starting next week...

If you see me online on Wednesday or Friday mornings between 9am and 10am, shoot me.

52 Lists: List the ways you can love yourself more

It's a sad reality that in today's society the hardest person to see the best in is yourself.

If we heard a friend saying negative things about herself, we'd be the first to come up with a million reasons why she was wrong yet we don't think twice about our inner negativity and the way we beat ourselves up. Sometimes it seems like we have a vendetta against ourselves.

These last two lists have been the hardest for me. List your best qualities? What qualities?! It was far easier to reel off 101 bad qualities and that list was a fairly half-arsed attempt at finding anything to be proud of. As for this list, I can see what would benefit me in the long run - not a list of quick fixes but a list of lifelong habits that need to be broken. It will take motivation and hard slog - both of which I have little energy for at the moment, but I hope one day soon, I'll stop fighting with myself so much, take a breath and reassess.

Without further ado,

1. Stop the worrying from holding me back.
2. Take a bit more care of my body - a better diet, a bit more exercise.
3. Have a mental cleanse - out with the negativity, being thankful for what I have and putting wheels in motion for the future.
4. Stop with the perfectionist problems - I'm only human after all. 
5. Take some time out for calm before bed, switch off and read.

Do these things resonate with anyone else? How have you shaken yourself out of these bad habits?

The 52 lists project is organised by Ema over at Made in Hunters. See her list here.

Spanish Life Lessons 3

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Even if there are five phone masts in your village, none of them will be for your network.

Yoigo is the 3 mobile of Spain - don't expect signal this side Mars. 

Plaza de España y Parque de María Luisa

This, my friends, is the Plaza de España (Spanish Square) - isn't she a beaut! After a week of dreary,grey skies and showers, we were gifted this blue sky Sunday. And what better way to spend it than a stroll in the park? Located in Parque de María Luisa, the Plaza de España was built for the Ibero-American Expo of 1929, when the countries of Latin America and Spain joined forces to celebrate what it meant to be Hispanic.

The Plaza itself is not actually square at all! The buildings form a semi-circle around a great paved expanse with a fountain in the middle, framed by this beautiful artificial river. The curved building is said at its simplest to echo the bullring, an iconic symbol of Spanish culture. At its most complex, the semi-circle is meant to represent an embrace - Spain giving the Americas a hug of eternal friendship *cute*!

 You'll find many an amateur row-boater out on the river! At only 5€ for 35 minutes, I'm sure you'll find me in there re-enacting that classic Bridget Jones scene, at a later date. If you want to take the muscle power out of the romantic gesture, motor boats are also available for 11€, though the ladies will be much more impressed by your oared labour of love (trust me!).

Coincidently, I happened to be visiting on Seville Marathon Day. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the runners taking on 26 miles in 25 degree heat, even if it is the flattest marathon in Europe! As a bonus for spectators and runners a like, there was free entertainment lining the most iconic parts of the route. I very much enjoyed the rock style of Conejo, the band pictured above. Conejo translated means Rabbit - kind of an oxymoron for a band who surely wants to be more edgy that a cute fluffy bunny.

Crossing one of the bridges across the river, brings you in to mosaic territory. 

Around the Plaza are mosaics representing every region of Spain. The floor tiles show a location map of the area and the wall mosaic shows a historical event or interpretation linked to the area. This particular one shows the Balearic Islands (my first Spanish home). Every mosaic seems more beautiful than the next! Each section is flanked at either end by representations of Seville (there are around 6 Seville mosaics in total) showing everything from Roman Seville to famous monuments!

You can enter the buildings and climb on to the balconies to get a birds eye view. Today, the Plaza de España houses some of the regional government departments and administration buildings.

I absolutely love these tiles. Their pearlised sheen just caught the sunlight and sparkled.

Exploring the rest of the park is a must in good weather. The Parque de María Luisa was originally park of the gardens of the Palace of San Telmo. In 1893, they were donated by their owner Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, and became the wonderful place we know today.

A great way to explore is using these wonderful contraptions. There are various sizes to fit even the biggest of groups and, running on pedal power, they keep you in shape! They are more for novelty value however, as the park is small enough to tackle on foot. I didn't catch the price - the huge queues were obscuring the sign - but I assume, like the boats, they were pretty reasonable.

This cute little bandstand style building and the edges of the lake were surrounded by keen duck feeders (be sure to bring scraps for the Swans!). One excited puppy decided he wanted to take a dip to make friends with a duck - there was quite a commotion as he swam after the duck and his owner swam after him. Best keep dogs on a lead!

Can't beat a lion fountain.

Definite photo ops by the waterfall! It was nice to capture families making memories. 

At the opposite end of the park to the Plaza de España is the Plaza de las Americas. Here you can see three imposing buildings demonstrating the different architectural styles of Spain - Mudéjar, Royal and Gothic. 

The Royal Style.

The Mudéjar style, which now houses the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs. The museum is free to all citizens of the European Union, but is quite a strange collection of objects. The only part of the exhibition worth seeing are the workshop recreations, which show the tools and layout of workshops of Spanish traditional crafts and products. The rest of the collection consists of traditional household objects and lace - not my cup of tea.

The Gothic style building houses the Museum of Archaeology, which I didn't get a chance to look around (will save that one for a rainy day).

I enjoyed my stroll around the Parque de María Luisa - only wish I'd bought a picnic!

Until next time,

With love from Seville x