IISWAI

International Students with Awesome Ideas

Volume 2, Issue 5

August 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best way of enjoying Spain: Sangria and Tapas

Otherwise, if you don´t feel like doing “sangria” by yourself and you don´t have a chance to go to a Spanish party you can look for some “sangria” alternatives. In our country you can find many alternatives to this beverage in every pub because we are biased toward mixing wine with other things.

 

You can order “tinto de verano” (which literally means red wine of the summer, although you can find it all the year), a mixture of a red wine with a kind of sweetened soda, or even lemon soda, served with ice. This drink has less alcohol than “sangria”, so is a good alternative if you don´t want to be tipsy.

In addition, if you feel hunger you can look for some “tapas”. Do you know what a “tapa” is? “Tapa” is not a kind of food, it is a bar snack which is served for free with your drink in almost every bar.

 

I´m sure you are asking yourself how to get a good “tapa” for free. You don´t have to order it, the waiter /waitress will bring it to you, so you just have to try to find a bar full of Spanish people because the better ones are always full.

If you go to Granada it´s not hard to get a free “tapa”, it´s more difficult not to get it, but you will be asking yourself what you can get as a “tapa”. The answer is brief; you can get every kind of food you can imagine!!

 

In some bars you can choose what you want as “tapa” from a pretty big list with a great many alternatives. If this decision is up to you I speak favourably of roast suckling pig, Galician octopus (baked boiled octopus with paprika or cayenne pepper and olive oil), garlic prawns served in an individual clay pan, Iberian ham and spicy sausage, “paella” (a dish of rice, chicken, rabbit,

If you go for “tapas” to Granada you mustn´t forget to have at least one of these in Albaicín neighborhood, you can find excellent tapas´ bars in the street “paseo de los tristes” (which means path of sad-men, but don´t trust the name! it is one of the most wonderful places in the city, it is a really good place to go for a walk and think about yourself while you enjoy inspiring sights.

Skipping to the next recommended alternative I´m going to introduce you to León, one of the most historic regions of Castile & León. If you go to this city looking for “tapas” you should go to an old neighborhood, close to the cathedral, called “el húmedo” (which literally means “wet place” because of the weather of the city, given that it usually rains day in day out).

By Elisa

Page 7

When in Spain; do as the Spanish do.  If you want the best Sangria and bar food, follow Elisa (or the nearest Spanish person) into a local bar.

Have you ever heard the word “sangria”? If you have heard something about Spain and its culture probably you have heard words like: “flamenco”, “paella” or “sangria”. However, do you really know what “sangria” is?

 

If you have thought that this is a kind of drink you aren´t mistaken, you are right “sangria” is the most famous and well-known Spanish beverage. Nevertheless, I´m not sure that you really know exactly what this drink is. So I´m going to tell you what the secret of the best refreshing beverage is.

 

Probably, if you go to Spain and order “Sangria” in a bar, you will taste a not very good (mediocre) beverage made with the worst wine which you have ever drunk and I´m sure that the next day you will have a huge hangover. As well as being nothing special, it´s also very expensive, it will cost you an arm and a leg. This is the reason that why you can only see tourists drinking it (the owners of the pubs know that many tourists will pay for it regardless of price).

 

Therefore, if you want to taste typical Spanish “sangria” you need to meet Spanish people and go with them to a party or barbecue. On the other hand, even if it´s not possible to meet Spanish people you have another chance to taste this Vaco´s grape juice, you could try to make this drink by yourself, it’s quite difficult.

 

Thus, if you decide to make it by yourself you have to find suitable ingredients. You need a good red wine, it doesn´t mean that you need the best wine you have but if you use the cheapest one in the store your “sangria” won´t be very good. Indeed, if you can find Spanish wine, it will be really authentic.  You also need orange and lemon soda, a great deal of fruit (bananas, apples, oranges, melon and every fruit that you want) and cane sugar.

 

Once you have found all the ingredients it´s time to start making the recipe. First of all you have to mix the wine with the orange and lemon soda. The quantity of wine and soda depends on your preferences but we usually use half wine and half soda. The second step is to cut the fruit into small pieces and put it into the mixture of wine and soda. Then you have to add the cane sugar and stir it. Finally, the only thing left is to incorporate ice and your delicious “sangria” will be done.

In all pubs you can also order “calimocho”, which is red wine mixed with a cola drink and ice. Sometimes this beverage is mixed with blackberry liquor, but if you want to have this additional ingredient in your drink you should tell the waitress/waiter. This drink is very common with young and alternative people who don´t drink stronger alcohol.

Moreover, if you go to the south of Spain, Andalucía, you can order “rebujito”, a combination of white wine and Seven Up.

Going out and looking for a bar with good “tapas” to accompany your “tinto de verano”, “calimocho” or “rebujito” as well is a good idea for dinner. However, you ought to remember that in Spain we eat dinner after 9.00 pm, so if you go before this hour you will probably be alone at the bar and the kitchen will be closed,  so you won´t get your “tapa”.

 

If you decide go out to eat supper you should know that Fridays and Saturdays aren´t the best days for going for “tapas”.  Because most people will probably have thought in the same way as you and the bars will be crowded, and when the bars are full of customers cooks have to prepare the “tapas” too fast so the quality is just mediocre.

 

Besides the best days for going for tapas, you should know that not all cities are as good at “tapas” as others, quality is fairly different in each city. If your choice is to enjoy Spanish gastronomy outside I recommend you go to Granada, León or Salamanca (the first one is located in Andalucía, south of Spain, and the two last ones are located in Castilla y León, a northern region of the country)

With just a walk around this charming town you can see hundreds of students passing through the streets and enjoying a great many wonderful bars until late at night. So, you can join them and look for a great tapas-bar.

 

If you have a chance you should taste “hornazo”, a kind of Spanish bread roasted with spicy chorizo sausage, pork loin and eggs inside. There are many other typical and great alternatives as well that you can order, such as “farinato” (a kind of almost-white sausage made with bread, pork fat and onion), “chanfaina” (rice with eggs, meat and chorizo sausage), and cured ham from Guijuelo.

 

Spain is famous for “tapas” and if you decide to explore it by yourself you won´t be disappointed. Nonetheless, you should remember that eating and drinking in tourist towns is fairly expensive, so don´t expect to get free “tapas” anywhere, at most you will get some peanuts or shelled-sunflower seeds (by the way this is a really common snack with Spanish people).

 

As you can see Spanish people love eating and drinking. It is said that when in Rome do as the Romans do, thus, go out, eat, drink and enjoy the Spanish nightlife!

Salamanca, the third city I really recommend you to go to if you´re looking for “tapas” is an awesome place for a visit, declared a world heritage site in 1998 by UNESCO. It´s one of the most spectacular renaissance cities in Europe and it also has one of the most well-known and oldest universities of our country.

Spanish omelet (egg omelet made with potatoes, onions), “gazpacho” (cold soup made with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, bread and all the stuff that you can put in a common salad. Yes!! You´re right!! You figured it out in the right way, it is a liquid salad!!), Spanish sheep cheese or “patatas bravas”, which literally means brave potatoes (fried potatoes in spicy sauce).

Therefore, if you get my tip and you go to Albaicín neighborhood you will feel the magic of this city walking with the Alhambra (an awesome Moorish palace and fortress) in the hill behind you and hearing guitar and kettledrum music which some people play on the streets.

Moreover, this city also has an excellent tradition of flamenco, so you can enjoy your supper while you see a direct performance of this kind of music and dance.

If you go to this city you can´t leave it without tasting “chorizo” (the chorizo sausage is a typical Spanish sausage, spicy and dry, and I dare to say, unique) and “cecina” (salt-dried meat) which are handmade in this region. Don´t forget also to taste “botillo” from Bierzo, a cold and dry pork sausage even with bones!!