It is five o’clock on Friday
afternoon in Úbeda, and I am unable to post this to my blog immediately because
I am having trouble connecting the laptop to the internet. I am puzzled about
this, since the phone connects perfectly. It turns out that others are having
the same problem – some devices connect and others won’t.
After posting yesterday’s entry,
I took a tour of the ancient castle located at the end of our Parador. I only
had thirty minutes for this very interesting self-guided tour, because Phillipp
had scheduled a “sherry tasting” for our group. Actually, the wines presented
were not Sherries, but “Montillas,” another type of fortified wine from Spain.
Phillipp did the presentation, and was a fountain of information – as he is on
just about every subject that comes up on our tours (All seven of us have been
with Phillipp on the Camino de Sanitago, as well as this tour).
Following this, we adjourned to
dinner in the dining room of the Parador. The first course was ajo blanco, the
white garlic soup that we had tried previously. Having had an olive tasting a
few days ago, we applied our expertise to judging the two olive oils on the
table to accompany the bread.
The next course was a choice of
confit of duck (which I had, and which was excellent), and a presentation of
cod. Dessert was a flan, with an
accompaniment of lemon ice – an unusual pairing, but it worked well.
This morning, we had breakfast in
the Parador and were on the road by 9:30. The first part of the trip was the
steep downhill that was yesterday’s final climb. (Look back in the photo taken
from outside the city, and you can see what that climb was really like.) Then
we had to negotiate rush hour traffic in Jaen which was not the most pleasant
riding, but not difficult. Then we had the first of two long climbs today. The
payoff was worth it, with an easy descent that went on for miles and miles
through the olive groves with nary a car to be seen.
Finally, another climb up to our
destination, the monumental city of Úbeda. Toward the end, we had some rough
road, followed by cobblestone paving in the town. After dropping off my bike at
the hotel, I headed off for lunch with Manfred and had a deliciously cold
gazpacho, followed by grilled tuna topped with some grilled sweet onions.
We are on our own until dinner
this evening. We will be in Úbeda two days, with tomorrow being a rest day. We
have some scheduled sightseeing, including a visit to the workshop of a
celebrated ceramic artist, and a stop at the “Sinagoga de aguas,” the site of
what could be an ancient Jewish synagogue and its ritual bath (“mikvah”). After
that, we will be on our own.
Saturday morning – still no WiFi
access.at the hotel.
Friday night’s dinner was
elaborate and excellent. As usual, we opened the restaurant at 8:30 pm. First,
were the platters of finger food to be shared. I can’t remember all, but they
included a sheep’s cheese, salsichon (a cured dried salami-type sausage),
chorizo, and Iberian ham. Then came a pate of sea scorpion accompanied by a
creamy sauce of sea urchin roe, followed by some delicious grilled white and
green asaparagus. There were four options for the main course: baked hake,
seared tuna, entrecote, or “caudillo” (pork elbow). Manfred and I had the tuna
(for the second time in one day). Unfortunately, it was way too salty for our
taste. I tasted Phillipp’s caudillo, and it was excellent. Dessert was a small
piece of flan accompanied by a wonderful raspberry sherbert (that unusual
pairing, again.)
Breakfast was supposed to start
at 7:30. I was the first one down, and they weren’t really ready until about 8.
Although I wasn’t very hungry, I enjoyed the attentive service and took my
time. No need to worry about getting ready for a day of cycling.
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