Now that I have been in Spain for a few weeks, I thought I would share with you some things about traveling in this country that are important to know if you are ever thinking of  visiting. As this blog about traveling and eating, I will start with eating in Spain.

Having lunch, a glass of wine followed by siesta is great, don’t plan to do anything in the afternoon, nothing is open anyway.

Don’t expect to have dinner before 8:30pm at the earliest. Learn how to negotiate the time between the Australian dinner time of 6:00 pm and Spanish dinner time. Find something to do other than drink numerous glasses of wine, otherwise you end up getting over the whole dinner thing and going to bed. Going for a stroll with all the locals is a good idea.

Try the local dishes of the region when eating out. We are in Ávila at the moment and have tried a few dishes. Judías del Barco, locally grown white beans and chorizo soup, is to die for.

Yemas is the sugared egg yolk sweet that is a speciality of the Ávila region. It must be an acquired taste. I haven’t acquired it yet.

This is morcillo, we know it as black pudding

This is the main ingredient of a dish called  sangre encebollada.

If you see this written on a menu,

“Sangre Encebollada – Black pudding with caramelized onions”

Mmmmm sounds delicious if you like black pudding……

This  is what you get. I will leave it up to you!

Sometimes it is good to have lunch on the go instead of stopping to buy. This small kit with chopping board, serrated knife and corkscrew has been invaluable.

Speaking of which, wine in Spain (and France) has a cork, not a screw top! You will need a corkscrew.

A typical Andalucian 19th Century farm house converted to a hotel, Hacienda Minerv was our home for two nights.

Nestled amongst groves of olives it overlooks the tiny white town (pueblo blanco)of Zuheros perched on the mountain across the valley.

A dramatic backdrop to the village plaza are the remains of a castle, originally built by the Moors in the 12th century. When the area around Zuheros was conquered by the Spanish king Ferdinand it then became an important fortress for the Christians to keep out the Moors. High on the mountains above Zuheros, the cross of a shrine can be seen, hidden in the mountains are the Murcielagos Caves

A full day of exploration beckoned!