Spanish Food

When I think of Spanish food, the first thing that comes to mind is paella and tapas. While paella originated in Valencia, I've come to the understanding that it's a common and popular dish throughout all of Spain. I'm looking forward to trying as many varieties of paella as I possibly can, especially ones including seafood! I eat a decent amount of seafood at home and I can't wait to take advantage of the exquisite variety of seafood available here. I don't care if it has ten legs or is covered in tentacles, if it's edible, I'll try it!

When I think of Spanish food, I also think of jamón ibérico. I've never had the opportunity to try any, but I cannot wait for the opportunity here! Today I learned that pork is the primary meat consumed here, which makes sense when I think of how famous Spain is for its ham. Something I didn't know, however, was that chicken is very rare. I think I took the availability and widespread consumption of chicken in the United States for granted, so I was surprised to learn how rare it is here.

Tapas, of course, are also one of the major food "attractions" of Spain. That brings me to my first tapas experience! Andy was very generous and offered to take our class out for tapas this afternoon. We went to Bambú, a fantastic little place that I'm sure I never would have found on my own (Thanks Andy!). My tapa consisted of a toasted piece of bread with a huge piece of cheese and what I believe were caramelized onions and a sweet tomato sauce. ¡Delicioso! To go with it, I had a glass of Sangria- very refreshing. I think the invention of the concept of "buy a drink, get a tapa" has to be one of the best ever. I know I'll be taking advantage of that during my 6 weeks here!

I've also made a habit of taking a picture of everything that I eat while in a foreign country- so look for awesome food pictures coming up throughout the rest of my blog!!

¡Hasta pronto!
Sarah