Tapa Hopping = Hot Date
Last Friday night Matt and I got a sitter and went Tapa Hopping. This is something he has done several times already but I hadn't had my turn yet. Tapas are basically a small portion of appetizers and are served with different drinks, should you choose to do that also. You hop to different restaurants/bars throughout the town eating appetizers. On this night, we decided to park on base, just inside the gate, and walk into town. I'm so glad we did this because it's very difficult to find parking in town and it just felt so European to walk directly into Rota.
Here I am just outside the base gate.
Matt led me to the boardwalk that lines the beach front. We started at a plaza that I thought was beautiful. You can't see anyone else in the picture, but there were several people sitting and walking too.
Here I am at the plaza on the boardwalk, starting our night.
It was cool out once the sun started setting.
We walked along the boardwalk for quite a while as Matt pointed out the remains of an old castle, several restaurants he had been to, we wondered through a fresh fish market and tried not to gag at the sight of huge tunas and octopus and other ghastly looking sea creatures fresh from the boats.
Finally, we headed into the town streets. Our first stop was to eat cuttle fish (spelling unknown) which Matt claims is his favorite. I wasn't too impressed but it was alright. I'm not a big sea food eater to begin with, so Matt made sure not to tell me what I was eating until I had already taken a bite.
Cuttle Fish
From there, we walked through an old church, admiring the architecture and stonework. Then, he took me to another one of his favorite stops to eat shark.
Now, this was GOOD! I'll go back for this tapa again!!
Most meals/tapas are served with bread, like in this picture. You'll notice the hard crouton looking things on the other side of the fork...those are served with each tapa/drink. They don't have much flavor. I should note that Spanish food doesn't have a lot of spiciness to it. I thought it would be more like Mexican food with spicy/hot flavors, but it's not like that at all. There are a lot of flavors, but not spiciness.
Here I am enjoying that shark! Don't I look relaxed :)
We continued to wonder through the streets of Rota but didn't stop for any more tapas. We would have, but a sitter was at our house reading a book while the kids slept and costing us 10 bucks an hour. I'm still amazed at how even at 11 o'clock at night, when we were strolling back to the base under the cover of night, entire families were still out, babies, kids, grandparents, EVERYONE, as if it were 5:00 pm in the United States! I was happy to be out withOUT my kids, knowing that when I got home they would all be sleeping soundly in their beds :) We finished our night walking hand in hand back to base, but not in a hurried way, in a relaxed, "we're on vacation" sort of way. I like that.
Sunday Lunch
Sunday, after church, we ate at Las Tanijas (for our second sunday in a row). There is a lot we like about this restaurant!
In the states, when you go to a mexican restaurant, you can usually count on getting chips and salsa served to you as soon as you sit down...no charge, just part of the meal. Well, in Spain, we have olives served at almost every restaurant. Olives and olive oil are a BIG deal here, so I thought I should take a picture to show you what they look like when served. You'll notice the seeds on the side of the dish. I liked these olives. I don't like all the olives though and there are MANY different kinds, as I'm learning.
I mentioned, Cafe con leche in a previous post...well, this is what I'm talking about. Most times it's served in a small clear glass. SO GOOD. We don't always, but both Matt and I had one with our meal.
Here I am totally enjoying the experience.
And...here's Matt totally making fun of my previous pose.
I explained before that bread is served with most meals and tapas. At this restaurant, they serve it warm and broken up in small pieces. You pour olive oil (see that above my plate) on it to soften it. The kids like this a lot, with the olive oil too.
Better picture of the olive oil :)
Okay, this is SO GOOD but not the best FOR you...
papas fritas ali oli (pronouned, owlie olie).
Basically, it's fried potatoes with some super yummy cream sauce. I think this was Abi's favorite! I only allowed myself a few small bites because there was still so much more coming to the table to eat!
The waiter must have remembered how much we liked these the previous week because he gave them to us "on the house" (for free).
Another favorite of mine...pimentoes fritos (hope that's the correct spelling).
Fried Peppers. All you do is put olive oil, peppers, and salt in a pan for about 20 minutes and you have the best tasting stuff you've ever had!!!!! After we paid an obscene amount of money for these, Matt went to the commissary (base grocery store) and bought some for us to make at home. Same taste, MUCH cheaper!!!
The grand finale...
Brushetta! Basically, a shish ka bob but the chicken is wrapped in bacon. You can also get shrimp and some sort of beef and pork (they LOVE their pork here, more about that in another post) but I've only had the chicken. See how they hang it upside down? Cool. At the bottom, under the brushetta are fried potatoes, again, not good FOR you, but when the juice from the veggies and meat drip on them, they melt in your mouth. I only had one, don't worry.
Close up view of my Brushetta.
Hope you enjoyed your tour of Rota, Spain with me today. Tapas Hopping and Las Tanijas are a lot of fun for me. There's still so much more to do and see here in Europe! I can't wait to do it all.
Lovin' my sweet life,
Elizabeth
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