Toledo Update: Food and Football

May 18th
Post Script on Toledo. We went to dinner last night and had the best meal so far in Spain. When we were on our little train ride, we went across the river for a panoramic view of the city. While we were over there, I noticed a restaurant perched on the edge of cliff with a view of the city: La Ermitage. I had no idea if it were any good. I later noticed a description in a book that it was a contemporary adaptation of traditional foods of the region. I asked our hotel man if he knew of it and he said yes and was noncommital about the quality (I think he was disappointed we weren’t eating in the hotel restaurant again).

Well, our hopes were realized. We opened the place with our 9PM reservation. Our table by the window gave us a floorshow of the city as it progressively got darker and darker and the lights of city came up. We then faced a menu in Spanish that described the unusual dishes in phrases we could only half understand. We knew what wines we wanted based on our experience with Bruce. After several other tables were settled, the maitre de told us about the dishes we thought might be of interest to us.

We shared two appetizers, both fabulous: one dish was a cross between an Italian ravioli and a Chinese fried dumpling made of shrimp and other savory bits. It was served with a sweet tomato marmalade on a dish garnished with a mild mustard sauce. Every morsel was a bouquet of tastes. Then we had a plate of cheeses like you have never seen. The slices of goat cheese were glazed with something a bit sweet and lightly toasted. There was a fried cheese and several other hard or semi-hard cheeses (like a mozzarella). These were accompanied by two soft cheese dips and some lettuce garnish with gelatinous squares. Again, each bite provided a wonderful taste experience. Our main courses were a pork dish and a cod in a light vegetable sauce. Jack ordered the hot chocolate “lava” cake that was to take 10 minutes. After 30, the maitre’de apologized that they had forgotten to put it the oven. He brought us the black and white mousse to keep us busy until it arrived! Both were wonderful. Coffee was delicious and the first time Jack found it hot enough for him. We headed home at 11:30 PM!

On our way home we heard people honking and celebrating in the street: Barcelona had beaten the French “football” (soccer) team in Paris and the country was celebrating.

I went off this morning to see the contemporary art museum listed on a map. None of the guide books had mentioned it so I asked at the hotel. They said it is not there! They suggested I go to the tourist office which I did. The two museums I wanted to see (the other about ceramics and tiles) were either being restored or closed. Ah well, I stopped at the ceramics store that I found to have the most complete selection and bought us a few plates for our collection. Now we are off for Madrid on a hazy day…tonight starts the International WOMEN’S FORUM GLOBAL CORNERSTONE CONFERENCE.