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Basking in history By staying and

dining in medieval castles, monasteries,

and churches

BY MICHAELA FENIXPHOTOGRAPHS BY CLAUDE TAYAG

A Spanish

sojourn

A view of Segovia showing part of the

wall of the old town and the spires of the

many churches located within the city.

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I t was as I imagined Spain to be. Even if we had only touched some places in this vast country—Madrid, Avila, Segovia and Galicia—each had the requisite plaza, churches, castles and convents. The red tiled roofs over our heads and the granite on the walls and under out feet contained

the country’s history that we could see, touch, and walk through. Kings and queens of centuries ago looked alive in monuments and statues, their likenesses woven into tapestries and painted into canvasses, figures that look at you, some imperious, others suppressing a smile.

What is surprising is how the well-preserved structures are brought into the modern world, making past and present co-exist, blending together, enhancing each other. And nowhere is this more evident than in the paradores.

In 1928, there was a move to promote quality tourism in Spain and the Paradores de Turismo was founded. It involved transforming convents, castles, palaces, monasteries, ancestral houses, and even

Arab fortresses into hotels. They were not meant to be ordinary hospitality structures. They were to be top-notch hotels, managed by professional hoteliers, providing contemporary amenities. While the medieval exteriors were retained, the elaborate interiors were toned down, some going almost minimalist. Then the avant-garde touches were introduced, bridging old world with new world. There are now more than 90 paradores all over Spain and more are being added. And more than 70 years since, the paradores have projected Spain’s culture into the modern era not only through their historic structures, but also their gastronomic offerings.

Gastronomy within bordersIt was at the Parador Alcala de Henares in Madrid

when the new gastronomic promotion was announced. This year, the paradores are grouped into different programs: light and fast dishes, traditional, fine dining. For cocktails there were 18 kinds of modern-day tapas representing Spain’s paradores in different regions. Dinner, on the other hand, consisted of the specialties of Alcala—sopa boba (soup of cassava and pumpkin), slow-stewed veal knuckle and costrada de Alcala, puff

The author and

photographer

posing at the

snowy grounds of

the Royal Palace

of la Granja de

San Ildefonso,

Segovia. Behind

them are the

two centenarian

sequoias, the left

one representing

the king (El Rey)

and the right,

representing the

queen (La Reina).

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pastry with meringue and almonds. Coffee and tea were accompanied by a biscuit called rosquillas de Alcala and caramelized almonds made by the nuns of Convento de las Clarisas. The Alcala parador used to be the 17th-century convent and college of the Dominicans of St. Thomas Aquinas.

At Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, the parador is called Hostal dos Reis Catolicos, built 500 years ago as a hospital for sick pilgrims who had traveled from all over Europe to the cathedral where the apostle James (Santiago) is buried. Our eyebrows arched when told that the restaurant Enxebre was once a mortuary, but we banished all morbid thoughts when the specialty—razor clams—was served. Some of these are harvested by the women of Cambados in Northern Galicia, who have been doing so for generations. The excellent shellfish was paired with the best Albariño wines from the renowned Rias Baixas D.O. (Denominación de Origen) region.

At La Parador La Granja, Casa de Los Infantes in Segovia, a colorful array of salts was displayed on the table—violet from the Balearic Islands, pink from the Himalayas, and white flakes from the mainland. Here, the traditional dishes of Segovia were served, the lamb asado and the La Granja broad beans cooked as stew. The parador is the palace built in the 15th century for the royal children of Carlos III.

And at the dining room of the parador of Avila (Raimundo de Borgoña), built over a 16th-century palace and situated within the walls of the city, we had a sampling of bean dishes, different kinds of judias en los valles de Avila, each one cooked with definite ingredients. And then a big cut of steak, the chuleta, from an Avila choto or veal, older than most veals, tastier and grilled to a perfect medium rare or al punto.

Living townsFrom the air, the plains in Spain

are dotted with towns, many built within medieval walls. The structures are mostly yellowish brown buildings

with faded red tiled roofs. We explored by foot three of those ancient

towns, walking through their narrow, winding streets. These towns are really Spain’s living museums, with people still living or doing business in old houses and buildings.

Segovia, especially, looked

familiar. Its structures recall set designs in

Spanish films like Don Quixote and even

the Disney castle that’s patterned after

the Alcazar castle. “Alcazar”

means

royal residence and fortress, still protected (though insufficiently in this day and age) by a deep moat surrounding it.

Everywhere you look in Segovia, you see the past. The huge aqueduct at the entrance of the old town is from the Roman times, an ancient engineering feat that brought water from the mountains to the town. Houses still bear the Moorish collage influence in their facades, and up until today, the Jewish Quarter is still called that even if one of the buildings is now a Catholic convent.

While the Alcazar castle is within the old town, located 11 kilometers away is the other summer retreat of the royal family, the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. At the time of our visit, the palace and its gardens were blanketed in snow, a winter wonderland. But its charm isn’t reduced during the cold months because the buildings are still magnificent in their peach hues and the treasures within are indeed worth seeing, whether they be the tapestries, paintings, furniture, Chinese art, or the sculpture collection.

The snow stayed with us in Avila, making walking on top of its medieval wall dangerous, though younger tourists did so nonchalantly. Instead we made our way through the streets, meeting modern-day monks wearing their traditional habits and shod in sandals that hardly protected their feet from the cold winter wind. Avila and Santa Teresa are always linked together. The church of Santa Teresa is not to be missed; it was built at the site of her parents’ house. Even the famous yemas (egg yolk sweets) bear her name at La Flor de Castilla, a pastry shop founded in 1860 that still serves familiar desserts: tocino del cielo, tocinitos, and tocinillo.

Churches seem to occupy a majority of the spaces in Avila. The first Gothic cathedral was built here, in the 12th century, located within the walls in the large plaza. But outside the walls, we braved a snowfall and risked slipping on frozen sidewalks to get to the Royal Monastery of Santo Tomas, built at the end of the 15th century and housing the Museum of Oriental Art where art pieces from the Dominican missions in Vietnam, China, Japan, and the Philippines are displayed.

While pilgrims reach Santiago de Compostela in Galicia by following pathways painted with yellow arrows or studded with scallop shells, we flew in from Madrid. But just to stress that this is pilgrim country, the first place we were shown was the Monte de Gozo, the end of the French route, where two huge statues point to the three spires of the cathedral, an indication of having arrived at their destination.

The cathedral is the focal point of the whole town. Look up from any point in Santiago de Compostela and the spires will direct you to the Plaza de Obradoiro on which it stands. The bells that ring every quarter of the hour remind you of its presence as well. Inside, its grand design can occupy your attention for hours—the statues that adorn the facade, the tall pillars, the angels in gold, the individual altars, the chandeliers, and the tomb of its patron, St. James or Santiago. Those who don’t have an issue with heights or scaling tall massive stairs can go up to the cathedral roof for a bird’s eye view of the city.

Below: Spain’s

first Gothic

Cathedral was

built in Avila in

the 12th century.

It’s located in the

huge plaza within

the walls (muralla)

of the city.

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The San Antonio de los Alemanes chapel in Madrid was discovered during

a walk around the city. Its frescoes were painted by Italian Luca Giordano

who was famous for his paintings at the Toledo Cathedral and at the

monastery of the El Escorial, the residence of the royal family. The chapel

served as a homeless shelter to Portuguese and German immigrants.

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But Spain knows it has to have a hold on the future to aid tourism efforts. Galicia realized this when the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao attracted many visitors to that part of the country. So the province commissioned the Cidade de Cultura de Galicia (Galician City of Culture) on Monte Gaias, designed by New York architect Peter Eisenman. It is a project of six buildings shaped like dunes and made of the colorful granite of the region. Already open to the public is the Galician library and archive.

More wondersWhile churches, castles, and monasteries are what

one expects to see in Spain, there are the unexpected that make the trip unique. Joining the mariscadores (women shell pickers), for instance, in Galicia, was an experience I had to write home about since this city girl dug for clams for the first time, not easy in the icy water.

Wines were drank with meals but the most memorable wines were the exceptional Albariño wines at Palacio del Ferfiñans with sisters Angela and Marissa Gil de la Peña showing us that the aroma and taste of their wines come from their “secret” garden of tall trees.

And we dined at the highly rated Solla, whose chef, Jose “Pepe” Solla, is the leader of the nuevo cocina (new cooking) of Galicia, a culinary movement that innovates but acknowledges the traditional roots of their Spanish dishes.

Another chef in Segovia, Oscar Hernando of Casa Silvano Maracaibo, continues the profession of his

father while giving a modern touch to the Castillan dishes his father cooked. Still, the traditional thrives in this ancient city. At Meson de Candido, the cochinillo is still being cut with a plate, done with flourish by a second generation Candido, Alberto, who afterwards throws the plate to break it. And in the Jewish Quarter, we dined at El Fogon Sefardi, situated within a 15th-century building where the decorative ceiling has been preserved. The dishes, both Spanish and kosher, were taken with kosher wine from Navarra.

As we walked through the streets of Madrid, a surprise find was what I considered “my discovery.” It was a brick building that housed a chapel, every inch of which was painted with the most beautiful frescoes. Because our personal guide, Joanna Wivell from Insider’s Madrid, didn’t know about the chapel, she was compelled to research. It is the San Antonio de los Alemanes chapel, she wrote later, and the painter is the Italian Luca Giordano who also painted the sacristy of the Toledo cathedral and the frescoes of the monastery in El Escorial, the historical residence of the Spanish monarchy. It survived destruction during the Spanish Civil War when so many churches were burnt to the ground because they provided shelter to the homeless, especially the immigrants from Portugal and Germany.

Wivell also brought us to tapas bars patronized by locals, such as La Venencia and La Trucha, and to her favorite watering hole, Café Commercial, where one of the owners, Fernando Vera, waits on customers. He served us cabello de angel (pastry with pumpkin jam)

Just one of the colorful sights on the streets of Madrid. Not only are they picture-

worthy, they invite pedestrians to see what’s behind the doors, if you dare.

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A view of the courtyard of Hostal dos Reis Catolicos, the parador of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. It was built 500 years ago as a hospital for the pilgrims.

and café con leche. And because she sensed that we couldn’t be sufficiently warmed by the different jerez (sherry) drank that wintry night, she took us to the historic Chocolateria de Santa Ines, which has been serving thick chocolate and churros since 1894.

“Churros,” “callos,” “plaza,” “cerveza,” and “jamon” are some of the terms Filipinos are familiar with. We are familiar too with the names of the saints, a testament to over four centuries of Catholicism. One of our guides said that we were easy to bring around because we were eager to finally see the country that is so much a part of our own history. Other countries that were under Spanish rule only remember the bad experiences of the colonial period, he said.

Maybe it’s our sense of humor that makes us the resilient, easygoing people that we are. Take the cookies called “Filipinos.” Some of our columnists were offended by the name and even wrote that the appearance of the cookies was a criticism of us: white outside but brown inside, and vice versa. Today these

cookies are still being sold in Madrid groceries. I bought some to bring home and also to enjoy while walking through Madrid’s streets.

There is a Spanish saying that is commonly uttered to someone who is depressed or feeling down and out, totally defeated by problems. Mas su perdio en Cuba y Filipinas y volvieren cantando. “We lost more in Cuba and the Philippines, and they return singing.” It says that nothing can be as bad as Spain losing her two colonies, yet the colonizers came home as if nothing happened.

Perhaps it’s losing us that made Spain want to preserve what it has of the past, and it is doing so excellently. Yet the Spanish have not stopped there, they are moving forward, ahead of other countries when it comes to design, tourism efforts, and cooking.

The trip was made possible by the Spain Tourism Board and Qatar Airways.

The trip was made possible by the Spain Tourism Board and Qatar Airways

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Author and photographer pose outside one of the gates of the Avila muralla or walls.

The room slept in by Pope John the XXIII when he was still Cardinal Roncalli at the Hostal dos Reis Catolicos

A view of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral from the public garden of the city

Two of the six buildings now open of the Cidade de Cultura de Galicia (Galician

City of Culture) built on top of the Monte de Gaias, Santiago de Compostela.

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(clockwise from top left) A tapas stall at the refurbished Mercado San Miguel in Madrid. The refurbished Mercado as

seen from the outside. The sign of the Parador de Alcala and (below), the modern chandelier in one of the dining rooms.

Several kinds of tapas offered at the Mercado. Razor clams cooked simply in olive oil. Another dining area at Parador de

Alcala. Yemas offered at the Mercado. (Center) At the Enxebre restaurant of the Santiago de Compostela parador.

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Food scenes in Spain (Left to right, top row) Lamb asado and tapas at La Trucha in Madrid. (Middle row) Parador de Alcala tapas and

(below), bacalao cooked by Oscar Hernando of Casa Silvana Maracaibo, Segovia and (right) a jamon shop in Madrid. Last row from

left: Dessert sampler at the Parador La Granja de los Infantes; Segovia; artichoke tapas at the Parador Alcala de Henares.

Coffee; tocino de cielo and biscuits at La Flor de Castilla, Avila; a trendier sopa de ajo at the Segovia parador.

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The grandeur of the

Cathedral of Santiago

de Compostela