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Adios, Espana!

Near my pension, there was a Galician restaurant that seemed to be doing good business and seemed to be reasonably priced. Galicia is the northwest corner of Spain, and is known for seafood. Since I didn't get to go to Galicia on this trip, I figured I could try a few of the specialties of that region. When I sat down, they gave me a different menu than was on the board, where all the seafood was really expensive, so I switched gears. Not sure if was after lunch or if they just pegged me as a tourist.

One popular item in Spain is ensaladilla rusa, or Russian potato salad. Normally, it would contain potato, mayonnaise, English peas, tuna or anchovy, and hard cooked eggs. I didn't get any tuna out of this version, but it was pretty good. They brought it as an appetizer, a hefty scoop, almost a pint, but they were waiting for me to finish the entire thing before bringing the steak. No, I'm ready, bring on the steak!!


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The matchsticks and fried artichokes were a nice surprise. Scallopini type cut of veal, medium.

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I did some final souvenir shopping at El Corte Ingles, which is the largest department store chain in Europe. It's named for it's origin as a tailor shop, referring to an English Cut suit. But it now it's everywhere in Spain, they carry everything including groceries, housewares, dry goods, clothing - I guess like Harrod's, but many locations. I stopped for a gelato - mandarin orange and dulce de leche. Deeelicious! Clean, specific mandarin flavor.

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More pictures after the jump...>>>

The keys sometimes look like the ones from an old movie or classic cartoon about jails and vilains and whatnot.

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I walked by a bar on a side street that seemed promising, so I went back for my last meal in Spain. Pulpo a la Gallega, or Octopus Galician-style. This is available everywhere, it's transcended it's regionality. Under the octopus is sliced potato, cooked in the same water as the octopus.

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Pan con tomate on crunchy flutes, and morcilla de Burgos - blood sausage with rice, in the style of Burgos, with piquillo pepper. I love crunchy things, so the flutes are my second favorite to coca for pan con tomate. This particular sausage was a bit too ricey for my taste, but I love morcilla anyway, and seemed a fitting finale to an amazing trip.


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Travelers pay a fee each time money is changed from one currency to another, so it's best not to change too much money so as not to end up with a lot extra at the end. And if I have just a few bills when leaving a country, I just spend it, because paying to change it back once again is just a loss. So here are some snacks I got at the airport. One last ensaimada and some sweet snacks, some salty. My airline doesn't accept cash during the flight anymore, so anything I would have purchased on the plane would have been paid by credit card anyway.


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I really didn't see enough of Spain, and even the places where I spent a few days, I only got a taste. I hope to go back to see other parts of Spain and get deeper into Catalunya and Pais Vasco on my return. It's a profoundly fascinating place, for all reasons - people, history, culture, art, scenic beauty, and of course, food. Until I return...Adios!!

Thanks for reading!

Next, New York City!!

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