11/18/2010 & 11/20/2010 snacks in Tangers, Morocco and Belem, Portugal

during our walking tour of the kasbah in tangers we stopped into a B&B. or at least it will be when they finish the remodel. we were offered cokes, bottled water and a local treat called pastilla. it's a tasty pastry filled with a spiced chicken. it wasn't spicy hot, but spicy savory. lots of people tried it (but more i think passed) and no one got sick.

in belem on our bike tour of the town we stopped for a local treat. and boy was this good! you can get the pastry all over portugal, but it''s not the same as if you get it from the source of the creator in belem. it's called pastiche.  they're like little baby flan in pastry with cinnamon and powdered sugar sprinkled on top. served warm they are fantastic!

11/16/2010 Coto de Vera, Spain

 we biked from cartagena to garrucha, stopping about 2k north of garrucha to have lunch.

as with most of these tours 1 bike stops, and as subsequent teams approach you hear this "HEY THERE!" and see a wave. so the next team stops. then the "HEY THERE!" gets louder by 2 for the next team. and so on and so on. until these tiny little places are dusted. it happened in france - and it happened here. both places neither had an employee who spoke english, and had to call in help.

 another arriving couple and alhambra cervezas

 quite a few of us arrived within 10 minutes of each other

chorizo sandwich, YUM! especially with the beer.

 more teams arrive as we get ready to leave

when we left there was nothing left on the menu! - seriously though, many of us had the chorizo sandwhich - in fact, while we were there they ran out. they said "we have something similar" and served up another type which looked suspiciously like blood sausage to us. the levy's concurred. (turns out they're related to ethan and angela stowell and say 'hi!')

11/12/2010 - 11/20/2010 Santana Tour and Windstar's Wind Spirit

once again we used a boat as our floating hotel for a tandem bike tour. i snapped more food pics this trip, and lots of menu pics. any meals eaten off the boat at this point will be posted after this.


please click on the thumbnail images to view full-size.







13 Nov: dinner

the charger used for dinner
strawberry shooter	herb breaded mediterranean scallops	california sushi	chilled strawberry soup
alsatian ham and gruyere salad	roasted herb crusted rack of iberian pork	basque style grilled chicken	chocolate profiteroles
ice cream

14 Nov: breakfast - which was basically the same thing every day. the flavor of omelette changed daily, that kind of thing.

salami, ham, bread	fruits, cereal add-ins, cheeses, breads	bread and cereal	french toast, eggs
sausage, potatoes	pancakes, bacon

lunch

cheeseburger and fries

dinner - that night was room service. a ham and cheese sandwich for matt because he wasn't feeling very well, and a 'grilled' ham and cheese sandwich for me because my body couldn't sit in the dining room chairs after our day on the bike (see travel blog post). turns out grilled = toasted. he had fries i had chips. both sandwiches had the crusts cut off. :-)

15 Nov: dinner

			iberian chilled green tomato gazpacho
almeria roasted red bell pepper salad	braised lamb shank catalonia style	duck breast w/gratin of sweet potato and sour cherry sauce	warm chocolate souffle

16 Nov: lunch
lunches were either buffet or off the menu. most items on the menu are actually part of the buffet, but there were items not listed on the menu. this day i had brie, probably what was a camembert, and edam.

ceasar salad	cheese and dessert

dinner

		text	text
text	text	text	iberico serrano roll
bilbao baked crab dip w/lemon	oxtail en croute tangier (before)	(after)	braised osso buccaneer
grilled ribeye steak "wind spirit style"	chocolate (?) creme brule

17 Nov: lunch
i think this was the best meal on the boat. honestly.

salad, hummus, pita	strawberry mousse in glass	moroccan lamb with crisp garlic	tandoori chicken on pita bread, grilled

dinner
this banquet is served up on the pool deck, weather permitting. it had rained all afternoon so we were destined to dine in the restaurant. it was quite a spread! there was no menu but i think the pics are pretty clear (once you are looking at the full size images.)

breads	salad	vege-art	cheeses, nuts (note the bird carving)
crab legs	shrimp cocktail	chicken!	olives, fruits, cheese
ftuits, anchovies, hams	nuts, veges	salads	pico(?)
fruits, cheeses, salad  (note the little orange guy)	lox, salad, nuts	more salad	short ribs, chicken
baked potatoes, corn	stuffed peppers	muscles/paella, tomato w/mozarella	lobster tails, fish
oink	plate 1	plate 2	profiterole tower
cheese cake - the mice were made out of 'tootsie rolls'	carrot cake	cookies	crepes and sauces
something	chocolate inside	strawberries	flan
swans	chocolate fountain	fruit skewers for chocolate	baklava
plate 3

18 Nov: dinner

	text	text	text
text	text
	text	pineapple shooter	cadiz vine-ripened tomato tarte tatin
costa del sol spice shrimp	moroccan style chicken	hot chocolate fudge sundae

19 Nov: lunch
here are a few pics of the lunch buffet. thought i had more :-(

	salad	meats	text
text	text	text	2 pastas from the buffet

dinner - i didn't eat dinner in the restaurant. we headed out into the atlantic further from shore for the afternoon and ran into a bit of a storm. about 1/2 the people stayed in their cabins dining on crackers. matt went but he didn't take the camera. late afternoon early evening, before dinner, entertainment in the lounge sounded like fun - name that tune, trivia and the like. i heard stories that every so often someone would hop up, state 'get out of the way' and run out of the lounge, looking for a more comfortable locale on the boat. note to self: every time i've gone out onto open water and there's a good chop or worse, i need those anti-nausea pills.



20 Nov: dinner

	text	text	text
text	text	french onion soup	mango chutney chicken salad

all in all, if i had to compare the wind spirit with the amadeus diamond in the food category here's the breakdown with 10 being the best, 1 the worst

Item	Wind Spirit	Amadeus Diamond
choices on menu	10	7
flavor	6	9
hamburger/fries	10	1
service	10	10
keeping water glass filled	3	3
larger size juice/water glasses	8	1