Monday, October 8, 2012

Chocolate and Fish Bones

Sevilla has had the pleasure of welcoming my blogger buddy, Peter (Tippin' the Scales) for a four-day visit. Peter arrived from Amsterdam Friday night to see the sights and taste the tapas. He appears to be enjoying both. His first night here, we went to Dos de Mayo for dinner. After a bit of input from Peter, San Geraldo went up to the bar and did the ordering. There's always some special fish dish being plugged; I usually turn them down. Not San Geraldo. He said, "I don't know what kind of fish it was, but I was shown something special and ordered it."

'Oh, no, I'm not going to like this," I said to myself. And, boy, was I ever right! A platter of three whole fish (heads, tails, fins) came out a few minutes later. 'How long has San Geraldo lived with me?' I thought, 'He's got to know there's no way I'll eat that.'

SAN GERALDO HOLDING THE REMAINS OF SOME FISH OR OTHER AT DOS DE MAYO.
PETER LOOKING ON.

San Geraldo tasted it and said it was delicious. I tasted and agreed. But, you know, you had to peel it from the bones. And then you had to pick tiny bones out of what you peeled. And then you still had to pull little bones out of your mouth. And then the head and tail — and skeleton that didn't get in your mouth — remained on your plate. Definitely not for me! The only positive (well other than the taste) was the fact that the fish eyes were either coated in breading or they had been removed. Staring at the dead fish and seeing it stare back at me would have pushed me right over the edge. Peter admired the fish from a cautious distance.

AT THE CATHEDRAL
PIGEONS DESECRATING ONE OF THE FRESHLY CLEANED STATUES.

Peter has been on his own the last two days for in-depth exploration and we get the pleasure of his company for dinner. It took me the first two days of his visit to finally remember that in Spanish his country is called Holanda and not Holandia. I'm surprised one of my Spanish friends didn't finally just slap me upside the head.

OUTSIDE THE CATHEDRAL SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

Saturday, Peter and I went over to the Cathedral. The line was monstrous, so we didn't go inside, but a wedding was about to begin in one of the side chapels, so we enjoyed seeing the women in their mantillas and the men in tailcoats. We had drinks nearby and then moved on to the Metropol Parasol. We walked the entire loop at the top and then enjoyed lunch at one of the cafés.

ATOP METROPOL PARASOL WITH SEVILLA'S SKYSCRAPER RISING IN BACKGROUND.
(DUTCH SKYSCRAPER FOREGROUND.  I'M 6'2"/188CM AND HE MAKES ME FEEL SHORT).

Peter has read enough of my blog, and I have commented often enough on his, for him to know that I (along with San Geraldo) have a more than passing fondness for chocolate. He arrived with an assortment of gourmet chocolates from his favorite chocolate shop in Amsterdam. Amazingly, we haven't opened any of them yet because we're so overwhelmed that we can't figure out where to begin.

WHERE DO I BEGIN...
TO TELL THE STORY OF HOW SWEET A LOVE CAN BE?

There are chocolate bars with Serrano pepper; black truffle (mushroom) and sea salt; olive oil; vanilla and smoke; and even bacon. Bacon Bar sounds like it should be for breakfast, with a side of eggs. Maybe tomorrow morning. I'm afraid the minute I open one bar, I'm going to inhale them all.

Well, I've done worse things in my life. (Just kidding, Dowager Duchess. I've never done anything bad in my entire life.)

24 comments:

  1. I don't do whole fish. Ever.

    And, well, this might make me persona non grata but I don't, um, like chocolate.

    Unless it's part of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

    The bacon on the other hand.......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, Bob, it's OK, I'll still love you. More chocolate for me!

      Delete
  2. LOL! I love your witty way, Mitch! (say that 3 times!)
    The fish experience sounds delightful, I think? I like fish but don't want it staring at me while I'm eating it.
    Nice of Peter to bring along that chocolate! you are right, where to begin?! Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim:
      Do you suppose San Geraldo knew what he was doing when he ordered that fish? He was FORCED to eat it all by himself.

      Delete
  3. I'm not a fan of fish either. Blech.

    But I do like chocolate!

    In the picture outside the cathedral. The women with the lace hair accessories and the gentlemen in tuxedos ... was a wedding ceremony going on?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. darkeyedbrunette:
      I do like fish, just not like that! And, yes, a wedding was about to start in one of the chapels inside the Cathedral.

      Delete
  4. Eating all of this delicious chocolate isn't bad; it's fulfilling your destiny.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those chocolate bars look wonderful! I can't wait to get your review on each of them. How nice that your bloggie friends visit you bearing such luscious gifts!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm sure San Geraldo's fish was delicious, but whole fish is just too much work. I prefer my fish as boneless fillets, please!

    As for the chocolate bars - they look delicious. Not sure about the bacon bar, though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judith:
      You and I would get along just fine. Although San Geraldo and I balance each other out — "Jack Spratt could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean." I'd be Jack! And we DO lick the platter clean.

      Delete
  7. I will eat anything chocolate...but a whole fish no way...and it has nothing to do with my turning vegan, Ive never liked any food I had to work to eat :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am glad to see Peter arrived safe and sound, and everyone is having a splendid time. I don't know of whom I am more jealous - he or you - for meeting each other !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spo:
      You should be jealous of me. It was my pleasure!

      Delete
  9. Wow, the women wear the mantillas just for a wedding?? Very interesting.

    Enjoy your visit with fellow blogger, and DO let us know how the chocolate tastes (especially the bacon one).

    Judy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judeet:
      I think I'll be chomping into that bacon later today!

      The women in the mantillas were members of the wedding party. Guests for the most part wear hats or tocados (http://mitchellismoving.blogspot.com.es/2011/10/lady-of-spain-i-adore-you.html).

      Delete
  10. Commenters, I had a fabulous time with Mitch and San Geraldo. Just the look on my face tells you enough about what I think of the fish. But I ate it many times while in Sevilla. Had a great tasting fish paté on Monday night in Calle Santa Maria la Blanca. And to finish it off, a bit further down the street, hand made ice-cream in the flavor: Old Cheese it was D.I.V.I.N.E.

    The chocolate is a whole other case. The Mast Brothers chocolate, with the fancy wrappings comes from Brooklyn, and as we all know by now, that's where Mitch hails from too. He never heard of this small manufacturer, and he's forgiven.

    The bacon bar is just delicious, you just let a small piece melt in your mouth and all flavours jump out.

    The green package is dark chocolate with olive oil and is produced in... Madrid.

    What I didn't have all those days, churros and warm thick, pudding like, chocolate milk.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't like to see how animals really look when I'm eating them … that includes fish. The chocolate looks drool worthy! What a lovely gift!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenners:
      It's amazing the chocolate is still here, but then we were out every night for big rich dinners with Peter. Maybe tonight in front of the TV.

      Delete
  12. Love those mantillas (?) on the ladies outside church.

    I've tried a bacon chocolate bar and it was surprisingly good, if decadent!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Knatolee:
      Yep, mantillas.

      I still haven't bitten into the bacon chocolate bar!

      Delete
  13. Victor:
    I like fish, just don't like to have to work to eat it (removing it from the bone smacks of cooking to me)! The visit with Peter was a pleasure and I was pleased that Sevilla didn't disappoint him.

    ReplyDelete

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