Cathedrals, Music and Monasteries



Cloisters at Monastery of San Juan

The past couple of months have been filled with visits to ancient Spanish cathedrals in Toledo and Segovia, and a monastery in Rascafria that was begun in 1390. All are steeped in history. In addition to my in-depth tours, I’ve been reading several historical novels based in England and Spain around the 1500’s. The time leading up to Christmas couldn’t be a better time for visits to all of these places because it really made me stop and think about how important religion was 500 or 600 years ago, and I couldn’t help but compare it to how materialistic people are now and how little thought is given to the real meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas. (although I missed Thanksgiving this year)

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

My Spanish history lesson began a few weeks before even arriving in Madrid because I was immersed in the story of Queen Isabel (the Catholic). I knew that I wanted to visit Toledo because it played an important role in the history of Spain since it was the early capital from the 6^th century to the mid 16^th century. Toledo is a spectacular city filled with narrow cobbled streets and centurys-old buildings and has over 2,000 years of history. Two of the highlights of my visit included a tour of the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes and the Alcázar .  The Monastery was started in 1477 at the request of Queen Isabel. The architecture is flamboyant Gothic but incredibly magnificent.

 

Alcázar

The Alcázar is an impressive building at the highest point of the city. (Toledo is built on a hill but you always seem to be walking uphill and rarely down.) It was originally built by the Romans as a palace but was reconstructed by the Christians. It’s been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times but the last time, following the Civil War; it was reconstructed as the original building looked.

Aqueduct in Segovia built by the Romans

After a very quick visit to Segovia my first week, I returned to explore for a whole day. It’s a walled city dating back to 75 CBE and is stunningly beautiful but the most impressive features are the aqueduct and the cathedral. The Roman aqueduct dating from the late 1st or early 2nd century is made of around 25,000 granite blocks that were positioned and held together without any mortar. All together there are 170 arches that are about 95 feet high. It’s just impossible to comprehend how the Romans (well - their slaves) could have built such a magnificent structure that remains perfect today. The massive cathedral in Segovia was started in 1525 but took over two hundred years to complete so there are multiple architectural styles. One of the things that stood out the most for me was the choir, which was positioned in the middle of the cathedral – not in the back as in later centuries. Within the choir were the wooden carved high-backed chairs on either side and the organ with the pipes positioned above. In the middle were four well preserved music books. These were huge hard bound, thick books with hand written notes and words in Latin. Where else could you see the real music that was performed 500 years ago?

Yes - we had snow one morning!

My next visit to a monastery was the Monastery of Santa Maria de El Paular, a 15^th- century monastery set in the foothills of the Guadarrama Mountains. 

While staying in the attached hotel for a VaughanTown program, we had a personal tour of the monastery by a resident monk. This monastery was the first in Castile (an area north of Madrid) and construction began in 1390. During the first four and a half centuries it reached cultural splendor and became one of the most powerful in Europe. I don’t have words to describe the splendor and exquisite architecture in the various rooms within the monastery. They range from the most austere cells and dining room for the monks to breath-taking extravagantly painted and decorated prayer rooms for the priests. This was my final visit to the many cathedrals and monasteries of Spain.

St. Paul's in London

Almost upon arriving in London, I was sitting in a packed St. Paul’s Cathedral for an Advent service. Most of the service was provided by separate choirs of young boys and men, both of which have traditions dating back to 1127. My favorite was the boys’ choir – angelic faces framed by the ruffled white collars and voices that truly do sound like angels. During the service I was able to admire the cathedral, an incredible masterpiece that was originally built in 1675. Although destroyed in the great fire of London, services have been held there since 1697. Attending a service there with the choirs of all male voices is like living a bit of history.

Fast forward to my return to the US and thanks to my husband for booking tickets to a Candle Light Christmas Carol concert.  So now I find myself sitting in St. Anne’s Church in the middle of Annapolis which was started in 1696. The concert included star performances by a well-known violinist and a vocalist member of the Celtic Women group. Also providing piano accompaniment was a gentleman who was the pianist at the White House. The concert featured several renaissance pieces and was a very surprisingly pleasurable concert that put us in the Christmas mood.

This past week we attended a much smaller and intimate concert of lute and guitar music. This was in a Cape May B&B that was built in 1863. Not as old as the other venues but still with a lot of history.

So, thanks to my visits to the cathedrals and monasteries and attending concerts, I’ve passed through histories of the early building of the churches and the changes in the music from early litanies to the modern music that is played today. Unfortunately, in the US, modern Christmas music starts in the stores, on the radio and in TV adverts far too early, and by the time Christmas arrives they are grating on your nerves. When that happens, try remembering that the early music was actually carols that were a part of a tribute to Christmas and were sung only during church services or for special occasions. Regardless of your favorite Christmas music, whether traditional or modern, it goes hand-in-hand with the traditions of the season and it’s usually one that we’ve enjoyed since childhood. So, enjoy your Christmas music of choice and have a wonderful holiday!

 

 

 

Spanish Tortilla and Paella -- Cooking in Madrid

Chef Julia

While staying in Madrid for a week, I was looking for something a bit different than sightseeing and found a cooking school. Since I’d had so much fun with various cooking classes in Mexico and a couple of unusual classes at home, I immediately booked a class at La Opipara run by Chef Julia.

Based in a gorgeous indoor market, Mercado Torrijos, just a short distance from a metro stop and very easy to find and get to, Julia’s school is perfectly located. Mercado Torrijos is made up of the most beautiful and pristine stalls of fresh fruit and vegetables on the first floor and outside of Japan, it’s the most beautiful and immaculate that I’ve ever seen. The enormous size, color and quality of vegetables and fruits were stunning!

Perfect Pears and Oranges

Meat and fish stalls were all located on the second floor and each stall had its’ own specialty. Many fresh pollo (chicken), carne de res (beef) stalls and countless pescado (fish) stalls were established side by side. Both floors had numerous stalls for people to choose from and each owner took such pride in his produce and was ready to give personal advice as to what was his “best of the day”. Many people in Madrid come quite a distance for their personal service. Julia’s cooking school was in a corner on the second floor so I had to pass by these stalls on my way to my class.

After my introduction with Chef Julia, she told me I would be her only student for the class – yeah!! We discussed the menu, as in please no mussels or squid for the paella, then set off into the market to purchase our garden-fresh veggies and fruits, pollo and pescado. Julia made me order from the stall owners in Spanish, which was not only a challenge but a really good laugh – not just for Julia but for the stall owner as well. She couldn’t have me just order a pear – it had to be a pear, ripe to perfection. I couldn’t just order an orange – it had to be an orange that was exquisite and tomato, large and ripe but not too ripe. You get the picture. I completely murdered the Spanish language and I was hoping that I didn’t do the same to our dishes.

Pears in Wine Sauce

Julia had planned a few traditional dishes such as Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish omelet), Orange and Cod Malaga Salad, Paella (traditional but without the mussels and squid!) and Pears in Wine with Greek Yogurt.

My first job was to peel a pear and begin poaching it in a young Rioja wine. Julia explained that the wine had to be no more than a year old so that it would be very acidic. It’s not a wine that you’d want to drink on its’ own but it’s used in cooking. After we put the pears to cooking she gave me a taste of the wine and she was right – very acidic and sour!

As the pears were happily bubbling away, I pealed the potatoes and began to slice them for the tortilla.  Because the potatoes have to be sliced nearly paper thin, Julia showed me two ways to wield the knife. I’ve been trying to take a “knife class” (learning to use a knife as chefs do) at home but I’ve registered three times and three times it has been canceled. Maybe someone out there doesn’t want me to know too much about using a knife!

Potatoes sliced just right

It took me forever to slice the potatoes and when I didn’t get them thin enough, Julia showed me a trick to get the thin pieces needed. She sliced the onion for me since I was taking ages with the potatoes. We then put them into a pan and covered them with LOADS of olive oil and salt. It’s important to use only the best olive oil! We had to cook them on a high heat without burning them of course.

As the potatoes and onion were drowning in bubbling olive oil, we began preparing the ingredients for the paella.  Olive oil was poured to a pan and heated before adding 4 cloves of garlic with the skin still on, supposedly this gives it flavor without overkill. While those were cooking, I washed and dried 4 shrimp and then cooked them (heads and all) in the oil until they were a delicate pink.

Beautiful Pink Shrimp

My next job was to finely chop a red pepper but I wasn’t nearly as slow with it and then I grated a tomato. I’ve never grated a tomato before! Next task was to brown the chicken (Julia insisted on fish and meat) and then added the red pepper and spices being very careful not to burn the saffron. The tomato was added to keep the saffron from burning. The two spices important to a good paella are smoked paprika and saffron. Although saffron is an expensive spice, it’s well worth using it. She also said to steer clear of eating yellow paella in restaurants because artificial coloring has been added to it rather than using saffron. The rice was added next but it has to be a very special rice – short and plump grains; then the chicken stock and of course quite a lot of salt.

A Perfect Flip Onto the Plate!

The potatoes and onions were now done so it was time to drain them; mix them with beaten eggs and put them into a small pan. A tortilla de patatas has to be flipped twice and there’s a special skill in the first flip because the eggs have only set on the bottom so the tortilla can easily slide off. Julia very deftly did the first flip showing me how it should be done and I managed the second one without the tortilla ending up on the floor. In fact, I was quite proud that it ended up in the center of the plate.

Somewhere in all of this we had made the Orange and cod Malaga salad so I was ready to begin eating the salad and the tortilla while the paella finished cooking. To complement the food, Julia furnished a beautiful Rioja from Madrid that was sooo smooth and lovely.

Smoooth and Very Tasty

While I was sitting there enjoying my wonderful meal and sipping the lovely wine, Julia was cleaning up. I did feel guilty and offered to help her but she refused. Yes, I had noticed the presentation before I dug in (pictures prove this) and I was noticing the tastes of all the food but also throughout the class, the smells that came from cooking the tortilla and paella were heavenly!

If ever in Madrid, I’d highly recommend booking a class with Chef Julia. You can find her at www.escuela-opipara.com or contact her on info@escuela-opipara.com. Not only will you leave with a full tummy, you’ll have wonderful memories as well. Be sure to take your camera!

Barriga llena, corazón content or in English, “A full belly and a happy heart”

Chef Julia and Glenda