Photos from Menorca

[Alan]

Tapas

http://static.flickr.com/77/196025636_0abc88c875_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/196025636/)

A photo of our meal one day in a tapas bar in Ciutadella (Café Es Pou, if you're ever there). From top to bottom, left to right, we have Cuttlefish, Pimientos (Peppers) de Padrón, Calamares (Squid) a la romana and Patatas Bravas. My favourite from all of these was the peppers - they were gorgeous. I'd love to try to make it at home, but I don't know where I would be able to get them. Doesn't it all look delicious?

I'll post more later :)

[richardksa]

Well! I wasn't hungry, but now I suppose I better get lunch. That looks delicious.

[ValenciaSon]

At 8:25 AM I have yearning for some calamares and patatas bravas. OK, I'll try the peppers also.

Welcome back Alan.

[Alan]

Thanks ValenciaSon. I still wish I was over there though! :)

Menorcan Sunset

This next shot might be a little cliché, but look at the colours. This was taken on the West coast of Menorca.

http://static.flickr.com/75/196129633_4da559b7e5_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/196129633/)

[ValenciaSon]

Stunning photo Alan! It must've been breath-taking while you were actually there in that moment! Here's to hoping that you get back at the earliest practical time for you.

[Edith]

Delicious!!! :)

[Brian]

Looks absolutely, positively delicious. I hope you guys were hungry!

How were the green peppers prepared? Were they roasted or grilled in olive oil? garlic? Just curious.

[Alan]

Looks absolutely, positively delicious. I hope you guys were hungry!

How were the green peppers prepared? Were they roasted or grilled in olive oil? garlic? Just curious.

We ate every last bit! It was great. Afterwards we weren't hungry and I was ready for a nap.

The green peppers were fried just enough to remove their crispness in a good virgin olive oil, then salted with sea salt. No other herbs or spices that I could tell. Frying them also removed the intensity of the peppers but there were a few unexpected hot ones. I love spicy foods, but I think they surprised my girlfriend a bit :)

[Alan]

Dos gatos

http://static.flickr.com/76/196427388_32e1cd3f56_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/196427388/)


Two young cats in an alley in Ciutadella with very glassy eyes. I like the cat on the right. It looks very curious. After this photo was taken we accidentally scared them and the orange cat fell on top of the grey one. Good job kittens are bouncy.

I like the way the colours of the cats complement the colours of the stone and the door. A weird coincidence.

[Bolboreta]

Pst! It's pimientos de Padrón :) Padrón is a Galician village, they're a kind of peppers. Oh, and they're not supposed to be hot! (but yeah, you always find one or two that are...). And yeah, they're just fried and salted, that's all.

[Alan]

You'd better tell the restaurant staff then, because that's how it was written on the menu. But I'll listen to you. :)

[guapo]

The green peppers were fried just enough to remove their crispness in a good virgin olive oil, then salted with sea salt. No other herbs or spices that I could tell. Frying them also removed the intensity of the peppers but there were a few unexpected hot ones. I love spicy foods, but I think they surprised my girlfriend a bit :)

Hmmmm, I love those, something about the taste of the peppers combined with the oil and the salt. I don't find them particularly spicy (I think cooking them reduces the heat) but once I start I have to finish the whole plate :p

[Marina]

There is a saying about Pimientos del Padrón:
"Pimientos del Padrón unos pican y otros no"
"Pimientos del Padron, some are hot and some are not"

The heat really depends of the season, towards the end of the summer most of them are hot, and when they are they are terribly hot. But when not they are so delicious.

They take 3 minutes to cook, you just add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and when it starts to smoke drop the pimientos and a pinch of sea salt. Move the friying pan as if it was a wok while frying and pass them to a serving plate after 3 minutes.

[Marina]

Alan the sun picture is great, please send more!!

[Alan]

The Puki Clown

I added this picture to the Notes from Spain group, but then thought that it probably didn't belong. Let me know if you disagree and I'll add it again.

I really feel sorry for kids who are forced to go to these kids club things. They're on their holidays too, you know. The two boys in the picture on the top right: have you ever seen faces more miserable than those?

Also, "Ven a divertirte conmigo" just sounds creepy. No wonder the kids aren't having fun!

http://static.flickr.com/67/196936927_4be068b640_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/196936927/)

[Alan]

Moules à la Marinière

The dinner in Fornells that I was raving about. This is the starter - and quite a good wallpaper :D I've posted it larger for that reason! :) Larger copies are possible - just send a PM.

I've never had better mussels.

http://static.flickr.com/62/196938731_22e00e378e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/196938731/)

[Alan]

Arroz Negro

And the main course.

http://static.flickr.com/67/196947398_a05453bdef_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/196947398/)

[Edith]

I've never tried arroz negro but even though it looks a bit unusual it sounds delicious to me! The next time I am in Spain, I will go and look for it.


BTW Alan, what kind of camera did you use to take these pictures? They really are very good. :)

[Alan]

Thanks Edith :)

It's a Canon PowerShot A430 and was bought for £99 from one of the shops on kelkoo.co.uk.

This information is actually available on flickr for most photos, under "Additional Information" at the bottom right of the page. Click on the menus and you can find all sorts of information on automatic/manual focus, aperture opening times, etc. Means nothing to me, but I know a lot of people are interested in this kind of thing.

[Edith]

Thanks Edith :)

It's a Canon PowerShot A430 and was bought for £99 from one of the shops on kelkoo.co.uk.

This information is actually available on flickr for most photos, under "Additional Information" at the bottom right of the page. Click on the menus and you can find all sorts of information on automatic/manual focus, aperture opening times, etc. Means nothing to me, but I know a lot of people are interested in this kind of thing.

I'm not very technical, but I can tell a good photograph from a bad one. The still life with the arroz negro in it is actually very good! I've got a Canon Power Shot A95 and I really like the fact that it's so user-friendly. ;)

I just uploaded some new Gran Canaria pics from last year into my Flickr account but somehow they do not appear in the Notes From Spain Group. >:D

[Alan]

Yeah, that's one of the main reasons I bought it actually. Point and shoot and it's difficult to go wrong. I read a lot of reviews which said it was the best camera you could get for the price. Since I'm no photographer, I couldn't justify spending much more than that.

Re adding photos to the Notes from Spain group, you have to actually join it first (search for Notes from Spain under the groups menu). You've probably already done that, so for each photo you want to add to the group, click into the photo and there is a button at the top of the photo which entitled "Send to Group". Click on that and Notes from Spain should appear on a wee menu below it. If you click on that, it will ask you to confirm and then it should appear.

I'll look forward to seeing your photos.

[Brian]

Yeah, Puki the clown sounds a bit... predatory to me. :eek:

So how was the arroz negro?

[Edith]

so for each photo you want to add to the group, click into the photo and there is a button at the top of the photo which entitled "Send to Group". Click on that and Notes from Spain should appear on a wee menu below it. If you click on that, it will ask you to confirm and then it should appear.

Problem solved! Thanks! :)

I've just uploaded my new quota of photos for this month in the group.

[Alan]

The arroz negro was absolutely delicious. It's very difficult to order something like that in Scotland. I've had something similar before with pasta instead of rice, in Sicily. But I prefer the rice, I think :)

[Alan]

View from Es Mercadal

http://static.flickr.com/58/197134007_4f937d3f6a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/197134007/)

[Ben]

Great images Alan! The last one of the view is fantastic. I left a message here earlier but must have forgotten to press 'submit'... in any case, now you are back, are you keener than before to try a stint in Spain!!?

[Ben]

... and do put Puki in the NFS group, he's great!

[Alan]

Great images Alan! The last one of the view is fantastic. I left a message here earlier but must have forgotten to press 'submit'... in any case, now you are back, are you keener than before to try a stint in Spain!!?
*sigh* yes. It's not going away.

Thanks for your comments though! As I've said before I'm not much of a photographer, but I've tried to find the most interesting shots for all you guys! :)

[Alan]

Casa en Mahon (Maò)

http://static.flickr.com/66/197361798_1e8951afcf_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/197361798/)

[Alan]

Boat

Being Scottish, this jumped out at me, but it's not (necessarily) a Scottish flag. On my last trip to Tenerife, I found that they share the St Andrew's Cross with us. This was taken on a boat trip around Mahon Port.

http://static.flickr.com/69/198747338_576881c7e8_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/198747338/)

[lumpsuckerpig]

Think I'll take the patatas bravas and wash them down immediately with the San Miguel...

[Alan]

Ponies in Mahon

http://static.flickr.com/57/200280544_f963db5d13_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/200280544/)

[Alan]

Es Mercadal

http://static.flickr.com/66/200286704_4efa58f85f_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/200286704/)

[Alan]

Sidra

http://static.flickr.com/71/200289479_30ef90a17f_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/200289479/)

[Alan]

Bailarines

http://static.flickr.com/60/200291189_0c798868dd_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21495017@N00/200291189/)