They Ate With Their Coats On

Hospital de Santiago in Ubeda

This week we took a trip to the Jaen province of Andalucia, a  four hour bus ride from Sevilla.  Two towns east of the city of Jaen are known for their renaissance architecture.  First stop was Ubeda.   Brrrr.  The sun was out but it was windy and cold.  There were two interesting art exhibitions in the Hospital de Santiago.

Parador at Ubeda

Spain has a government owned and operated chain of hotels called Paradors.  They are a means of preserving monuments and palaces, and are known for luxurious historical charm.  We have visited many, but never spent the night.  This Parador is in a 16th century renaissance palace.

View from our room at the Parador

 The Parador at Ubeda was delightful.  The central courtyard had a glass ceiling which made it possible to heat the interior (thank you very much)  The ceiling in the room was original and maybe 20 feet high.  Our room on the seond floor faced the plaza.

Next to the Parador, Sacra Capilla del Salvador

At one end of the plaza was one of the many churches in Ubeda.  Spectacular "chapel".

Downtown Ubeda

We enjoyed walking streets and alleys of Ubeda, although the cold was uncomfortable.  Jon bought a stocking cap to cover his ears, and Gretchen pulled up a turtle neck over her nose (remember Bazooka Joe).  Lots of beautiful pottery shops with a traditional green glaze.

The olive groves from Ubeda

The view from the city wall shows the endless olive groves.  The Jaen province is considered the heart of olive oil production for Spain.

Baeza

After a night in Ubeda, we caught a 1 euro bus ride to Baeza (often referred to as Ubeda's twin).  We had a remarkable dinner at the hotel, a multicourse tasting menu including bull tail stew, bacalao, garlic and mushroom soup and an apple tart for desert.  The most unique course was shaved dried/smoked tuna on a bed of mushrooms and short angel hair pasta.  The waiter delivered it in covered soup dishes, and when he removed the lid, the tissue paper-thin tuna wriggled and moved like a nest of tiny flat snakes.  And it didn't stop moving.  We called the waiter back to ask whether the food was living and finally figured out that the air movement from the ceiling vent was causing the tuna to look like it was alive. Definitely one of the strangest plates of food ever, but tasty.

Organ recital in Baeza

The next day was Saturday the 4th of December.  We found a booklet advertising an early music festival with a month-long series of concerts in Ubeda and Baeza.  Scheduled for Baeza was an organ recital to be held on Sunday the 4th of December.  The tourist office was clueless, and decided that it was most likely that the date was the problem (ie the concert was the next day).  But we persevered, walked to the church and discovered that the recital would be held Saturday.  We sat with probably 50 others to hear old organ music, on an old organ, in an old church.  Fun time.

Next we walked to the bus station and rode home, arriving just 10 minutes before the start of the Oregon-Oregon State football game.  Gretchen's passionate rooting for Oregon State, her alma mater, couldn't derail Oregon from the national championship game in January