Almazara de Aceite

Crackin' almonds

The other day I was so lucky to be given a private tour of an almazara de aceite. After trekking up mountains and tiny pueblos for an hour, we finally arrived at this beautiful mediterranean villa in the middle of nowhere. The "olive gardens" were owned by a single family and they are known to make one of the best olive oils in the world. The son took us for a 3 hour tour of all the different olive trees and showed us the land that he so proudly cultivated. Getting out of the city for a few hours (6 to be exact...) was literally a breath of fresh air. In the mountains there was no pollution or noise and I felt like I could run a marathon because the air was so crisp and pure. The second we boarded the bus back, I was immediately craving that air.

After a tour of the beautiful mountains, plantations, 1500 year old olive trees and after picking and cracking fresh almonds it was finally time to eat. Inside the villa, the family had prepared us a tasting of 6 different oils. One was from the olives cultivated on the first day, one was on the last, one went wrong (but it was still delicious) and the others were different types of trees. I felt like it was wine tasting all over again. We smelled and drank each type to see the difference. In the states, we have absolutely no idea what good olive oil is. There were different shades, smells, some had a tad of spice some were fruity it was so great to learn but now when I come home, I'm going to be extremely spoiled. To accompany the oils the family served us baskets and baskets and baskets of fresh homemade bread, jamon iberico (the highest quality of cured ham), apples, potatoes, and cheese. We had so much fun that we all just about cried when it was time to leave.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was when I fell behind (because I was busy cracking my fresh almonds!) and the Father, who owns the land, was telling me all the secrets to a great oil as well as a lot of history. Some things I learned:

1. Spain produces 45% of the world's olive oil. The world has a misconception that Italy is the producer of the best oil and because it's so hard to change that perception, Spain exports the oil they made to Italy so Italy can put their stamp on it. Italy actually only produces about 6% of the world's supply of oil. THE OIL YOU ARE EATING IS PROBABLY FROM SPAIN, NOT ITALY.
2. If you look on the nutritional facts on oil bottles, a very good quality oil has 0.1 acidity.
3. Oil is best kept room temperature in darkness (try and buy a bottle with a dark tint to it).
4. Most olives are cultivated from October to December.

Olive Tree!

Almond tree in the mountains

Trying to get almonds off the tree

The machine that cleans the olives

The family's brand of oil only sold in private gourmet stores

My favorite. I could smell it all day.

 

Four Chicas in Paris

Things I will never forget about my trip to Paris:

• Hotel Richard: 50 euros for 3 nights. Great location for a great price but could've done without the blood on the sheets we rented. Also should have asked them to put a seat on the toilet. The woman at the front desk didn't speak English or Spanish so the only thing we ever understood when she yelled at us was that we were "young shit heads." 
• The Louvre
• The Catacombs 
•  Notre Dame: The sign next to the souvenir candles said to give offerings if you wanted to. Sarah took it seriously and thought she was so lucky to bring home some free candles. 
• Eiffel Tower: On our way, things didn't go as planned. Tickets didn't work, trains didn't come and we got lost. Finally the metro got to the correct stop at exactly midnight. We thought we missed it for sure but when we got off the train, you could see the lights reflecting in the building across from the station. We were so determined we ran as fast as we could, heels and all, just for one glance. I'm still not sure how but we actually made it. As soon as we came up from the ground we could see it sparkling and it was literally the most beautiful thing I've ever seen that I couldn't help but start to cry.
• The climb: Sarah made us climb to the top. For only 4 euros and no wait (vs. a 3 hr wait) we took the stairs up the tower. Everyone in front of us was wearing sneakers and Under Armor so naturally, we looked like idiots. My ass still hurts. So worth it though.
• The people: not as nasty as I thought...
• The food: Snails and Croque Madames were my favorite. It's impossible to read anything off the menu so we just picked things at random, hoped for the best and surprisingly, it never failed.
• La Duree: most amazing macaroons in the world. best 50 euros ever spent!
• Arc de Triomphe: the only way to get that perfect picture is to stand in the middle of the road with the cars coming.

OBVIOUSLY a bird craps on me in the middle of taking a pic in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Hotel Richard

Thug life

You can't even imagine our reactions when we pulled up in the cab to this...

The Louvre

Notre Dame

Catacombs

La Duree!

Arc de Triomphe