Friends & getting to altea
It’s getting to be that I am thinking of rental car companies in the same terms as I think of the local rip-off taxi drivers. I hate them & in my mind, they’re all a bunch of sons-a-bitches. The guys at Enterprise rental car were friendly enough, but with the add-ons they needle you to buy, the car rental doesn’t come as cheap as I had hoped for. I was upgraded to a Jeep & I didn’t want it. But, trooper that I am, I packed all my crap into the trunk, set VALÈNCIA into my GPS & took off west down the coast of Spain. Windows down, hair flying around.
How did I get here? What possessed me to drive down the coast of Spain solo? Friends.
In 2018 I saw a dream come to fruition when I set off to Staletti Italy to take a Traditional Italian Charcuterie & butchery course at the famed Italian Culinary Institute with master chef John Nocita at the helm. The entire experience was definitely top 10 experiences in my life & I’m forever grateful I had the brains to shove doubt aside & just do it.
Yes, I learned a ton from chef John, Juan, Alex & the beautiful Marianna…all world class chefs, but it was also the friendships formed there that are honestly some of my most golden memories.
Last October I had the good fortune to see one of my school chums, Charles Aquilina in Malta, meet his family & have an incredible time reconnecting while seeing the stunning archipelago in the central Mediterranean.
When I was in the U.K., I spent time with Paul Wright, the Englishman from a farm near Barnstable, another friend-for-life from ICI. Paul & his wife, Tess, came over for lunch one day & another day they took me to this fabulous seafood restaurant for lunch. I cherish my time spent reconnecting with Paul.
When I saw that Mariana & Juan had moved to Altea Spain to start their own, Artisan Culinary School, I knew I had to figure out how to get that way & see them. I have mad respect for them both & I knew their school would be world renowned in no time.
When I finally made it to Barcelona to spend a couple of days enjoying the city, I was so grateful for “civilization”, as those Eastern Bloc third world countries I had spent the last month in, were getting depressing. Right away Spain scratched the itch! I loved Barcelona & I was eager to rent a car to meander my way down to Altea & other parts of Andalusia & experience the southern coast of Spain. When I contacted Mariana to tell her I was coming down their way, the incredible host that she is, immediately booked me into The Blue Sardine Hotel, right along the Mediterranean sea & made plans to meet up. But first, she recommended I spend a couple of days in Valencia, as the city boasts one of the largest food markets in the world. Also, I should note that driving for three or four hours straight is pretty stressful. The interstates are big & busy with cars rushing up & tailgating to encourage motorists to get over so they can speed on. Some of the interstates are eight lanes wide & with traffic coming at you from each side, it makes for a white-knuckled ride. I quickly realized how important it was to break the trip into manageable time increments. Valencia was just over three hours from Barcelona & that was enough driving time for me…especially since I hadn’t driven since England, end of September.
When I arrived in Valencia, Mariana messaged me that Ferris Gastronoma del Mediterraneo was on & Juan was taking the students, did I want to meet up with them. Did I!?! A food show! God help me, yes!! I was smiling from ear to ear as I drove up to the expo’s venue & received my badge to enter, using my Wallnuts credentials as my way in, since you needed to be in the restaurant industry to attend. It took me no time to find Juan in the massive space & when I did, big hugs & a warm welcome met me. The three students that were with Juan…Jules, Marguerite & Gary, all from different parts of the United States, also greeted me warmly & we chatted easily while we took in the food expo. Since they had to drive back to Altea, they left about five o’clock & I stayed at the expo until it closed at 7 p.m. Sampling cheese, charcuterie meats, bread & other interesting Spanish treats + drinking wine & apéritifs! Such a good day for me! I’ll tell you, chefs make the best friends!
The next morning, I headed straight to the big food market & it certainly didn’t disappoint! Wow! The building itself was incredible, with stain glass windows & marble floors. There were hundreds of stalls with artisans, farmers & merchants hawking their wares. I could have spent all day poking around, but I wanted to get to Altea in decent time, so I grabbed a few things & hit the road.
Mariana met me at the Blue Sardine Hotel to get me sorted out & then I jumped right in with her to head up to the school. An absolutely delicious lunch awaited me & later, dinner as well, with lively conversations between the students & teachers. Juan & Mariana are absolutely fabulous hosts!
I fell asleep later thinking that this is the part that I absolutely adore about travel…friendships made that seem to last the test of time. On this trip I’m reconnecting with so many wonderful people that I truly adore. So grateful to make my world smaller by travel.
Have you ever wanted to hit the road but you’re nervous or worried how you’ll do it? Please push past those trepidations & figure it out. You don’t need to have every day sorted out, just a rough hatched plan of where you’ll go & then start walking & wandering. You’ll see that people are nice & helpful…the journey will humble you. You’ll come home with a completely different mindset & that is usually a good thing. My logic is that this is my only shot at making my life the absolute best I can make it. There is strife & trouble & stress, but that’s in the eye if the beholder. This world is filled with beauty & genuinely good people. Stop listening to the news & thinking that is what the world has to offer, because the truth is, that the world is a miracle & to get out into it is magic for your heart. Make friends with strangers. Smile at everyone. Compliment people. Be silly. Look on the bright side.
You could end up with friends that feed you & your soul.
