Exposing what dwells within.
Brian and I are escaping the ongoing winter in Virginia for a vacation with our family in China! Follow our adventures on Instagram: AndreaHubbell and BrianMHubbell. Also, #hubbellsinchina will keep track of all of our China photos.
See you in two weeks!
Happy New Year, friends! 2012 was a fabulous year for the Hubbells, but one of the highlights was certainly our trip to Spain in November. Brian and I finally, after nearly seven years of marriage and ten years together, took our honeymoon! We chose Spain because neither of us had ever been and, let's be honest, the food is incredible! We spent four days in Madrid, five days in San Sebastian, and one day in Bilbao.
I've got part one for you today; the four days we spent in Madrid. We loved this city, but felt that our four days there was the perfect amount of time. We saw all that we wanted to see without feeling rushed. We stayed up late, slept in, decided what we wanted to do each day when we woke up, and stumbled upon restaurants and bars without much research or planning ahead of time. We new the food and wine would be good everywhere we went, but found that the smaller hole-in-the-wall places were our favorites.
I've tried to give names of places I've shown if they aren't obvious in the images, but if you have any questions for us please leave a comment or send me an email. I'll have Part 2, San Sebastian and Bilbao, up tomorrow! Enjoy!
tapas and sangria at txakolina
brie and blackberry jam wrapped in jamon (above)
blood sausage wrapped in thin potato, fried, with a quail egg on top (below)
museo del prado
san gines chocolateria for chocolate con churros
plaza mayor facade (above)
san francisco el grande basilica (below)
entrance to plaza mayor (above)
albondigas! (below)
the crystal palace, in the parque de madrid
art installation in the crystal palace, from the museo nationale centro de arte reina sofia
still the parque de madrid
the royal palace
jamon iberico de belota : the most regulated food on the planet. and quite possibly the most tasty.
pimientos de padron, patatas alioli
lamb sweetbreads
Five Days + New Orleans + Amazing Friends, Food, Music = Complete Joy. Introducing...New Orleans.
Our visit included:
Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House (oysters)
Galatoire's (friday lunch)
Broussard's (bread pudding + banana's foster)
Deanie's (fried seafood)
Fritzel's (jazz)
Cafe du Monde (beignets)
Mother's (black ham biscuits, grits with debris)
Central Grocery (muffaletta)
Napoleon House (pimm's cup)
Cochon (pig)
Camelia Grill (omelets, waffles, burger)
Lafitte's (beer)
Johnny's Po-Boys (crawfish or alligator sausage po-boy)
Palace Cafe (bread pudding and cafe au lait)
Southern Candy Co. (pralines)
Butcher (sandwiches, pancetta mac + cheese, duck jerky)
Luke (charcuterie platter)
Cafe Beignet (beignets)
NOLA (duck confit pizza, abita-braised pork cheeks, smoked cheddar grits)
Brian and I spent last weekend on Chincoteague, a place I've wanted to visit since I was ten years old and read all about Misty. The island was busier than we expected, packed full of tourists and mediocre restaurants. But our B&B was quaint, our breakfasts delicious, our time on the shore relaxing and pleasant. We loved the solitude we found in the protected landscape of Assateague, the quietness of the beach after a half-mile walk away from all the people.
Here are some images from our very memorable weekend. I hope we return one day.
