Tinto de Verano vs. Calimocho: Spanish Smackdown 2013

As someone commented last week, 2-Euro chuck isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Fortunately, the Spaniards have a way of dealing with situations like this: just add soda! Two common options are tinto de verano, which is red wine mixed with Fanta Limón, and calimocho, which is red wine mixed with Coca Cola.

On the surface, neither of these options sounds very appealing to me, but I figure that the result can't be much worse than the wine by itself. So, let's give it a shot! Mixing equal parts wine and soda results in a nice maroon color in the case of tinto de verano, while the calimocho exhibits a deep shade of purple.

In the end, the results weren't too bad. Given the quality of the ingredients involved, I would say that this is one of those situations where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I definitely prefer a good wine over either of these, but I can see how they would be fairly refreshing during a hot summer day on the beach. The final verdict: 3/4 of a thumbs up for the tinto de verano, and 1/2 of a thumbs up for the calimocho.

 

Jamón + Vino de la semana

This week, I went with a variety of cured hams. First up is jamón de pato (duck):

I found this one to be way too greasy and fatty. Not so good. Next on the list is "llom de gall dindi curat", which Google Translate tells me is "loin cured turkey". Thanks for the help, Google Translate!

This one was much drier than the duck, but also not very good. The flavor just doesn't compare to the jamón ibérico. I feel like a snobbish Spaniard now. Next, I bought some chicken patties.

It's hard to read, but these chicken patties turned out to be 25% pork. I shouldn't be surprised. Finally, I decided to buy some red wine, from the Rioja region of Spain.

This bottle of wine only cost 2 Euros, and all I will say is: you get what you pay for.

San Feliu de Guixols

During the week of June 3-6, I attended a workshop on topological insulators. I learned that if you want to get the top people in your field to attend your conference, then you should hold it in a place like San Feliu de Guixols. Here's a sample of the conference location:

In related news, Mistress Vagabond has finally arrived in Spain. In fact, she timed her arrival to coincide with the aforementioned conference. Thus, while I spent all week trapped in a room listening to people talk about Chern numbers and time-reversal invariance, Mistress Vagabond spent her first week in Spain on the beach.