Word in defense of pasta

We must admit we never thought high about pasta.

Most probably it has to do with the way we were brought up. In Italy pasta is worshipped and considered a form of art. Names are lovingly and thoughtfully given to different shapes – fettuccine, cannelloni, orzo, penne, linguini, pappardelle… Same comes to sauces – carbonara, marinara, Bolognese…Cooking pasta to achieve the desired texture – not too hard yet not overboiled soft – is considered skill that requires a lot of practice and not everyone can master.

Unlike in Italy, back home all shapes are named macaronis with the only exception of spaghetti. Macaronis, along with boiled sausage and hard-boiled egg, are considered bachelor’s food. So here we have it: no need to peel, chop, pre-heat pan to a certain temperature. Just make the water boil, drop half-pack in and single man’s dinner is ready. Advanced bachelors can add canned meat thus achieving and advanced form – макароны по-флотски or seamen’s pasta.

That is pretty much it with pasta back home.

So with that in mind the perspective of going to a restaurant and ordering something that back home can be cooked even by a culinary-challenged man, did not appeal to us.

Unappealing it was until, while hiding from unexpectedly started rain, we walked in the hospitable open doors of Rucola & Grana, Italian restaurant in La Laguna on Tenerife island.

We were full so we were not looking for anything but a cup of hot double espresso. But when a waiter gracefully placed a plate of pasta on a neighbor’s table we felt that our pre-conception about pasta started to shake.

Not only were we full but also in a hurry but we did feel that Rucola & Grana was a good reason to pay another visit to La Laguna. And what can be a better way to spend our last call to Tenerife?

For starters we ordered focaccia with extra garlic to share.

For the main course we chose two different kinds of pasta – the very reason we came all the way here. The menu was only in Spanish so till the last moment it was a mystery what we would get. We ordered Cappelletti rellenos de carne, con salsa de tomate, jamón serrano, rucola y queso ahumado - as much as we know Spanish the idea of queso ahumado (smoked cheese) seemed appealng. The other pasta was Trío de rosette de pasta rellena de: ricotta y espinacas, jamón y fontina, setas y ricotta, gratinado al horno con bechamel, parmesano y salsa de tomate - we figured that since it is trio there would be three different kinds of pasta and if we don't like one of them we wont leave hungry.
Unfortunately their official site is only in Spanish but if you happen to be in La Laguna, here you can find more info in English.

Trío de rosette de pasta rellena de: ricotta y espinacas, jamón y fontina, setas y ricotta, gratinado al horno con bechamel, parmesano y salsa de tomate

Cappelletti rellenos de carne, con salsa de tomate, jamón serrano, rucola y queso ahumado

This was honestly the best pasta we ever tried. Funnily enough, it was not in Italy (as the best pizza what we had was not in Napoli!) but this tiny restaurant on an island in the middle of the Atlantic made our day. If you want to restore your faith in pasta pay a visit to Rucola Y Grana.

Postcards from Tenerife

Playa las Teresitas: artificial golden sand beach made in the 1970s with sand imported from Sahara.

To keep sand in place a giant wave breaker was built. The beach is only 7km away from port and is enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.

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Facades of Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife – the capital of the biggest of the Canary islands. It is also shares the title of Canaries capital with La Palma (Gran Canaria island).

Colorful facades give a festive appearance to the city:

Faces in the places

Finally as we found convenient internet cafes in our ports of call the time came to talk about the itinerary we are on.
Hope the map below will help you visualize our route: 

To give you a teaser of the ports we decided to start with collages representing each of them. As we get to explore the ports and know them better we will post more details about each of them.
But for starters we will not show you any major tourist attractions, just the people and the street life. In other words it will be Barcelona without Gaudi, Malaga without Alcazaba… Well, hope you get the idea. Shall we start?

The cruises last 9 days starting from Barcelona, Spain.

Norwegian Jade docked alongside in port of Barcelona

Caption: Streets of Barcelona: people feeding doves, sitting by the fountains or promenading in the parks 

After two days at sea we arrive to our first port of call: Funchal, Madeira. This is the only non-Spanish port as the island of Madeira belongs to Portugal. It is a beautiful green island with climate so mild that both bananas and potatoes can grow here. The streets look very festive as doors and windows are decorated by dark granite against the white walls. Streets are paved with small black and white stones that form floral or geometric ornaments – different for every street!

The next 2 days we stay in Canaries Islands. First we call to the island of Tenerife – the biggest island of archipelago (for some reason the first Spanish settlers did not think so and another island was called Gran Canaria). The capital – Santa Cruz de Tenerife – is a busy cruise and cargo port. But we found peace and quiet in San Cristobal de la Laguna (or simply La Laguna) – the former capital that still preserved the old city charm.

La Laguna street workers – some beg, some make bubbles

Our 3rd port – and 2nd in Canaries islands – is volcanic island of Lanzarote. The islands main attractions are “lunar landscape” and other traces of volcanic activities and its capital Arrecife does not have any remarkably beautiful monuments. Yet we love its quaint peaceful streets.

The last stop on the way back to Barcelona is Malaga.

Hm... Looks like Alcazaba still managed to make its way in the picture...