Back from a business trip
I made it back from Spain on Sunday night! It was a great trip, although I think I learned more from the touring and the other people than I did from the actual expo. The convention, Salical, was put on by Spanish trade comission, who brought in merchants from across the world, with large contingents from England, Brazil, the U.S., Germany, and Austria. But Poland, Norway, and France also sent over their buyers. The show itself was big, but 50% was just on food processing (olive oil presses, vacuum sealers, and barcode printers), which was interesting to look at, but not of use to me. 30% of the show was then wine, which we cannot import, and a large part of the rest were raw meats, fresh vegetables, and bread, which we also can't feasibly bring in due to FDA restrictions.
So while I probably won't be bringing much of these products to the states (although I did love a whole wild game bird that was served out of a 28 oz can in a delicious herby aspic), I did learn a lot about Rioja and Spain in general. The group I was with were very cool, from a 75 yr old British lady who chain-smoked and talked about importing olive oil to Morocco, to a laid back Norwegian organic farmer who talked to me about black metal kids in Norway.
We toured just a bit, seeing a winery and an olive oil vineyard. They fed us constantly, mostly to soak up all the wine, I think. I had braised cow cheeks, octopus tentacles stuffed with cheese, anchovies and roasted pepper sandwiches, and more white asparagus than I've eaten in the rest of my life. And about 1,000,000 pork products. On the last day I walked around the city, which was fun, but I was dissapointed to not find any postcards. The city is Logrono, the capital of the Rioja region. It was sort of like Binghampton, NY -- just a regular functioning city, not really a place for tourists or sight seeing. And the homeless are agressive.
I might have some photos to post later, once I transfer them over. Otherwise I'm going to Pittsburg to visit Carla this weekend for Easter, with two dozen quail eggs in hand. Hopefully some more posts, too.