Category Archives: food

Learning to make paella and more.

After my visit to Valencia’s Central Market, it was time to hit the streets again on our way to Paella School where we would make our own lunch. As usual, there were plenty of visual distractions along the way, sometimes just in the form of creative graffiti adorning the walls along the narrow streets.

Other times the distractions came in the form of window-peeping on shops and artisans at work:

Finally, it was paella-making time, but I was once again distracted by making photos. Luckily, I still got to sample the finished product. If you’re into food and love getting hands-on with its preparation, this is an amazing program to take part in.

With a full belly, it was time to work off that paella with a bike tour through the old city and down the former river corridor that has been transformed into gardens dotted with impressive examples of modern architecture. More on that in a later post (the modern architecture) but here are a few shots taken along the system of avenues and bike paths that got me there. The last shot in the post is of one of Valencia’s old city gates.

Valencia’s Central Market

The morning of my first full day in Valencia began with breakfast on the upper floor of the Astoria Palace Hotel, which had a great view overlooking the historic center of the city. Next, we walked a few short blocks to the Mercado Central, Valencia’s central market. Along the way, marveling once again at the architecture, and the inclusion of “dog parking” outside some of the shops.

On to the market itself:

Markets are always among my favorite things to visit and photograph in any location. I love seeing the different produce available and it is always guaranteed to be a colorful display. This market was no different and did not disappoint.

I even had a chance to play around with the new Tamron 90mm macro lens that I had been loaned for this trip. It was a joy to use and gave great results. I may have to look into adding one permanently to my bag:

Next, we would take some of the ingredients we had found at the market and visit a paella school to make our own lunch (although I admit to doing more “photographing” than “helping” when it came to the actual cooking). Next post…

Giant Pandas, a giant lunch, and a giant Buddha

My next-to-last day in the Sichuan province of China was a big one. Giant, even. It started with a trip to Chengdu’s Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding where I got to see everyone’s favorite living plush dolls. The babies were especially cuddly, but were unfortunately kept behind glass and visitors were ushered past fairly quickly as they were being fed their breakfasts:

The bigger fellas were all busy eating or hanging out and napping in trees:

There were also Red Pandas in attendance:

Hard to watch all those critters eat without getting a little famished yourself so, after a decent drive to Leshan, lunch was our first stop. We’d had a lot of buffet meals on this trip so it was nice to have a more traditional meal (although we still didn’t order for ourselves — come to think of it — I don’t think we ever did). Several items were brought out, including:

some kind of a hot bun filled with a melty, brown-sugary filling that was simply amazing,

barbecued beef,

Kung Pao chicken (I was surprised to find out this was an actual thing in China and not an American invention akin to the fortune cookie),

and a sweet and sour chicken that was much more complex than anything I’ve ever encountered in a Chinese restaurant in the States. I think this may have been my favorite meal of the trip and I stuffed myself accordingly.

That’s Leshan, above. The restaurant where we ate was just about on the right edge of the frame in this photo, overlooking the river.

We were in Leshan to see the 233-foot-tall Giant Buddha which, according to Wikipedia, “is the largest stone Buddha in the world and it is by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world.” The Buddha is carved from a cliff overlooking the river on the far side from the city of Leshan. To view it, we would take a tourist boat out. The boats make a quick pass down-river, then come back up where they take a position just across from the Buddha so that tourists can have their photos taken with the Buddha in the background.

If I ever get back to Leshan, I want to take the time to visit the Giant Buddha from land and explore the trails and stairs that encircle him. This time the river view would have to do, though, and I think it was a good way to take in the scale for a first visit.

Boating back to Leshan:

From here we would be heading for Mount Emei, the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. We’d be staying in a hotel at the base, but spending the better part of our last day in China making our way to the top. Before leaving Leshan, we visited the markets to lay in a supply of snacks for our hike:

I love markets like this and especially enjoyed seeing this man with his bicycle modified to haul an oven for roasting sweet potatoes on the back:

One more day in China, and it would be another big one.

Back to Chengdu, China

It rained during most of the bus ride from Yibin back to Chengdu, China. The low-hanging clouds made for a beautiful effect as we crossed valley after valley.

Once back in Chengdu, three of us said goodbye to our bus and the large tourism festival group and joined our local guide for a walk through an area known as the Wide and Narrow Lanes.

Throughout this area, sculptural vignettes told the story of what had been here in the past.

The area reminded me of Jinli Ancient Street, which we had seen on our first day in Chengdu, but it was a little more open, less crowded, and a bit less touristy (although it obviously still catered to tourists).

I had heard about these ear-cleaning — or ear massage — stations but this was the first one I’d actually run across. A little disconcerting to have wires and brushes twirled around in your ear perhaps, but the customers looked happy enough.

Time for a short refreshment break at Ding’s Coffee, overlooking a street with a photography exhibit on display.

And everywhere you turned, more snacks. Of all varieties.

Lunch under ground

Following our visit to the Miao village that I wrote about in my last post, we boarded the bus and headed to an undisclosed location for lunch. After more winding roads, we eventually arrived at a very large rock shelter — no — cave, as it turns out. This would be where we would have a buffet lunch amidst a stage show, laser lights and a cast of hundreds of costumed staff. Lunch in China is often an adventure.

So many dishes, so much to photograph.

Yet another stage show. Incredible, as usual.

“Pig-shaped pastries” and other dishes including Black Bone Chicken, Nanxi Goose Breast, Bamboo Soup, Jiangtuan Fish, Braised Beef, Stewed Tofu with Chopped Pork and Quick-Fried Pumpkin Sprouts. Good thing we’d be walking this off with a visit to the Stone Sea in the afternoon.

Day One in Chengdu, Continued…

Continuing the report on my first afternoon in Chengdu, China: after visiting the Jinli Ancient Street, it was time to see the modern side of the city. Chunxi Road offers an entirely different shopping experience with high-end brands and the most giant of all giant pandas, scaling one of the buildings:

Step into the shopping mall and ride a few escalators up to… maybe the fourth floor (?)… and you find yourself face-to-face with the panda:

Obviously a popular photo opp. Heading back down through the shopping center, I couldn’t help but check out the grocery store. Always one of my favorite things to see in any country, this one was extremely posh — but not so posh as to be too good to put everyone’s favorite stinky fruit, durian, on display front and center:

Hungry now, we were off for a “snack” at a local tea house. The “snack” was eventually deemed enough to suffice as dinner and it was time to head back to the hotel to prepare for the actual tourism festival events, which would start with a long bus ride first thing in the morning.

China’s Sichuan Province

Last month I was invited to attend the 2015 Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival held in Yibin, China. It was my second time in China, but my first in the province of Sichuan. With just enough time to send my passport off for a new 10-year visa, the next thing I knew I was packing up and heading off to explore a region I knew mostly the by the Americanized version of its cuisine.

I arrived on August 22nd after what I believe must have been very nearly 24 hours in the air, separated into three flights: KC to LA, LA to Beijing, and Beijing to Chengdu. It was about noon when I arrived at my hotel and, after a quick 20 minutes to shower and break out a little camera gear, I was back on the streets of Chengdu to do a little exploring.

The first stop was Wuhou Temple, the Memorial Temple of Marquis Wu (220 – 280).

In addition to cultural relics and historical artifacts, the temple complex includes beautiful gardens and a winding avenue through tall stands of bamboo.

Adjacent to the temple is Jinli Ancient Street, lined with shops, tea houses, restaurants and street food vendors:

Like a Chinese version of a State Fair, every food imaginable that could be put on a stick was being sold to lines of smiling visitors. Shops sold all kinds of local crafts and souvenirs including one stand specializing in shadow puppets:

This boy was demonstrating plastic toys that mimicked the famous mask-changing characters of Sichuan opera:

An eye-opening introduction to Chengdu and Sichuan Province, my first afternoon was just getting started. Next I’d check out some of the more modern architecture and high-end shopping options. Then an afternoon “snack” that turned out to be enough to count as dinner at a local tea house. All that, and more, in the posts to follow…

All in a day’s work

There’s not too much to tie these images together other than that they were all shot on the same day in Wichita, Kansas. Started off the morning with a little wildlife outing, managed to find myself in the awesome Donut Whole and finished things off seeing the flames lit at the Keeper of the Plains. There was much more in between, but it was really kind of a typical day in the life of a travel photographer. Never time to get bored.

A quick stop in Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena, Spain, joins my list of places that I need to return to and spend more time. I only made a brief stop — a portion of one day — last month, and it just wasn’t enough. There are architectural gems here, along with an amazing history and a bustling present. Here’s a glimpse:

First, you have to love a tour that starts with a giant glass elevator and cantilevered walkway. That circular tower is just such an elevator that takes you from the lower street level, up to the top of a hill in the center of town that overlooks the city and various Roman ruins like the amphitheatre (and former bullring) in the distance. A short walk along the top of this hill, leads to more spectacular views, and more Roman ruins.

In the lower part of the frame above is the recently “re-discovered” Roman theatre of Carthago Nova. The town had gradually grown over this structure for hundreds of years but it has now been excavated and museums are being built to house more of the artifacts that have been recovered.

There are open air sites where digs are still being undertaken that are open to the public as well:

But around all this history is a stunning, lively city with streets lined with restaurants and shops.

Should you find yourself in Cartagena (and are of age), be sure to pause long enough to order a Café Asiático, a coffee-based drink with condensed milk, brandy and a locally produced liquor, Licor 43:

Then, of course, continue exploring.

Hunger Games, Spanish style

Continuing on with documenting my recent trip to the Extramadura region of Spain, day two began with a trip to Jaraiz de la Vera to learn about smoked paprika. We heard about the cultivation and smoking of the peppers at the Paprika Museum, then visited this production facility to see how the dried peppers were milled and packaged. The row of milling machines above looked almost cathedral-like to me, which seems appropriate given how revered paprika is in these parts.

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The aroma in the plant was amazing. I wish I had a way to share that with you. Sometimes when an appetizing smell is in a really high concentration like this, it becomes unpleasant, but I found no such problem here. I left feeling really hungry — which was good because our next stop was Hervas for a lunch of venison with double deserts: chestnut pie and… something chocolatey:

More on the town of Hervas in the next post…

Michael C. Snell photography blog

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