[ applause ] ♪ ♪ ♪ i always feel slightly depressed by beautiful vistas. you know i mean?

♪ ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha la la la la sha la la la la la ♪ ♪ sha la la la la ♪ sha la la la la la la ♪ ah, the storybook kingdom of granada.

one of the oldest, most complex, magically surreal places in spain. and one of the most beautiful. granada is tucked against the sierra nevada mountains of andalusia in southern spain. it's not like barcelona. it's not like san sebastian. it ain't madrid. any reasonably sentient person who looks at spain, comes to spain, eats in spain, drinks in spain, they're going to fall in love. otherwise, there's something deeply wrong with you. spain is the sort of place that never really made any sense anyway, and in the very best possible way. this is the country that gave us the spanish inquisition. also anarchy. this is where devout catholicism mixes with surrealism, modernist cuisine with traditional tapas. christianity and islam traded places, shared space. the effects and influences of all those things are right here to see.

you can almost look back through time and through the mists of history and see the phoenicians marching up across the vega, or are those feral hippies? an influx of hippies many of whom appear to have set up squats in the caves of the mountain have made things interesting. when you ask what do you do? and you say we are staging the moon landing. wherever you are on the ideological spectrum, however, some things are constant, it seems. some stereotypical expectations. it's true, there are free tapas everywhere. yes, they do actually take siestas, which is a civilized damn thing to do as far as i can see. flamenco, yes, they do that also. but in granada, they do it old school. and oh yeah, bullfighting. they do that here, too. but i digress. i'm here, actually, to answer a question. what happens if you go over to

the other side? say you grew up in the states and, like a lot of us, wondered, fantasized about what it would be like living abroad in old europe, surrounded by crusader castles, delicious food, another language, another culture? what would that alternate life, that road not taken be like? my longtime friend and cameraman from maine, zach zamboni, is finding out. so where are we going? >> right here, one of these tables. which maybe we want to do like this with? see? how often can you go out with somebody can properly block the table? >> it's a misery is what it is. >> oh, boy. >> ay, yes, of course. snails in an almond sauce. about as traditional and as delicious as it gets. that's a plate full of perfect happiness. >> great tapas, right? >> that's right. tapas come from here. this is still one of the few

places in spain where they're free. all you have to do is keep drinking. >> you can sit here all day. just order a couple drinks. >> right. no rush. plan on spending some time here. red wine ordered. tripes to follow. tender, spicy, delicious tripe. >> sun, plaza, guts. pretty [ bleep ] good. >> hello. hello! >> not too long ago, before zach basically defected to spain, he met fuen. the next thing you know, he's living here. part of an extended andalusian family. eating the ham, drinking the wine, living the life of the spanish dandy. in freaking granada, no less. classically, culturally speaking, do you want a sensitive, nice, caring thoughtful guy? >> well, it depends on the woman, first, but usually we look for this kind of person that we know he will protect us. >> from what? feral hippies? >> for example, you know -- >> i would like to do the vows

of your wedding. do you, zach zamboni swear to protect fuen sanchez from any attacks by feral cave-dwelling hippies who attempt to sell her jewelry or other things of little value. >> i figure now that zach is marrying into a spanish family, i can piggyback along for a bit. suck up a little of the magic, live off of what has been my dream, too. >> if we can get weird for a second here, man. >> oh, boy. >> some places, do they have an energy, man, about them? >> what are you saying, man? >> you know, i don't want to get into metaphysics or -- you know, some places we go. >> you're going to end up living in a cave if you keep talking like this. more wine. to see spain, to see it straight, to understand it at all, you should probably peek, if only through spread fingers,

at that most spanish of traditions. bullfighting. meet el fandi, one of spain's most dashing and respected bullfighters. he's invited me to la marchesas ranch, a private bull ring where he likes to practice. >> so what you're going to do now is going to check how brave. >> and if the calf is not brave, stew. >> exactly. >> along with me for the day, fuen's brother, alejandro, who, like many spaniards, consider bullfighting an art. today a little practice first. don't worry, this guy is too young to fight. ♪ ♪

>> you see the red cape, you know this is the most important thing. where they make all the art, all the poetry. exactly. >> why the cape? not the man? >> because it's moving. >> so that's important? >> that's important. >> you don't want it to be moving at all. >> you don't want to be moving at all. >> it seems they get more attracted to -- >> this guy clearly has spirit. right away he tries to take a poke at zach's femoral artery. promising. >> now's your time.

>> i don't think so. >> sure. now's your time. you and him. he's going to teach you. >> yeah? >> sure. >> no one likes to look like a pussy on tv, so when he jokingly suggests i join him in the ring to wave a pink cape at an aggressive young bull who just moments ago charged my cameraman, i say, what any idiot would say -- si. it all starts well enough. hey, this is fun. this is easy. until i get a horn hooked right up next to my nut sack. then it's not so fun. thanks, guys. this youngster shall live, perhaps to gore a future tv host with his mighty horns. >> now, this, this is what a real bull looks like. this is a whole different thing. 500 freaking killos of aggressive charging four-legged killdozer aiming at your meat and two veg. that's a lot of muscle. >> yeah, it's a lot of muscle. that's a big bull. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> no matter how big, how strong, how scary, for this intrepid reporter who's seen many animals die for his dinner, this part is never easy. >> so as you see, he puts the

cape lower. so when the bull brings the face forward, showing the neck -- that's it. good one. that was very good. and, yeah, that's it. >> it's time for stew. bull stew. our friend went to a better place after all. like a big pot where he simmered slowly for hours with local herbs, onions and potatoes. nothing like a roaring fire and a spread of ham, homemade chorizo, spanish cheeses, bread and good olive oil to take the sting out of a near genital mutilation. >> nice. >> looks good, huh? >> it's not a bad place to come? >> no. he started at age 19? [ speaking foreign language ] when you were a little boy growing up, you aspired to be a bullfighter? >> exactly. >> the matadors were the

original rock stars, the very ideal of masculinity, male beauty and grace. that runs deep. like it or not, you should probably know this before dating a spanish guy. me, i'd happily see an end to it tomorrow. but there is no denying the terrible beauty of a very complex tradition. it's not about winning. it's not about killing the bull. and nor is it about being just skillful. you have to look good doing it, too. are there any like really ugly ass bullfighters? a really out of shape -- a muffin top. how do you call a muffin top? [ speaking foreign language ] >> there's everything. >> interesting. well, it was an education today and a great meal. thank you. >> cheers. >> cheers.

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ee ♪ holy week, or semana santa as it's called, observed all over southern spain with a seriousness and a fervor you might not see elsewhere. ♪ for the seven days leading up to easter, nearly every city in andalusia gets taken over by ancient processions. to an outsider, it's an impenetrable montage of confusing, yet deeply evocative images.

figures in dark hoods loom up from every direction. smoke pots of incense, candles, religious imagery and the crowds. flashes of goya, dimly remembered impressions of the inquisition. [ speaking foreign language ] okay, watch this. these guys got to get their painstakingly crafted massively sized and incredibly heavy and cumbersome float through the door, down the steps, and out into the street. >> but the woman who escort virgin they wear candles to light all the way to the cathedral. >> pedro is another of fuen's brothers, the youngest, and when not working for an i.t. company in ireland, he does this. he carries crushingly heavy religious floats. they're called castellaros, and they devote months of training to this. >> that thing is huge. >> is it huge.

this is very, very heavy. very heavy throne. >> the virgin float, about 3,500 pounds total, and precise dimensions that have to make it through door just so. the bearers have to kneel, crawl along with it on their backs to get it through the door. and the main event. ready, set, up. [ cheers ] ♪ ♪

let's face it. i like a procession and all, but who likes a bunch of guys in hoods coming in your general direction? i don't. frankly, it creeps me out. time for a drink perhaps. this is tabernacle, as best as i understand it, an easter jesus and mary themed drinking establishment where between drinks one can ponder the agony of the christ, but with sausages. is it like this all year? or just over easter? >> the whole year. you have incense all year. easter music all year. >> is this a week for quiet contemplation and worship or is this a party week or both? >> both of them. >> throughout the course of the week, over 40-odd processions will creep slowly through these streets. there are different

brotherhoods, each with their own sacred colors, crests, insignia and so on. it's their medallions of particular christ images that adorn the bar. and frankly, they're kind of bumming me out. maybe it's just me, but when i'm getting a nice late morning buzz, i don't particularly want jesus looking down at me from, like, everywhere. how drunk can you get here? don't you feel a little guilty for getting really drunk here? >> yeah, of course. >> whoa. >> morcilla. this is one of my favorite things. >> this is your favorite thing. try it. it's amazing. >> gaze away disapprovingly all you like, jesus. i am happy now. ♪ overlooking granada, the hillside of sacramonte is riddled with caves, many of them older than anyone even remembers. spanish gypsies have lived here in caves turned homes like this for hundreds of years. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> they call this a juergas, an informal, intimate and spontaneous performance. what jazz musicians might recognize as a jam session. >> this is it. granada, the only place in the

world where you get to see real flamenco in a cave. >> alicea just like everyone in granada is an aficionado. [ speaking foreign language ] our host is a poet, historian, and patriarch of the gitano community here. an icon of the flamenco world. you see travelers, roma people are more embraced by the culture here than most other places in europe. >> we have our own gypsies. those are ours. yeah. i can tell you three things that we for sure we do here. we do flamenco. we do tapas. and we do siestas. which -- >> you do them well. >> we know how to live, don't we? >> yeah. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ speaking foreign language ] ♪ [ singing ]

[ singing ] [ speaking foreign language ]. [ speaking foreign language ]. >> they dig deep for their [ speaking foreign language ]. [ singing ]

[ speaking foreign language ]. [ speaking foreign language ]. [ speaking foreign language ].

>> they dig deep for their material here. it means something. they're telling you something about themselves. what is the word, duende? what is duende? i've heard it. what -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> is it an emotional state or a technical -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> is unhappiness necessary for great art? [ speaking foreign language ] >> i didn't even have to think about that. [ speaking foreign language ] >> and then you perform very well after a couple of days. >> i may not have duende, but i have valentine's. i know that expression.

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♪

nighttime in granada. it's time to pursue that greatest of spanish traditions, tapas. you may think you know what a tapas is. like if you've had small bites at some fusion hipster bar where they do a lot of little plates. yeah, that ain't a tapa. how often do you do this a week? >> i do it five days a week. it's rare not to do this. but, you know, it's like on a weekend, you come out for a bunch. weekday, you come out for one. >> this is latana, a little place run by sommelier jesus and louisa, brother and sister, one bartender, one cook, taking care of everything. >> tapas are free. that's the main issue of the tapas. >> so you're just paying for the wine. >> exactly. >> so if i were, like, a degenerate wino, i could still eat well? as long as i can afford my wine, i'd eat. >> that's right. >> cheers. >> let us put this theory into practice. with our first round of drinks

comes this. >> it is tomato with bread, garlic, olive oil and blended. >> i could pretty much eat that all day. that's right. tapas are free. it shouldn't work, but somehow it does. another drink, another tapa. tomatoes, olive oil, bread. >> yeah. >> awesome. it's amazing. >> so all i've got to do is keep drinking, and and i'm going to eat like a king. >> they'll keep feeding you. although, maybe you'd be interested in caviar? >> really? >> yeah. >> that's not included with my -- >> that's not the point of the tapas. usually you have a few tapas. >> you start to get hungry. >> they're just hooking you in with this. >> it's all a scam. >> it is a scam. >> a couple little nibbles and the next thing you know you're ordering 200 grams of caviar. caviar ain't free, my friend. delicious, entirely sustainable spanish caviar from farm river sturgeon.

some high test caviar. >> oh! >> you guys are going to eat the whole thing in one. >> sorry, is there something wrong with that? not even married yet, it's nag, nag, nag. next place. let's do it. ah, tapas. what a novel concept. there's even a verb for it. tapayar. meaning to take tapas. as in if we go to tapayar some more we're going to have to elbow past this crowd of catholics here. >> is it extra insane because it's santo semana? yes, but it's always busy here, man. >> oh, boy. >> the bar we're going is just on the other side. >> maybe we go around? with parades crisscrossing the city in every direction, the

steady drumbeat washes you that your route is about to be cut off entirely for the next 40 minutes. >> we can cross. we can cross. >> we have to go around. >> where? >> going around, going around, going around. >> we need to walk past. >> pardon. pardon. [ speaking foreign language ] >> people take their processions very seriously here and aren't exactly accommodating to anyone who threatens to block the view. ♪ >> that was amazing, right? see, tell me there is not some duende in that music? >> yeah, there is duende in that music. >> finally, bar number two. oliver. this place is always packed.

beer, please. and with it comes a delightful tapa of mussels steamed in butter and olive oil. >> that's a great tapa. come on. this is what's different. people come in here and they will eat like this perfectly happy. perfectly content to forego the table, come here, stand around and eat like this. >> exactly. >> fuen's glass of wine comes with fried eggplant and honey which sounds to me like it's moorish in origin. more wine followed by these delicious little clams. >> oh, yeah. >> and the main event. now we are talking, yes. these langostines are not tapas and consequently not free. but worth it at any price. that's so totally awesome. we did good work here. >> anything else? should we go on? >> no, let's move on. >> as this death march of tapas continues, things start to get a little weird.

this is the story of my life. he doesn't do this at home? does he? >> no. thank god. now i understand what you feel. >> yes. >> every day. >> finally a little empathy. i do like the increasingly meta-aspect of this show. i should really be live streaming. now we can really be interesting. finally bar gallardo. just making it before closing. let's be honest we've had a lot to eat and drink at this point. some restraint needs to be shown. >> little fried fishes? >> dude, little fried fish. little ones. >> then we're done. >> and cheese. >> but instead, three more beers, three more tapas. cheese. little fried smelts and baby lamb chops. >> these are super good. >> these are super good.

i'm uncomfortable with the idea of something for nothing. >> it's not something for nothing. >> three dollars for a glass of wine is something for nothing. >> if somebody can get the math right in the u.s., this will take off. >> no, never. >> really? >> we will never have tapas culture in america. >> really? >> never, ever, ever. you're looking to change the entire day, from the minute you get up in the morning in america, you nap in the afternoon. are you out of your mind? >> i want to walk to my bar, i want to have a little beer. >> i want a golden unicorn that -- money. both of those scenarios are equally likely.

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every storybook kingdom needs a castle. granada, it's got a good one. the alhambra, one of the most enchanted, inscrutable, maddeningly beautiful structures ever created by man. built on top of 9th century fortifications by the nasrid dynasty and added to and added to as history unfolded through wars and tragedy and invasions and conquest. >> on the outside it's very bare. all you see are the tiny windows and its projecting impenetrability.

but then you come in here. >> zach has gone, well, let's call it what it is, a bit mad about the place. the details can obsess a man. zach is a cinematographer, so you can understand how that might get a grip on a guy whose profession is the intricate play between light and darkness. >> my theory is they're trying to weave nature, calligraphy, symbols. these are all inscriptions within here, inscriptions turned into graphics. >> because the magna carta do not depict words from god. >> yes, but what you can depict, and this is what this entire place is, is geometric systems. >> yes. ♪ >> when the nasrid dynasty lived

here, it was a harmonious space where light, shade, water, the transit of the moon and stars were harnessed and glorified. >> i think the best assumption is nothing is random. they came here and laid out everything according to -- >> a plan. ♪ this was a place for reflection, each element of design presumably intended to have effects both psychological and religious. >> it's really a cinematographer's paradise. because everything is about light and math. obviously they weren't cinematographers but everything is framing for them. >> how long did it take them to build this? >> hundreds of years. >> that's why it takes so long for you to get the shot? oh, snap. in the builders' time,

engineers, astronomers, mathematicians were like priests, magicians, possessors of divine knowledge of how the universe worked. did they want to contemplate nature or did they want to conquer it, control it? >> they were certainly trying to emulate it. all their mathematics were trying to find out how nature worked, particularly the square roots and the repetition of pattern. >> they saw mathematical patterns in the sky and on earth, the way water moved and rippled, the way things grew, the simple pine cone, a fern, a pomegranate, and they thought about the basic truths these things might represent.

>> these symmetries can all be shuffled, spun on any point and they align again with themselves. so if you stretched them out, for them they pointed to infinity. >> we will understand all things. >> through contemplating sacred geometry. >> how did nature unfold, pattern itself? could the basic designs of nature, even if divine, be replicated in this magnificent structure? trying to solve the riddle of god here. >> exactly. ♪ ♪

an hour's drive from granada, the mediterranean. unlike much of spain's coastline ruined by real estate speculators and overdevelopment, the coast around here is largely unspoiled. i'm on my way to a moraga, a tradition in these parts best described as the local version of a beach barbecue. working the grill, chef juan andres moria. he heads the highly regarded el claustro in granada.

we're joined by fellow chef raphael luca and some friends. jeff, you killing us with good-looking food here. some of that simple, magical salmarejo on toast. one of my favorite things. >> amazing. >> dried tuna flavor packed like tuna prosciutto. >> some olive oil. >> extra virgin from granada. >> it's spicy. and bitter. >> that's good. so good. ♪ >> spain is a beautiful country. we're not even eating yet and it's good. it's like a -- >> pate. >> oh, sweet. want mas. that is like the best thing in the world. >> you want to eat this? the whole thing?

>> this? yeah. chocolate. this is the chocolate of the gods. some grilled octopus and sea bream and some nice pork tenderloin and my personal favorite, a particularly delicious morcilla, fresh blood sausage. yes? i feel some duende coming on. i can just squeeze the -- i'm telling you. sexual metaphor coming. beautiful. just feeling them is -- yeah. looking good. wow. look at that. a lot of fat. >> yeah, yeah. it's quite nice. >> those were happy pigs. lazy pigs. >> the ones we like. the ones we breed here in spain. >> yeah, the pigs and the bulls are very happy here. until they're not. >> the moment of truth. >> okay, enough of the work. let's eat. nice.

[ speaking foreign language ] ♪ >> awesome. great meal, dude. great, great, great. this is the dream of all the world. the dream is to live in granada. work in the morning, have a one-hour nap in the afternoon. at night go out and have that life, you know, go out and see your friends and eat tapa and drink red wine and be in a beautiful place. you know, to have this kind of music and this food and this kind of culture and to look out the window tuned see spain. >> first, one thing. family. family is very, very, very important. >> right. see, he did it right. he's marrying into a spanish family in granada. it's cheating, man. very smart. >> he's very lucky. and a smart guy. >> right. look, no one is going to dare dream of this because this is too much to dream for.

this is extraordinary. but an ordinary life in spain looks pretty good to me. ♪ i take prilosec otc each morning

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the new, swinging zamboni lifestyle. ri risp rise early, lik. then it's down to the corner ik. coffee shop for a cafe con leche. maybe a small breakfast like toast with tomato. no more than that. light. simple. because there will be a lot more eating and drinking today, and

you want to be ready. by 2:00 p.m., he's made his way back up hill to mom's place. >> every day i come here for lunch. [ speaking foreign language ] and i walk in and she says get us two beers. so i'll get two beers from the fridge and watch her cook. [ speaking foreign language ] >> salud. >> everybody's home for easter. maria jose, zach's soon-to-be mother-in-law, and that's dad. plus, alejandro and pedro, the soon-to-be brothers-in-law, who you've already met. what this nice family doesn't realize is they aren't just gaining a son but also an annoying half drunk and extremely hungry uncle tony. and i know what happens here. >> yes, so let's -- okay. >> sitting there ready to be carved. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> you know that zach had to prove to us that he was able to cut the ham before he proposed to my sister. >> i think that's a completely reasonable policy. [ laughter ] eventually, the appropriate hour for lunch approaches. so, not to embarrass you publicly, but the maine is not exactly the mediterranean of america. let's put it that way. how is he adapting to the spanish lifestyle? let's face it, he's -- >> he's more spanish than me. >> really? >> yeah. in the first week he was like i don't understand how you can take siesta. week after, i need a siesta. >> it's interesting to see how you've made the transition. cheers. >> cheers. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> first up, this, bacaloa salad. salt cod, egg, black olives, or olive oil. remember, this is holy week. maria jose is preparing recipes

that go back through the family so far that nobody knows exactly where they even came from. migas, another iconic dish of andalusia. informally referred to as the shepherd's lunch, as the story goes, born as a way to use old, hard bread and combine all the week's leftovers. i'm told every household in spain has a variation. what changes is what you put on it. today it's sardines, cod, chorizo, melon and peppers. oh, man, that's a lot of good stuff in one bowl. so how often do you eat this well? >> every lunch is like this. >> every lunch in your life. >> every day i'm here. but lunch is -- >> big. >> big lunch, siesta. but you can't -- you know, i used to try to resist siesta. and you can't do it here. society will not accept you not taking a siesta. but that's the flow of life here. >> that sort of begs the question then, while i'm busy hating you for your life, how often are you getting drunk a

day? >> twice. one and a half. >> i can get drunk any day. [ speaking spanish ] >> that is so spanish, by the way. i know, you're like, everybody has a very distinct opinion and it's completely different. it's like, this is a fact. [ laughter ] >> whatever. >> when my time comes, i pretty much want to die at a table like this. good work, zamboni. good work. ♪ >> so, zach, are you happy with the show? >> hope we don't suck on television. >> dude, i think i'm setting a pretty low bar. i'm going to tell you this relaxed lifestyle, you know, lounging around and eating, drinking, no nap is long enough

for me. yeah, life is good. i envy you, zach zamboni. and we're out. and we're out. nice end. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening, my fellow citizens. this government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the soviet military buildup on the island of cuba. >> this is the cuba i grew up with. >> mankind teeters precariously on the brink of a thermal nuclear war. >> the missile crisis, duck and cover, hide under your desk kids, cover yourselves with wet newspaper because we're all going to die. >> the flames of crisis burn far stronger, fed and fanned by the bitter tirades of fidel castro. >> and this guy, always in the fatigues underlining with every appearance that we were two