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"  We&amp;#039;re nearing the end of our journey, but no trip to Spain would be complete without a taste of authentic paella. Mario and Gwyn are on the hunt for the ultimate version of the classic Spanish dish but first take a stroll along the choppy Mediterranean sea- or as Mario calls it, the &amp;quot;Med.&amp;quot; They make a striking pair: Gwyn, clad in wellies and an all-black ensemble and Mario in trucker hat and his signature rubber footware. They sit by the shore (on a blanket Mario mysteriously produces from nowhere) and reflect on their previous trips to Spain. Gwyn talks about her schoolgirl days at Spence and her seven-week stay as an exchange student, where she chowed down on blood sausage and learned to speak the language. The trip not only sparked a lifetime love of Spain and many more trips, but also a lifelong bond with her host family. (Fun fact: she took two of her &amp;quot;Spanish siblings&amp;quot; to the Oscars one year.) Mario shares stories about his first exposure to Spain; his father, a Boeing employee, was stationed there when Mario was in high school. His parents, big-time culture buffs, dragged Mario and his siblings around to all the famous landmarks, experiencing the native cuisine along the way. Eventually, he started to realize that it actually was cool to go to museums and eat jamon. Let&amp;#039;s call it the birth of Mario. The conversation circles back to their current voyage; Gwyn says she couldn&amp;#039;t think of anyone more knowledgeable or fun to travel with than Mario. Did I see him blush or was that just his usual rosy hue? But enough pillow talk. There&amp;#039;s paella to eat! So they journey on to Alfafar, an area known for la bomba rice, the starchy, short-grained stuff used for paella. I expect them to pull up to some sort of restaurant, but instead they arrive to find an old man outside stoking a fire, somewhat grumpily. Manuelo is the &amp;quot;zen master of paella&amp;quot; according to Mario (enough with the zen master stuff, already!) and he does look pretty focused on that fire. So much so that he barely acknowledges Mario and Gwyn. Doesn&amp;#039;t he know he&amp;#039;s in the presence of greatness? In one uninterrupted epic of a scene, Manuelo adds ingredient after ingredient to a giant paella pot as Mario and Gwyn wisecrack in the background like two teenage stoners. Mario peppers the poor guy with questions about ingredients and measurements (&amp;quot;How much seafood broth is that?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Is that about two tablespoons of paprika?&amp;quot;), most of which he answers with a shrug or smirk. Sheesh, let the man make his paella in peace! Finally, the paella is produced: steaming hot, crusty, and not at all like the brothy versions I&amp;#039;ve eaten. Can it be that I&amp;#039;ve only known the taste of faux paella? They eat with Manuelo&amp;#039;s family, a serious bunch who would rather focus on the food than pal around with celebrities. I seriously expected one of them to say, &amp;quot;Who are these people and why are they talking so much?&amp;quot; Meanwhile, Bitty&amp;#039;s back in town and reunited with Claudia. They are mostly relegated to the car this episode, driving around Valencia, taking in more exquisite architecture, like the futuristic-looking Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciencies, the city&amp;#039;s science center.  Thanks to the magic of editing (never mind that everyone&amp;#039;s wearing different clothes), the gang is reunited for dinner in Valencia at an old-fashioned tapas restaurant called Casa Monta\u00F1as. It&amp;#039;s been awhile since we&amp;#039;ve gotten a four-way tapas segment, and everyone looks happy to be together. There are appreciative comments all around about Gwynnie&amp;#039;s new, shorter haircut. In an oddly poignant moment, she says that she let her hair grow so long because she didn&amp;#039;t want to change her appearance after her father died several years ago, but then it grew so long she couldn&amp;#039;t deal with it and finally chopped it off. Lucky for Gwyneth, she&amp;#039;s so beautiful that a chop job actually looks great on her.  Our heroes share course after course of fabulous-looking dishes, starting with a plate of kidney-like beans, the flavoring of which is described as the &amp;quot;chef&amp;#039;s secret.&amp;quot; Gwyneth spears a large bean with her fork and proclaims it delicious. When Bittman suggests, &amp;quot;The chef&amp;#039;s secret is these are not vegetarian,&amp;quot; she slams down her fork and fakes vomiting. Hidden pork or no hidden pork, someone needs to put their manners back in. Where&amp;#039;s Tom Cruise when you need him? The meal continues on and on with fresh and canned clams (a luxury product in Spain), baby artichoke hearts, and cubes of fried potato, of which Bittman seems unusually skeptical for some reason.  The next morning, Mario and Claudia sightsee throughout Madrid, Mario&amp;#039;s old stomping ground as a teenager. They trade their Mercedes for a teeny eco-friendly smart car, and Claudia takes the wheel as Mario points out all of the major landmarks, like Calle Serrano (Spain&amp;#039;s version of Fifth Avenue), Plaza de Colon, Del Prado, a bevy of modern skyscrapers, and, of course, the Hard Rock Caf\u00E9. Of course, Mario disses the tourist trap, but Claudia admits she worked there as a hostess and even demonstrates her technique for telling Americans their table is ready. Is it possible to love her even more?  Highlights: Seeing what authentic paella looks like. The gang reunited. I would have enjoyed more scenes with all four of them instead of this weird double-dating concept. Listening to Gwyn and Mario reminisce about their past trips to Spain. Lowlights: Not enough Bittman. The endless paella segment. I thought poor Manuelo was going to smack Mario upside the head with a log and throw Gwyn in the fire. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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