Whew! I have had such a fantastic last few weeks. It's almost a blur I've been traveling so much (and getting food poisoning a few times - bummer). So, after another week in Quim's kitchen and the Buddhist meditation workshop (kidding about the last part; read below to see what I mean), I decided I …
Category: Travel
Another few days at El Quim de la Boqueria
Ahhh, back where I started this journey - en el Mercado de la Boqueria con my jefe, Quim. It has been fun to be back in the kitchen at El Quim's with the guys, and super busy! Summer is their busy time, of course, as it's tourist season. Many people in Barcelona take off for …
2 days in Emporda, Part II
So, onto more castle pics! The one above is a view from our castle room. Unbelievable. Below are more views. This is a day view from the top of the tower where Rapunzel was (kidding about Rapunzel - it was me): And another view from the roof of the tower: It was a gorgeous day …
2 days in Empordá, Part I
On August 2, Diana, mom and I headed out to see the countryside of Empordá and some coastal towns along the Costa Brava. The drive was really beautiful, as the Empordá countryside is dotted with farmland and well-preserved medieval towns. Our agenda for the day was to eat a restaurant Quim recommended called Toc Al …
Palau de la Musica and some other faves of Barcelona
Thursday night, my mom and I went to the Palau de la Musica to listen to and watch a lovely guitarist named Ekaterina Zaytseva. By her name alone, you can tell she's of Russian descent, but she studied Spanish guitar for years in Barcelona. She played mostly Catalan composers and threw in one French piece …
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3 days in Basque Country, Part III
Day 3: We started out for Bilbao at about 10 a.m. First stop - an old cafe where they had cool jazz art on the ceilings. Then, we walked through different quarters of the city and Ana, also having lived in Bilbao for years, narrated what we were seeing. We meandered to the Guggenheim where …
3 days in Basque Country, Part II
I realized I'm being remiss since I didn't include any facts about Basque Country in yesterday's post. So, before I continue on with day 2 and more great food we ate, I'm going to give a very brief history of Basque country. The Basque Country, also known as “Euskadi” in Basque and “País Vasco” in …
3 days in Basque country – I loved it!
Wow, there is so much to tell. First, let me say that the way to see Basque country is by way of 2 charming Basque hosts: Borja and his aunt, Ana. I would not have seen or known about 1/10th of the towns we visited and history without my wonderful hosts and tour guides. At …
Restaurant Reviews, Part 3, and some sightseeing
I know I have said I've had favorite dishes over the past 2 weeks, and the pulpo (octopus) in garlic, olive oil and parsley at Can Juli (a restaurant in Port Lligat), above, is definitely one of them. Diana, Al, Maren and I spent 2.5 days roaming Cadaques, Port Lligat, Cap de Creus (and the …
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Restaurant Reviews, Part 2
Today, I'll be reviewing Cinc Sentits and Compartir. Al, Maren, C and I decided to do lunch up right one day and head to Cinc Sentits. A picture of the 4 of us looking very happy we did is below: They only have a tasting menu, no ala carte options. Their tasting menu is comprised …
Salty Apron 