Went for a hike two weekends ago with the inestimable Anchel y Nacho of our local hiking meetup group. The hike was absolutely amazing, although hard and very cold, brrr! We went for a leisurely eight hour stroll up Cap de la Gallina Pelada. Amazing!
So here are a bunch of fotos from the hike!
Ah, this town has seen it all! Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Berlin has seen destruction and disgrace but came out the other side with style and grace.
The idea for the trip came from Monica, who wanted to do an architectural tour and asked if Jason and I would like to join. I got so excited that I immediately started doing research on places to go, bars to check out, and interesting monuments to see. I am really glad Monica invited us!
The best overall day has to be the New Berlin Tours of East Berlin. It is a free tour that starts at the Brandenburg Gate, walking from site to site for 4 hours. Now had it not been for our incredible guide, Glynn, it could have been the most tedious four hours of my life. But instead, we had lucked out and got an energetic, hilarious, good story teller. The day was mixed with serious information and monuments and funny anecdotes.
Going to have tea with the queen? No. Better. We travelled to London to see our friend Dickfer Dave who was in town for a conference from AZ. It was really nice to see a familiar face and to be in the “English” speaking world.
Our first realization that we have started to shed our “American” identities was our reactions to the portion sizes. Even a cup of coffee was three times the size we receive in Barcelona. Only three months and already we have become accustomed to smaller dining! The next was our inability to stop speaking Spanish. We are in a town where we can speak our native tongue and there we were, asking for a “cafe con leche” and saying “gracias“. Very strange. Apart from those small changes, we had a wonderful time.
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Jason and I have been busy sampling the wonderful gastronomy that BCN has to offer. The map is an ongoing collection of places we have been to or want to try. Bon Profit!
What could be more intriguing than a restaurant claiming to serve courses made up of nothing but deserts. Woo hoo, chocolates, ice cream, pastries oh my, oh no. We should have done a little more research before booking a reservation for ourselves and 6 friends for Espai Sucre…
At ESPAISUCRE, we fight for the right of the restaurant dessert to be seen as an element with its own personality and codes, where the result, the sum of technique and experience, quietly blurs the limits that separate the concepts of sweet and savoury.
Nothing could have prepared us for the molecular gastronomy that awaited us.
The menu (these are just a few of the courses)
Holy Guacamole! Our neighborhood, Barrio Graçia, is in the midst of it’s annual festival right now. This is the Festa Major. Every barrio in Barcelona has one of these once a year, but Graçia is where all of the cool kids hang out, so ours is the best, of course.
And holy shit, is it ever! The long-term residents of the city spend the entire year planning what their street is going to do for the festival that year. About two weeks ago, large power cables began appearing all over the neighborhood, then wires began being strung across the roads, about one story high, for canopies to be built from.
You have never truly experienced living in a big city until you have been pickpocketed or mugged.
At first glance this post may seem to you just a very bad story, but do read on, it has a silver lining.
Last night I witnessed the bad side of Barcelona. I got robbed. Now it wasn’t by weapon point, the coward just grabbed my purse from my hand and starting running. Luckily I didn’t have credit cards, my passport, or my huge assortment of odds and ends that usually follow me everywhere in my “Mary Poppins” bag. I just had a small coin purse. Unfortunately the stuff that was in my purse was my cell phone (brand new and expensive), keys and 70 euros in cash.
What is better than a cake on your birthday? A massage by a very well muscled “Tony” that involves 30 minutes of scrubbing from neck to toe with a seaweed and sand mixture, a shower, and then a hour of heavenly relaxation, and a massage too. Welcome to Spaland at Gran Hotel La Florida. A beautiful hotel atop of Tibidabo, a small mountain that caps the basin of Barcelona. Jason and I arrived a half hour early and had coffee on the terrace that looks out on the city. Wow, the views, the pool, the cabanas were gorgeous and as we found out expensive! Jason wanted to swim in the pool while I got my treatment, the hotel said gladly for 100 euros! Jason decided to go off wandering, but that is another story.
Oh joyous day…Jason turned 35 on July 18th. To celebrate we met a few friends at one our favorites plaças (Virreina) for a few drinks. Monica got us the greatest gift….a small BBQ for grilling (we have been unable to break it in though, the access to the rooftop is locked) Well the fun didn’t stop there. The surprises this town holds…cool bars hidden on small streets just a stone throw from our apartment.
