Barcelona: Great in Winter, and Probably Amazing in Summer

(Above: Placa Reial)

It appears that Barcelona had its winter coat on during my visit. The company was amazing (thanks to Karey, Ally and Marta), as were the sights and eats, but I was expecting the city to be more, for lack of a more refined word, "sparkly". Nevertheless, there were many architectural and gastronomic highlights. I just think I'll need to go back when its warmer to see Barcelona reveal it's true sparkle!



(L: Gaudi's La Pedrera, R: Casa Batllo)



(Left and Right: Gaudi's Sagrada Familia)

There is no doubt that Gaudi's architecture is unique and breathtaking, but I just didn't have it in me to pay 9 Euros and up for the priviledge of seeing his buildings up close. Maybe next trip. Now this disappointed me at first and temporarily soured me on Gaudi, until we went to his Park Guell, which is, quite possibly, another of my favorite places on earth. It also happens to be quite free of charge.


(L & R: Park Guell)


(L: View of the Mediterranean Sea, Sagrada Familia and Torre Agbar from atop Park Guell, C: my dream house on top of Park Guell, R: a football/soccer game overlooking the Mediterranean on top of Park Guell)


We spent the whole afternoon in awe of the park and its surprises and treasures that awaitied us as we climbed higher and turned ever corner. There are musicians all over the park, too, which gave us some nice background music to follow us through our explorations. I really loved this place, as did my traveling companions. See? Here we are looking very happy, indeed:


(From L to R: Karey, Me, Ally and Marta)


Barcelona at night is also captivating:

(L: Placa Catalunya, C: Placa Reial, R: Church of Santa Maria del Mar on Passeig del Born)

I loved the unique design of some of the storefronts:

(R: A magic store in the Born neighborhood, C: a bakery just off of Las Ramblas, R: an Irish pub on Carrer Ferran)

Surprisingly, both these buildings below were built at around the turn of the 20th Century. They seem much older:

(L & C: Palau de Musica Catalana, R: Barcelona's Bullring)

Here is a bit of the older style architecture from around the Barcelona Cathedral and the Placa de Colon:

(L: Barcelona Cathedral, C: Barcleona Cathedral, R: Monument to Christopher Columbus at the end of Las Ramblas)

Enough architecture. Let's talk art. We enjoyed the modern variety of art at The Picasso Museum. There was one room filled with Picasso's different versions of Velazques' "Las Meninas". Here is one:

(Image Source: http://www.grafiksaati.com/Ressamlar/Pablo-Picasso/picasso_resimleri_web_sayfalari/1-41/237.jpg)

And another painting I really liked from Picasso's earlier days, is "La Salchichona":

(Image Source: http://www.oogers.com/Adventures/2005/Barcelona%20March-April%202005/La%20Salchichona.htm)

Later in his life, Picasso started making ceramic vases, plates, sculptures. I didn't know he made ceramics, so was pleasantly surprised.

There also an abundance of art in surprising places all around Barcelona:

(Clockwise from top left: Sculpture/buoy on Barcelona's waterfront, a waterfront sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein, creative walkway along the waterfront, modern metal gate near Barcelona Cathedral)

So, now, onto food and wine! We ate at some great places, most of them of the tapas variety, and there were some definite jems:

Taller de Tapas -- Great selection and ambiance

Cal Pep -- Gourmet tapas / diner, expect a wait, but also amazing food

Origens -- Has A visual menu magazine, small plates and good wine selection

Va de Vi -- Has atmosphere in spades (if you like hanging out in ancient wine cellar), features small cheese, bread and cured meat plates only plus a binderful of wine choices. Great before or after dinner spot

(L: Pan con Tomate or, in Catalan, pa amb tomàquet at Va di Vi; R: Monkfish with garlic chile oil and roasted potatoes at Cal Pep)

Some foods eaten: chipirones (fried baby squid), pimientos del padron (small roasted green peppers, pa amb tomàquet/pan con tomate, Moroccan spiced chicken skewers, roasted asparagus, fried artichokes, pineapple carpaccio with catalan cream, crema catalana, chistorra (Basque-style breakfast sausage), boutifarra amb mongetes (a lightly seasoned and grilled Catalan sausage with white beans) and Calçots (fried spring onion shoots).

Some wine drunk: Tinto de Tarragona (2007), Gine Gine Priorat (2005), Nita Priorat (2007), Onix Priorat (2005), Can Feixes Penedes (2005 ), Luis Alegre Rioja Crianza (2005) -- all except the last are from wine regions in Cataluña, where Barcelona is located. The region is also home to Cava, the sparkling Spanish wine similar to France's Champagne. Most sparkling wines tend to make me ill, so I abstained on this trip :-) All the wines we tried were either dirt-cheap and quaffable, or just slightly more expensive (10-20 Euros/bottle) and divine. My favorites were the Gine Gine Priorat and the Can Feixes Penedes.

(Above: Entrance of La Boqueria)

And now it's time for one of my other favorite places in the world, Mercat La Boqueria, where there are feet upon feet of produce, seafood, meats and prepared foods to be had. We went twice just to make sure we didn't miss any of the good, the interesting and the grotesque (blood cake, anyone?)

(Clockwise from top left: the pork purveyor's case, a cured meats counter, seafood seller's spread, Calcots/spring oniongs, the wild game vendor's display)

Here is the Barcelona crew again:

And a few parting shots of an impressive balcony garden that was a bright spot on an overcast day.

And a candle display displaying the Catalan word for peace during a anti-Israel demonstration we happened upon. Okay, fine, it was also an anti-American protest, too. I chose not to focus on that, though. Let's just all focus on peace, people!

...And Now for Something Completely Different

Rare is the picture of yours truly in this blog, so here are some delightful snaps from recent trips:



(Left: Brussels -- Me enjoying a true Belgian waffle; Center: Bruges -- Me enjoying frites in Bruges while someone runs off theirs in the background; Right: Barcelona -- A good meal is followed by a lipstick reapply, of course)

Photo Credits: Miss Meghan Hennick (Brussels and Bruges) and Miss Ally Day (Barcelona)

No Clogs, No Tulips, but Amsterdam Just the Same

(Houses and Houseboats along an Amsterdam Canal)

One three-hour train ride later from Brussels and we were in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This human-scaled city feels very comfortable, but there are enough bikes and trams around to make any walk here a potentially hazardous one. Stereotypically a land of clogs and tulips, the only ones we came across in Amsterdam were behind souvenir shop glass. Though this was winter, and we know better to return in the spring if we really, really feel the need to see wooden shoes and flowers.

Bikes rule in Amsterdam. They are everywhere! It is the preferred mode of transportation for locals and it's no wonder: the public transportation tram system here is not a straightforward system (at least to me on my first time here). And the city is as flat as a board, so biking is easy. Another fun little piece of information is that locals own more than one bike and often choose to ride the most run down of the lot to avoid them being stolen. An interesting anti-theft device, no?

Another interesting thing about Amsterdam is that the locals here are, at minimum, bilingual in English and Dutch. No worries about communicating here.

(Art Nouveau Dining Room at the Café Americain)

It's not easy to identify or find authentic 'Dutch Cuisine' here, but we were able to enjoy Poffertjes (Dutch pancakes) and zoute drops (salty Licorice candy).

I am a sucker for Art Nouveau architecture and design, so it should come as no surprise that our blow-out meal was at the Cafe Americain in the Hotel Americain in the Leidesplein area of Amsterdam. It is a Dutch national monument to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The restaurant served good, straight-forward International cuisine using local ingredients and I had the experience of having Hollandaise sauce in Holland...imagine that!

Dinner was followed by an express visit to the seedier side of Amsterdam that included 'coffee shops' and the Red Light District, all conveniently located close to Amsterdam's Centraal Station.

(Left: Interesting stacking of buildings and shapes at the Rijksmuseum; Center: View of the Westerkerk Church from the Anne Frank Huis Museum; Right: Painted window shades at the Rijksmuseum)

Earlier in the day we high-tailed it to the Anne Frank House on Prinsengracht. I read The Diary of Anne Frank years ago in school and it made a mark. The diary chronicled the experience of a little Jewish girl who's family has to go into hiding during WWII. Going to the museum and seeing where she spent her days in hiding reading and writing was a surprisingly emotional experience. Especially when I realized that the father was the only one from the war who survived. He came back to the house on Prinsengracht, found everyone and everything gone, except for Anne's diary, which he later published. The rest, as they say, is history.

(Above: Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms)

It was then time for the Van Gogh Museum. Yes, that same crazy Dutch painter who cut off his ear, etc., etc. Most of these paintings I was seeing for the first time and that was a great experience. Two stars, in my opinion, are missing from the collection: The Olive Grove, which is in another museum in the Netherlands and Starry Night, which is in the MOMA in New York City.

(Above: Vermeer's The Milkmaid)

I took an express trip through the famous Rijksmuseum, that didn't really do it justice. The museum is a repository of Dutch masterpieces from Vermeer to Rembrandt to Hals. I was only able to spend about a half hour there. Oh, well...there's always next time!

(Above: Gate from Vondelpark, near our hostel, StayOkay)

Speaking of next time, here are a few items on my must see and do list when I return to this amazing city:

*Canal Cruise

*Eat Indonesian Food (Indonesia was a Dutch colony and this is probably some really interesting unique food)

*Rent Bikes and pretend to be a local

*Shop

*Stroll through the Vondelpark and snack at its cafe (it's supposed to have great views!)

*Eat at some of the outdoor snack vendors on Museumplein

*Fotografie Museum Amsterdam

*Heineken Brewery