Mathilde i Gaudí

Mathilde i Gaudí

31 August 2009

Barcelona, Spain

Mathilde and Erik came for a quick visit. We had a yummy dinner at Cerveseria Catalana and a quick stop at a deserted night spot. The shiniest spot of all though: it was with Mathilde and Erik that I visited the Sagrada Familia for the first time. Nice lil' chapel.

Mathilde and Erik also did the rest of a Gaudi walk, including the Casa Batlló and the Padrera. They recommend both heartily.

a monastery & a wine festa

A Monastery & a Wine Festa
29-30 August 2009
Catalunya, Spain

We visited Poblet monastery. The lady at the cellar told us there was a wine festival that night in town, so we came back after a late afternoon drive to fantastic Siurana. It was a smaller - and Spanish - St. Paul de Vence tucked high on a mountaintop. I decided on the cuff to drive up there, and Byron turned on a dime. What a find!


The wine festival was amazing (and a great deal!) and the next day we headed back to Vilafranca to see castellers for the first time. Nothing like making human towers with young children on the top for a good time!


It was a good weekend to fall in love with Catalonia.

el primer día

El Primer Día
28 August 2009
Barcelona, Spain

Vivo en Barcelona.

Last night I arrived, and we turned on the tv: I wanted to hear the Spanish. Ley y Orden was on. It seems I may not have been kidding when I said I would learn Spanish from Law and Order! Immediately I learned a sentence through the familiar beginning: "Estas son sus historias."

Today I went to the Boqueria market and got supplies for dinner: 2 dorade, chanterelles, red peppers. When I bought the fish, I think the fishmonger was thinking, "What is this tourist going to do with this fish? Is there a kitchen in her hotel room?"

I got the chanterelles from the mushroom stall that I remember so clearly from my visit to Barcelona this past January.

I spent most of the day cleaning up and unpacking. When Byron came home, he started looking up recipes for dorade online, and we found scaling the fish was necessary, as well as reputedly quite annoying. We also lacked most other items called for in the recipe. (We need a grill!)

Byron offered to go and pick up meat, but I was excited to cook the Mediterranean staple on our first night eating in, so on the way back from my run, I picked up carrots and potatoes to bake under the fish and the ingredients for a beurre blanc sauce. The recipe called for white wine vinegar, but I was moved by the different kinds offered at Corte Ingles and instead chose Jerez vinegar over chardonnay and muscat.

Tonight we are going to our first IESE party at Lars, Kathy, and their flatmate's place on C/ Valencia, which is just one street down from where we ate last night. A short paseo away!

Tomorrow we are picking up a rental car from the airport and heading on our first Catalonian adventure. On Sunday we are going to Vilafranca for the celebration of its patron saint, San Felix. Vilafranca celebrates with castellers competitions. Teams compete at building the tallest human or towers. In the meantime, we haven't decided where we're headed, north towards the Costa Brava or south toward Tarragona.

I'll report back. x