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Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
 | | 04/19/2008 4:42 PM |
| I know. I'm in Barcelona and end up with... cheese pizza and a porkchetta dinner.
Wife is in Paris with our infant, I'm at the apartment with our 4 year old. To top things off, the 4 year old wants to go to dinner in her pajamas. Cool part is the pajamas aren't THAT obvious, and actually look cute, so I agree. And then we're off in search of pizza. We found Trattoria Pizzeria Genova Milano on C/Mallorca, 107 - 08029 (93 451 15 50)
Not that I'd ever imagine anyone else on this thread looking for a relaxing bi-level pizza/italian place in Barcelona, but if you are, it was wonderful. Saturday night and the place was half-empty. Service was great. Pizza was thin crust, with 4 different cheeses and the porchetta continued my quest to becoming a piece of jamon with arms and legs. Dessert was a chocolate eclair type pasty that was the Italian equivalent of a "thin mint wafer," leaving me to explode on the curb 5 minutes later. Dinner was 33 euros, and included a bottle Peligrino and a Moretti. | | | |
| Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10573
| | 04/19/2008 5:00 PM |
| continued my quest to becoming a piece of jamon with arms and legs.
They aren't going to let you on the plane.
Seriously, thanks for all of the notes. | | | |
| DukeRiley
McMinnville, OR
Barrel Racker
Posts:1982
| | 04/19/2008 7:55 PM |
| my quest to becoming a piece of jamon with arms and legs.
So where's the hoof going to stick out? ;) | |
Heater Allen Brewing
www.heaterallen.com | |
| GreenDrazi
Atlanta, GA
Grape Puncher
Posts:928
| | 04/19/2008 8:34 PM |
| Keep posting Drew. I'm enjoying this. Traveling in Europe with the current value of the dollar is a voyeur experience as far as I’m concerned.  | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/20/2008 6:16 AM |
| Quick note on markets, since it's raining once again - Barcelona has the equivalent of full time farmer's markets in many areas. Most famous one is off of La Rambla (la boqueria or something), but we hit the one near the apt on a regular basis. Ours has approx. 20 stalls, broken down between vegetable/fruit, fish, meat and poultry and cheese vendors. While eating out every night would be great... the market is much more practical and is allowing me to drink more wine, while still eating local food.
Buying chicken. We hit a poultry stall and I ask how much the chicken costs. There is a debate over regular vs. organic (my wife was insistent that we buy organic), at which point I get the feeling that whatever chicken we point to is going to be organic and double the price. We agree on a chicken, and the woman plops an entire chicken in butcher paper and hands it to me. I don't think the lady realized that it was a whole chicken. You know, the kind with a head. And little feet. And stuff inside. WTF am I going to do with a whole chicken? That stuff may fly with Julia Child and Jacque Pepan, but I'm not taking a whole chicken home. We have a rather animated discussion that ended with me repeating "cortado, cortado" thirty times and she chopped it up into nice little pieces and scissored off the head for us. I will say that I was impressed with the taste of the chicken I've eaten here and at least feel like I'm getting something fresh.
Buying cheese. Makes me think of the California Lottery commercial where the guy looks at the never ending cheese aisle and says "I can buy all this cheese..." Unfortunately, I skipped the fractions section of my Spanish class, so I ended up spending 10 minutes moving my thumb and finger back and forth (ala the head crusher from Kids in the Hall - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuSl5hGu_P8), but ultimately walked away with some roquefort, paremseano and a ton of manchego.
The story of the 12 euro melon. From last trip, but fits well here. We went to one of the fruit stalls and were sorting through the bananas and oranges (from Valencia, of course), and then we saw it - the twelve euro melon. Wrapped up in golden netting like a rioja reserva, the stall owner explained to us that this particular melon was the greatest melon that we would ever have, and if we thought differently, he would give us our money back. I asked him if I should rub the side and hope for a genie to appear, but my Spanish was a little rusty and he gave me a funny face. (Really, I said something about touching the melon repeatedly and hoping for a man to come out, which in retrospect, probably wasn't the best choice of words). Needless to say, we paid 12 euros for a melon. In his defense, it was the best melon I've ever tasted. | | | |
| love_cab_chard
Master of Wine
Posts:12352
| | 04/20/2008 10:45 AM |
| Exactly GreenDrazi, the reason I have avoided Europe the last 2-3 years. The exchange rate is ridiculous.
Drew, not sure if you are a fan of Dali or art in general. But, if you are check out the Dali museum outside of Barcelona. It is amazing. I am a bit biased probably since I am a big fan of his & his works, life, etc... But, that museum is a must of an art fan. Lot's of people, but well worth it. Especially for a fan of his. Also, about an hour or 2 from the museum his house which is also now a museum on the shore. Also, a great experience.
And, I am sure you caught the Gaudi park, his architecture, & his church. Etc... For me, 1 of the world's most beautiful cities, just an amazing city. Also, not sure if you are stopping @ Madrid. But, a couple of hours away is Toledo. The entire city is a national monument/museum. Amazing! Of course, the origination of the Spanish Inquisition, it is like you are part of history @ that date & time. Quite Amazing! | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/20/2008 11:35 AM |
| Dali museum is up in Figueres, which is about a 2 hr. train ride. If El Bulli (in Roses) shows mercy and grants me a reseravtion, we'll check it out, otherwise it's just too much of a pain in the ass to get to unless I make it a 2 day trip and hit Cadeques, as well.
Today's hike (after the rain) was up to Montjuic, which is where the MNAC, Olympic stadium, torch and other stuff was. Was impressed they had multiple sets of escalators, almost starting at Placa Espana, to get up to the top. Beautiful views of the city up there, not sure it would be one of my "must hits." In all, a nice tour bus stop. | | | |
| love_cab_chard
Master of Wine
Posts:12352
| | 04/20/2008 11:43 AM |
| | We took a limo. :-) We got a great deal though. A private limo to the museum & his house. I don't remember the cost, but for some reason we got a good deal on it. This is pre-Euro by the way. Actually, may be just a few months before the Euro. Dollar was higher than their currency @ that time! | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/21/2008 3:16 PM |
| Today was el dia de Gracia. I walked all of Gracia. Really. Using a AAA Barcelona city guide, which had a set 2.5 hr walk and I ended up going through some other neighborhoods just because. An amazingly beautiful area, you never know what kind of crazy building you're going to see when you come around a nook and cranny in the maze of streets in the Gracia. Highlight was tying one on in the Placa del Sol (think it was Sol de Nit), with 4 or 5 Estrallas and 2 plates of pimientos de padron (cooked PERFECT - little burn on the peppers and tons of olive oil and just the right amount of rock salt) and some chicken wings in a port/honey sauce. The peppers were fantastic, the chicken so-so, but sitting out in the sun, eating up a storm and drinking beers in the Gracia? Priceless. Grabbed some chocolates at the Montserrat chocolate store for my kiddo and then hit a gelato stand.
Sadly, I have now gone 48 hours without jamon. Will make up for it in Madrid on Wednesday, I promise.
Will post pics once I get home (heh... in May) | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/24/2008 3:52 PM |
| On the off chance someone chooses to drive from Barcelona to Madrid, here are some thoughts -
We enjoyed a quick stop in Montblanc (big castle) and then Poblet (monastery with vineyards, strange enough... pinot noir! And it wasn't awful!) Drove pretty much straight through, but I tried to get around AP 2, as the roads are pretty good on the main highways and I like to see the countryside (AP roads are toll roads). The main dif is the speedllimit, which is 120 km/hr on the tolls and 100 km/hr otherwise. If I wasn't traveling with 2 kids, we would have stopped in any little random village and spent the night. Lot of great vineyards in Spain (Board-O has done a great job chronicling them here and at winodepot) and the experience of small villages makes the trip. Only downside is that once you get outside of Barcelona, the English drops DRAMATICALLY, and the offset is on the Cataln side, not the Castellano.
Madrid has been great, as we pretty much spent the day wandering around the Retiro (think Central Park in NYC on roids... BIG roids) and then went to the Museo del Prado. If you're an art fan, they have at least 50 original Rubens, two huge Goya exhibits and a ton of Velasquez, Raphael and others. Amazing to see just how dark Goya's stuff was... Restaurantwise, we hit a huge tourist spot at Alkalde. By that, I mean they got ranked in Frommer's guide and raised their prices 50% across the board. The food was hit or miss, but I pulled a 2005 Numanthia off the list for 42 euors, which was 10 euros cheaper than retail in Barcelona? Dinner came out to 168 euros, which I thought was ridiculously over priced. We ate: wild mushroom risotto, a spanish salad, an app of grilled shrimp, spring lamb chops and Duck Magret (delicious, much better than NASS). Way overpriced, but factor in us hitting dinner at 7:25 and getting a non-smoking area (again - with 2 kids), and the way cheap Numanthia, I'm not complaining too much.
Getting into the city was brutal, and the traffic was much worse than Barcelona. Street signs are the same (little plaques in 10 font that you can't find until you've passed through the intersection) and when you have the option for a right turn, there are actually two streets most of the time (weird, criss cross grid system), so driving is definitely a pain. The park (Retiro) is amazing, and we used the day to just hang out, walk around, have lunch by the lake and play in the grass. It actually got to the point where I was tired of seeing massive statues/fountains, which is funny.
Lots of shopping, but the prices are sky-high, conversion rate not withstanding. My wife didn't realize that Spaniards use a squiggly mark for a "1" so she thought she was getting a decent deal for a kids outfit at 37 euros. I looked at the pricetag and realizes it was 137 euros... Yeah, be careful on that one in both Madrid and Barcelona.
Tomorrow, we're off to Old Madrid. | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/25/2008 4:06 PM |
| Had lunch at Botin today. Hard to believe Goya worked there in the kitchen... Prices were much more reasonable than other central Madrid restaurants, which was surprising given it's the oldest restaurant in the world and a big tourist draw. Had the suckling pig, which was good, but not great. Service was great, and the guys were patient with me lugging a stroller up the narrow flight of stairs. Also, they gave us a couple of wooden sangria spoons, so I now I have something to stir my Justin Cab and Orange Juice with.
Palace tour was cool, and we had a great time walking through all of the Inquisition-related streets/plazas (Plaza of Humiliation, etc.). Off to San Sebastian tomorrow.
Have to say I was incredibly surprised with how much I loved Madrid. I didn't go in expecting to hate it, by any means, but I'm not usually a huge fan of large, metro areas. Downtown was great. | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/30/2008 4:32 AM |
| Last update, barring anything exciting happening.
We drove from Madrid to San Sebastian, stopping in Burgos for lunch. Cathedral was amazing, and is actually the third largest in Spain. We're at the point on the trip where we're thinking "whoopee, another 300 foot tall gothic cathedral with 30 altars, solid gold altarpieces and a bunch of crypts," but the Burgos cathedral actually put some excitement back into things for the first 15 minutes or so of the tour. Aside from its massive size, El Cid and his wife are buried at the center of the cathedral, which was cool. Area surrounding the catherdal was neat, too, and we had to pass under a massive arch that looked like the front of a castle. We dined inside (only restaurant on the square without patio seating) at a restaurant and had a reasonable meal. Will update with name if I can find the card. Overall, the stop took 3 hours and was well worth it, imho.
San Sebastian. Wow. Have been to quite a few places, and this city was one of the top 3. Magnificent beaches, surrounded by cathedrals, classic architecture and all the pintxos (tapas like bites) that you can eat. There was even a carousel overlooking the beach on one side, so I got to keep the kids occupied, as well! Stayed at the Hotel Maria Cristina, which was a great choice, as it's halfway between both main beaches and is a classic hotel. They had a "third day free" promo, so it was almost affordable. The room was 3x the size of most rooms I've stayed in, almost a suite/hotel room comboed in one (chairs, flat screen TV, etc.) We did NOT do Artak, as it was closed two of the three days and we were dragging kids to boot, but we had the best fish dish I've ever eaten at Restaurant Bernardo Etxea (http://www.bernardoetxea.com/). Expensive, but a great experience and Bernardo came out and talked to my 4 year old for 10 minutes. As far as the pintxos go, I found they ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 euros a piece, and you're on the honor system. Bars are covered from head to toe with trays and you just grab and start eating. Beers were expensive (3.5 euros for a large), relative to the rest of Spain (1.5-2 euros), so I'm guessing that's where they make their money. So much to say, but the only real negative was that the Basque people speak Euskara, which is NOTHING like Spanish. I can bumble around with Catalan, but there are all kinds of TX and Z's in Euskara, so following/pronouncing restaurant names and street signs was an inconvenience. People all speak Castellano, so you're ok in a conversation, but everything has two names listed - even the city is called Donastia - San Sebastian. Leaving was fun, as I assumed "Irun" was the Basque name for "Iruna" and end up a km from the French border checkpoint, heading the wrong direction. We did not go to Biarritz, as I left the wife and kids' passports in Barcelona...
Returned to Barcelona last night and watched the Manchester United vs. Barca semi-final at a sports bar (Snookers - cool bar with several hundred bottles of whiskey in the walls). Barca lost... but I'm a Man U fan, so I just drank more and highfived a Brit we were hanging out with.
Overall, another great trip and I'd recommend Spain to anyone. Coolest part is going out in the car and stopping in many of the smaller towns and villages and just experiencing the countryside. Downside with the car, right now at least, is that if you want to get anywhere fast, you have to take a toll highway (AP), and it starts to add up. We spent 25-35 euros a day on tolls when we drove, which is brutal when you factor in the conversion rate and gas prices. That said, drinking Spanish pinot in a monastary in the hills is something you can't do by train... Apparently god felt my lips were not worthy of the experience, as both bottles I purchased later dropped on the ground (at two different times!!!) More than happy to answer any PMs if anyone plans a visit - I've done Barcelona to death, hit Madrid, San Sebastian, Granada and the East/South Coast from Barcelona down to Gibraltar (Sitges, Tarragona, Benicassim, Xabia/Javea, couple of others - I'm sure spelling is off). | | | |
| Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10573
| | 04/30/2008 8:39 AM |
| | Drew - how has your reception been traveling with your children? Thanks for all of your notes as I'm hoping to go to Spain in the next few years. | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/30/2008 9:45 AM |
| | surprisingly good with the kids. The biggest thing for us has been to show up RIGHT when restaurants open (i.e. 8:00 for dinner) and we're out of there before the rush starts at 9:30. The biggest issue for us is that Spain is one giant ashtray. EVERYONE smokes. Way worse than Amsterdam, London, etc. It's crazy. So much of the food scene is in bars that bringing kids is a huge pain, especially when it's standing room only. Typing this with an entire leg of lamb in my left hand, btw :-P | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3080
| | 04/30/2008 4:55 PM |
| One last note, as it's food related. Hit Cal Pep in Barcelona tonight. Waited in line for an hour *screaming* I won't wait more than 15 minutes in a regular restaurant line, but we'd been before and I offloaded the kids on our host and walked a mile to get there... Food was worth it, as always. Quick notes - if you go, it's a very small place that has a "food-bar" with about 20 seats. A line forms at the far end of the bar and usually snakes out to the door. You don't have to give them your name (they'll ask how many in your party) and they will direct you where to sit. Don't be surprised if you're asked to scoot down a chair or two, as they often need to make room for parties of 3 or 4.
Foodwise, you can let them drive, or brave off on your own. Website is http://www.calpep.com/ FWIW, we ordered:
Pan con tomate (comes automatically)
Tortilla (Espana) - tortilla= potato omelete in Spain, also has a couple of chunks of chorizo or jamon, depending on where you are - FANTASTIC)
Pimientos a la Padron - deep fried here (not breaded)
Atun Tartare - tuna tartare - YUM
Butifarra con habas - foie sausage drizzled in a port reduction sauce with fava beans
Crema Catalana
5 infused whip creams/mousses
Wife wasn't as hungry, so we cut it short. Alt dishes would have been:
Rape con pina (white fish with pine nuts, a favorite last time)
Alcachofa - deep fried artichoke hearts
Dishes above, with 3 Estrellas and an aqua sin gas (water w/o gas) was 66 euros. | | | |
| DukeRiley
McMinnville, OR
Barrel Racker
Posts:1982
| | 04/30/2008 8:16 PM |
| Pimientos a la Padron
Yum. One of the many things we loved about Barcelona last summer. We have a local restaurant (Spanish/NW cusine) that does a pretty good job with these, but they only have them for a couple of months during the year. | |
Heater Allen Brewing
www.heaterallen.com | |
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