Yum, Yum, Yum - Barcelona

I have been told a lot about Barcelona so I tried to keep my expectations as influenced by those around me as much as possible. I am happy I did this, because it is not like my sources were wrong, but the feelings you get when you're experiencing something as magical as this city, is something no one can ever give to you. Yes, Barcelona is magical in so many ways. I had a couple little buddies on the tour, one who tried to "photobomb" every picture I took. I say this one turned out pretty awesome though!

During my time in Barcelona there were certainly some very high, highs and some very low, lows as well. Unfortunately Lufthansa's pilots decided a good day for them to strike is the day out group of 150+ was supposed to fly out. Rebooking two extra days to their entirety, as well as flights, for all of them was not initially in our plans, but it was done successfully so as much as our time was consumed on that toward the end of my time in Spain, there are plenty highlights that outweigh that without a doubt.

We sometimes give our highs and lows for the day in my house and I like to start with a low, to get it out of the way, if there even is a low. So that's what I am doing here - now onto the many, many highs of the beautiful city. The food, the people, the cava, the food, the people, the cava...I could go on forever! I also had some of the absolute best company in Sandra and our new friend, Cristina that kept everything that much more enjoyable, too! By the way, I think this was one of my favorite cavas I have had and if you can ever taste it - do not turn it down! The label even makes it that much more fun, too!

I was fortunate to have a good amount of time exploring the city and then experiencing some absolutely beautiful churches with our groups. I have really loved that aspect of being away, during Lent in particular, is that I get to experience these beautiful churches during such an important time of you. Something always "clicks" within me when I am in the church and saying some prayers or lighting a candle - no matter where I am in the world I am fortunate to experience and bring my faith with me. That's special!

 

Anyways, our choir on tour sang at La Sagrada and Santa Maria del Mar. They are both equally beautiful and equally different. La Sagrada has been continuously been built for many, many, many years now and it is just jaw dropping. Santa Maria del Mar has this romantic feel to it and when you hear the choir's amazing voices you are just completely lost in the moment.

Now the food! Wow! I experience high end, absolutely authentic, tapas - everything! Yes, my pants still fit. I've been practicing self control pretty well - minus the cava. I cannot say no to cava! Anyways, one of my most memorable dining experiences during my trip as a whole definitely goes to Montiel. They offer two tasting menus and wine pairings and you go and enjoy. The food was beyond flavorful, cooked to perfection, plays on many different textures and flavors and all around great quality food. They are considered "farm to table" as well, which is my favorite kind of style so after hearing that I was all in and couldn't wait to taste! It was a quite lunch as so we were fortunate to have some extra special attention for the staff. With each new dish or wine, the descriptions were always spot on and even helped me find an even more in-depth flavor profile I may have never reached. It was a dining experience and that is my favorite way to dine! I will admit, we came back with two couples on our tour for a second time to be equally as blown away, and so I was really able to see what the chef does in the kitchen. One very unique concept to me was frozen olive oil (like ice cream) and also a frozen component on the tuna dish that tasted like lettuce. How cool?! It was just a wild burst of flavor in your mouth as well as the different textures. It was just so enjoyable! In all seriousness, though, I may move to Barcelona for their "citrus diversity" dessert. Whoa baby! Again, many different textures, temperatures and flavors which all were in the citrus "family". Curd, granita, foam, wow! I fell in love with it and, anyone of you who knows me, once I get a craving for something that I cannot take off my mind it is almost impossible to talk me out of getting it. So I may be visiting Barcelona a little more than I originally anticipated!

 

 

 

 

I love the different areas of Barcelona, similar to a big city, but didn't feel as big! There are definitely areas to shop until you drop but there are, like mentioned, gorgeous churches, museums, restaurants and history. I loved walking through the Gothic Quarter and Born as they seemed a bit older, rich in history and the little shops, bakeries and restaurants around there felt extra special to me. I am looking forward to getting back so I can see even more and experience it all over again!

It is onto France for me now, but not until a little Sandra, Jenna road trip that took us to find some pretty amazing places! In the meantime, I pray the French have some patience with me/can't see that I have phrases written on my hand...we'll see! 

xo

P.S. I also learned how to make an out of this world, gin and tonic. I cannot wait to make them when I get back, too! I am doing a lot more than drinking, too, if this post started to turn a few heads!

Montserrat

Montserrat, I adore you! It is a beautiful monastery, high in the mountains with a magical church, restaurants, museums - it's like their own village. Like I mentioned, it is very high on a mountain so we were able to take a cable car down to really take in all the scenery!

The Choir on our tour were able to perform quickly inside of the church and it was breathtaking. We stopped here on the way to Barcelona for Valencia and I am so happy we did. My words cannot describe in a way that my pictures could, really! We did not have much time but the pictures say it all I think!

Montserrat is one of those places where it truly is hard for me to put into words with how exquisite it is and that's why I will put many pictures on this so you can get a feel for it, even without being there!

 Before we did a tasting, we had a fav picnic lunch. Wine goes with every meal and the little sandwiches with Manchego cheese between in a baguette is Also, in Montserrat, they are known for their fine liquors. We had a very nice quick tasting of four of their specialities. They packed a lot of flavor including flowers, cinnamon, etc. It was fun to experience, and taste their local products.

On this very special tour of mine, I am finding myself more and more connected to the churches I am visiting and it has been a unique way to spend Lent. This was gorgeous but headed to Barcelona and there you will see my favorite church and what really "spoke to me"! 

xo

Fallas & Paella in Valencia

From Cuenca we have traveled to Valencia, which took about close to 3 hours (with a bathroom break) and we entered the beautiful city that is in the midst of their “Fallas” celebration! It is huge for their city as many people come near and far to experience it - and we actually did not plan to be there specifically for that so it turned out we could see something amazing!

People work all year on these huge sculptures to present, which are called Fallas. They are huge and a way for the people to express themselves and make fun of people or situations about politics and politicians  Each tells their own story and at the end of it, one sculpture is declared the winner. The rest get lit on fire and burned and that’s the finale to the special celebrations! There are lots of fireworks, at various times of the day, and it is just huge parties in the streets! Also, they have a tribute to Mary where they place flowers on this (picture below) and eventually completely filled with flowers. I saw it before but can only imagine how amazing afterwards. People dress up in costumes and sing and dance in the streets. Their hair and head pieces looked similar to Princess Leia and we found out that is the symbol of Fallas. St. Patrick’s day in Spain doesn’t provoke too much celebrating but we definitely saw lots of green and guinness being served! 

My favorite part of Valencia is the “Agua de Valencia” - and it is cava (champagne) and orange juice. I know some are like, “well duh, a mimosa” but this is way more! The orange juice in Spain, I know I have mentioned, is out of this world and in Valencia they grow their own oranges and so that’s what is used. Next time you buy oranges, look at the label because I bet you have had one at one point! So combine two of my favorite things, Spanish orange juice and champagne and life is good! I will go back there just for that actually or try my hardest to replicate it in some way because I want everyone to be able to experience those flavors!

 

In the evening, we took our tours out in the “country” to rice farms where we had a paella party! All varieties of paella and it was absolutely delicious and a unique and rustic experience. The one part of being here that is so important to me, is trying the local cuisine and that was just that! 

Final stop of this tour is Barcelona and will be there for a couple of days. I have heard amazing things and I cannot wait to take it all in!

Sight Sleeping & Sipping in Cuenca

Wow! Cuenca is absolutely magical! We stayed in a prime location as our view of the city, was perfect. There are two parts of Cuenca, the new town and the old town. We stayed in the old town and my pictures will show you why! I am fortunate to have spent two nights in this quaint town as it was a nice change of pace from Madrid. The hotel was a special experiencing and defines the meaning of “sight sleeping”. 

 Walking is prominent in Cuenca as the roads to get around are tiny and steep! I was able to get good workouts in from up the hills and stairs - everything was so steep but it was amazing and how cool to have a city up so high like that? They are known for their hanging houses and my view allowed me to see them perfectly. In order to get from the hotel to old town, we had to cross a long, wooden, almost wobbly bridge. I am not afraid of heights but I do get butterflies and then an adrenaline rush from them and this absolutely did that. 

The first night in Cuenca the choir put on another concert and this one was much more quaint and the entire city of Cuenca was there to see them sing. It was beautiful - some people even drove an hour to see them! They loved their voices and the choir was fabulous by greeting the people and really showing their appreciation for them being in the audience. They sang in an octagonal church so their voices sounded unbelievable and their faces when they first heard themselves was magical to them! 

The town is little but there are plenty of places to explore! One of my favorite parts of this stop was the wine tasting in a family owned vineyard, Pago Calzadilla and that was so beautiful. I can only imagine what it looks like in the summer with all the greenery and the scenery. It was absolutely beautiful! We were able to taste four different wines, enjoy cheese, chips and chicharrones - perfect! I truly did not know how popular potato chips were here but they are! 

  

 

 

I made an amazing new friend named Jenn and she is very photogenic! She has an unbelievable personality and her smile is contagious so I had to share her with you! 

The lovely sunset while drinking red wines made me think of my Dad as two of his favorite things. Unlike him, I only got a couple of pictures of the sunset and not a whole card filled with them! It would have been fun to experience with him!

"Love What You Do" - Madrid

Madrid has come and gone and it was a very quick trip for me there! I was able to stay in the heart of the city and so truly able to get to experience it even with only being there for a day.

Like I mentioned, I am not with a big group so there are much different responsibilities here as they are the clients and we are making their tour of Spain as best as we can. I am with some amazing people and a variety that are some well traveled, foodies, wine connoisseurs, you name it! They are interesting people and I am enjoying so much getting to know them and seeing the smiles on their faces when we do experience aspects of our tour that they have not experienced before. Café con leche is the important phrase to know and then, as one of my first impressions was this very, random wall but it states "Love what you do" - how true is this? 

Anyways, I arrived and instantly went with Sandra around the city - she has been many times but has discovered a new found love for the city and I am very fortunate I had my own special guide to show me the best spots in town. My favorite stop of them all was “Mercado de San Miguel”. It is a very, very popular destination on the weekends for locals and tourists alike, but it is a large market full of anything you can imagine! Fruits, vegetables, fresh seafood, drinks, pastry, tapas, tapas and more tapas! It was a beautiful day in Madrid and it was jam packed. That is the place to be on a Saturday afternoon sipping on some cava and enjoying some tapas. I never wanted to leave, but at the same time, so much more to see and explore! 

 

Walking through the streets, and I am not comparing anything to Germany as they are all separate locations, but very different! The first word that came to mind when walking through the famous square and tiny side streets was that Madrid has a lot of spunk! That may sound weird but just edgy and they totally rock it! 

I love walking around and seeing all the beautiful meats, cheeses, even octopi in the windows! The food scene is unbelievable and they want you to see that with their displays in the windows. Now, as I have mentioned, Sandra has been to Madrid plenty of times, but she has also traveled the world so her advice is the best advice to take, especially when it comes to food! In bigger cities, like Madrid, there are so many restaurants you can choose from! Here is the best advice from her - do not eat at a restaurant, if you want local and fabulous cuisine, if there are pictures of the on display outside of the restaurant, if the menu is given in three different languages or if someone is outside trying to get you to come in. Find the restaurant where the old men are sitting and hanging out, which is normally off the beaten path, but that’s where you will find your restaurants that will make an impression and really let you indulge in the local cuisine.

The night I arrived in Madrid most of the people of our group did as well and so we had a tapas dinner in honor of them in a gorgeous space in the hotel. The food was absolutely amazing! We ate some typical Spanish dishes which was a very fun way to kick off the tour and even moved the “party” over to a small tapas restaurant directly next to the hotel. I loved experiencing that as we simply sit and grab off plates of people bringing the variety of tapas around. Once finished, all tapas have a wooden skewer in them, you bring the skewers up to the register to pay. I thought that was pretty cool as it is an honor system and we were honorable!

 

Let me just tell you - breakfast in Spain is out of this world. Everything you could possibly want and all the fruit is already sliced so nicely for you, it is absolutely amazing. Meats, cheeses, eggs, breads, pastries, you name it, they have it! However, the one aspect that absolutely steals the show is the orange juice. OH. MY. GOSH. I cannot describe it and orange juice at home it just not the same. Usually I can maybe drink a small glass at a time, but this, I went up for seconds, and sometimes thirds. Wow! 

  

  

 

The morning before leaving Madrid I enjoyed a city tour with our group. We did not have lots of time, and with how big the city is, we had a local guide come on our bus and take us around. That was the best way so we could see as much as possible! It is a very busy city, but it was Sunday, so not many people around. I love that about Europe - they truly take Sunday very seriously as time to be spent with family. Also, we had a group singing in the Almudena Cathedral and I was able to experience a catholic mass in Spanish for the first time. That was special and the choir’s voices sounded amazing with the acoustics of the church! I have not thought too much about Spanish since my last day of high school, but it is pretty cool being able to recognize and understand (some of the time) what people are saying. That’s very different then when I was in Germany, that was completely foreign to me expect “hello” which is “hallo” - if I had issues with that, we would certainly have an issue, I think! Anyways, the mass was beautiful and it was very special experiencing that, especially during Lent! 

 

Now on to Cuenca! 

Adios! xo