Sunday - Catalan Style

 

While waiting on our corner for Albert & Diana to collect us for our day north west of  Barcelona, we saw this little van jammed with flowers:

Flower Power

First stop was Suria a small hillside village  where a medieval festival/market was being held. All locals speak only Catalan, although they can speak Spanish if necessary. There were tastings for many products including cheese, pork & sausages cooked in different ways, a locally made absinthe which was so strong Peter was unable to drink, a rice dish to feed 500 people:

Cooking for 500 - it smelled fantastic

Mature cheese anyone?

BBQ Catalan style

Onto lunch at a restaurant called Cap del Plà about 20km from anywhere and it was fantastic. Very traditional Catalan food where nobody spoke English.  Bread is toasted on the open fire and food is served simply. I enjoyed the best Crèma Catalana I've ever eaten and the view, both inside and outside the restaurant, was beautiful. the first snow of the season had fallen just a couple of days earlier. albert and Diana advised us over lunch they had become enagwed in August and are to be married next October or November. We are to be invited to the wedding - we would love to be able to attend but will have to see.

Did I mention it was .... cold?

Restaurant Cap del Plà

 

View from our table

Diana and Albert

Enjoying a little red wine

 

Nothing like an open fire to warm the behind

We finished lunch about 5pm and before returning to Barcelona we visited Cardona Castle which is also a parador where, for quite a reasonable price, provides accommodation. It also offers wedding packages for 100 guests including the banquet, accommodation and breakfast for 200 Euro.

 

We got back to Barcelona around 8.30pm. It was such a lovely way to spend a Sunday and we were lucky that the rain held off until we were driving home. Diana and Albert - very special people.

Cardona Castle

 

 

Now that's art!

 

Stormy Barcelona

We woke up on Saturday morning to the predicted rain and storms. The thunder was like no other - so loud and long! Had a quiet day until we ventured out to meet our friends Simon and Adela Dolan. Simon is the Professor at the ESADE business school where Peter spent two months study leave in 2009. As is the Catalan custom, we met  at their place (in Gracia) at 9.00 pm for a pre dinner drink before going onto dinner at 10.15 pm.

Simon and Adela took us to a restaurant called Cuines Santa Caterina which is located in the Santa Caterina's market in the middle of Barcelona - Google has some good photos as I forgot to take any - https://www.google.com.au/#q=cuines+barcelona+santa+caterina  They don't take reservations so by the time we sat down after a 10 minute wait, it was getting onto 11pm.

We had an assortment of dishes including grilled asparagus with romesco sauce, wild rice & vegetables with mustard sauce, grilled gambas (prawns) - all very fresh & delicious.

After dinner I was feeling a wee bit tired but Adela, party animal that she is, suggested we go to a drink at the oldest Brazilian bar in Barcelona. We had Caipirinha (well I had one sip) which is  Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça an alcohol distilled in Brazel. By the time we got to bed it was 2.15 am and we were due to be collected by Albert & Diana at 8.30 am for our Sunday in the mountains. They kindly agreed to make it 9.30!

Shopping in Barcelona

Friday - 15th November
A sunny day in Barcelona. Rain is forecast so we've decided to spend as much time outside as possible. We had our obligatory café con leche at Cafeteria Don Teo and met a woman from Boston who had spent the last seven weeks walking the camino de Santiago. She said she had met so many Australians in Spain, she wondered if there were any left in Australia!

We caught the Metro to Poble Espanyol. It was built in 1929 for an exhibition and is basically a 'fake village'  in which the architecture, style, and culture of various regions of  Spain are represented. It contains many artisan shops where you can watch the products being made - this is what we went for. We bought a number of handmade gifts for family & friends and some things for Mayfield Ave.

Peter with Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in background (just down from Poble Espanyol)

 

We walked the majority of the way back to Gracia, dropping into a tiny bakery which sold breads, cokes & chocolates, excellent coffee,  cava (champagne) & spirits.

The following shots were taken on our walk home:

Apartment block on Gran Via

Old bull fighting ring - now a shopping centre

 

 

Before going back to apartment I payed a quick visit to Parc Guell - now 8 euro entry fee but worth it:



Barcelona - Love this Town

Thursday morning we started off with breakfast at Caferteria Don Teo with a café con leche & courgette tortilla. We also caught up with our friend Diana who cooks for the café in a little kitchen out he back. Albert's brother, owns & runs the café & is a very good operator. Mind you, they all work damn hard - starting around 7am and finishing around 10.30 pm!

Best breakfast in  town (I might be a little biased!)

Hanging out washing Barcelona style

We spent the rest of the day walking the streets of Barcelona and visiting a couple of old favourites, including Barcelona Cathedral.

By mid afternoon we both realised that we weren't 'match fit' for the job & headed back to the apartment for a siesta.

Living Room - Gaudi Penthouse II

We headed out for a walk before dinner at 8.00 pm. All restaurants are empty at this hour so it's best to wait until close to 9.00pm if you don't want to be the only people eating in a restaurant.  The difference with the number of people in the streets of Gracia at about 4.30 pm compared to 8.30 pm is amazing. 4.30 - very quiet, 8.30 - everyone's out - families, old people with their walking sticks, people walking their dogs.

We had a dinner at a Lebanese restaurant in Carrer Verdi, a trendy street full of international restaurants. The meal was excellent but we've never seen such unhappy looking staff. They stood around with their arms folded & not even our Australian charm and wit could win them over.

Avignon to Vienne to Barcelona

As we were to catch a flight from Lyon to Barcelona today, we decided to leave Avignon a day early and stay over in Vienne, half an hour south of Lyon.

Before heading off we walked over two bridges of the Rhone to the medieval village of Villeneuve lez Avignon. The village holds the greatest number of historical buildings in Europe! We visited Fort Saint-Andre:

Fort Saint Andre

Over to Peter for a description of our visit:
Merci Mary. Well we walked from Avignon across the two branches of the Rhone in force 8 wind. Hardy Australians alone in this pursuit. Rugged up a stroll along the Rhone for a time then a steep climb to the Fort. It's a big fort. The entrance is through the twin turrets you so top right of the picture. As with many buildings in France the fort commenced construction in the 1400's and evolved in many forms.
It's location as with almost all European buildings of this type was deliberate to maximise television reception and to keep out the bad guys. The bad guys (as they tend to) were from many sources including French, English and other groups of power hungry low lifes. We spit on them and their ancestors smell of elderberries.
Anyhow. V impressive remains that suggest while location location location is paramount for forts etc living conditions were still relatively primitive. The two drop toilets would have provided both comfort and a thrill for users. Note to all. Do not walk under the turrets of forts as that is where the privy opens.

mmm, thanks Peter.

When checking out of the apartment I noticed that Marie, our host, was suddenly upset after reading an email. When I asked if she was OK, she started to cry (she had very little English and used Google Translation for her communication). She typed that her husband, Pierre, had died from cancer. It was heartbreaking and a very sad end to our stay in Avignon.

We arrived in Vienne about 4.30 pm. Peter had found a B & B that rated really well on Trip Adviser, called Au Bois de Massier about 3km from the town. The B & B is run by a couple, Eduard & Pascale.

Pascale, Mary & Eduard

The welcome we received was like no other. Eduard met us outside and assisted us with parking and carrying bags.  We then met Pascale, who was sooo welcoming!! We heard him before we saw him & his exuberance and passion for service and quality were wonderful.  After choosing one of two rooms available, we were provided with a 'welcoming drink' of Chardonnay & Cassis. As the B & B was out of town, we had arranged for an evening meal to be prepared. Well, it was definitely the gastronomic highlight of our trip so far.  Pascale was the chef and he prepared the following:

 

champignon, bacon & chardonnay soufflé - perfecto!

 

Duck breast with foie gras sauce, potato gratin & ratatouille

Eduard advised us that there would be a cheese platter would be served before dessert. We requested a petite platter - Eduard presented this with a mischievous smile:

 



'Petite' cheese selection

  

All the cheeses in the ceramic bowls were from the region. We tried every cheese & thought how much Iain would have enjoyed the experience.

I'm not sure how but we both had room for the dessert - it was a chocolate gateau (not too sweet), with layer of nougat cream through the centre, served with vanilla icecream (not Streets) and a sweet/creamy .. mixure (I'll have to check with the Garrauds what it would be).  the meal was absolutely stupendous!

Chocolate Gateau

Even our fellow guests were extremely friendly. There were two French teachers from Germany, Stephie and ??  Stephie had assisted Pascale with English when Peter phoned to make the reservation.  Pascale now refers to the language he speaks as 'Stephie', not 'English'.

At breakfast we met two businessmen from Belgium. Again, very friendly and interested in Australia. As Belgium has qualified for the World cup, we have decided that if (when) Australia is knocked out, we will be cheering for Belgium.

After a good night sleep and a relatively small breakfast (even though we were offered 'the works', we headed off to Lyon airport to catch our flight to Barcelona (just a little bit excited).

We have booked the apartment next door to where we have previously stayed. For the same money, it has three bedrooms on two levels and is much larger. It also has two terraces - one facing the city & Mediterranean, the other facing the mountains. We feel like we're home.  Within an hour of arriving we visited our good friends at Don Teo Cafeteria and have arranged to spend Sunday lunch with Albert and Diana.

We went for a stroll through the streets of Gracia before having dinner at a little Catalan bar - prawns, squid, anchovies & a lentil & veggie soup. The place was packed and the two staff (as Peter would say) worked their freckle off.

Walking back to our apartment at about 10.30 pm, the square below was only one of three or four we passed that was full of people of all ages.

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Avignon - Palace of the Popes

Monday, 11 November was a public holiday in France with ceremonies for Armistice Day being held everywhere. It was VERY windy and quite cool - a good day for museums etc. On our host's recommendation, we visited the Calvert Museum, previously a private home of very wealthy people containing an interesting collection of European art from the 1300s on , European sculpture and an excellent collection of Egyptian antiquities.

In the 1300's Avignon replaced Rome as the home of the Popes for approximately 70 years. We spent a couple of hours exploring the magnificent 'Palace of the Popes'. We had lunch in a 'tiny' terrace café at the top of the Palace - glasses of vino rouge only 2 euro - I can't imagine what it would be like in summer with crowds as the steps to the terrace were extremely narrow with room for only one person at a time.

Palace of the Popes (external)



Palace of the Popes courtyard





Palace of the Popes



 

 





Avignon - cruising the Rhone

Woke up to a sunny Saturday morning in Beaune. Off for a café au lait - Peter noticed a distinguished looking man sitting at the table next to us wearing RM Williams trousers. They both went to pay and Paul, a vignernon from Victoria, had been billed for our coffees and generously paid for them. It was nice to meet a nice Auzzie in France (who had just bought a property in Beaune).

Before heading off to Avignon, Peter bought a small packet of cigars and I bought a lovely knives & fork.

Drive to Avignon was faaast - speed limit was 130 km/hr & our little Peugot handled the job. We stopped off at Vienne and took a little detour on a minor road to get an appreciation of the Rhone & surrounds:

Vineyard outside Vienne

A7 - zooming towards Avignon

We found our apartment through HouseTrip website and we are delighted with the result. It is very central, separate kitchen, dining room, bedroom, bathroom. Although our host, Marie, had very little English, she made up with that in her generosity in showing us through the apartment, then took us on a half hour tour of the city. It was above and beyond.

Dinner was at a little Vietnamese restaurant around the corner from the apartment and, although had a slight Chinese slant (oops), was delicious.

Sunday morning we wandered around Avignon (for 12 mins - we had slept in - AGAIN!!) and  booked a half day lunch cruise on the Rhone . What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  Included was a delicious four course lunch. Bottle of red wasn't bad either!


Only the beginning...



A fellow diner!!

Enjoying a cigar

1300's bridge - first one over the Rhone at Avignon

Palace of the Popes

We travelled north up the Rhone including having our vessel raised through a lock - raising us approx. 15 metres to the next level.  Photos below indicate water level when we entered and exited:


Water level when we entered

Water level when we exited



Gates of the wall that surrounds city (where are Ringo, George & John?)

 



Wine Tasting in Burgandy (Bourgogne)

This morning we went on a 2.5 hr wine tour with a couple from Japan (who had travelled for 12 hrs to spend 4 days in France & then home again!). Our tour took in the south region of the  Côte-d'Or which is famous for its Pinot noir and Chardonnay wines. Unlike Bordeaux, which is similar to Australian wine regions having their cellar doors at the vineyard, Burgandy vineyards totally surround the villages while the cellar door is part of the owner's home. I fact, during WWII, burgundy was occupied and a lot of wine was saved from the Germans , hidden in their caves.  Resistance fighters were also hidden in these cellars (caves).

Burgandy has 13,500 acres of vines (compared to Bordeaux's 235,000 acres.  The average estate size is about 18 acres — enough to produce about 2,500 cases of wine each year. These estates are often owned by a number of partners, spit in tiny parcels of vineyards scattered around different villages.

The different shades of colour of vines below represent different vineyards. The vineyards on the left produce 'Grand cruz' wine - the best of the best while on the right side of the ride, 'Premier Cruz' (next step down) is produced  The rock wall was built by Monks in the 1300's.

We had a tasting at Clos Bellefond winery, the cellar for which was under their home, which was 300 yrs old, owned by 7th generation. As a lot of you will know, I like to have something to eat with my wine. I had a packet of peanuts in my bag & had a handful when Peter politely asked if it was OK to eat nuts with the tasting. "NO!" was the stern and immediate response- it disturbs the tasting! So I casually opened my hand and let the peanuts drop into my bag. she was none the wiser. We bought a bottle of Premier Cruz Pinot Noir which a little old man in slippers retrieved from the warehouse. Very sweet.

Cellar door (literally)





Wine tasting is very serious business

Not only did Peter enjoy the wine tasting, but he was delighted to find his favourite flower, the ubiquitous begonia, in the garden of the winery:

 

We're off to Avignon tomorrow...