Day 8 - Exploring Sitges

The breakfast at Can Bonastre is served from 9-11AM in the first floor area adjacent to the deck. It is a fulsome affair with fruit, yougurt, assorted meats, croissants and other baked goods. They also offer to make eggs, bacon etc.  In addition to juices, water and coffee there are Cava and wine on offer - for breakfast!

After breakfast we headed out to Sitges, a beachfront town about an hour away. Our problems with Map Apps and GPS continue. We had the Apple Map App, the Google Map App and the Tom Tom GPS all telling us conflicting advice. But we managed to arrive and after driving thru the town found parking. Despite the heavy focus on tourists the town remains somewhat quaint with nice architecture and of course a wonderful setting right on the Mediterranean. After coffee we wandered through the streets and strolled the ocean promenade. We set a target time for lunch but couldn't make up our mind so we walked and walked. FInally we found a delightful cafe. We started with Mussels and Mediterranean salad, followed by Sardines and amazing Sea Bass with fried garlic. 

When we attempted to return to our hotel all of our navigation devices kept telling us to go round literally in circles. We abandoned our technology and successfully found our way home. 

From 5-7 the Can Bonastre provided wine, cava and munchies. Then at 9pm we had dinner. This time we decided to order one of their local Paellas to be shared. Instead of rice the local version is made with small pasta. We ordered the combination of chicken and prawns but instead we were served an all seafood plate. It was pretty, but  was heavy on the pasta and had very little seafood. Better than the night before, but again not close to a food experience. 

Day 6 - Picasso and Amazing Food

Today we mixed art, culture and amazing food. We headed out to the El Born district which is an older part of Barcelona. We wandered through the narrow streets and lane ways and enjoyed the architecture and overall flavour of the district. 

There were lots of tourists and shops that specialized in selling them (us) various merchandise. Some of it was actually nice art. 

The Picasso museum was well organized and showcased the 4 main life/art stages that Picasso went though. We both found this interesting since we were most familiar with his later blue and abstract works. But in the earlier stages his work was much more traditional.

After the museum we found the Cafe L'Acadamia Restaurant that had been recommended by a travel concerige. It was looked old world with stone walls and dark wood. We picked well and a bit decadent. The "sandwhich" of duck foils gras and black truffle mushrooms was probably the tastiest bite of or whole time in Spain. We regreted not having found this place earlier in our trip. 

Our dinner that night was also excellent. Con Gracia was certainly as good as any Michelin Star Restaruant. We had the tasting menu accompanied by wine parings. The staff were warm, friendly and very knowledgable. When they noticed our obsession with wine they made sure we had special tastings. Certainly a destination must for Barcelona travellers. 

Day 7 - Good-bye Barcelona

Today we transitioned from Barcelona to our three day stay in wine country. Our taxi driver Tony (who picked us up at the airport last week) arrived just after 11am to drive us back to the airport. He was also kind enough to write out driving instructions to guide our journey towards our next destination. At the aiport we picked up an Audi A3 from Hertz and headed into the country. The trip was suppose to only take about 40 minutes and we did it in about an hour. We used 2 map "apps" (Apple and Google) along with our Tom Tom GPS. The Tom Tom and Apple got us close, but it was Google that actually got us to our destination. We knew Apple had flaws when it told us we had reached our destination and we were stopped in front of textile mill in a small town.

The Can Bonestra Wine Resort ( http://www.canbonastre.com/ ) is situated in the midst of a working winery. A few minutes up a country road led us to a beautiful series of buildings surrounded by gardens and a pond. A horse and the requisite Spanish donkey were also there to greet us. The reception was cheerful and told us to have lunch before checking in. 

Our room was large with Great Wall to wall windows overlooking the vineyards. While the room was nice to look at it seemed that it was designed more for looks than for function. Very few electrical plugs, taps that dripped and were hard to turn on or off, closet doors that crashed and a shower with too many nozzles. But overall we did enjoy ourselves, especially since the room was very quiet (except for the donkey) which was a nice change from Barcelona.

On our first afternoon we visited the Spa which also suffered from Design over Function. There were many different water features, all hard to operate and the sauna and steam room had no way to make them work. One visit to the Spa was enough for this trip. 

A wonderful feature of this hotel is the large first floor deck where we sat and drank in the amazing views of the vineyards and the Montserrat mountains. Everyday between 5-7 the hotel provides free wine, cava, cakes and other nibbles for guests. We were also able to meet other people. One lovely retired couple from Palls, Spain engaged us in conversation. They spoke Catalan, Spanish and a bit of French. So we (mostly Monica) used our limited French and Spanish to explore our lives. The husband made the point (in a light hearted manner) that this was Catalan country, not Spain. They come from a village of 2000 people where everybody knows everybody. When we boasted about our new granddaughter Madeline and showed pictures they quickly started showing us pictures of all 5 of their grandchildren. 

DInner service began at 8:30 and we were the first to arrive. Other guests started to come in after 9pm. And yes they were all Catalan. The food this first night was extremely disappointing. It made us think about changing hotels but later in the blog we will report that it improved. But we did not consider this a food  destination. Also we were surprised that for a Wine Resort there were only  3 red wines, 2 white and few cava. THe wine was good, but a little more variation for an extended would be welcome. 

Our friends that we met on the deck earlier sat just next to us and we had a great time conversing in broken French. It's a shame that we could only understand about half of what each of us said. They are such warm and sincere people. 

Day 5 Shopping and Cocktails

Finally a day to let loose and no formal cultural activities. Ok perhaps this is not entirely true. Since all the museums we are interested in are closed on Mondays we decided to walk around the town - and try to shop. We ventured out from our apartment and walked around for 2-3 hours. Monica tried clothes on in a few stores, but only bought a few tops. Joe tried on some attire in a nice men's shop - but nothing was quite right.

By late afternoon we realized we were hungry for lunch and looked for a lunch spot. We ended up once again repeating ourselves, this time at the Tapas Tapas Restaruant. It was complete déjà vue. The 94 year old man was there again, just finishing his lunch. When he left the same younger man who had taken his table last time did so again. The staff remained friendly and the food was enjoyable. 

After lunch we shopped a bit more, mostly presents for family and friends and then went home for a siesta. 

We had made dinner reservations at Bobby's Gin ( http://www.bobbygin.com/ ). The online reviews describe this cocktail bar as having excellent drinks and food with somewhat aloof service. That describes our experience fairly well.  Our reservations were for 8:30 and when we arrived the place was almost empty, not surprising given the early time (for Barcelona) and it also being a Monday. The bartender suggested we start with a drink at his bar before venturing in for dinner. He was a master of his craft, but crafty in his coyness about his ingredients and techniques used for making his cocktails. But the results were tasty and professional. Our food included tapas of dim sum, tuna and a wonderful tiny burger. It was just the right amount of food and pleasant to eat. 

Our walk home was uneventful and sleep (now passed midnight) came quickly. 

Day 4 - Joan Miro

Sunday was art day. We wandered about 20 minutes from our apartment and then started looking for a taxi. This was our second experience trying to hail a cab. Many drove by before Monica snagged one. It seems many drivers are only part timers and don't really know their own city. Like the day before this taxi driver had no idea where the Joan Miro museum was located. We showed her on a map and she headed in the right direction, but then got flustered when she discovered the main road was closed for a festival. Rather than taking a detour she asked us to disembark and hike up the hill; of course after we paid. 

We started walking through a very large public square which led to a steep hill that supported the Museu Nacional d'Art. There were lots of fountains and lines of people. Since this was not our destination we followed a series of small roads and finally found the steps that led up to the Joan Miro Museum. Fortunately there were many escalators to help us climb to the top. 

                            

The museum is situated in a lovely setting - sort of like Mount Royal crossed with High Park. Joan Miro was an artist who was a childhood favourite of Monica. A Spanish artist Joan Miro lived from 1893-1983. He was known for his bold colours and wild designs. He had a huge impact on design and art in the last century. You can see his influences throughout Barcelona. The museum has collected many of his most definitive works and it was fun to meander through and enjoy them. Monica was delighted to see this complete collection.

After the museum we found a lovely park built into the side of the mountain. We spent some time exploring the plants, trees and architecture and watching the people and birds. When we finally reached the road again we had just missed our bus so proceeded to hike back down and eventually found the subway and our way back to our apartment.

After a quick freshening up we decided to have a quick lunch - of course around 2pm. Since we were "walked out" we tried a local restaurant that was less than one block away. The waiter at "El 68" was very warm and friendly. He welcomed us and warned us that he could only offer us some Tapas. That was perfect for us. He recommended a great bottle of local wine and we were all set. 

After lunch we took a siesta. When it was time for supper (9pm) it had started to rain. So we decided to return to where we had lunch. It was a lot busier but we got the same table and waiter. This time there was a full dinner menu. We selected well. Our main dishes included pork cooked Sous Vide and duck enclosed in phlyo. Both were perfectly cooked and delicious. When we were all done - 2 hours later- it was a quick run through the rain to our apartment just across the road. 

We slept well that night.

Day 3 - Flamenco

This morning our jet lag seemed to have mostly passed, although Joe still woke up later than Monica. Today we opted for less early walking and found our way up to the Diagonal  (a major Barcelona street) and found the tour bus Orange Line. This was an easy start to the day and exposed us to more neighbourhoods. It also showed how busy Barcelona is this weekend with its local festival. Streets across the city were closed and packed with people. 

We hopped off the bus when it was near a local garden and museum, Parc Guell.  It was quite the hike up this mountain to get to the gardens. A pleasant distraction as we hiked were the small children and families just getting out of school. Of course it reminded us of our darling granddaughter, Madeline. 

When we got up to the top we discovered a 2 hour wait for the museum. We did a quick walk thru the garden and then decided that the menacing looking clouds and thunder meant we should hike toward home, which we did. Along the way we found a delightful restaurant - Le Gopal- which a patron at the Jazz cub had recommended. It was terrific. 

We spent 2 hours having lunch (of course staring at 2:30) enjoying fried artichokes, anchovies, paella with rabbit and snails along with Sangria and local red wine. Our waiter was warm and friendly and most of our fellow diners were clearly locals. Many young children and elderly grandmas were among the patrons. 

Following lunch and a siesta we headed out to the music hall, Palau de la Musica Catalan, for a night of Flamenco and Guitar.  Tonight we tried taking a local taxi to our venue. After walking quite a bit we finally found a cab. The driver did not seem to know this famous local music venue and ended up leaving us a 10 minute walk from where we were heading. The inexperience of local cab drivers develops as a theme during this trip. 

When we did arrive we were pleasantly surprised at meeting our new friends, John and Joanne, who were sipping tea in the lounge. We met these two on our two day AC flight from Toronto. It was fun to chat and enjoy their company along with a glass of wine and some tapas before the show. 

The show tonight was FANTASTIC!  There were 3 guitarists, a drummer and two Flamenco dancers, Th show was a great balance of talent with showmanship and humour. The standing ovations were well deserved, 

Sleep at midnight came easy. 

Barcelona - Day 2 Misadventure and Sheer Delight

Friday was a bit of a slow start. We both slept in adjusting to the time zone difference. Of course Monica arose 2 hours before Joe and reminded him about it through out the day!

After some yogurt and bananas we headed off to explore the city. Our goal was to visit the Sagrada Familia which is a cathedral that has been under construction since 1882. We had tickets for a noon tour and we arrived early. But as we lined up the official ticket checker pointed out that our reservation was for one week from now! And of course we  won't be in Barcelona then. Sweet words were not sufficient to change her mind. Given the local festival (Merci) all tickets had been sold out and there was no room for us. But we didn't let this hic up ruin our day,  We wandered thru the city enjoying the architecture and found a wonderful Tapas restaurant for our 2pm lunch.  We shared an easy to eat octopus and potato tapas followed by salad and gazpacho. NIce local wine. What we loved about this place was that it was clearly a local favourite. At the table next to us an elderly (94 years young) gentleman found his seat. The waiter obviously knew this regular and quietly read him then menu. Later when he prepared to pay his bill the gentleman used a small magnifying glass to pick his coins. We later found out that he was the grandfather of the owner and ate lunch there daily.  Other tables were populated with old friends and local business people. It was a comfortable and warm atmosphere. 

Following lunch we bought a 2 ticket for the local bus tour line. Today we journeyed the green line. I took us through many neighbourhoods and along the ocean and beaches. It was an easy 2 hours and gave us ideas of places to visit later during our stay. 

After the bus tour we continued to explore our neighbourhood. Jet lag was still plaguing us so we decided to visit the huge local market and get small bites for dinner in our apartment. We found wonderful Iberian ham, local cheese, plums, figs, tomatoes and a Spanish baquette.  This was enjoyed in a our apartment with local wine and Sirrius Jazz. 

Night and sleep came quickly.