Saturday, February 26, 2011

Figueres

Restaurant at Hotel Emborda, Figueres
Chef & Owner Jaume Subirós

Lunch in Figueres was probably one of the best tasting and most memorable meals of my trip. My Spain travel book only listed one restaurant in Figueres, so I headed straight to it after visiting the Dali Museum. I had the address assuming it would be right in the center of the small town. I was wrong. I ended up walking what seemed like a mile down the side of a highway searching for a hotel sign or some indication of a restaurant nearby. I was thrilled when I finally passed one reading Emborda .5 km straight ahead. The hotel's exterior right off the main road was nothing exciting, but then views behind were incredible. The dining room had windows floor to ceiling in the back and a terrace on the side for large groups. I hadn't planned on such a heavy lunch, but the menu offered a set three course option so I went for it. Before my first course they served me a tasting of creamy artichoke soup. I started with a salad with strawberries, apple, and black truffles. I had steak with onion confit as my main, then tarte tatin with granny smith apple sorbet. 
After my meal, the chef came out and introduced himself and asked me questions including, "Are you a journalist?" I guess they wondered why I was taking pictures and such. I made the mistake of saying I speak both a little Spanish and French. He took that for more than it was worth. Unfortunately for me I didn't understand a word when he spoke to me in a combination of both languages with Catalan thrown in too. He took me up a few stories in the hotel and showed me the balcony in one of the rooms. The panoramic view was stunning. 
Other restaurants I recommend in Barcelona:
1. Tapioles 53 - small 6 table dining room, excellent food and service
2. Comerç 24 - trendy tapas, El Born
3. Enoteca - total splurge, Hotel Arts
4. Organic - healthy and inexpensive, near la Rambla

"Take a holiday in Spain..."


I'm looking out my bedroom window over the Montparnasse cemetery at the rainy, grey sky listening to the Counting Crows and the sound of cabs zipping down my street. People walk briskly wearing dark colors, blank faces look down at the pavement. It's so Paris. 

This week marked my first trip from one European country to another. The flight was very short - only an hour and a half. When I arrived at BCN and walked outside I felt like I was going to break into a sweat wearing my black, quilted coat. It was then I knew I'd love Spain. Noticing cultural differences between France and Spain was interesting. Barcelona was so colorful and lively compared to Paris. People were more relaxed in general. In my experience, people made eye contact and acknowledged other's presence in the street or in the metro. I could feel looks from strangers, sometimes unwanted. Frenchmen would never dare wink or whistle at women in public. Aside from tourist destinations, all of the stores shut down for day time siestas. In a week I was able to see a lot in Barcelona and the surrounding area. I went to the well-known destinations like Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and the mercat de la Boqueria on la Rambla. But I enjoyed the less crowded spots and neighborhoods like the small streets leading out from the  Plaça de la Virreina in Gracia. La Rambla is tourist central. The street is lined with food vendors, street artists, bad restaurants, and people taking photos of all of these uninteresting things. The Boqueria is a fun place to walk through, but the mercat Santa Caterina has all of the same goods with a fraction of the people. I loved the fresh pineapple juice. There was also a restaurant in the corner of the market called Cuines Santa-Caterina that I didn't get too, but it looked good. I will have to make a separate post about the restaurants. 
Santa Caterina Market
I found a number of nice food shops throughout Barcelona. There were also hip boutiques on tiny side streets, around the Born neighborhood, and near the Picasso Museum. These were my favorite:  
Olive, Plaça de les Olles 2
Hofman Pastry Shop, Flassaders 44
Teicawey, Gracia

I went to these museums: Museo Picasso, Fundació Joan Miró, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Teatre-Museu Dalí. I'd say if you only go to one in Barcelona it should be the Picasso Museum. It's inside adjoining medieval palaces so it's like a maze walking through each gallery. The Dali museum was in a beautiful small town about two hours (by train) north of Barcelona called Figueres. Some of or much of Dali's work is crazy. It really makes you wonder...

Anyone will tell you that Barcelona has great nightlife and now I understand why siestas are essential to Spanish life. There are lots of clubs along the beach in Barconleta. I went to one called Shoko with people on my program in Paris and some of their friends on similar ones in Barcelona. I will leave it at that. It was fitting that I visited the Barcelona Cathedral during noon mass on Sunday. Even though there are lots of visitors walking around inside the church, mass continues as normal. Listening to the choir inside such a beautiful cathedral was neat. 
Outside, men played music and older people danced in circles. I learned afterwards they were performing a traditional Catalan folk dance called Sardana. It symbolizes unity. 

Friday, February 25, 2011

Dog of the Week

I walked by this building everyday in Barcelona since my hotel was nearby and this dog was always running around on the balcony. 

Siesta

Back in Paris after a week in Barcelona, Sitges, Vic, and Figueres! Stories and pictures to come mañana.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Iron and Wine

A friend just introduced me to a cool band I didn't know called Iron and Wine. We went to their concert last night at a music venue in the 10th. They were really great live! I especially liked the saxophonist. The lead performer, Sam Beam, now lives in Austin. My friend has seen Iron and Wine perform several times already, including a small show in Abilene, Texas. We were so close to the stage that Beam heard her Texas shout-out. We met two girls from Norman, Oklahoma and a guy from San Antonio, Texas that went to Sewanee and now lives in Paris. It was crazy. 
Can't help my first reaction... - "He looks Amish."  




Thursday, February 17, 2011

Le Petrelle

The area surrounding the Anvers metro stop in the 9th arrondissement near the Sacre Coeur is not the loveliest of neighborhoods to hang out in at night. I held my bag tightly, passing some shady characters on the five-minute walk to Le Petrelle. I let myself in through a glass door and heavy velvet curtain hiding the interior from the street. I immediately felt comfortable. I spotted Grace and Emily at our table through a bookcase and display of fresh produce at the entrance. The intimate dining room was casually elegant with a whimsical decor. 'Paris meets Brooklyn' according to Grace. On each table there were a few neat books, small flowers, a candle, and an odd ceramic bird with a removable head. Linear scenes in black, white, and red covered the entire back wall. The print looked like it came straight from a Dr. Seuss book with the winding staircase and curious objects lining the bookcase. Our waiter with the charming British-English accent brought our menus promptly. The cursive writing inside was beautiful, but we could hardly decipher our options. Luckily, he explained everything. Grace and Emily started with an artichoke salad and I chose the special. My poached egg came in a small white ramekin with cream, mushrooms, and black truffles. There were greens on the side and long strips of toast for dipping. For our main courses, Grace and I ordered steak medium rare. Emily had the fish of the day. The steak was perfectly cooked, not too big, not too small. It's not often that I order non-chocolate desserts at a restaurant and last night was no exception. I had the gateau au chocolate. It was both rich and light. Grace had the same and Emily ordered a lavender infused cream. The atmosphere, service, conversation, and of course food was just perfect. Who knows, maybe I will meet a suave Frenchman who will take me back.
There was a dog in the restaurant too. 
Petrelle 
34, rue petrelle
75009
Paris
Telephone 01 42 82 11 02

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Filthy Feline

Anyone who knows me well enough knows how I feel about cats. So when this one joined us at the table last night you can imagine I was less than pleased. Sorry kitty lovers, this is not the beginning of 'Cat of the Day.'

Real World: Paris

"The Italian Woman" Vincent van Gogh 
The days are going by so quickly. I can't believe it's mid-February already. My family went to their country home three hours south of Paris leaving me home alone with Prosper and Victor for five days. I missed family dinners, but it was kind of nice at the same time. I had permission to have friends over and definitely took advantage this weekend. The house is great for entertaining because the kitchen and dining area is so big. I had a little dinner party on Saturday night and had a few girls from my program over for wine last night. My old friend from Camp Mystic that happens to be studying in Paris as well came too. It was nice to see a familiar face and reconnect. Classes are just alright. I take a class on architecture and impressionism back to back on Mondays and Wednesdays with the same professor. Sometimes she does not organize our museum visits well and we bounce around from place to place too much. She also has difficulty articulating her lectures in English. It's definitely frustrating. I have high standards since have taken four Art History classes at W&L with some great professors. Today we went to the Musee d'Orsay and chose paintings to base a presentation on later in the semester. I really like this museum because there is a lot of work from the 19th and 20th centuries. The building itself is neat too. The d'Orsay was originally a train station and was converted into a museum in 1986. My group chose the Church at Auvers by van Gogh. I've never studied this work, so I'm interested in learning more. I especially liked The Italian Woman. Its bold colors and the woman's patterned skirt immediately grabbed my attention. The original oil painting is truly stunning unlike the above picture I got from impressionism-art.org. See: Musee d'Orsay
"The Church at Auvers"
Tonight I am going out to a restaurant in the 9th called Le Petrelle to celebrate Emily's 21st birthday.  Apparently it's a favorite of Christian Lacroix. Plus, Madonna dined here when she performed in Paris. Friday, I'm off to Barcelona for a whole week. I have lots to look forward to. Adios!

Friday, February 11, 2011

A Touch of Spring

I must have told Emily how beautiful it was outside a dozen times today like I'd never felt sunlight in my life. I've now been in Paris almost a month and it's been gray most days, so walking around in a sleeveless shift dress was wonderful. Post lunch, we just sat by the Seine for awhile and people watched. There were tons of people on the river boat cruises and on bus tours. In the late afternoon we went to a wine tasting at Spring Restaurant. I read great reviews of the restaurant and wine shop on some blogs so I thought it would be worth a visit. The Spring Boutique is just down the street from the restaurant in the 1st arrondissement near the Louvre. There were six other people in the group. While we were waiting for the tasting to begin Emily heard one of the women say "y'all." We immediately asked where she and her husband were from..Texas! The couple now lives in Huntsville, but used to live blocks from my house in Houston. Small world. Another one of the women is in Paris for business. She works in the textile industry buying fabric for Gap. It sounded like a very neat job. She travels to Paris often for trade shows and trend forecasting, then goes to Asia where Gap's mills are located. She said the price of cotton has quadrupled and we will be seeing more synthetics. The last woman to arrive, Meg Zimbeck, turned out to be the editor of a blog called Paris By Mouth. http://parisbymouth.com/ I've been reading it here so it was neat to meet her. She brought her American intern who is completing her masters in Gastronomic Sciences. Très cool. 

Spring's owners discovered three floors below the main restaurant while doing renovations. In Paris the law requires you to preserve historic architecture. So, the wine tasting was in Spring's 16th century cellar. In an hour and a half span we tried seven different wines; two blanc, three rouge, and two dessert wines. All of the wines came from small artisanal producers in France. One point the Spring wine expert stressed is the importance of the producer rather than the production year. He said many people are caught up with vintages, but you should really look for passionate wine makers who pay great attention to each step in the winemaking process. I'm certainly not a wino, but I enjoy learning about wine. We started with a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Menetou-Salon, Loire. The producer is Philippe Gilbert. I actually bought this bottle afterwards. I learned to describe it as a dry, balanced, acidic white wine. It's fragrant and fresh. I liked it better than the Chardonnay that had more of an oaky taste. I also liked the Pinot Noir - Volnay Brouillards Premier Cru. Emily bought the Malbec from Cahors made by Jeremie Illouz. The man that taught us is originally from San Francisco. He was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining as well. We're going back for a meal in March.

Pictures from the day: