Living in the Barcelona area means enjoying fine dining just about everywhere you turn! There's no excuse for just a "mediocre" meal. We'd been reading about the famous Michelin star restaurants in our area and decided to splurge at Can Fabes in Sant Celoni one Sunday for lunch. Getting a reservation meant nearly signing away your life...150 Euros was instantly charged to our credit card, in case we didn't show! It was worth it though...we were treated like royalty, taken on a tour of the kitchen and restaurant, located in a 300-year-old building belonging to the Santamaria family, then wined and dined in 3 Michelin star style! Sadly, the owner and chef, Santa Santamaria, had passed away from a heart attack while setting up another restaurant in Singapore just two weeks before we were there. His co-chef, Xavier Pellicer (below), accepted our condolences and admitted it had been a difficult time adjusting to the untimely loss. One of the young chefs we met was from Montreal and was doing his "stage" here for a few months.
The kitchen at Can Fabes, Chef Xavier Pellicer
Our table beside a liquor cabinet
Looking into another room from our table
Pat on the appetizer course...spoonfuls of such delicious delicacies!
The bread man slicing up no less than 5 different types of breads to try!
Pat's venison dish...excellent! I enjoyed shrimp two ways: ravioli and with fresh peas.
Dessert...this appeared AFTER our chosen "chocolate 5 ways" dessert...whoops!
You can check out the current menus on: www.canfabes.com and yes, it is pricey, but with your chosen main course, you also get all the amuse-bouches and appetizer samplings of the day, an endless supply of bread, water and coffee plus dessert (above). We'll know better for next time...it was amazing!
After a business trip to Parma, Italy to check out the perfume bottle-making industry at a couple of glass factories, Pat and I spent a lovely weekend in Milan! We had last been there in the 1990's and what a difference we noted since then! The Duomo had been totally cleaned up...who knew it was really "white"?!? It literally "glowed in the dark"! The streets were clean, busy and there were lots of tourists, even in the middle of winter! We stayed at the very lovely and central Hotel Spadari, and walked all over the area: http://www.spadarihotel.com/eng/home.html. We had some lovely meals, enjoyed great Italian cheeses, wines and coffee and did a little sightseeing as well!
The famous Duomo (Cathedral) in the sunshine
Inside the Duomo
Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II...found a wonderful glove shop here and went a little crazy!
Inside the Galeria
Via Spadari outside out hotel
Windows of Peck's, a wonderful delicatessen, restaurant, wine bar, etc. right next door to our hotel!
The best Parmesan ever at ~29.00 Euros/kg
A highlight was a tour of La Scala Opera House-below is one of the old posters which line the staircase up to the museum.
The Pinocateca Ambrosiana, located close to our hotel. The adjoining Biblioteca Ambrosiana, houses Da Vinci’s Codice Atlantico. About 1200 pages of his notes, drawings, ideas are in this building shown about 30 pages at a time! Pretty impressive viewing some ~500 years later!
The Courtyard at the Pinocateca
Around the corner from the recently restored (1977-1999) "Last Supper, or "Cenacolo" in the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Grazie. We had a quiet 15-20 minutes to gaze in awe at this masterpiece on a timed entrance ticket obtained for us by our hotel. Amazing...
The two restaurants where we enjoyed dinners were: -L'Osteria di Brere on Via Fiori Chiari, 8 -La Dolce Vita on Via Bergamini 11
We thoroughly enjoyed our getaway weekend to Milan and hope to visit again sometime! Hasta luego...
A Saturday "walk in the park" with the International Women's Club of Barcelona, including friends and spouses, took us from the train station at Sitges (south of Barcelona on the coast) by local bus a short distance towards "The Garraf", the hills overlooking Sitges. From the end of the bus line we walked to a little restaurant-bar in the hills, run by a Swiss man. He has his own vineyards, raises bees which produce honey from the flowering almond trees (see pictures) and served us a delicious Catalan lunch of grilled "botifarra" (sausage) and "mongetes" (white beans). It was a lovely sunny day, almost spring-like and the whole group enjoyed our outing, thanks to our leader, Liz, who lives in Sitges! Muchas gracias, Liz!
First off, breakfast with Pat at the Sitges market!
A glimpse into the hills of The Garraf
A local farm in the area, note the almond trees in bloom
Our destination for lunch al fresco!
Liz, our leader (striped sweater), Belinda and Bing
Marion, Jaffa, Haanah and Therese
Marion, Ann and Marlies
Spring has sprung...
Fresh lemons...
Daffodils
Calçots, a cross between a spring onion and a small leek, best eaten grilled on the BBQ with Romanesco sauce! Yum!
View from our hotel room at La Nina in Sitges
Our lovely outing in the hills ended with dinner at a great restaurant along the boardwalk called Fragata with Liz, Mike, Sara and Paddy and an overnight stay at a seaside hotel in Sitges! Hasta luego...
A group of ladies in the International Women's Club of Barcelona did a walking tour of Old Sarria, a "barrio" (suburb) of Barcelona which is located on the upper edge of the city and just below the Ronda de Dalt by-pass. We were led by Liz, our "official" tour guide who came prepared with written notes on the various buildings we passed and maps for all. You will see what a pretty day it was for the middle of February! We started off with coffee in the Casa Orlandai civic centre on Carrer Jaume Picquet, where our regular meetings take place on the second floor. The building is located just outside the Sarria FCG train station, so is very easy to get to from downtown Barcelona.
Down the street at number 30 is a typical Modernist home with floral elements featuring on the recently restored facade above the door.
The Plaça Sant Vincent is one of Sarria's best preserved squares. There is a delightful little cafe where we have eaten lunch on the corner, behind that big tree!
Some recently renovated homes on this square...rather colourful for the area!
The main shopping street, Major de Sarria.
The famous Foix de Sarria pastry and chocolate shop, established 1886 by P. Mas i Rubinat and J. Foix i Ribera, parents of the writer J.V. Foix.
Restaurant Antiga Casa Rafael on Major de Sarria, founded in 1876.
The back garden of Torre Amat at No. 9 Carrer Duquesna d'Orleans, a 19th century former home in the Old City of Sarria. It is now used for private functions. Note the lemon tree on the right!
Inside staff was preparing for a luncheon on the day we visited.
Home of a former Mason in Sarria.
Another typical facade found in many parts of Barcelona.
Nothing beats a late morning coffee in an outdoor cafe on a sunny day! This is Plaça Consell de la Vila.
The "giants" inside City Hall, ready to be used in the next festival or parade!
The council chamber in the old city hall.
The Parroquia de Sant Vincenç, which celebrate 1,000 years of existence in 1987. The current Church is in neo-classical style and dates from the 18th century, designed by the architect Josep Mas.
Another Foix de Sarria pastry and chocolate shop is located across from the Church in the Plaça de Sarria. This one has a lovely tea room, we were told!
More elegant homes to admire!
Our tour ended in the Bar Tomas where we had a light lunch of their famous "patatas bravas" (fried potatoes with a spicy sauce), salads, etc. Everyone felt they now knew this neighbourhood a little better. It was a most pleasant day! Thank you Liz!
