Galicia Galicia

The north of Spain is very different from other parts of Spain...both special in their own way. They sometimes seem like they are different small countries because many regions have their own language, different food, customs, etc. I visited plenty of the south when I was studying abroad and love it, but the north highly interested me because I had only visited el País Vasco last year and wanted to see more.

Galicia suprised me in the fact that it went way beyond my expectations, the food was incredible- the variety of delicious seafood, great cheese, and wines; the weather was perfect- around 75 degrees all weekend long for a city that is known for cloudy and rainy weather; and the people were very friendly and helpful, and it was inexpensive in comparison to Barcelona.

Our base was Santiago de Compostela-- every night we stayed there but we did day trips to other parts of Galicia as well. Santiago de Compostela is one of the most visited places in Spain...it is highly religious and people participate in the Camino de Santiago and walk days/weeks/months to reach the city and go to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. The cathedral is very big and beautiful in a large plaza with other buildings as well (the ayudamiento and a nice 5 star hotel). The main things we did in Santiago de Compostela were sit in the plazas admiring the churches or other monuments, visit parks, and eat tons of delicious food. The highlight for me was octopus a la plancha and the famous tetilla cheese, I was in love. The white gallegan wine there (our favorite was Ribeiro) went so well with the various seafood we tried. The food honestly was to die for...(especially for someone like me who loves fish, cheese, and good wine).

Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Trying Octopus (a la plancha)

We decided to visit Ourense mainly because they were know for their aguas thermales or  thermal baths. I had never been to one and was very interested in trying these out, especially since the weather was so nice. Boy did we make the right choice. I quickly became fascinated with the fact that these aguas thermales were free to the public and anyone could go at any hour of the day. We stayed for probably 3 hours, either enjoying the hot sun in our bathing suits (in early march!!) or trying out the different waters. There were four small jacuzzi type pools with different water temperatures...I could have stayed all day and been overly satisfied..but we also wanted to explore the city. I met a really sweet lady in the thermal baths who lived in Ourense. She offered to show us the city and a great restaurant to have lunch. She showed us the cute little city which has another thermal bath right in the center of town- I died just a little bit thinking how cool it would be to live there and be able to use these baths whenever one wanted to. Then we went to eat at a really good place and got a menu (2 course meal with a drink and dessert, so worth it) and once again walked around and went to the biggest park in Ourense. At night we went back to Santiago by train after our dear friend walked us to the train station. We had a lovely dinner of tapas of seafood and then went to a wine bar that quickly became a favorite.

Ourense-- Aguas Thermales

Ourense

Ourense

Ourense

Ourense

Ourense

Ourense

The next day we wanted to see some of the coast, so we decided to go to Pontevedra since we didn't have enough time to go farther up the coast. Pontevedra was okay, it was a small city with few things to see, but we did eat a good meal there (of course the food does not disappoint here)...but luckily we read about a small town called Combarro which was about 20 minutes away. I loved Combarro, it was a cute little romantic city on the water. It was famous for the hórreos which was a type of storage which were used to dry out certain foods and placed near the water on stilts (pictures below). The few hours we were there, we walked through the whole little city, sat staring at the water, and then got a glass of wine and some tapas as we admired the pretty view. It was perfect. It was time to go back to Santiago de Compostela for our last night in town. We once again ate a fabulous dinner, seafood risotto, a plate of cheese, dessert, a nice wine and then went to our favorite wine bar spot. Incredible. We were so sad to leave behind the very well priced and tasty food.

Pontevedra

Pontevedra

Pontevedra

Pontevedra

Combarro

Combarro

Combarro- Hierro

Combarro

Combarro

Combarro

All in all, it was a great place to visit and experience. I loved the food, the people, the different cities within Galicia and how different they were from one another.

Switzerland!

Two words. Breathtaking and surreal. I quickly became very fond of Switzerland's beauty. The views were incredible and literally had my jaw dropping. I went to visit my cousin who lived in a town called Crans-Montana, about two hours from Geneva and way up in the mountains. I flew into Geneva and toured the city for the day. Then I took a train to meet my cousin. It was probably the prettiest train ride I have ever taken, seeing the Swiss Alps with white snow on the mountain tops residing over the bright blue water of the lake, I had never seen anything like this before.

Geneva

Geneva

Crans-Montana

Crans-Montana

 Fondue!

My cousin picked me up from the train station and we drove up the mountain. My first Swiss meal was eating some delicious fondue (a cheese one and a tomato one). We went with some of his friends and then went out to the town's bars/clubs. Since Crans-Montana is so small everyone knows each other and there are only about 3 main bars in the town.

My cousin being as awesome as he is, said it would be a good idea to roadtrip Switzerland with his car so I could see as much of the country as possible. It was such a great idea and a perfect way for me to see the French and German parts.

Day 1: French part: Lausanne-Vevey-Montreux
First we went to Lausanne and it was very beautiful. It was a cute little town that had great views of the mountain on the lake. We had lunch at Holy Cow which specializes in making gourmet burgers and since I rarely eat burgers in Spain it was so satisfying. Then we drove through Vevey just to see the city and see the Nestle headquarters as we were on our way to Montreux. Montreux was my favorite place I saw. It not only had one of the most amazing views I have ever seen (again the mountains on the water and houses on the lake too), but also the Château de Chillon (or Castle of Chillon) which sits on the lake as well. It was where Jimmy Hendrix became famous as well. I loved this place, it was also so small and cute to walk through. I could sit at the castle for hours and not get tired of starting at the view and the bright blue water.

Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne

The drive

Vevey

Montreux

Montreux

Montreux

Montreux

Montreux
 
Montreux: Château de Chillon

Day 2: German part: Bern- Zurich- Lucerne
Now it was time to see the German part of Switzerland which I was really excited about. We went from hearing French at breakfast to German at lunch in Zurich and back to hearing French back at my cousin's town for dinner- it was quite the day. We started off at Bern, right when we arrived I saw the differences between the French towns, the buildings were gothic style and I felt like I was back in Germany. It was beautiful in its own way. Bern is more to look at the city and of course see the bears!! In Bern there are bears that live outside and people come to look at them, they were adorable. We also saw the Zytglogge, or clock tower, which was impressive. Then we made our way to Zurich. Zurich was amazing, it was my favorite part of German-Switzerland. We had lunch there and then walked around the city. Walked around the lake and saw the different clock towers. It was so pretty. Then we drove off to see Lucerne. The main attraction there (besides the view of course) was the Lion monument, which was very impressive. It was a huge statue of a lion that looks like it is sleeping but really is lion that is dying. It is a memorial for the Swiss soldiers who gave their lives to defend Switzerland. The views once again were incredible of the various houses on top of the mountains and over the lake.

Bern

Bern

Bern

Zurich

Zurich

Lucerne

Lucerne

Lucerne

Unlike most places you visit, Switzerland was different in the sense that the main thing to do is see and enjoy the gorgeous views, instead of a traditional trip where one visits historic sites, museums, etc. (there are some museums here too of course). But I loved that about Switzerland, seeing pretty sights all weekend long was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone!

Calçotada

This is one of my favorite Catalan traditions. A Calçotada is basically an event where people gather together and have a big feast, it is usually at the end of winter/beginning of spring. The main thing people eat are delicious calçots (green onions) which are barbequed and then dipped into an amazing romesco sauce. The sauce it what makes the calçots so yummy to me, especially since I am not a fan of onions. This year was my second calçotada, there were about 30 Catalan teachers, my American friend who invited me, and same Irish English teachers too. It was at a big house on the countryside in Girona and was beautiful and sunny.

We arrived at around 12pm and began drinking wine from the typical "purro." The calçots began cooking while other food was staring to be prepared. We had some appetizers of fried eggplant with a honey sauce sprinkled on top- mmm delicious. Then I helped make the pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato) while the calçots, meat, artichokes, and salad were all being prepared. Finally it was time to eat. You always start with the calçots, which are still hot because they are recently taken off the burner, and dip them into the romesco orange sauce. Then we ate artichokes that had been cooked with garlic and also dipped them into the sauce. Next we sat at a big long table outside and began to eat the various types of meat, salad, and bread. It was all so good. We were all so full - but the meal was not over - there was still dessert, fruit, coffee, and champagne. I love this feast because it brings everyone together and really is such a satisfying meal. I am so glad I was able to experience this Catalan tradition more than once!

Venezia para Carnaval!!

Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky? I was blessed this year to meet an amazing Italian girl, Alice, in Barcelona. I met her in October, while she was living in Barcelona doing her practia but sadly in December she went back to Venice to finish studying. When we met we clicked right away and she quickly became one of my closest friends. Lucky for me, she invited me and some other fellow Americans to Venice for Carnaval--let me tell you, it was one of the best experiences. First of all, being able to go to Venice alone in itself is incredible, the small city set on canals makes you feel like you are in a romantic dream, then throw in the Italians who show you around and cook for you, and add Carnaval to the mix, the traditional masked event that lights up the city...and Venice quickly becomes one of my favorite destinations. 
 
Alice was such a good host--as well as her roommates--she showed us such a great time and made Venice have an even bigger place in my heart. This was my third year celebrating Carnaval but my first time outside of Spain. I really liked Carnaval in Venice, it was traditional, women wore the long elegant dresses and many wore the carefully crafted masks (I even bought one!). In Spain people just dress up as whatever they feel like. I loved walking around day and night and seeing everyone's mask and elegant attire, it made it feel ancient and different from the typical Halloween dress-up (don't get me wrong we definitely did dress up without masks too (WALDOS)! I am so happy I went and met such an incredible Italian friend I know I will always have :) Ti voglio bene Alice!!

 

Italia! La vita e bella :)

This January I went to Italy for 10 days.  My ragazzo and I roadtripped all over Italy (mostly Tuscany) and spent some time in Milan. It was probably on of the best trips I have done. I loved that every detail of the trip was not planned out until usually the day before, but instead we left Milan with only a basic idea where we would go. During the trip I had a notebook and wrote down my thoughts and everything we saw/did/ate in every city. Looking at it now made me want to write about it :) I seriously feel so lucky to have been able to do this, it was such an amazing trip filled with delicious food, beautiful views of Italy, and getting to explore new parts of Italy (one of my favorite countries).

Lets begin on where we went: First I landed in Milan, was there for a few days, we went to Lucca, Pisa, Volterra, Siena, Arezzo, Perugia, and back to Milan for a couple more days, then to Barcelona. 

First I arrived in Milan, where Rocco has an apartment really close to the center, minutes from the Stazione Centrale (the central station). We spent New Year's there, going to a dinner at his friends place and then went to the Duomo (which was a little too crazy for us, but still a great night). We spent some more time there and then began our Tuscany roadtrip.

Our first stop was Lucca. This was a small but super cute and tranquil town. The main attractions were: Piazza S. Michele (a plaza with lots of restaurants and church St. Michele) and el anfiteatro (my personal favorite), which is a circular plaza with pretty buildings of all colors, Basilica Di S. Frediano, and the Duomo. We saw basically the whole city in 45 minutes, but it a great first little stop.

After Lucca, we went to Pisa and had booked our hotel the night before We arrived in Pisa around 6pm and went to Hotel Francesco, which was on the main street leading to the leaning tower. We had a view of the tower from our room. We went to dinner to one of my favorite places of the trip. It was a local spot, we happened to find on tripadvisor.com hours before. This restaurant was different than the typical restaurant because when you entered you read the menu written on the wall and ordered. Ten you self-served yourself, as in getting your own place mats, utensils, cups, napkins, etc. Then once your food is ready, they call it out, and you go get it and bring it to the table you chose. I actually really enjoyed this type of place, it was super easy, fast, and different. The food was also really delicious, we ordered Pasta alla bacalo a cheese plate (typical of Pisa) that contained 6 different types of cheeses, a plate of vegetable pastries with a side of hummus, a great house wine, and two delicious desserts (one chocolate cake and a ricotta cheese dessert). Everything was so good! After dinner we saw the major attractions of Pisa by night, but in the morning we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. It was actually pretty hot for January. We went to the leaning tower square. I was actually very fascinated by the leaning tower, I could not take my eyes off of it I think because I have never seen anything like it before. It was incredible to see a building that was leaning very much to one side but stayed put. We decided to go up the 300+ steps of the tower and see the views from the top. After we went to the River Arno, it was very pretty and reminded me of Florence's river. We had lunch near the tower, shared a margarita pizza and salad with pineapples, walnuts, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, etc. After, we headed to Volterra.

As we were driving into Volterra, the views were amazing, such beautiful hills with many different trees (including the famous Cyprus tree known for the Tuscany region). It was so pretty and a sunny day so even better. We got to Volterra about an hour later. This town was one of my favorites. It was a small town on the top of the mountain, so had an amazing view of the hills and valleys below. We arrived a little before sunset, and what a sunset it was! The views were breathtaking with the mix of pink, yellow, and orange sky. We walked around this little city, saw the Duomo, a famous park on top of the city which contains famous old tombs, cathedrals, and just sat staring at the city from high points just admiring it all. We both really loved Volterra.

Next, we went to Siena. Which quickly became another favorite. We arrived around 7pm after leaving Volterra.  Our "hotel" was so cute, it was a room rented out of a nice house that was on a hill (with a view of Siena) and really close to the Duomo and the famous plazas. We went to dinner at a place that a sweet lady from Siena recommended to us while we were parking. (**Side note but I forgot to mention that the people in Tuscany were all very friendly, always trying to help us and give us advice on where to go, it definitely was something positive added to the trip). The recommendation was really good, the place was near our hotel too. I ordered gnocci and we shared a cheese plate and of course wine. Rocco ordered a fish that I really liked. After dinner we went to see the Duomo by night. It was really pretty, we just sat there for a while staring at it, then we wen to plaza del Campo which is shaped like a shell and had a lot of life (full of people outside, bars, restaurants, etc). Since it was the holiday season there were stars and "auguri" shining on the buildings over and over, which made it look extra pretty. We decided to go to a pub behind us with the view of the plaza del Campo, we sat outside and got something delicious to drink, it was great.
The next day we got to experience Siena by day, but it was very foggy outside. We went to the Duomo, the plaza del Campo, and took a "romantic walk" to see the views of Siena from a high point of the city. We walked uphill to a Basilica and saw great views of the city center. Then we just walked all over the city, ate some gelato (even though it was very cold) and then made our way to Arezzo (which we booked just hours before at an internet cafe).

 


We got to Arezzo around 7pm and the drive was really rainy. Our hotel was a little outside Arezzo in a town called Vioraggagio but was really nice. We went to dinner in the city of Arezzo, without having a place in mind, but people in the center recommended us a place. It was good, I got pesto pasta and me and Rocco shared a melted cheese platter with cooked mushrooms on top (yum) and of course a good wine from Arezzo.
The next day we had a free breakfast included from our awesome hotel (score!) then we went into town to explore and visit museums, see art, eat lunch, etc. We went to Basilica San Francesco that had really famous frescos. We ate outside at a really cute restaurant in the central plaza and it faced the center.  We also went to Casa Vasari (the house where the fresco painter used to live), each room had a different fresco with an interesting story behind it. Also, we went to the museum of Medieval & Modern art before heading to Perugia.

For our last stop we went somewhere outside of Tuscany, and went to Perugia (which is in the Umbria region). I was very curious and excited to see this city. I couldn't help but think of Amanda Knox the whole time we were there (as well as tourists we overheard talking about her), it was inevitable. We got there around 6pm and arrived at our 4-star hotel (wonderful place). We looked up restaurants online and one in particular was already making our mouths water (just from reading the menu). We called and made reservations at Enone and were so excited for the meal to come. We arrived and you had to walk downstairs to go to the restaurant, it was very intimate, in the main section there were about 8-10 tables and close to one another. Just as we thought, the food was unreal. First we got delicious wine from Sicily. Then we ordered a cheese plate (surprise surprise, we love cheese) with 5 different kinds of cheese and it came with a bread bowl. Then we ordered a greek salad to share, so yummy. I got the tuna steak in a sesame crust (I die), which the waiter kindly recommended and Rocco ordered the crusted salmon. Both were SO delicious, in the end we were so full we could not even order dessert (which I highly craved before). It was I think the best meal we had in Italy!
The next day it was time to explore the city. We were lucky it was super sunny and pretty but very cold. We walked around exploring, ate some pizza, went to about 4 different viewpoints, and sat in the sun. Then we headed back to Milan- it was the end of a wonderful experience/ roadtrip/ romantic adventure.

Last was Milan again! I had already been to Milan once before for about a day, but this time it was so different. Rocco lived in a really cozy and cute apartment really close to the center. I felt super at home and comfortable there. For our last days in Italy he showed me things most tourists do not see. It was super sunny and there were people everywhere (it was a Saturday and the first day of rebajas in Italy began), but it was wonderful. I loved having Rocco to show me around. He showed me the famous middle finger statue that is in front of one of the most famous banks of Milan. It was insane, but such a different type of artwork to see in public. Next we saw the Roman ruins and then the canals of Milan (who knew they had canals...right?). I loved this, made me feel like I was in Venice again. We saw the sunset, then walked around, ate some cannolis. Then we went home, made dinner, and watched a movie. It was time to go back to Barcelona...but it was such an amazing trip...I had the best time..would love to do it all over again :)

 

Famen

One of my favorite restaurants in Barcelona is called Famen. The story behind finding this restaurant was pure luck. Me and my best girlfriend in Spain last year, Mercedes, share a huge passion: food. We love trying new things, new restaurants, learning how to cook dishes together, and even just talking about food. One night we wanted to go out to eat in Gracia, but try someplace new. We were searching for quite a while, when we suddenly stumbled upon this cute small restaurant that looked super nice and walked straight in. This restaurant, Famen, was hidden pretty well and is pretty hard to find unless you know where it is…so we were proud of ourselves and after looking at the menu we got excited to try this Japanese-Catalan fusion restaurant. As many of you know Famen means wanting and needing to eat, so already the title is intriguing.

All I can say is I was very pleased with how amazing this food was and the variety of food offered. You can order paella or Tataki tuna (my personal favorite), and even have their pasta or meat of the day. They even make their own unique bread, serving you two different rolls – a cheesy bread and a onion based bread. Another one of my favorite small plates is the Goat cheese salad, the cheese is perfectly cooked so it melts in your mouth as you bite into it, and the dressing is a mango and dried fruits and honey vinaigrette. It is very delicious.

The restaurant is elegant and great for going on a date or just to dine with friends.

Now I always want to experience Famen and try to get something new (but it is very difficult for me not to order the same meal that I know I love). 

I recommend this restaurant to everyone who loves food as much as I do.  Here is the link to the restaurant: Famen