Saturday, September 19, 2009

My Adventure in Espana






We have been here for approximately 2.5 days...and it has been a whirlwind. Seen alot, ate alot and we still have not even scratched the surface.

Spain is such a diverse city. The people are a mixture of the world, I thought Hawaii was the melting pot. We are living on a street that is predominantly Middle Eastern, but mixed with East Indians, East Africans and now Hawaiians. I am getting ahead of myself. This adventure started about 2 years ago. I knew I wanted to do something special for my 50th birthday which was coming up pretty fast. We, meaning my friends and I, always go to somewhere exotic and special for the "big" birthdays. So I planned on Spain. Bill, Doug and myself decided on the dates, booked our tickets, and let everyone in my little universe know of our plans. Bill and Doug ended up making other "big" plans and are in India now. So nine of my friends made their plans and we are all here.

First day - September 17, 2009
When we arrived, a couple of our friends were already here and had seen a lot of the city. So they gave the rest of us some ideas of what to do. We were jet lagged from a 10 hour flight from Honolulu, an 8 hour lay over in NYC, and another 8 hours from NYC to Barcelona. But of course, we were hungry as soon as we got settled in our apartment. We ended up eating at a neighborhood "cervasareria" on the Raval Ramblas.

I need to give you the definition of what a "Ramblas" is. It is a large wallway that is similar to a median with a one-way street on each side. I would say the width of an average Ramblas is 30 feet. In Barcelona, the Ramblas were filled with cafes and kiosks and is usually busy with people and tourist....a wonderful place to shop and people watch.

The "Raval Ramblas" was not a very busy one, but filled with several cafes and alot of people walking and riding their bikes. The "cervasaria" we picked was not a very good one, but it was open during "siesta" and we were hungry for tapas or real food. The place food was not cutting it. It was just wonderful to eat outdoors, under the beautiful "Spanish Sky", eat and drink, being with good friends and people watch. What a great way to start our vacation.

After lunch, we went back to our apartment to change our clothes and wait for our other friends to get their keys to their apartment. We all got to go to their apartment, which was located in the Barri Gothic district and about 5 blocks from our place. I have to say that their place was located in a nicer & better neighborhood, but our apartment size, charm and layout, was so much better. Yes, you cannot have everything. Oh well. I guess we had the best of both worlds if we just shared the best with each other and that is why we are here - to share our best experiences and moments, and make unforgettable memories.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

ROAD TO SPAIN - 2 more days - September 13, 2009

It seems like only yesterday, I made the decision to spend my 50th birthday in Spain. I've always wanted to visit Spain, so about 2 years ago I made a decision that it would be on a "BIG" birthday. My core friends always spend our "BIG" birthdays in a special place, we've been to Paris, Italy, London and San Francisco. And now it's Spain.

At my birthday last year, the core friends started planning our trip and now it is here.

There will be 10 of us and we are all staying in this apartment complex - http://www.visit-bcn.com/en/spain/barcelona/lodging_accommodation_rentals/apartments_flats_lofts_studios/details_cosmopolitan2a.html

I hope they are legit!!!!

Adios.....

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I am back on-line!!!!


This is very appropriate, because the last post I did was right after the preview of the movie Julie & Julia on July 21st and I just had Chef Mavro's "Julia Child" inspired menu this Friday. I am not going to blog much about it, because my friend Lesa's blog about Chef Mavro's dinner is much more descriptive and informative - she is a much better writer, than I am...."Eatizen Jane".

One sentence about the meal - "the courses were well planned and executed", Julia would be very proud. I enjoyed the meal very much and it really fulfilled my expectations, and has totally heightened my hunger pangs and taste buds. If pictures is worth a hundred words, what does my picture say?

I've been gone from my blog for over a month, for a couple of reasons:
  • my home wifi has been acting up and landlords too slow to fix
  • I've been so busy with work - an event every week since July 15th
  • been also busy getting ready for my "birthday trip" to Espana
I feel these are really good reasons - don't you?

So from today and until my trip from Spain ends in October, I will be blogging about getting ready to go to Spain and while in Spain, about my daily adventures in Spain.

I've been preparing myself for this trip by cooking Spanish, practicing the Spanish language, and watching Spanish travel shows, especially the cooking ones.

So come along for the ride and put your flamenco shoes on!!!! We are on the ROAD TO SPAIN.

nos vamos!!!!