Author: Ella

Post by Ella It seems one can’t walk more than a block in Barcelona without seeing reference to the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926). Known as a Catalan modernist, his style is distinctive.  Yesterday we headed to the hills to explore Park Güell, a park designed by Gaudi in 1900.  We opted out…

Post by Ella For my maritime loving cousin.

Post by Ella Grubb is doing separate posts on the Museum Picasso and the Catalunya museum Here are a few of my favorites.

Post by Ella We made a pact that we weren’t going to push it here in Barcelona. The city is rich in art and architecture, food and drink, and like any big city, full of contrasting cultures. We thought, just relax. Walk. Look. Smell.  We’d booked advance tickets for the Picasso Museum today at 3:00…

Post by Ella A small restaurant serving small dishes. All divine. Cured anchovies and bread with tomato Crunchy risotto biscuits with olives, aioli, kale and honey Sautéed mushrooms with chestnuts and topinambur cream Roasted eggplant with burrata, sun-dried tomato and almond pesto Croaker in coconut and dill jus

Post by Ella Yesterday, after arrival and check in, we headed for the Gothic Quarter which abuts a bay on the Balearic Sea. We are staying in the neighborhood Eixample. Straight down our boulevard to La Rambla where we joined mobs headed towards Rambla de Mar.  I was unrealistically hoping that the crowds had died…

Post by Ella Our journey started in the dark, frozen air. It was 1°C which is about 34°F. I’d made a deal with our talkative Tesla Uber driver, Dominique, to give us a ride to our bus stop. At 5:45am, we were trundling our luggage down cobblestone steps to the dirt path that followed the…

Post by Ella Carcassonne has the Bastid (old city) and the Cité, the medieval village). We are staying within the ramparts of the Cité but it is an easy walk down off the hill and across an old bridge into the bastid. We spied the Cathedral Saint Michel from the ramparts of the Cité. And…

Post by Ella Grubb says “hey look, another carousel” “You’re kidding, right?” No, he wasn’t. I say NO. What do you say? And how about this? Reindeer going on a track, like a train? Grubb says yes, I say no.

Post by Ella Dinner last night (Thursday) was cassoulet. It’s a big thing here in Carcassonne. Every restaurant menu has at least one cassoulet on its menu. I might have mentioned before, a cassoulet is a rich, slow cooked stew. A medley of meats (sausage, mutton, pork and goose are the classic combo) and haricot…

Post by Ella We are now in the old city of Carcassonne , staying in a house within the ramparts. I am working on a glass of red from Carsac. A gift from our host.  So I’m relaxed…now. But earlier…. Driving from Avignon to NImes, well, first of all, we had a few misfires getting out…

Post by Ella I’ll just say this about that. Rumbling through the Palais de Papes in Avignon today, there was a surprising art exhibition adding to the decor of the somber early 14th century rooms. This and then that. That and then this.

Post by Ella Our apartment in Avignon has equaled our place in Nice. A spacious two bedroom, separate kitchen and living room, two full bathrooms. On Rue Victor Hugo no less. We’d arranged to meet host Adrien in front of the building (on Monday) to get the keys and get checked in. A few minutes…

Post by Ella Avignon. An intimate French restaurant. Took awhile to find. Many fine dining establishments were closed for Armistice Day (Monday, Nov 11). Finally came upon Le Vintage while googling “restaurants near me” in an ever widening circle around our apartment. It was 5:00pm and we were hungry having been chugging along on only…

Post by Ella On to Avignon with a delightful stop in Les Baux-de-Provence to climb around the Chateau and then an immersive experience in an old cavernous granite quarry.  The drive was lovely. It felt like Van Gogh’s world. How much more spectacular it would have been without asphalt roads and cars. And if only…