Date night in our own backyard: Why not enjoy our pizza oven and pergola?
Category Archives: FOOD
Brew Pub and Pondering
We started the evening at Liberty Brew Pub for some good craft brew and wood-fired pizza.
Onward for a sunset cruise on Lake St. George. Life is good!
A Weekend with the Grands and Greats
Memorial Day weekend spent with the kids – lots of fun and high energy! A huge shoutout to Kat, Ian, Zach and Grandpa for laying the decking on the 12×30′ frame in 5 HOURS! while GG had fun with Colby and Lincoln; and Peter and Greyson spent time with their Aunt McKayla.
McKayla doing what she loves the most.
Fun times and birthday celebrations at camp.
Belfast, Maine gets better and better…
This town is the best! And now we have a legit market hall – United Farmers Market – in the old Matthews Brothers building – what a transformation and fabulous selection of food, goods and produce.
Montreal May days
A terrific little city break in Montreal to meet up with Irene from Toronto. A great AirBnB apartment in south west Montreal and very convenient to metro and downtown.
May 17 was Montreal’s 375th birthday and we were treated to free metro transport! We visited the impressively huge Jean Talon market and Old Montreal.
Subway sights….
Despite the blistering heat (totally unexpected after all the cold weather!) we spent an enjoyable day at the botanical gardens. In another week or so we would have been wowed by the peonies, but I will be wowed by my own in the garden at home!!!
Cooking Indian
What better past time for a dreary, drizzly day than cooking an Indian feast? With Gunjan Gilbert as our teacher, Nan, Lisa, Jeff, and I prepared: samosas, naan bread, lamb keema, cucumber raita, aloo saag, chicken makhani, mint cilantro chutney and fragrant rice!
For foodies and market lovers
Today is a drizzly, rainy day in Barcelona and the perfect day to visit some of the fabulous markets! We spent several hours wandering the aisles of La Boqueria – or officially – Mercat de Sant Josep de La Boqueria! This huge public market is on the records back to 1217, and it still stands today as a huge market hub.
Don’t I wish I could shop here regularly!!!!
An extensive array of seafood…
Vibrant and fresh fruit and vegetables ..
Wonderful breads, meats, spices, legumes, gelato – anything your heart desires ..
Barcelona
It’s been about 45 years! (How can that be?) since my friend and I hitch-hiked through France to Barcelona. My main memories from that trip are La Rambla and sangria! I remember the lovely shady pedestrian avenue with cafes and benches – and in particular, the bird cages with peoples’ birds tweeting and twirping and enjoying being outdoors. Today La Rambla is paved and there are no benches and no canaries! It is still fun to stroll, stop, and sit at a cafe and sip on a sangria and watch the people pass by, but I miss the old Rambla!
We took another of our beloved Free Walking Tours this morning, and Mitch, our guide – a Canadian from Saskatchewan – took us through the Gothic Quarter and we ended up at the waterfront. We started at the beautiful Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia and, once again, he shared much of the history of Barcelona from the time of the Romans until the Spanish Civil War. We visited many interesting buildings and squares and heard some great stories – some true and some more folklore than fact!
We had an absolutely delicious tapas evening meal at Bodega Biarritz and then another stroll through plazas and pedestrian streets.
Strolling the Ramblas
A fine evening for a stroll … and supper…
Valencia
So glad we made the short stop-over in Valencia, and our apartment was situated within walking distance of most of the highlights which made it especially nice.
We took the three-hour free walking tour with Elena as our guide. Once again we were given so much anecdotal information as well as history. These tours are the best!
We started at Plaza de Virgen – behind the cathedral – and witnessed the end of the Fire Festival, heralding the start of Spring, where the Virgen statue was totally covered in flowers. Had we known about the Fire Festival (Fallas Festival), we should have arrived a couple of days earlier and experienced the bonfires and celebrations in plazas throughout the city!
As we all know, Valencia is famous for its oranges, and Elena told us about the popular beverage Agua de Valencia which, of course, we had to sample.
The main market building was one of the striking buildings we saw with a beautiful central dome, lots of lovely ceramic tiles, and leaded windows. One of them displaying the Valencia coat of arms with the two-Ls (given by King James when Valencia twice showed loyalty to his reign, and the bat which is part of Valencia’s lore.
Today’s options are so great ….
Traveling has changed so much in the age of smart phones and internet! In the past we would drive and then find an accommodation or place to eat purely. Y chance, luck, economy or availability! Now, we can research the best options, book in advance and locate via gps!
Before we get on the road – a few more pics from Sevilla.
We wanted to leave Sevilla for Marbella and make a stop for a nice Sunday lunch – Spanish style! I found Bodega la Mazaroca on TripAdvisor in a small town – Arahel- about 45 minutes out of Sevilla. A little whitewashed town with narrow streets lined with row houses. We tracked down la Mazaroca, but so did everyone else in the area (Spaniards, not gringos!)!!! We secured two standing places at the bar and proceeded to take a guess at what we were ordering. Everything being produced and delivered looked incredible!
Oh! Spanish olives that we buy so cheaply? And all the olive oil we consume? Yeah! As far as the eye can see here in this part of Andalusia- olive groves.
Happy to be settled for a week at Marriott Beach Resort Marbella where we can explore some of the lovely white hill towns that we love!
The food of Galicia
I had heard about the amazing food in Galicia long before we even planned this trip. We have not been disappointed! Walking through the market one sees an abundance of freshly caught fish, beautiful beef, lamb and pork and so many different types of cheeses and sausages! Oh! and chocolate, pastries and cakes that are found in the Pasterias! And then there is the olive oil and the wonderful wines! One of the specialty cakes is the St. James’ Almond Cake which is decorated with the St. James’ Cross.
Another fabulous thing in Santiago DC is that a complimentary plate or two of tapas are served with first drink order.
Outside the market this delicious looking octopus (pulpo) was being cooked in a large tub. It was served on the little wooden plates by cutting into bite size pieces, seasoning with salt and pepper and then drizzling with olive oil! I wanted it so badly, but we were going to have a delicious lunch and I couldn’t spoil my appetite! Ps. I found some on the road to Salamanca and we had it for our picnic lunch!
Our picnic of pulpo, cheese, bread and wine!
We lingered over an amazing lunch at O Curra da Parra.
Porto
The day started out with drizzle and light rain for most of our drive from Obidos to Porto, but we still enjoyed passing through the small towns along the way.
Our hotel, Castelo de Santa Catarina, is rather more ornate than we are accustomed to, but it is fun staying in a castle with tiled turret!
As we left the hotel in mid-afternoon the skies cleared. It is all downhill from our castelo to the river (Douro) through the centre of town where many of the buildings have tile facades, and to the historic district (Ribeira) and riverside with its narrow cobbled streets and where port wine is produced. There are many, many cafes and small bars where one can sample the local wines and ports.
Our tapas/evening meal was taken at Wine Quay Bar on the terrace overlooking the promenade and river. Delicious sardines in a tomato sauce, warm bread, olive oil, and spicy chorizo.
Luckily we only had to trek part way up the hill – to the metro station and the metro train, which delivered us back close to the hotel.
