La Boqueria

Three blocks from our hotel in Barcelona, La Boqueria offered a bounty of fresh produce and fish, among other things. I browsed the goods about four times a day.







They mixed fruit juice on the spot, and sold a dozen varieties for 1.50 for a cup. Best of all, sliced seedless watermelon was available for 1 euro!

El Cellar de Can Roca

This spring, Pellegrino came out with its list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. Simon noted that 3 of the top 5 were in Spain. We'd already tried to get a reservation at #2, El Bulli, with no luck. Coming in at #4, and only about an hour from Barcelona, was El Cellar de Can Roca, and they were pleased to welcome us for lunch on a Friday.

I had not yet had the pleasure of dining in a Michelin starred restaurant, let alone a 3 star Michelin restaurant. We both ordered the feast menu, featuring 9 courses and 2 desserts. I also ordered the wine flight to go with it, far too intimidated by the wine list to choose on my own. It's so large it needs its own trolley to move around the room!

We lost count at a certain point, but allow Simon's beautiful photos to illustrate the experience.

Here I am, hiding behind a tree. Our first amuse was a caramelized olive with an anchovy filling.

Showing off a tiny campari bonbon with grapefruit. We were instructed to eat it all in one bite,
so the cold campari within wouldn't escape.


an anchovy ‘bone’ with black sesame wafer
served on a wood plank, reminiscent of old shipping ports

brioche steamed and infused with hot truffle soup

Mushroom omelet, molecular gastronomy style - A dumpling like shell encasing mushroom filling
behind it, pigeon bombons with Bristol Cream sherry

Apparently, the amuse bouches portion of the meal is over.
We chose these breads from a basket with many more choices.

Cherry Soup with smoked eel


Prawn with reduction, and sea floor scene made up of the prawn sand. It looks like sand and tastes of a thousand crustaceans reduced. Within the sand are various little morsels, representing coral and seaweed



Sole with Mediterranean flavors. Starting at the nearest point the flavors change, each distinctive:
Fennel, bergamot, orange, pine nut and green olive



Beef mince with spiced tomato, caper compote, pickles, lemon, hazelnut praline and a meat bearnaise sauce.
Topped with Oloroso-sherry raisin, chives, Sichuan pepper, Pimenton de La Vera, smoked paprika and curry.
On top of each flavor rests a tiny potato chip and mustard ice cream


Simon blissed out over his favorite course.

Peach compote with fresh peach, lamb with chip, cheese foam


All this delicious food and wine put me in a good mood. Time to start dessert.

Dinner at La Merenda

The front door of La Merenda is a bit intimidating when you come to it in the morning to make a reservation - a beaded doorway with cool darkness behind it. Bravely, I stepped inside and asked for a place for the evening, and chose to have dinner at neuve heures (9 pm).

After the waiter managed to stop me from walking all over his freshly cleaned floor, he put us down for dinner, and I walked home feeling victorious.










That night we returned and were seated at a tiny table. The room could accommodate 25 people, and it was packed.

At the back of the room is an open, tiny kitchen where you can see the chef at work. He left a top notch restaurant at Nice's famous Hotel Negresco to cook Nicoise fare for the knowing few.

















A blackboard menu with the night's specials is brought to your table. The waiter gives you a few minutes, and then returns to take your order. He then takes the blackboard and places it on the next table.


When we sat down in the restaurant, the smell of delicious beef reminded Simon and me of arriving at my grandma's ranch in Montana and being served the most local of roast beef dinners. The homey smells were welcoming and delicious, and it made me proud to think of all the delicious meals my grandma had prepared for her guests. Had our chef made his way to her table, he would have been blessed as we were by his wonderful cooking.


As starters, we ordered an onion tart and the sardines. The sardines were stuffed with garlic and bread crumbs and were the best either of us had ever had. The tart was a local specialty, done beautifully.

For our entree, we both wanted an entire order of Daube de Boeuf a la provencale (Beef Stew with Provencal flavors), but decided to get the Andoillette (sausage with lentils) so we could try 2 things. Both were amazing, but there was not enough daube de boeuf to please us both. It melted in our mouths, the tomato and olive flavors a revelation.

Simon went with the fromage for dessert and received a lovely piece of cheese covered in spicy honey. I could not pass up the beautiful gateau aux cerises (cherry cake) I'd seen at other tables, and it was spectacular!


If you are ever in Nice, do not pass up the chance to dine at La Merenda. Our meal with coffee and wine was $40 pp. The actual address is 4 rue Raoul Bosio.

Amazing deli section at Peck

We ate at two of their satellite restaurants, with great luck,
and had gelato from their counter daily.

Gelato flowers

Train Picnic

Alkmaar cheese market

Cheese Market fun.