The True Breakfast of Champions

Gutentag!

Usually, our breakfasts consist of yogurt and fruit or oatmeal or whole wheat toast -- pretty standard, healthy, fare.

In France, we've enjoyed the occasional baguette or croissant with a cafe au lait.

But we never expected to see this at 8 am.


As part of our effort to embrace every new opportunity presented to us, we dove into this traditional Bavarian breakfast spread. Clockwise from the top: Zeibelwurst (raw pork and onion), smoked ham, Gelbwurst, goat cheese, liverwurst, Prsack (gelatinized pork sausage).


The morning sun shining through gelatinized, cubed, pork. A thing of beauty, ya?


The meat and cheese is traditionally served with these rolls, called Semmel and dark rye bread.

Wheaties has nothing on us!

To Ceret!

From Ventenac, we traveled about an hour south to the village of Ceret to visit some French friends -- Mado and Patrice.

Ceret is situated in the Pyrenees-Orientales part of the Languedoc Rousillon region of France. The village is tucked away in a valley at the foothills of the mountains and minutes from the shore of the Med. It is also part of French Catalonia and the Catalan influence is everywhere from the accent of the language to the politics of the people to the flavor of the food.

Mado and Patrice treated us to a whirlwind weekend of fantastic meals and exciting little outings. 

One of those outings was to Collioure, a great seaside village boasting lots of art galleries, outdoor cafes, and of course, unbeatable views...

This is a traditional Catalan fishing boat docked at Collioure.  The trick, apparently, is that they go out at night and drop a lantern into the water, attracting fishies.  Whatever the technique, they are doing it right because the seafood in this region is amazing!

We also had two opportunities to visit Spain.   

Figueres is one of the first cities you come to entering Spain.  It is the birthplace of Dali and a center of Catalan culture.  Mado was coming into town for a Catalan language/cultural exchange program and we tagged along, so glad we did!

One piece of Catalan culture we learned...they take their ham really seriously.  


This is a musician who performed at the Catalan language exchange event we went attended.   None of us were able to figure out what this instrument was, but the sound it produced was awesome and unlike anything we'd ever heard.  

We took a second day-trip into Spain with friends of Mado and Patrice's.  We enjoyed a great Spanish meal in the center of a little medieval village called St. Marti D'Empuries and a leisurely stroll along the coast.  What more could you ask for out of an afternoon?

Don't trip, Patrice!  He was completely absorbed by his newspaper for a good part of the walk. 

Our walk followed the winding coastline...

took us along the beach...

led us to the site of an ancient Roman town named Empuries.  It is still being excavated, but from what we could see, it is massive.  

Eventually, we ended up in the town of L'Escala.  While it was relatively calm on this November day, apparently, it is hopping in the summer months!

Happy Thanksgiving to all back home!!!!  Thinking of you...

A Bientot, Ventenac

Au revoir Canal du Midi...



We'll miss you ...


(even though you aren't looking your finest at the moment, in the process of being drained)



We'll miss all the new friends we made. Lexi, Julia, Mike, Nina, and good ol' Teg!



The gourmet dinners we had...




The laughs we shared with both of our wonderful hosts. Thanks Julia. Thanks Sundara and David!





It's strange to leave after a month in such a peaceful, idyllic place. But, we are on to new adventures and will take with us all the wonderful memories of the work we did, the fun we had, and the great friends we made along the way.




We might even be back before too long...

From Nar to Bar

One of the many many wonderful things about Europe is how easy it is, in the matter of a few hours, to be in an entirely new place.  Hopping the train from Narbonne to Barcelona, we felt this immediately.  When we stepped off onto the platform in Barcelona, everything was just so different.  A different language, different customs, different attitude, different cuisine, different landscape.  

We only had a short stay in Barcelona, but it made a strong impression.  From what we saw, Barcelona is a vibrant, diverse, relaxed, and fun-loving city.

Perched between the Collserola mountain range and the shores of the mediterranean, Barcelona is a visually impressive city.  City planners have definitely taken advantage of this asset -- there is lots of green space all over and a great beach front.  

Barcelona seems like the kind of place where people are going, going, going all the time, but also understand the importance of taking it easy (sometimes even in the middle of the street?).

While many of Barcelona's buildings are quite modern, there are definitely some grand old places like the kinds you'd expect to find in a big European city.  This is the National Museum of Art of Catalonia.  

One of the centers of activity in Barcelona is La Rambla, a long pedestrian street through the center of the city leading to the shore.  Markets, shops, restaurants, and lots of people...

The Cathedral of Barcelona, constructed between the 13th and 15th centuries.  

In stark contrast to this imposing, serious old building is all the funky modern art all over the city.

Catalan modernisme art and architecture left quite a legacy in Barcelona. The style was dominant from about 1880 until the 1950s and its mark is everywhere in the city, like this prominent sculpture near the beach. 

The best known modernisme artist was Antoni Gaudi.  The movement he helped to define was defined by Catalan nationalism and a rejection of bourgeois values.  Gaudi's work is characterized by rich decoration, bright colors, inspiration from nature and whimsical curves.

Park Guell is one of the best examples of Gaudi's creative genius.   


It is an enormous park on a hill with architectural elements both blending in with and extenuating the natural beauty of the area. 

A great thing about Park Guell is the buskers playing really good music around every corner.  These guys were maybe the best street musicians we've ever seen.   Very Barcelona.

One of the best parts about Barcelona is its water front...where residents and tourists alike come for a fun time.