My wife and I had discovered Bistro Allard in the Saint Germain area of Paris, close to the Latin Quarter and Saint Michel, on one of our first trips together to Paris as a couple. To this day we both believe that the meal we had back then was the best meal we’ve ever had in Paris, or anywhere in the world for that matter. I remember that we had to-die-for escargots, prepared to perfection. As mains my wife went for grilled seabass, one of her favourites, while I had medium-rare grilled veal roast. The piece of meat was gigantic in size and tasted like it was from another world, so juicy and tasty, pure culinary bliss. My wife was very pleased with her fish dish, too. The cheese platter we shared to finish the meal contained some of the best cheese I’ve had in France (and I like my […]
The two best tapas places in Barcelona and other fun stuff to do in town
Our two favourite tapas places during our weekend trip to Barcelona two weeks ago were Bar Celta Pulperia in the Gothic Quarter’s Carrer de la Mercè, where octopus is the meal of the day every day, and Quimet y Quimet, just off Carrer de Blai in Poble Sec. We were surprised that, being a Pulperia, Bar Celta only had three variations of octopus that day, two of which we ordered: the usual Pulpo a la Gallega, octopus Galician style, cut into thin slices with lots of paprika and oil on top, and baby octopus in broth with vast amounts of garlic and parsley. The price of €14 for the Pulpo a la Gallega was unexpectedly high, but the quality of the ingredients, the expertise of the cook who prepared it, and the sheer size of the meal completely justified the price tag. We also liked the fact that the bar […]
#1 Day Trip from Barcelona: Montserrat & Penedes
During our recent visit to Barcelona we did a day trip to Montserrat, 50km west of Barcelona, and the Penedes wine region, approximately 80km to the south west, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our small group of ten travellers and one tour guide left Barcelona at eight thirty in the morning and arrived at Montserrat, the medieval monastery and eponymous mountain, pretty much straight inland from Barcelona, less than an hour later, even though our van was travelling only slowly. The “saw mountain” (that’s what Montserrat means in Catalan) looks beautiful with hundreds of little peaks, as if it was made from plasticine by some crazy giant who had forgotten to take his medicine. The mountain is 1,230m high (compared with 1,345m of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain). Santa Maria de Montserrat, a medieval Benedictine abbey, (the very vast majority of which was destroyed on various occasions over […]
Uma Restaurant, Barcelona
The atmosphere at this tiny restaurant, which, at the time of our visit, is ranked #1 of roughly 7,000 restaurants in Barcelona on the UK version of Tripadvisor, is very pleasant, welcoming, and all-round friendly. It felt more like a supper club than a restaurant, in a good way. We were immediately asked to say hi to the chef in Uma‘s kitchen and it was there that the first three amuse-bouches were served, while the chef explained the tasting menu of the day, a bit about how he will prepare each course, and a warm offer to come back to the kitchen anytime during or after the meal. These amuse-bouches were called ‘Acto I – la cocina (the kitchen)’ and included an interesting concoction called ‘Thai & Pina Colada’. We were led to our table. Soon ‘Acto II’ kicked off with ‘los snacks – El Sur – Torta […]
Ai Weiwei Exhibition at the RA
We went to the Ai Weiwei Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in October 2015 and were heavily impressed. We had been fans for some time, but the exhibition brought his art a lot closer with the large number of his top works and the information that was provided with it. One of China’s most influential artists, Ai became widely known in Britain after his sunflower seeds installation in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2010, which was also the first time we realised what league he was playing in and we followed him more closely since then, nearly exclusively through the media. We both always liked political art, art that isn’t just decorative or artistic, but that has something more important to say, art that tries to change society and not just change art, art that is angry in a creative, inspiring, idealistic way. Ai’s art […]