All things EARTH...

[Anita Latte]

I forgot!

 

Margaret...the slide show about culottes...

 

I'm pretty sure the Zara culottes mentioned here:

 

http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/thecut/slideshows/2015/05/culottes/culottes-07.nocrop.w1800.h1330.2x.jpg

 

"Try A Slimmer Pair

Most culottes are voluminous, but if that's too overwhelming, this Zara pair has a more tailored fit. But don't go tight on top; it's more interesting to play with contrasts like this roomy top with interesting details."

 

are pictured in the "Earthy delight" photo that I posted of the Zara window display.

[Joby]

Love those clothes and love that store!!!!

[Anita Latte]

It's LUNCH TIME!

 

I hope you've eaten...

 

We headed back to the hotel with our treasures. We were just a block or two away...and we opted to eat at the restaurant that is on the corner of the hotel. It isn't managed by the hotel...at least...it appears to be independently operated from the hotel...

 

 

The specialty of the house seemed to be wood fired pizzas...

 

It's an open kitchen kind of restaurant...where you see the chefs at work...and see the ovens...in this photo...the kitchen is at the far back...you might discern the stacks of firework on the far right back:

 

 

Looking above you can see but not really understand the large paper dragon...if you go upstairs to the loft bar area...you can get a better view:

 

 

It's a bright open feeling space...with a wall of windows on the side street (not La Rambla). We were right by the window and so had excellent people watching...we watched one man take turns sitting on all these parked right outside:

 

 

The menu here was really interesting. Nothing fancy...it is a clip board with several printed pages. I think the menu itself is two pages worth of text. The first two pages are Catalan...the next are English...and there was another language included...maybe Spanish or German? I don't recall exactly...I wondered how often the menu would change? Perhaps there was a bit of seasonality to the items and/or the pricing?:

 

 

And of course, they bring you bottled water:

 

[Anita Latte]

I must interrupt this dining report...

 

Do you know what Iberian Ham is?

 

Also known as Jamon Iberico?

 

If you eat pig...then you simply MUST try Jamon Iberico when you are in Spain! When you go to San Francisco...eat sourdough bread and a bay shrimp salad sandwich. When you to New Orleans...eat beignets and crayfish (especially in jambalaya and gumbo). Eat ribs and compare in Memphis, St. Louis, anywhere in Texas... Eat jerk in Jamaica.

 

Eat Jamon Iberico in Spain!!

 

http://www.jamon.com/iberico.html

 

It is a specialty product...even in Spain. I found an article from 2008 that stated that the US government finally lifted the ban on this super Spanish ham and there was a place where you could now buy it for $109/lb.

 

I double checked. I didn't make a typo.

 

$109/lb!!

 

OMG.

 

In Spain...you see purveyors of Jamon Iberico throughout this area...

 

This particular establishment was jam packed (no pun intended)...with CUSTOMERS purchasing their jamon to be shipped. They had a list of countries with the shipping charges to each on display...

 

 

I admit...to my own Americanized eyes...I'm not sure how appetizing this display is:

 

 

But as you will see again...this is very normal...

 

And now back to our dining report...

[Anita Latte]

We ordered for our table so we could all share...

 

We ordered a wood fired pizza...which I would call more of a flatbread...with fresh tomatoes, FRESH mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil:

 

 

And Iberic Ham with tomato bread:

 

 

 

Tomato bread is surprisingly tasty! My best description is to start with toast...really toasty toast...my guess is that this bread had been put in the wood fired oven...and then you spread the tomato on it. BUT...the tomato is...well...have you ever chopped tomatoes? And there's that mess of seeds and watery tomato left on the cutting board? Yeah...take THAT and spread it all over the bread...

 

I know right.

 

Like I said surprisingly good...the tomatoes must have been ripe because their flavor came through clearly, even though you can't really see it well except for the seeds...

 

Mom and I had cafe au laits for dessert:

 

 

And Dad had chocolate mousse:

 

 

It was all as good as it looks...

 

Interesting note...

 

Based on my extensive travels in Barcelona...I make the following statements: Table service is very unobtrusive here in Barcelona. The servers are out and about, generally taking care of the known needs of their customers...but they will not just "check on you" and see if you need anything.

 

They seem to expect that if you need something...you will just get their attention...and otherwise...they leave you be to have an uninterrupted meal and time with your tablemates.

 

Don't be shy. If you want dessert...get their attention and express your desires to them.

 

If you want more drink...

 

If you want the check...

 

ASK. It has nothing to do with poor service...in fact, it is the opposite. They leave you in peace and don't expect to become a member of your party.

 

Remember, they aren't working for tips...so they don't care about table turn over. They want you to enjoy yourself and it feels like they figure you can do this best alone...unless you need something...and then you get their attention...which isn't difficult to do, because they are expecting it.

 

When you are ready to pay...they bring you the bill. If you will be paying with a credit card...they stand RIGHT THERE with their cool portable card swiper...bring up your bill on it...swipe your card...you sign the portable device and then they print the little receipt for you. RIGHT THERE. They do not take your card away from the table or out of your sight.

 

How cool is that?

 

The bathroom in this place deserves a mention...because I have NEVER seen a bathroom quite like it before...

 

First...AGAIN...if I haven't mentioned this regarding the bathrooms before...UNISEX bathrooms.

 

I know.

 

Here's how they do it.

 

The sink area is the communal part.

 

And there are stalls with doors for all the toilets.

 

The exception in this particular bathroom was for the handicap area of the bathroom.

 

This was a long bathroom with maybe 5 or 6 stalls? And as many sinks all along the one wall. The decor was shiny red and black Asian inspired. At the far end of the room...at the end of the wall of sinks on one side and toilet stalls on the other was an exposed toilet in a huge open space across from a sink with an especially large countertop area.

 

And there was like a big ole sliding BARN DOOR that would come across to close off that end of the room to make a privacy area for someone that needed that much space to do their business...which I'm guessing was the intent to make a wheel chair friendly bathroom area.

 

It was bizarre.

 

But I bet that people who don't really need that kind of bathroom never use it...so it is always available if you are someone that does.

 

And then the sink faucets were bizarre.

 

It took some figuring out to finally recognize the black rocker on the front of the black countertop...hit it with your hip to turn on the water faucet! (I suppose you could use your hands...BUT...(again no pun intended).

 

We were pleasantly full. It hadn't been THAT long since our breakfast pastries so this lunch was perfect. And delish.

 

We had enjoyed a leisurely meal...

 

We were feeling rested...

 

We weren't hungry...

 

Definitely time to go look at a bunch of food...time to go experience

 

Mercado de La Boqueria!

 

Which is a HUGE open air (but covered!) market...

[awhfy]

Anita, loving this report...really glad I'd just finished dinner. That pizza looks fantastic!

[laurspag]

GrannyFlamingo, join us any time. You don't need to be earth to partake! It does seem like there isn't much discussion going on about air. Fire, earth and ice seem to be more dominant.

 

My husband is an air. He looks fabulous in navy. To demonstrate this, quite a while back, before I knew about color theory, he came home from work wearing a navy blue polo shirt with his work logo on it. Me and my two daughters, who were teens at the time, did all this "ooh" and "ah" stuff, over and over. When Curt saw a picture and said that it appeared my husband was air, he also added that he should look great in navy blue. That sealed it for me.

 

Now, you will find that even within our color groups, some of us look better in certain colors than others. Margaret looks great in teal, and I really like when Anita wears various shades of green. But, we all look good in chocolate brown. It's our black, so to speak. With air, navy is your go to base color.

 

Speaking of Margaret....beautiful dresses! You know, I think you will like a dress I'm wearing in one of my future cruise posts. It's a color somewhere between turquoise and teal, but it is somewhat the same style as the black and gold dress. I think the teal dress just makes your skin glow! The black and gold dress is beautiful, and it works quite well despite the black! I think the gold makes a real difference.

 

I kind of like to blend in a bit at parties, but you know what I always end up picking? Red. I guess that isn't a surprise, is it? :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

I did keep my black and gold dress, and I just realized I never took a picture of me in it. I will have to get one. It should fit much better now than it did before.

 

Anita, the food pictures are yummy. I am normally not a sandwich eater, but I do love the type you have pictures of. They look so fresh, not just lunch meat, shredded lettuce and mayo. I love it too when they put things like avocado on a sandwich.

 

I love seeing all the stores. Since I tend to order online, I do miss the fun and overall experience. For that reason, my daughter and I are planning out a mall day soon. I just want to go and look around and see things in person. I also need to try some things on as I'm not certain what size to wear at the moment.

 

Anita, I know you have said you often order online too. You and your mom look so happy and relaxed in that picture, like you were just doing your thing, no schedule, no worries. I love that.

 

I wore culottes back in the day. When they made a brief comeback around...when was it? I'm thinking 2003 or 2004, but I'm not certain. I had this floral print short sleeved top with matching culottes. They were being called split skirts at the time. I'm wondering if I would wear them now? I think a lot depends on the fit. Mine had an elastic waist, something I don't wear much now. Back much farther, I think we called them gauchos???

I love the color of that particular orangy pair.

 

I didn't have shrimp salad in San Francisco, but I did have a crab cake on sourdough! The sourdough, OMG. You could smell it baking everywhere. I love sourdough.

[GrannyFlamingo]

Thank you ladies. I thought of starting an Air thread, but not sure there would be any interest. Looking back, all my fave outfits would fit into air. But I bought SO many earth, because those were my fave colors. Turns out, it wasn't the colors exactly, but the shade. This explains why my make up looked so fabulous one day and just a bit "off",the next. I bought this dress last year for a special event that ended up not happening. I didn't like it on the hanger, but loved it once I tried it on. Air? I think? Funny how sales people can know what works.hmm can't make the thingy work

[GrannyFlamingo]

[GrannyFlamingo]

Hard to believe. It looked so drab on the hanger, and just "lit up" when I tried it on.

[laurspag]

Anita, I was looking at the Zara sight since you posted the link under one of the photos. I came across a really cute outfit. I. Not sure I could ever pull this off, but I really liked it.

 

http://www.zara.com/us/en/sale/woman/trousers/view-all/printed-loose-fit-trousers-c732036p2692507.html

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[laurspag]

That is a good sign! The right colors bring out the best in your skin tone. That looks like a really beautiful air dress.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[Sailor_Sally]

Well Anita I am holding you & your Mother fully responsible ! I booked a TA today on the Navigator of the sea visiting Spain, Portugal , France & ending in London.Hopefully I can find decent airfare & some fun stores !.

[GrannyFlamingo]

Thank you. I will now go back to lurking and enjoying the food pics...mmmm tomato bread...

[Anita Latte]

Anita, I was looking at the Zara sight since you posted the link under one of the photos. I came across a really cute outfit. I. Not sure I could ever pull this off, but I really liked it.

 

http://www.zara.com/us/en/sale/woman/trousers/view-all/printed-loose-fit-trousers-c732036p2692507.html

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

 

The pants are fun! I don't care for the top for my body...it's too short and too unstructured...I'd need it to be more fitted with no structure and always around hip length is most flattering for me.

 

I could go for those pants though.

 

I had a printed pair of traveler's fabric pants from Chicos. I LOVED them. I finally donated them a long time ago because they were a bigger size and just huge, dragging on the ground and low in the crotch...I didn't think they were worth the effort to try to alter. Now I wonder sometimes because I did like them.

 

Makes me think I should scout out a couple pairs of these print pants on trend right now and catch one on a good sale! I could use more pants.

 

Well Anita I am holding you & your Mother fully responsible ! I booked a TA today on the Navigator of the sea visiting Spain, Portugal , France & ending in London.Hopefully I can find decent airfare & some fun stores !.

 

Fabulous! What year?

 

Mom is likely a good resource for you because she had done the TA thing so many times and has done ports, etc., that you may be visiting. If you want to go more in depth on those topics, I suggest you start a thread over here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=885

 

And let us know here that you started that thread!

[Anita Latte]

Mercado de la Boqueria.

 

OMG.

 

It would just be FUN to shop...and FUN to cook...if you had access to a market such as this one.

 

As I stated before...this is an open air market. There are gates along La Rambla that can be closed and locked. These open into an uncovered, open courtyard entrance area...because the market is set back just a bit from La Rambla. There are no walls, but there is a "roof."

 

This place is HUGE:

 

 

This is just one aisle of the market...but you see it stretching as far as the camera can see...the booths displaying their offerings:

 

 

You never enter a booth. Only the workers in the booths are actually in the booths.

 

The market also has eateries...within and around...

 

 

We were able to resist because we had JUST eaten our lunch...

 

Warning...if you have a sweet tooth...

[Anita Latte]

The first place we encountered would tempt anyone with a sweet tooth:

 

 

 

The detail here is amazing...it is mind boggling en masse:

 

 

 

Just as colorful IRL...and with a sense of humor:

 

[Anita Latte]

The size of the produce was everything you would hope to find at a well stocked farmer's market...large and ripe...it even SMELLED fresh and yummy:

 

 

 

There isn't perspective here so much...but these are the largest asparagus that I've ever seen...kind of like the size of a carrot:

 

 

Mom put her hand in here so that you can clearly perceive how HUGE the leeks are...and not just big on the green...big on the white part!:

 

 

How could you NOT be excited to cook when you have such a colorful, fresh and wonderful display of choices before you?:

 

 

[Anita Latte]

Ready access to the ability to buy JUST ENOUGH to try out a new flavor or a new recipe can make all the difference in the world...often the cost of spices is so prohibitive...and you don't need that much. If you could choose...

 

 

and experiment more...

 

 

buy less...but more often and in more variety:

 

 

 

Add just a taste of things that you love...some of my local groceries stores have started things like olive bars, etc., but the cost is still really high:

 

 

OMG. CHEESE!:

 

[Anita Latte]

The meats...

 

 

Jamon!!!

 

Memories of Patagonia...ahhh, last night seems so long ago:

 

 

Cured meats:

 

 

Meats that likely have a following because of their secret recipes:

 

 

Unusual proteins...worthy of a Chopped basket:

 

[Anita Latte]

And if you are starting to feel overwhelmed by all these pictures...

 

You have an inkling of what it is like to walk around Boqueria...

 

As something of a side note...upon seeing this:

 

 

We had a bit of a conversation about what kind of meals could you come up with on your own using the bakeries and the Boqueria as a source...like for packing a picnic for a day trip or being able to add some fresh fruit with the pastry breakfast, etc.

 

In Boqueria...you can reach sensory overload...you just can't look at it anymore...it goes on forever...it is all so wonderful...but it has to end...

 

So it was time for us to move on...

 

And take our wander away from all this deliciousness...

[Sailor_Sally]

 

 

 

Fabulous! What year?

 

Mom is likely a good resource for you because she had done the TA thing so many times and has done ports, etc., that you may be visiting. If you want to go more in depth on those topics, I suggest you start a thread over here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=885

 

We are sailing May 8 th 2016 .I have been to Europe several times but never on a cruise ship . We are adding time in London on the end so we will be gone almost three weeks .

[Member123]

 

 

 

Fabulous! What year?

 

Mom is likely a good resource for you because she had done the TA thing so many times and has done ports, etc., that you may be visiting. If you want to go more in depth on those topics, I suggest you start a thread over here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=885

 

We are sailing May 8 th 2016 .I have been to Europe several times but never on a cruise ship . We are adding time in London on the end so we will be gone almost three weeks .

 

Giggle. :D

 

I looked up your itinerary. FABULOUS. Oh, you're going to have such FUN.

 

I checked to see if we might be in overlapping ports. LOL. That's not going to happen, but wouldn't that have been ah-maz-ing, if it had?!?

 

We'll have to compare fashion notes as we get closer to the date. We have plans to sail on Jewel of the Seas, leaving on 28th April 2016, from Ft Lauderdale to Rome! I am so excited to be going back to Italy. I've got quite a lot of planning to do.

 

OMG. I just realized. We might be able to have simultaneous trip reports and then everyone could travel with us to England and Italy. So great.

 

<sigh> Don't want to live my life in future tense, but I am really looking forward to this particular vacation!

 

In the meantime, I'm traveling again in Barcelona and having my memory jogged by Anita. Just wonderful. I'm also having my memory jogged by Laurie. But I seem to be stuck in San Francisco? No pressure. I like San Francisco a lot: sourdough bread, gulf bay shrimp salad, sounds of sea gulls, sounds of sea lions, ringing bells of the trolleys. All good memories of San Francisco. "Don't say Frisco. NO! NO!" Where did that memory come from?!?

[Sailor_Sally]

 

Giggle. :D

 

I looked up your itinerary. FABULOUS. Oh, you're going to have such FUN.

 

I checked to see if we might be in overlapping ports. LOL. That's not going to happen, but wouldn't that have been ah-maz-ing, if it had?!?

 

We'll have to compare fashion notes as we get closer to the date. We have plans to sail on Jewel of the Seas, leaving on 28th April 2016, from Ft Lauderdale to Rome! I am so excited to be going back to Italy. I've got quite a lot of planning to do.

 

 

 

I actually considered the Jewel of the Seas but I am more familiar with London so that is why we ended up picking the Navigator of the Seas . I am already looking at my wardrobe which is heavy with linen ( not great for travel ) but I do have JJill traveler separates which I can add jewelry to and they will be perfect for nighttime .Plus after anita's posts I had to see Spain and I have always wanted to go to Lisbon .The pictures Anita has posted of you & your husband are amazing . You are both twigs but eat so heartily especially your chocolate loving husband.

[Anita Latte]

Sally...what a fun cruise! I wish I had another TA on the horizon...and I suppose that I do (because I want to do that again...)...it will just have to wait a few years.

 

My only word of advice on the wardrobe is to pack layers...our crossing was a few weeks earlier than your scheduled crossing...so watch the spring weather and know that it may be cooler on the crossing. I didn't have enough transition clothing...too much summer focus...so I didn't have as much fun with my wardrobe as I thought I would.