Mixing things up one afternoon, we drive out to the Penedes area not far outside of Barcelona as we heard it’s Catalonia’s wine region. In particular, this region is famous for producing cava, Spain’s famous sparkling wine. We learn that 95% of all cava is actually produced here. We aren’t too sure what to expect, […]
We’re now feeling like we’ve really explored Catalonia. Along with finding many of the nooks and crannies in Barcelona, we’ve ventured up the coast to Girona and Figueres, westward and inland to Montserrat, and now it’s time for us to drive South down the coast. Our destination is Tarragona, a city founded in the 5th […]
One specific Christmas tradition leaves us a little confused, intrigued, and tickled all at once. Apparently, there exists in Catalan mythology a character named Tio Nadal. Tio for short is a log with a face on it often propped up by sticks like the picture below, which we photographed in a tapas bar. Starting on […]
We’re off on another day trip in our rental car. First stop: Girona. We heard good things, but we had no real idea of its history. First, there were the Romans, then the Visigoths, then the Moors, and then finally a Catalonian county starting in the 8th century. One part of the old city that […]
When the New Year arrives, the tradition is to eat twelve grapes synchronized exactly with the twelve dongs of the church bells. Turns out it’s a lot harder than it sounds and is very funny to take part in! They say you’ll be blessed with good luck the following year. Taking a step back, we […]
As part of our stay in Barcelona, we rent a car to explore some of the nearby sites. The first one on the list, Montserrat, surprises us in many ways. The first is weather – we’re completely submerged in a cloud until about 100m away from the Benedictine Abbey near the top of the mountain […]
This trip has been different from some of our other trips for lots of reasons, but one noticeable one is the pace. We call it babymoon pace. The naps are more frequent, the snacks and meals are a little longer, the walks are a bit mellower, and the bathroom breaks are constant. And although this […]
Onwards to Barcelona. We start our time in Barcelona by learning about its history through architecture. At the time of the Industrial Revolution, Barcelona really takes off, and as part of the expansion created by the rush of people to cities, Modernist architects such as Antoni Gaudi get their chance to shine. Our guided tour […]
After Mdina, a tiny town of 300 people that completely empties every night around 5pm, Valletta feels like a true metropolis (kinda). There are restaurants and bars, shops that stay open late, theaters, and seemingly hordes of people. Stomachs still full a couple days later from our Christmas dinner, early breakfast, regular breakfast and […]