by T. on April 27, 2013
in away
As I recently went to Portugal for personal reasons, I made a stop in Lisbon for 24 hours before I went back to Paris. Even though I have been going to Portugal – including Lisbon – since I was a kid, I have really started discovering the capital city during this last decade.
For breakfast, I went to eat at a padaria portuguesa, a nice bakery shop where I ordered a tea, a surprisingly good mango and orange juice, as well as a raisin snail pastry and some pasteis de nata (local egg custard cups I can’t get enough of). As the bakery is situated on the praça Luís de Camões, a great shopping area, it was perfect for me to buy a few souvenirs as well…
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Tagged as:
Europe,
Lisbon,
Portugal
Omm sweet home…
Since my first stay in Barcelona, my favorite hotel in the city so far has been Hotel Omm (I’m also secretly dreaming of a long stay at the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona, but that’s another story). The architecture, the modern decor with mid-century touches, the delicious food, the young yet intimate vibe, the central location… I really like everything about this place!
To tell you the truth, I would almost go back just for the tapas and this thin-crust apple pie with ginger ice cream…
… but more seriously, the other reason is that this hotel really feels like home away from home. And the atmosphere is really calm and relaxed, but chic.
Hotel Omm
Rosselló 265
Barcelona. España
T +34 93 445 40 00
F +34 93 445 40 04
reservas@hotelomm.es
Tagged as:
Barcelona,
Europe,
hotels,
Spain
While in Barcelona, I wanted to visit two local food markets, La Boqueria and Mercat de Santa Caterina. (Un)fortunately I ended up seeing only the first one – which was closest to my hotel – and I’ll have to wait until a future visit until I can go to the second one. Luckily for me though, I wasn’t disappointed by what I found as this market is said to sell some of the best products from Catalonia in one place…
Right off Las Ramblas, La Boqueria is more than any food market, you can really experience a slice of local life is in Barcelona while buying and/or eating delicious food. I bought some jabugo iberico for family members and tasted some local specialties like the bomba de salmon (very good!). I also really enjoyed the freshly squeezed fruit juices as well as the fruit salads.
Next, time I’ll share images of Mercat Santa Caterina…
Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria
Plaza de la Boqueria | Ramblas, 08001 Barcelona, Spain (El Raval)
Tagged as:
Barcelona,
Europe,
markets,
Spain
Lately, I have been going through this special phase in my life in which I keep asking myself questions about my life’s purpose and the choices that I have made and the ones that I still have to make. This has a lot to do with the numerous losses that I have endured in recent years, since it is never easy to loose your closest relatives or your longtime friends – or worst, your best friend.
I took this picture in Portugal where I recently traveled for yet another funeral; during the ceremony I was reminded that we don’t have to say ‘farewell’ to those we love, we can decide to just say ‘goodbye’ to them, it is a personal choice and one that is linked to your personal beliefs. But I can now say that there is only one farewell that I said, and it was a farewell to the person that I used to be. In fact, this period has encouraged me to make bolder choices in my life and to not hesitate to do the things that I always wanted to do in order to not have regrets later on. I have decided that this is the single most important thing for me right now. And I hope that this decision will bring some rainbows in my life as well, I could really use them.
Tagged as:
Europe,
Portugal
One of my best food memories in Barcelona ( or maybe the best) was Quimet & Quimet, a very small tapas bar which only serves tinned food and has its walls covered with wines from around the world. Everything I was served (I tried a vegetable selection and a charcuterie selection) was really excellent. I can’t wait to go back and taste more from their menu.
Tagged as:
Barcelona,
Europe,
restaurants,
Spain
