Tapas and architecture in Barcelona

Here's a fun fact.  One of my Bachelor degrees is in visual arts with a minor in art and architectural history.  So while I prefer adventure vacations outside of cities, I go a little weak in the knees when surrounded by amazing cathedrals, old houses and bridges.

However, I also have a passion for modern buildings (was a journalist for Advantage Steel magazine for years) so can't resist checking those out and will be hoping to get a glimpse of the construction of the new Kingdom Tower in Jeddah when there in January. I love seeing what we can make with the tools of the day. And really, making a mile high tower is just fantastic.

But today it's all about Gothic architecture because I'm in Barcelona!

Barcelona is Spain's second most-populated city with 1.6 million people. For some reason, I thought it was a lot bigger, but when you are there and can walk to most of the old neighborhoods, you realize, it's not as big as you imagined.

The Gothic Quarter is the center of the old city and walking distance from La Rambla, which is the shopping area of the city by the Placa de Catalunya and where I was staying at the Hotel Pulitzer (see article about the Hotel Pulitzer here).

The hotel was very central. I was able to take the airport bus for around 5 Euros to Placa de Catalunya and walk the half block to the hotel from there.  The hotel has a great rooftop bar and the room are really nice.  However, the food is not that fantastic at the hotel.  This isn't a problem though as there are so many restaurants in the area to pick for dinner.

La Rambla can be crowded with tourists and locals, but it's a fun area with a main pedestrian-only street with mostly chain shops.  For more unique shopping, take a stroll down the tiny little cobblestone side streets leading off the La Rambla.  These are lined with one of a kind clothing shops, bakeries, knick knacks, art shops, jewelry and other cool little places.  

It's through these little streets that you'll find yourself in the Gothic Quarter.

The buildings there are incredible.  There is the cathedral, of course (no fee to enter), but even the little apartments above the shops are interesting.  The people there like to have a lot of flowers and you'll see pots and pots of them hanging from their terraces or window ledges (if they don't have a balcony).

Many of the buildings date back to medieval times, but Barcelona is also famous for the Art Nouveau buildings from 1885 to 1950.  The most famous architect of the time was Gaudi. His famous church (started in 1882) is the Sagrada Famila. It's still under construction and they hope to finish it in 2026 - which I find inspiring that they are still investing money into this building to finish.

You can wander around the Gothic area yourself, but if you are looking for a cheap walking tour, check out Feel Free Tours.  Just like the name says, the tours are free (you can tip the guide at the end) and they start at the Hard Rock Hotel located in La Rambla. The Hard Rock is across from Placa de Catalyuna so easy to find.

Their website is http://www.feelfreetours.com.

After shopping and sightseeing all day, you then have the night life.

Barcelona has great food and great red wine.  I can make a meal of just a few pieces of tapas and a glass of wine, but if you have a bigger appetite, there are numerous restaurants in the city -- and if you like to dance, you're in luck.  The people of the area dance all night.

In fact, when I was catching the bus back to the airport at 7 am, the streets were still full of people coming home from wherever they had been all night.

Photo Moment: Sailboat on Lake Geneva

When this is what you see during your morning run along Lake Geneva, you really can't complain.

Côtes de l’Orbe - the Swiss wine half marathon

The Côtes de l'orbes half marathon takes you along roads, villages and even forest trails.

For years, I've been trying to do the Marathon Du Médoc in France.  This is a marathon where you run in fancy dress through the French vineyards, sipping wine along the way.  Doesn't it sound fantastic?

I've been dying to try it -- and every year, it sells out and I can never get in.

Lots of vineyards along the way

But...then I learned that Switzerland has their own version of this marathon. It's the Côtes de l’orbs half marathon.  It's based on the same concept of the Marathon du Médoc in that it's both sporty and festive. You are encouraged to dress in fancy dress, and that every few kilometers you have the choice of wine or water as you run. It's the only one of its kind in Switzerland -- which is kind of cool and a reason to sign up.

For some reason, I think the idea of running it in France would still be fun and will try again for the Médoc Marathon, but I figured this one would be a perfect practice run-through.

And don't forget the scenery. Awesome.

SIGNED UP BUT THEN THIS HAPPENED...

I signed up in July for the September 12, 2015 Côtes de l’orbs race and I was determined to run this thing in my fancy dress.

Well, actually I didn't go all fancy. I'm still a purest when I run and am always working towards improving my time -- so generally want to wear clothes that are made for running rather than a prom dress.

But in the spirit of the run I decided to go a little fun. I bought a cheap running skirt and glued sparkly dragon flies and flowers on it.  I know. I'm lame.  I figured I would go comfortable this year and then next year, go all out. Also, I was worried about the hills. After the Urban Trail des Singles totally kicked my butt (see blog post about the Urban Trail des Singles here), I knew running in Switzerland were not for the average marathoner. Those mountains are killer and this time I wanted to be prepared.

Have I mentioned that the scenery is awesome?

Btw... on race day, I did see a number of really fast runners decked out in dresses and wigs (see photo below) -- so it is possible to run in fancy dress and still do well. They must have been melting, but they looked great!

Anyone else instantly have Aerosmith's "Dude that looked like lady" in their head?

So I had the outfit and I had been doing some hill training in preparation. There was just one problem. The weekend before the race, I attempted mountain biking in Nendaz.  This was my first time and we I think we did the Mount Fort Tour (see more details of the Mount Fort Tour on the Secret Alps website). It's the easiest of the routes in the area. It's about 50 km and mostly downhill.

Unfortunately, I'm not good at downhill as I have trouble controlling my speed and had a bad wipeout (still enjoyed the day and would do it again).  I didn't break anything, but I was bleeding and bruised up a lot. But what really sucked was that my right knee had swelling under that patella, making it impossible to run without a lot of pain.

This is one of the many water/wine stops along the route. Not like any other race I've ever been in.

Regardless of the pain, I'm stubborn and refused to call it quits.  But I decided that because this was not the Olympics, I should compromise and be a little safe. Yup, that's right. I decided I would put on my little sparkly dragonfly outfit and walk half marathon anyway.


BEST DECISION EVER

The Côtes de l’orbs has you running through vineyard and a number of small winery towns along the course.  You start out in Arnex-sur-Orbe and then you run from there.

Cute Swiss town along the route.

I began my walk and after about 3km, the first offering of wine was available.  I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect real glasses poured full and numerous choices to pick from. It was more like visiting a vineyard than participating in a race.  It was strangely wonderful.

The wine/water stops continued every 2 or 3 km along the entire 21 km route.  I resisted until kilometer 9 and then thought I should partake as the vine owners looked a little sad every time I just passed them by.

I picked a chilled white wine from the stand, and it was then I learned that I would never be able to run the Marathon du Médoc in France and drink wine at the same time.  It might be that I'm not Swiss enough, but after one glass, walking was the only option. My drive to run was completely gone.  I was in mellow, relax mode.

The Swiss amaze me on how they can smoke and run. 

Thankfully, I wasn't the only walker. There were numerous walkers and even those who were sort of running the race, were not there to get a good PR (although there were a handful that were running like the wind though and passing by all the wine like the "dude that looked like a lady" in the photo earlier in this post).

Those that stopped tended to hang out for 15 to 20 minutes drinking the wine and eating the bread and cheese that was provided.  Yeah...no boring bananas and gatorade here.  It was good food and good wine.

This really was a bizarre race.  Check out the runners standing by the wine barrel above.  They look like serious runners, but there they are chatting, drinking and smoking at what was kilometer 16.

It took me about 5 hours to walk the entire half marathon - including all the wine sipping stops along the way.  And instead of a medal at the end, you got a bottle of wine to take home. Pretty cool I must say.

So next year, will I do it? Definitely...and I now that I know I can't "run and wine", I will be walking it with friends. Want to join me?

Breakfast at Savini in Milan

 

One of the perks of living in Switzerland (besides all the delicious cheese and chocolate) is how close it is to other cool places – like Milan.  I learned this week that a train from Lausanne to Milan is only 3 hours - and you know what that means. Day trip!!!  

 

 

Catching the first train out in the morning (around 6:30 am), I was in Milan by 9:30 am and in time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast at Savini. Savini is located in the Galleria which is one of my favorite buildings in the city. 

The restaurant Savini has been there since 1884.  It started as meeting place for celebrities and artists of the day, but now it’s filled with tourists like me visiting the Piazza del Duomo who want to relax with a good meal.

 

If you go, I will warn you that it’s not cheap.  My croissant and tea (and the complimentary box of biscuits they gave me) was $14 Euros.  While this would be a bargain in Switzerland, you can get really good food for fair prices at most places in Italy.

But at Savini you are paying for the experience of having breakfast in a super posh place.  Besides, their croissants are to die for.

I really didn’t have plans for Milan beside the whole “let’s go to Milan” plan, so spent my day wandering around and checking out the architecture. 

 

Naturally, I had to follow up my walk-about with pasta, which I did get a reasonable price.  My shrimp gnocchi, unusual appetizer (which was described as pine nuts and olives encased in a salty crust) and wine cost less than my breakfast.  And it was delicious. The best gnocchi I had ever had.  And that thing in the salty crust was fantastic.

Strolling through the Lavaux vineyards

I had no idea there was so much wine in Switzerland until I moved to Lausanne.  And I had no idea that Lausanne was just 10 minutes away by train to the best wine area in the country -- the Lavaux vineyards.

To get there, you take the train to Grandvaux and then you start walking through the vines and end at Lutry station.  It will take you about 90 minutes to walk there...and it's mostly downhill.

Or you could do it the way I did, which turned out to be the hard way.  I arrived in Lutry, which is located at lake level and then had to walk up the challenging hills to get to Grandvaux. That was not the best idea in the world, but I did get a fantastic glute workout along the way.

The traditional grape in this region is Chasselas.  If you've never heard of it, you are not alone.  I had never heard of it until I moved here. It's a white grape and about 75 percent of the vineyards in the area grow it. It makes a full-bodied white wine that goes well with most Swiss foods such as fondue and perch.  It's also a nice afternoon sipping wine, especially on hot summer days.

The do grow some red grapes in the area.  These are Pinot Noir and Gamay.  I'm going to be honest here and tell you that while the Swiss white wines are generally excellent, the red wines are hit and miss. They are worth trying, but not all are amazing.

The site is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.  One of the reasons is the countless terraces overlooking Lake Geneva. It's worth the hike.  Just bring your walking shoes as even going downhill can be challenging.

Santorini: Wine and Food

How could I go to Santorini and not check out the local food and the wine. But first, let me tell you some of the things I expected to find, but did not: pita bread, hummus and bowls of olives


LET’S TALK ABOUT SANTORINI FOOD

 For some reason, I had assumed all of Greece would serve the exact same food as every restaurant in the Toronto Greek village. But nope…I was wrong. I’m not sure if just Santorini is different or this applies to the other islands, but I didn’t get pita bread and hummus with every meal. Instead the island is famous for fried tomato balls (delicious) and fava beans with olive oil.

Yes, I know hummus is made of beans (chickpeas), but the fava bean thing is different. It comes mushy and you eat it with a spoon. The texture is thicker than hummus so it’s not a dip. It is tasty though and they didn’t bring bread with it – so another hint that it’s not a dip. When I did get bread, whether it was a tavern, café or restaurant, it was never pita. Instead it was this crusty bread with a fluffy, airy inside. 

So what do you do with the bread? You spread your olive tapenade on it. I love olives so was expecting to eat bowls and bowls of them while there. I did get to have them in some places (just a few…and they were yummy), but mostly tapenade was what was on the menu. 

 Another thing on the menu was octopus. I was planning on eating seafood when there so was thrilled to see octopus almost everywhere. You could get it sautéed, fried, in stews, cold in salads or my favorite way – grilled. I admit I totally took advantage of this and had it every day. 


AND NOW A LITTLE ABOUT THE WINE

Santorini is a strange little island. It has volcanic soil which is why the cherry tomatoes and beans are so delicious. It’s also because this soil has very little organic matter, just a whole lot of minerals, it has a low pH level and high acidity. They tell me this combination makes good wine. I have to agree that the white wines I tried were pretty good, but to be honest, the reds were hit and miss. Maybe I needed to try more varieties.

What you will notice when visiting Santorini is that the vines aren’t upright like they are in other vineyards around the world. Instead, they are flat on the ground and wound in circles to form a basket. This is because it’s hot there, it doesn’t rain often and it can be windy.

 Keeping the vines close to the ground prevents the grapes from falling off and where they get their moisture is from the morning midst (or sea fog). The basket growing method apparently helps retain this moisture. 

 I went on a tour of one of the vineyards and they told me that Santorini is one of the only places that uses this basket method.

Hiking the Caldera Trail in Santorini

The Caldera Trail in Santorini

There’s more to Santorini than parties, weddings and honeymooners. There is also the Caldera Trail that takes you on a 10km hike along the cliffs of the island from Fira to Oia.

Fira just after sunrise

The trail starts in the center of Fira - or at least for me it did.  Other blogs I've read said it starts at a church or in different areas.  For me, the taxi dropped me off in the middle of Fira and I walked toward the ocean.  The person at my hotel who told me about trail said to follow the signs for the cable car and you'll end up on the right path.

Another shot of Fira as I got farther away

Once you do find the path -- on whichever route takes you there -  it leads you along a narrow path through the city past the hotels and restaurants. 

Breathtaking views along the Caldera Trail in Santorini

As Fira is spreading, you’ll spend about 30 minutes surrounded by the white homes and buildings before you actually break free and are on the rugged cliffs. But even here the trail is well marked and easy to follow. It is also here that you’ll start to leave the throngs of people behind as the less adventurous wander back.

You also pass Skaros rock. Skaros was one of the five fortified settlements in 1200s and offered protection from pirates.  There was apparently a bunch of other little buildings and homes on the rock, but now there isn't much. It wasn't pirates that destroyed it, but earthquakes in the 17th and 18th century.

Skaros Rock

The longer you hike along the Caldera, the more breathtaking it becomes as you get a panoramic view of Santorini with the white buildings of Fira on one side and the blue domed churches of Oia in the distance in the other direction.

The journey is hilly, but not too extreme if you have no trouble walking 10km – however, the only thing to pay attention to is the heat. I left at 6:30 am and by 8:00 am it was already sweltering hot. Once you leave Fira, they won’t be any place to buy water until you get to Oia so come prepared.

It took me just over 2 hours to complete the hike –perfect timing to arrive in Oia for breakfast.

Hermitting in Santorini

The Caldera

This year has been a busy one. I’ve traveled a lot, I moved to a new country where I don’t speak the language and I started a new job. I’ve also had more house guests in the last two months than I have had in 5 years. It was time to go into hermit-mode and rejuvenate myself.

Some people retreat into their man (or gal) cave. Me? I retreat to a hotel where the rooms are built into a cliff like a cave.

JUST THE ESSENTIALS - SORT OF

Originally my plan was to do a safari in Africa, but after I checked how long the flights were (and how expensive), I changed my mind. Besides, as I mentioned, I was tired and needed some peace and quiet – which was not exactly what the safari tour places were offering. Then someone at work mentioned they had gone to Greece for a long weekend. Greece? It’s close? I keep forgetting that Switzerland is close to things that normally would be inconvenient to get to and Santorini was one of them.

One of the private pools at the Ambassador Aegean Hotel

Because I’m a travel procrastinator, I didn’t start looking for a hotel until early July (for late July bookings). I had no idea that summer was going to be so popular. Plus, Greece was in the news with their economic crisis so I had assumed no one would be visiting the islands. Ha ha ha ha...I was so wrong.  

Looking at Expedia and seeing all the reasonably priced hotels that were booked during my time slot, I decided there was no way I was going to stay in Fira or Oia. It would be too crowded and I wouldn’t get the quality hermit time I needed. 

All I wanted a nice hotel and a great view to look at the sunset. I also wanted to eat really good Greek food. Oh…and I needed internet. Reliable internet.  I was taking a course at Drexel and my mid-term exam was going to happen during my vacation so I needed to be able to complete it online.

So that was it: Food, shelter, sunsets and internet…the essentials of my life.



Complimentary drink of your choice when you arrive at the hotel. I was jet lagged coming from Tampa and Pina Colada always says "I'm on vacation" to me.

PEACEFUL PERFECTION

My answer came when I came across the Ambassador Aegean Hotel. The website said it was near Red Beach, Ancient Akrotiri (could be interesting) and each room had a private pool. But these are the words that got me hooked “located in one of Santorini’s least exploited areas” and the “ultimate Santorini escape.” Ooohhh…that translate to hermit-time with wine and olives to me.

The private pools at the Ambassador Aegean hotel

While I was a little worried that this place was not booked up like all the other ones I had looked at, I shouldn’t have been. It turned out to be peaceful perfection with five-star service.

My amazing cave room

I loved the lantern-lit cave hallways and the rooms were private and incredible. Every room had a panoramic view of the caldera so I could enjoy the sunset from my room, terrace or pool. Plus, breakfast was included and it wasn’t buffet. I’m not a fan of buffets as the food is usually subpar. At the Ambassador Aegean, you ordered from a menu the day before and it arrived at your desired time the next morning.

Lantern lit hallways leading underground to your room.

And yes, the hotel was away from all the tourists, but close enough to Fira and Oia that you could take a short cab there for an evening out. If you want a loud party weekend, then this is not the place for you, but if you want a quiet escape from reality, then forget the man cave and go for this cave hotel.

Relaxing dinner with a view.