Dining delight at El Celler de Can Roca

When a friend invites you to dinner you accept with pleasure ..... even if it means driving 700 km across the country .... right? Of course, what a question? So, when my dear friend La Mami Cubana told me she had reserved a table in the world's second best restaurant (according to The World's 50 Best Restaurant magazine), I did not think twice and accepted the invitation.

Given that the dinner reservation was on a Thursday, I decided to make the most of it and plan a long weekend at the beach. I trekked across Spain with my kids in tow who were less than thrilled having to spend 6 hours in the car each way. They did enjoy the company of the other ten kids once we arrived and ... would you complain if you could stay up until 3am in the morning ... every day!?!

Now I am no foodie. I like my food and looove to eat. I am happy in a bistro, a coffe bar or a restaurant as long as the food tastes good, but the El Celler de Can Roca did blow me away. Situated outside the city of Girona, the restaurant is a benchmark of the Spanish cuisine. The three Michelin Stars attest for it.

First off, I need to say that I don't believe in all this marketing hype neither in presentation nor in service. You either deliver or you don't. I'll admit upfront, the three Roca brothers clearly delivered.

They had me from the word "GO" when they presented us with a Bonsai olive tree as an appetizer on the romantic patio surrounded by olive trees. Green caramelized olives had been attached to hooks which were holding them in place like Christmas balls on a tree.

Many more appetizers followed - such as Campari Bonbons which resembled miniature water balloons, unleashing a flood of zesty orange liquid - before we finally sat down at our table and were presented with another mind-boggling entrée, the "5 continent amuse-bouche" hidden inside a paper lantern. The explosion of flavors as well as textures and the stunning presentation of the dish were well worthy of applause.

My smile kept getting bigger and bigger as my curiosity kept increasing exponentially of what was to come. A display of creativity and serious seduction with Oysters drowned in Agustí Torelló cava, apple compote, ginger, pineapple, candied lemon and spices was my favourite.

Timbale of apple and duck liver with vanilla oil

European lobster parmentier with black trumpet mushrooms

Another spectacular dish was the sole, olive oil, and Mediterranean flavors. The flaky fillet was paired with five olive oil emulsions including (starting from the top) green olive, pinenuts, orange, bergamont, and fennel. It was like having five different dishes in one.

The Iberian suckling pig roasted to perfection for hours with grilled onions, melon and beet was my hubby's favourite (oh, Monsieur had taken a day off - YEAH - and flown in for the weekend).

Cod pot-au-feu, potato gnocchi, cabbage and brandade terrine, cod tripe

Lemon cloud

Milk desserts

(Milk caramel, sheep’s milk ice cream, sheep’s milk curd-cheese foam, sheep’s milk yoghurt and milk cloud)

Dessert buffet cart

Friandises

Mini ice-cream

The matching wines were selected by Josep Roca in persona!

Need I say more?

The World's 50 Best Restaurant magazine descibes the experience perfectly: "Clever techniques complement simple flavour combinations designed to titillate the palate and the memory rather than confuse the mind. It’s clever stuff – but thankfully it is also utterly delicious." I could not agree more.

A little village called Blanes

Blanes is a coastal town which is home to 40,000 inhabitants, situated within the 'La Selva' region of the province of Girona. Located right on the stunning coastline of the Costa Brava in Catalunya, Blanes is the first town you'll stumble across after leaving the province of Barcelona.

This is where I have been hiding out for the past couple of days, relishing in some rest and relaxation with a stunning view over the ocean. Good company and exquisit culinary adventures topped my journey to the rugged coast of northeastern Catalunya.

A little bit of me on Pinterest

I got my hot and sunny day!

"You don't have to be crazy to do this... But it sure helps!"
Bugs Bunny

I've survived! I have survived an entire day in a theme park! Oh, what fun you might be thinking.

During the nine months we have been living in Paris I have managed to avoid EuroDisney by sending my kids off with visiting friends and various willing Godparents. I hate going on rides, they scare the hell out of me.

In Madrid, however, I have been taking my children to the Warner Bros theme park religiously every summer since 2006! It is their yearly treat before school starts.

On this hot, sunny day - a crackling 38°C - I was dilligently waiting at the exit of every ride the kids had chosen. Needless to say we were not leaving the park until they had been on every single ride and seen all the shows.

They got soaking wet in Rio Bravo and Coaster Express. Batman and Superman rollercoasters gave them a real thrill but I did beat them at Scooby Doos' laser shooting haunted house.

We managed to entertain ourselves an entire eight hours in the scorching heat of Madrid's Sierra. The absurde part of today is that I'll be wishing for this day when we get back to chilly, wet Paris!

A present for Phillippe Starck from Laura Ashley

Try to picture Philippe Starck meeting Laura Ashley. This pretty much sums up my planet. My hubby and I come from different parts of the world and our perceptions about life can vary some times ... to say the least!

The biggest challenge, however, comes around every year when I need to find him a birthday present. What do you give a man who works in fashion, does not care for gadgets and who's taste differs completely from your own?

The big date is lurking and I needed ideas. Now I am no artist. I used to work (before I became a trailing spouse, eh, I mean a PIM as in Professional International Mover) for a world renowned pencil & colouring manufacturer so I did pick up some tricks of the trade. I therefore decided to pull out some well-hidden paints and set to labour.

Inspired by my love for colours and flowers I admit I got a wee bit carried away. On the other hand, there was no way I was going to paint in black & white, I will leave that to Philippe Starck!

My sketch

 My workspot

My chef d'oeuvre

Three little workout videos

It is 35ºC in Madrid this week and just too hot to venture outside for a jog. Feeling guilty about not running for an entire week - I am on holiday after all - I decided to try out some YouTube fitness tapes. I set up my weights and mat in the coolest room of the house, the kids' playroom and got to work.

Little did I know that after only three workout videos I would not be able to walk up the stairs the next day. I thought my Dailey Method classes that I have been attending since January hit every single muscle in my body. Well, obviously not!

So I will keep doing my squats until my leg muscles turn rock hard. On the other hand my ab excercises are being defeated by indulging in Cava and Ice Cream. But hey, we're on holiday!!!

Time for a new phone

For practical reasons as well as sentimental ones, I have hung on to my Spanish mobile phone over the past nine years, eventhough we moved in 2006. It has come in handy since I still spend over two months a year in sunny Spain.

Between you and me I am considering just staying here until Parisian weather conditions become livable again. We had nothing but rain every single day for the last three months.

Back to my lovely Spanish pink flip Sony phone. It has died on me more that once over the past months, so I decided it was high time to check out what the Spanish phone market has to offer these days. Surely with the economic crisis going on, the phone deals must have evovled over the years.

Well, my type of contract was not to be found in the movistar computer - that's how outdated I was!!!

The young sales clerk did not look like the brightest cookie in the box but I figured I would trust him on this one. He showed me which phones I could choose free of charge - thanks to all my "phone miles" I accumulated over the years - and I opted for a Samsung Android phone. Ok, I admit I would have preferred an i-phone - and after having used the Samsung I am convinced that the Apple product remains the most user-friendly and fastest mobile phone - but it came free of charge so I won't insist.

Needless to say I had to wade through a new jungle called Google play, I needed to sign up for yet another e-mail, connect differerent accounts, merge services and switch primary with secondary mails. I refuse to sync all my information (yes, I am old-school) and spent a while reshuffling my contacts. I am now downloading android rather than i-tunes apps. I was under the impression technology is suppose to make your life easier!?!

So far, I have downloaded Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Maps, Adobe Reader, Instagram, Solitaire, and Shazam. I cannot, however, download my latest discovery called MagicPlan. After France, Canada, Autria and the Netherlands, MagicPlan has been selected by Apple as THE APP OF THE WEEK in 92 countries including Spain, India, Brazil, Russia, Saoudi Arabia and Argentina. Wake up Google play!!!!

However, the most important point is that I found the perfect cover: a pink, sparkling glitter case!

So tell me, what are you favourite apps?

A German car with French number plates in Spain

On our expat travels across the globe we stopped in Spain for 3 years where we lived on the northern outskirts of Madrid. The whole family fell in love with the country, the city, the people, the food, the rhythm, the climate and the football. We therefore religiously return every summer to soak up the sun and hang out with friends around the pool. Though life, eh?

Driving from Paris to Madrid is quite a hike (at least for us Europeans) but well worth it. Unfortunately, I do need to drive around the city with French number plates. Swiss Ticino number plates were soooo much cooler. It seems I am not the only one who thinks so.

Last night while sipping my margarita de jamaica with my Mexican and Argentinean friends, some idiot decided to break into the cars parked outside the restaurant. My side window was smashed but luckily nothing was stolen. Within 10 minutes three policemen showed up to take note of the incident.

Being terribly Swiss I fetched a dustpan and brush from the restaurant to scoop up the broken glass. The charming Spanish policeman took over, put on some gloves and cleaned the mess up for me. Clearly he was trying to save Spain's image having detected my foreign accent. All I can say is thank Goodness I speak Spanish. I also picked up quite a few new technical expressions last night at midnight!

What can I say? A German car with French number plates driving in Spain - a country suffering from economic hardship - might be asking for trouble. Not only are Spain's long lunches threatened - as many now wonder if struggling Spain can continue to afford a tradition that borders on sacred - maybe so are foreign cars.