UNDERCOVER

Okay so we don't make the best private eyes.
Liz and I had to catch some of the many law enforcement officers we saw in Europe. I only wish we had captured more photos for you, but I didn't want to risk getting yelled at by a cop -- or in the case of the Spanish (bottom photo) I didn't want to get too many dinner invites.

P.s. The Paris cops were seriously bad ass.

Update!

I'm going to hijack Mary's post to add this photo of the cop at the Eiffel Tour. He soooo knows I'm taking his picture despite my attempt to be discreet.

FINISH IT!

Ok, I am wrapping up the Spain posts this week - a month has passed since I arrived home and I feel ridiculous writing about stuff that happened forever and ever ago.

Here we go:

BARCELONA!

Mary and I left Granada in the evening and (after an extremely awful encounter with the train-ticket-guy/MAJOR ASSHOLE!!!) rode the night train to Barcelona. Our shared, four-bed car was cramped as all get out but it managed to be one of the most refreshing, relaxing sleeps of our trip. I highly recommend train sleeps to anyone who has the opportunity - just make sure you're not crossing the Bulgarian border at 3am (but that's another story).

We arrived in Barcelona at 9 in the morning and immediately went to our hostel to drop off our bags. I'd heard of a little patisserie called 'Caelum' that serves coffee and chocolate and all manner of tiny cakes and cookies handmade by Spanish nuns. We headed there for a sweet breakfast and, presto!, decided we liked Barcelona very much. Funny how a cup of hot chocolate so thick and deep and rich it doubles as pudding, paired with perfect, fresh madelines and melindros for dipping can erase all bad memories of the night before and return one to a state of pure wonder, excitement & pleasure.

Will it taste good?

Indeed it will!

Somehow in Barcelona we finally started eating right. Quick, fortifying breakfasts of apples, yougurt and tea early in the morning followed by an 11am snack of pastries and coffee. Early on we discovered Bubo, a cafe overlooking the Santa Maria del Mar, which became a favorite spot for lunch, cake, dinner, wine and everything in-between. Favorites included their bacon and date grilled cheese and the most amazing eggplant-tahini-feta-honey & edible flower salad. Afternoons were reserved for sightseeing and perhaps a snack of croquetas de bacalao (salt cod croquettes) from la Boqueria. Dinner was at nine or ten and made up of various delicious bites and tapas from one of many restaurants in El Born. We ate the fattiest-pure fat slice of pork belly I've ever seen, which took some effort as, traditionally, Mary and I shy away from both pure pork and pure fat. Somehow it was still delicious.

Barcelona food? GOOD! I think that almost everything we ate was memorable. The small portions, endless variety and many mealtimes were perfect for our picky sensibilities, smallish appetites and fast metabolisms. Barcelona is worth a visit for the food alone. I'm craving Bubo immensely as I write this. Another note on Bubo? The cafe is actually just an extension of the patisserie run by master pastry chef Carles Mampel. Just down from the cafe you can stop into the most delightful cake shop for some seriously decadent desserts and espresso with a side of croissant and macarons. I brought some home for RB and I and managed to eat most of them myself.

Also, le Boqueria? Amazing. It must be the largest (and, seriously, most delectable) food market I've ever been to. Stall after stall of chocolate, nuts, legumes, vegetables, fruits & juices, eggs, fish, ham, lambs heads, crepes, croquettes, chicken, caviar, doughy sweets, Spanish wines and anything else you might dream up. I wish I'd taken more photos - Mary did, I think, but I was feeling wimpy and overwhelmed. Also, hungry. Sweet, salty, fatty, savory, crisp, fresh, smoky, meaty, deep, dark, light, dreamy, creamy and sharp, sour and fresh, green and striking, tantalizing, tastifying, food heaven - Barcelona.

CATS + KITTENS OF MOROCCO + SPAIN

I'm still in San Francsico & won't be home for a couple more days. In the meantime, here are some cuties for you to enjoy.

We both missed our kitties while we were away, our precious baby girls. Luckily the streets seem paved with cats in Morocco and we managed to find many cuddly softies to coo over. Spain had some nice ones too. I managed to take a lot of photos of cats on this trip - obviously my picture taking priorities were in the right place. I could've taken many more too, and in some cases wish I had - for instance, the beautiful white cat that lived at our hotel in Asilah (the only domestic cat we saw our whole trip). Here's a selection of some lovelies we encountered.

OUTSIDE THE NASRID PALACE

A few last shots of our visit to the Alhambra. Shortly hereafter we said goodbye to Granada and hopped the night train to Barcelona. Goodbye Granada!

INSIDE THE ALHAMBRA

After visiting Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (which is amazing, if you get the chance) I wasn't sure what to expect from the Alhambra in Granada. Surely, it's a structure with a long and illustrious history but I didn't know how it would compare. My initial reaction, after having freely wandered through so many kasbahs and gardens already on this trip, was that it seemed crowded, touristy and not as special as I might've hoped. It's only now, looking back through my photos, that I see how magical it was. So many unique architectural details and history-changing stories does this palace claim. Indeed, it's a must see and I'm very glad we had the chance to visit.

(The ceiling of the room where Isabella gave C. Columbus the go-ahead to sail to the Indies, resulting in what we know as 1492)

OUR FAVORITE GARDEN

I think I can safely say that the Carmen de los Martires garden in Granada was our favorite of the entire trip. We visited it twice and built an entire future around it, moving ourselves and all our loved ones in, if only in our imaginations.

Let me see, Mom & Mike were in charge of the vegetable and herb gardens, Dad and Audrey made the beer and cheese to sell in our artisanal shop, Patrick, our brother, took care of the vineyard, Mary made it all beautiful with flowers, plants and topiary, and me? Mistress of the estate, of course. I organized brunch on the terrace every Sunday. Also, party planner.

I think of all the places we visited this felt the most like 'our place', our own special, private sanctuary. It played to the keenest of our fairytale fancies, both past and future. I'd go back to Granada for these quiet gardens alone.

We were completely taken with this large pond on the property which held the perfect fantasy castle of younger years. Accessible only by footbridge or rowboat, we both found ourselves mentally playing "I captured the castle", dreaming of dress-up and sibling rivalry, of who would conquer the tower, Mary, myself or Patrick?

In our daydream the plots of soil below would make for the perfect vegetable garden: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers of all colours and variety, potatoes, squash, beans and peas & every kind of green. Basil, mint, rosemary, coriander, sage, thyme, lovage, chamomile, parsley and anise, dill and marjoram, all perfume.

My mom still tells a story of a lusty peacock who, when I was just a little girl, simply couldn't get enough of my red shirt. Every time I approached he flashed his grandeur like nothing else mattered, teal dazzling, feathers flaunting, his significance on show. It became a bit of a boast for me: "any peacock will parade its perfection if I'm around."

Rarely do I come into contact with peacocks, though I think Mary will attest that the main cock at Carmen de los Martires either thought I was a threat or a delightful mate because after whispering sweet bird nothings into his ear he displayed his glory for all the world to see.

25 peacock photos later....

We thought this perfect little villa on the hill would suit Patrick very nicely, especially as it looks out over the olives and vineyards:

And the parties (which, ps. you're all invited to) we'd have them somewhere around here:

Oh dreams, what would we do without you?