by Jane | Jun 2, 2015 | Europe |
An engineer turned artist;
an artist turned chef
We were driven to an industrial park on the outskirts of Banyoles for dinner. The itinerary told us that we would be attending a ‘pairing dinner’ with the strambotic painter Quim Hereu. In the golden evening sun we were warmly welcomed by Quim and his wife Tania and taken inside the industrial unit where a surreal world had been created. Follow this link to Quim’s website: hereu.net
The Stram Project
Jaume introduces Quim and his work
The large space was totally dominated by Quim’s latest work in progress – which is the second of a trilogy of works. The entire back wall was a work-in-progress – a MASSIVE painting with vibrant colours and wherever you looked you could spot something surreal or something simply beautiful. The first painting was already boxed up in readiness for its journey to Mexico where a buyer hopefully waits, the huge wooden crate stapled shut, although Quim would dearly love to see the painting exhibited in Girona.
Glassware and cutlery gleamed on a circular table in the centre of the room and the Argentinian chef Gonzalo Martinez who is based in Barcelona had set up a kitchen in one corner of the room and was studiously piping tiny little balls of foie gras onto plates. An old iron bed which had once belonged to Quim’s grandfather and a glasshouse glowing with light from a red chandelier were the only other decorations. Casually propped against one wall was the original drawing from which Quim was replicating his painting.
the table set for dinner
Quim was passionate about his subject and spoke vivaciously in Catalan whilst Juame Marin the Director of Marketing at the tourist board: Costa Brava Girona was translating just as fast. Forgive me if I am a little inaccurate but there was so much information to absorb. Strambotism is an artistic movement that was created and originated in Catalunya around 1974. At first glance it has similarities to surrealism but it is a totally separate entity. As I have already said, you could gaze forever at Quim’s work and always see something new.
After the introductions we all took our seats, joined by Jordi Xargay i Congost, the President of the Consell Comarcal del Pla de l’Estany and Ferran Vila Pugol who is one of the top sommeliers in the region. Gonzalo the chef had designed and produced each course to represent, compliment and explain a different aspect from some of Quim’s works, while Ferran the sommelier had paired a drink to compliment the food (and therefore also the paintings), even brewing or making some of them himself.
the centre piece of the painting
The first of the trilogy represents time, the birth of Venus and the craving to get eternal youth. I hope that Quim will forgive me if I don’t explain this correctly but the snail is key to the factory of time and also appears in the second painting which is about power. Not the power of swords, or strength or males, but it is more subtle. The centre figure of a lady on a horse is the first queen of Catalunya who had power over her subjects and even the Pope of the time. She holds a snail in her hand – and here is another link where the snail mirrors and represents time. Watch a snail and it moves frustratingly slowly. Move away for a short while and when you return it has gone. In the same way as time slips suddenly away from us and you are at the end of your life. Blink and you miss it. The third painting will represent freedom; because without freedom one can’t enjoy the other two concepts of time and power. The works represent six years of Quim’s life, with the majority of his time taken at the design stage with a blank canvas. These works are massive – 6metres by 12 metres, and the problem has been finding a buyer or a space large enough to exhibit them. As I mentioned before, Quim would dearly love Girona to display them, and preferably displayed together. He is so passionate about this that he is actually prepared to donate them for free, despite the amount of time that he has dedicated to painting them.
The food and drink
the chef Gonzalo at work
This pairing dinner formed a part of the ‘Live the History’ trip which Jaume and his team had arranged following the TBEX conference. Three other travel bloggers and myself had the most interesting of evenings. The four of us dined along with Jaume, Vikki who was our tour guide, and the other guests while Gonzalo kept extremely busy in his kitchen. You can see his website here: (www.gonzamartinez.com). We were in the company of true creatives and artists, passionate about their respective mediums and their region. Our first drink was a beer, brewed by Ferran with 3 different types of hops – and – this is the cool thing – the texture in the mouth was more important than the smell or the taste as it complimented the textures of the food and the art. By eating replicates of the snails and the clock we were consuming the representation of the snails/time and internalising it.
The flavours were sublime: Catalan style spinach, pinenuts, raisins Iberian ham, fois gras and a tiny cypress tree, together with a label – continued the theme of internalising the art and strambotism. Our second drink was a sparkling wine – again made by Ferran who had produced only 300 bottles and which balanced the saltiness of the chequerboard of the carpa of tuna and anchovies and raspberry caviar.
soup with a twist – in porons
Perhaps the pairing was most visual with the third dish. It was matched to a desert scene but one where the turbaned camel riders had porons instead of heads (a poron is a typical Spanish way of serving wine) – and now we had to drink the most exquisite soup from glass porons. The desert theme was continued with home made harissa and fish on skewers and paired with a very special white wine from the region. We kept the same shape wine glasses throughout our meal and Ferran explained that in his sommelier world the shape of the glass has no meaning at all. The drink is appreciated through smell and taste not by the shape of the glass. He also told us that this region of Catalunya is one of the chief producers of cork, and while the artificial bottle stops are fine for a young wine, an older wine should only be stoppered with cork. Our fourth course was a sweet sausage accompanied by a foamy mashed potato. But even the sausages were not simple. They each had a centre of the local herbal drink ratafia and had an outer casing first of a seaweed and then the finest, thinnest spring-roll pastry. The strong flavours of the sausage were balanced with a robust red wine from the south of Catalunya.
This fourth course was paired with the massive painting under which we were all seated and by now I was certainly appreciating the imagery and the connections. The strength of the horse, the meatiness of the sausage and the flavours of the red wine all connected and flowed through each other. The fifth course was about cats and the apple temple, and like the painting and the sparkling Muscat wine it had an altogether lighter feel to it.
work in progress
Quim talked about his influencers and how with the Catalan spirit and strambotism his creativity and techniques can fly. What makes Quim so amazing is that he initially studied as an engineer but he followed his passion and moved across into the art world.
A Michelin star lunch
The following day we took lunch at a Michelin star restaurant in Banyoles where the chef had moved from the art world into that of food and cooking.
Both Quim the artist and Pere the chef are true masters in their second choice of career and are at the top of the tree – which also proves that it is never too late to follow our dreams and our hearts and we should pursue that which makes us truly happy.
Ca l’Arpa is a Michelin star restaurant in Banyoles where we were privileged to a tasting lunch. The chef Pere Arpa is from the town and his restaurant and small boutique style hotel is in what was once his grandfather’s house. Decorated in muted greys and whites with just a few splashes of colour, one of the nice touches in the dining room were the huge plate glass windows which offered a view to the shiny stainless steel kitchens and the chefs working behind the scenes.
the window into the kitchen
Our wine was carefully chosen to compliment the meal and as was to be expected, everything was sourced and produced locally and from Catalunya. The first wine interestingly was aged in ceramic barrels as opposed to the traditional wood and from the Finca Olvidardots and made by a woman which is apparently also quite unusual in what is a predominately male dominated occupation here. The wine accompanied our starter of a ravioli of apples and black sausage (blood sausage and rice) – and then the food kept coming.
We had numerous, exquisite tastes and bursts of flavours, all presented on little platters or saucers and served to us either by Pere himself or his wife Montserrat, along with a detailed explanation of what we were eating or drinking and how the flavours had been designed and combined. One of the wines was a biodynamic wine and came in a plain bottle with no label – just a simple collar around the cork. This was produced by a Swiss owner at the cellar Bell Lloc near Palamos. Then followed an animated discussion around language and exactly what cut of meat we were eating when Pere presented it to our table before carving it. He said that it was veal – and the ultimate general consensus was the shank, but whatever, it just melted in the mouth and it was divine. Pere had not forgotten that one of our group was a vegetarian and he had devised separate dishes for her with just as much care and thought as those for the rest of us.
Pere Arpa explains his dish
Our menu included delights such as a fresh cheese and plums, a sweet and sour terrine of pig’s head with onions, marinaded sardines on a little bed of chickpea puree with sunflower seeds scattered over the top and green, white and purple asparagus. There was a sweet sausage of liver and curry butter (very subtle and delicate), a dessert of passion fruit and marscapone and a whole range of breads during the meal and a selection of little bonbons at the end.
After our lunch Pere showed us around the hotel upstairs and some of the bedrooms which have all been tastefully decorated and which overlook a serene little courtyard and garden at the back of the building. Pere changed the direction of his career at the age of 25 and for 20 years he has dedicated himself to cooking. He moved into his grandfather’s old home 8 years ago and extended and altered the house so that he could accommodate guests whilst cooking. The overall ambience is one of calmness and tranquility. There is a link to his previous life as an artist (with paint as he is still creating masterpieces albeit with food) as one of his paintings is displayed behind the reception desk.
Ca l’Arpa
The magic and passion of Catalunya
The unique experience of the pairing dinner hosted by Quim Hereu was a very different experience to our lunch at Cal l’Arpa, but the Catalan region was weaving its magic and encircling and entwining us, drawing us tighter with strands of an opaque smoky substance. Hard to see and not entirely tangible but there and ever present, the region has a culture and an identity, a passion and a pride which is expressed through its people and its food and its drink.
Engineer becomes artist, artist becomes chef. two men. Both creative, talented and passionate. Both proudly Catalan.
Quim produces his works in an industrial space; his initial career as an engineer stemmed from industry and Pere now lives and works in the space of his grandfather. Thanks to everybody involved from the tourist agencies of Pla de l’Estany, Pirineu de Girona, the Costa Brava and Catalunya who made these such amazing experiences. As usual, all opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
by Jane | May 26, 2015 | Europe |
Exploring and wine tasting in the Priorat region of Catalunya
The Priorat wine region lies south west of Barcelona in Catalunya.
The slate soil which is here among the folds of mountains is one of the things which gives this wine its special qualities.
Click here to read more about a day of wine tasting in this region.
wine tasting
by Jane | May 19, 2015 | Europe |
A small corner of Catalunya with a wealth of things to see and to do
Following the TBEX travel bloggers’ conference, I was thrilled to join a press trip with three other bloggers and Vikki our excellent organiser and host. Several detailed articles are in the pipeline but in the meantime, this is how our trip began.
Getting to know each other on the lake at Banyoles
After a walk along the coastal footpath which skirts Lloret de Mar our little group went by coach to the lake at Banyoles where we boarded a boat for a trip around the lake. We ate lunch in the sun and we learnt a little bit more about the region of Pla de L’Estany from Txell who lives in Banyoles and who was to join us for a day or so. The boat was electric which therefore reduced both noise and fuel pollution on the water; and which happened to be the lake that was used for the rowing events when Barcelona hosted the Olympics. As we glided around the incredibly green lake looking at the little fishing houses which were dotted around the water’s edge we could see the Pyrenees in the distance; some of which still had snow on their tops, and cyclists and joggers were riding or running around the perimeter path.
One of the little fishing houses
Some stats and facts about the lake at Banyoles
- Banyoles is the capital of the Ple de l’Estany region
- The lake measures 6650 metres around the perimeter, it has an average depth of 15 metres and it is 132 metres at its deepest.
- Rowing, canoeing, swimming, kyaking and triathlon all take place on the water.
- Fishing is permitted but all fish must be returned live to the lake.
- The water is incredibly clean being filtered first through the rocks and then via a series of underground caverns before bubbling back up through the lake bed
- The little fishing houses were built as bases from which the rich could come and fish at weekends and during the holidays.
- Bicycles can be rented in the town of Banyoles and there are 10 different routes of varying difficulties in and around the area.
After our ever so relaxing boat tour which was a lovely way to ease into the trip and to get to know each other, we went on to the quaint little town of Crespia.
Crespia siesta
Not a lot was happening when we were there, although once a year they host a honey fair when the place comes alive. We left Crespia to its own devices basking quietly in the sun and we hiked a short way out of the village and up a hillside to a cave. From the cave we had views down over a river which had been dammed to form a small reservoir and today, just a small speck sitting cross-legged under the dam wall was a drummer playing a kettledrum and a lady who was moving and dancing to the music. The sounds floated gently up to us as we looked around the little shrine of Sant Miquel de la Roca with its little nativity figures arranged on a rock shelf in one corner and we peered out through the windows which had been carved out of the spiky grey rocks.
Can you spot the tiny figures down on the dam?
Leaving the village behind, dazzling yellow fields of rapeseed lined the roads, whilst in the fields that contained grass or cereals, swathes of poppies bobbed and nodded to the sun, their scarlet petals sometimes more prolific than the green grass that they had taken up residence in.
Our next stop was to visit the home and vineyard of Joaquim Reig and Montserrat Torrens.
Joaquim and Montserrat
Joaquim and Montserrat harvest the grapes manually and produce a red wine from their 2000 vines, usually producing 2200 litres annually. The wine is mainly sold to local high end restaurants in Girona, although some makes its way to Belgium and the Netherlands. Incidentally this is the only vineyard in the immediate region, and the oldest vine is currently about 30 years old although the farm has been producing wine for much longer than that.
I was interested to learn that the vines don’t suffer too much from fungal diseases, mildew or insect attack – due to the geography and the prevailing winds which blow from the north. The winds are dry and cool and ‘clean’ the air, the land and the vines and prevent many problems which plague other vineyards.
Joaquim has been producing wines as a business venture for the last 12 years since his retirement, when he increased the time that he was able to dedicate to his hobby. He joked that he could have spent the same amount of time and the same money in that time playing tennis or golf – but of course he would not have had any wine to drink!
The Baronia de Vilademuls wine sits in the barrel for a minimum of 10 months and is traditionally drawn off the sediment during March at a time of a new moon or no moon. When it is time to bottle the wine, 4 people work side by side to fill, cork, label and pack and they can turn around an impressive 500 bottles an hour. A large barrel sits in pride of place which predates 1957 and which once belonged to Joaquim’s grandfather and is another link to the past in a place where even the walls of the house remind you of what had gone before.
When Joaquim’s family decided to extend the cellars beneath their farmhouse they discovered old cellars which had previously been sealed up; although they already knew that knew that their home was inextricably linked to the ancient castle which once stood in the village, because their farmhouse had been built into and around the original stone walls, incorporating the history of the village into the fabric of their lives.
down in the wine cellar
Their village was an old settlement which had a substantial castle dominating it as far back as the 10th century. At that time, the owner of the castle killed the son of the lord who lived in the next village. In revenge, the lord came and attacked the village, demolishing the castle and then he and his army covered the stones with salt. This action would normally have prevented the castle from being rebuilt because the salt would ruin the stones, however, the revenging lord had not factored in that the cleansing wind would blow the salt away and clean the stones.
300 years later, in the 13th century the descendants of the villagers rebuilt their houses using the old castle stones. Despite the dry atmosphere and the winds, to this day the villagers complain that they have problems with damp and humidity in their houses, and they believe that this is a legacy of the salt in the old castle stones.
After looking around the vineyard and the cellars it was time to taste. We sat in a room with a barrel arched ceiling made of bricks and tiles while Montserrat served us with good wholesome tomato bread, a selection of meats and ham, cheeses and olives – and of course their wine which was certainly delicious.
on the vine
Pa amb Tomote
Catalan Tomato Bread
If you want to make yourself one of the staples of the Catalan diet, it couldn’t be easier.
Lightly toast some decent rustic bread from a country loaf. Rub liberally with a clove of garlic and then with half of a cut tomato until the juice has all been absorbed into the toast.
Serve plain with just some salt or olive oil to taste or top with chorizo, ham, cheese, roasted aubergines and/or anchovies.
…to be continued
Our trip around the Pla de l’Estany area continued for another two days when we were introduced to the sheer diversity of the region. It is jam packed full of history, awesome scenery, wonderful hotels and food and drink to die for. Catalunya certainly has something for everyone; whether you are visiting as a family, a couple or as a solo traveller.
To discover what happens at a pairing dinner with a strambolic painter, learn where you can visit prehistoric caves and a neolithic village and to read about the hotels and the food and drink in the region, sign up and make sure that you don’t miss my future articles.
The trip around the Pla de l’Estany region was made possible courtesy of the Costa Brava Tourist Board and the Consell Comarcal Pla de l’Estany. All opinions formed are my own
by Jane | May 15, 2015 | Europe |
As a first timer at TBEX I really had no idea what to expect. I had been wandering solo around South America for a year but I was more nervous about meeting nearly 400 travel bloggers than catching my night bus to a remote Amazon town and swimming in a lake with piranhas and alligators.
I needn’t have worried. Once I had got past the stress of deciphering the official TBEX website (TBEX administrators: please take note – a glossary for newbies would be ENORMOUSLY useful) and once I had juggled my trips, hostels and hotels, I jumped on my last minute flight to Barcelona.
There was a fabulous Welcome party in the grounds of the Hotel Santa Marta where old friends caught up and mingled with the new. We were fed and watered like royalty, entertained and educated over the course of the conference at the Evenia Olympic Resort and we had the opportunity to see all that Lloret de Mar had to offer tourists. We were treated to a sangria reception courtesy of Eurail and there was a closing party sponsored by Lloret de Mar and Costa Brava. My FAM Trip (luckily I eventually worked out that these were not restricted to families before all the spaces were taken up) was my first major press trip and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction as I was wined, dined and shown all that the Pla de l’Estany region in Catalunya had to offer.
And after all of that, I decamped to the resort of Platja d’Aro where I recovered my senses at the Hotel Planamar for 6 nights. It was here that I made plans to take my blog to the next level, inspired and encouraged by all of the people that I had met over the previous week. Not everything is rosy in my life and I still have some very dark days, and while I certainly wish that some things had been dealt with or had turned out differently, I do not regret for one minute handing in my resignation, quitting my job and taking off to follow my dreams.
I can’t mention everybody by name but I will keep in touch with and collaborate with many bloggers and quite a few of the show sponsors and I am also intending to be at TBEX in Bangkok. But I do want to mention and thank Jaume Marin, the director of Patronat Turisme Costa Brava Girona and his team who put together a most spectacular package of opportunities and who showcased Catalunya, at its very best and the hotels which hosted me – the Hotel la Sala de Camos in Banyoles and the Hotel Planamar in Platja d’Aro
by Jane | May 12, 2015 | Europe |
I recently visited Bristol for a day. A friend who lived there gave me a whistle stop tour of a part of the city. Whilst I have been to Bristol before, there was so much more than I remembered and so much more that I didn’t see and that I couldn’t cover in a day. Take a look at my article and see how many of the buildings or places that you recognise – click here for the full photo tour And do try to visit this summer for the Shaun the Sheep charity art walk
by Jane | May 8, 2015 | Europe |
Leading up to the TBEX conference, Context Travel, the city of Barcelona and the seaside resort of Lloret de Mar.
Lloret de Mar basks in the sun
After Poland I unexpectedly found myself back in the UK; but maybe it was fate because I learnt that TBEX, a major travel bloggers’ conference was happening in the Costa Brava the following week. I had periodically thought about attending but I was never in the right place at the right time – but now maybe I could be.
Anyhow, I bit the bullet and I applied for a place and then I had to sort flights, accommodation, apply for the press trips and familiarisation tours and try to understand what the hell happens at a TBEX.
I now know that LOTS happens so read on my friends and I promise to give you the shortened version, and also some links to other bloggers’ work. Believe me, travel blogging covers a whole range of niche interests, so you should check some of them out.
The TBEX opening party
First off, there were all sorts of free activities happening in and around Barcelona in the week running up to TBEX.
- On Monday morning I met with Sonya from Context Travel and 6 other travel bloggers in Plaza Catalunya. You will know that I do like a walking tour but this was a cut above. To quote from the website, ‘Context is a network of Ph.D-level scholars and other experts living in cultural capitals around the world who are passionate teachers and guide visitors on an experiential journey of these amazing cities.’
We walked around the Gothic quarter for more than 3 hours and believe me, the attention to detail given in this tour was amazing. In those 3 hours I learnt the basics of how to interpret the Gothic style – differentiating between Catalan Gothic, French Gothic, neo-Gothic and Disneyfied Gothic plus a whole host of other things about the area.
an unusual gargoyle
After the tour from Context Travel several of us went out for tapas in a couple of small cafe/bars down by the sea, with Lara (zzzworldninjas), who lives locally and guided us to some good bars and is in the very exciting position of being at the very beginning her current travel adventure along with her son Later that evening I met with another blogger, the delightful Natasha who always has a smile on her face – she is The Boho Chica – for for yet more tapas and a chat in a little place on Las Ramblas.
On Tuesday, following a post on the TBEX attendee website I was hanging around on the steps of the cathedral waiting to meet a couple of bloggers who had suggested that some of us meet for sangria in the sun. Luckily Michael – Just a Pack and Randi who writes from a vegan angle at Veggie Visa approached me, although not before I had approached a couple of other (incorrect) couples. After sangria and beer in the sun I ended up in a part of the area that I had never seen before. It was a little bit dangerous because there were some bars which served VERY generous mojitos and it proved very hard to navigate my way out of the twisting streets in the Gothic quarter.
It turned out that the danger was to be had back in my hostel when a lady who I had been chatting to for the previous 2 days accused me of rummaging through her bag. The golden rule of living in hostels is that you NEVER touch anybody else’s stuff; I have lived in a dorm where there was one sock in the middle of the floor for 2 weeks, but none of us were going to touch it. Anyway, the logistics of this woman’s story didn’t add up so I informed reception who were brilliant and who didn’t seem at all surprised. Apparently she had been saying similar about some other guests and hassling the staff. I knew that she was short of money and I had actually been about to give her some – but I think that she wanted to extract some from me either from guilt or to buy her silence for being accused of going through her bag. I was innocent and as you may know, I will not admit guilt for something that I have not done, even though there have been some dire consequences around that. She was asked to leave the hostel two days later after another fracas with somebody else and very sadly she was spotted sleeping rough on the steps to the Metro station in the early hours of the morning.
On Wednesday morning I joined another Context Tour around the Raval district. This area is bang next door to the Gothic quarter and while it still has little narrow streets it has a totally different feel. Populated originally from immigrants it still has a huge non-Catalan population which is reflected in the shops and the food which is sold as well as the clothes which are worn. Our guide Bernard was also super knowledgeable although the pair of us caused the others to gasp when we were sh*t on from a great height by a pigeon and splattered in smelly white goo.
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Inside the Raval district
After my tour and still smelling a bit funky I took the metro and I went for lunch close to the Sagrada Familia – although I moved a street or so away from the expensive tourist haunts and I found a lovely family run restaurant, the El Bon Manjar in Cl Rosellon #402 which was full of local people, had a butcher’s shop at the back and the owner even made cow noises at me to ensure that I understood his Catalan.
After lunch I met up with Geert Leyson who blogs at Inspiring Travellers and who had a couple of free tickets for entry to the Sagrada Familia from Julia Travel. This enormous church (technically it cannot be called a cathedral) is still under construction. I had visited it in 2008 but the difference since then was huge. Most of the scaffolding inside the building has now been removed and many of the stained glass windows have been opened up. They flood the huge hall with brilliant lights, shining with vivid colours. There had been a slight booking error and unfortunately we were not permitted to go up to the roof, and despite the fact that it is still under construction it is still a great place to visit, although if you are going to go, get there early as the queues can be long.
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Interior of the Sagrada Familiar
The following day I took the bus to Lloret de Mar and I found my hotel which was bang in the main shopping street in the old town and then in the evening the conference kicked off with a boat trip up the coast to a hotel and an amazing welcome party in the gardens around the pool. I will give a more detailed report about the conference in a later post but it was well worth the anxiety and the nerves. I met some fantastic people and I learnt so much and more importantly, I received very positive feedback about an idea that I have been mulling over for some time now in relation to a new project that I want to launch.
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Thank you to:
- Sonya and Bernard from Context Travel for the Gothic Quarter and the Revealing the Ravel walking tours
- Geert Leyson for the free ticket for the tour around the Sagrada Familiar and for allowing me to pick his brains clean about all things technical and bloggy over some beers and mojitos
- Jaume Marin – the Director de Marketing i Planificacio at Patronat Turisme Costa Brava Girona for an AMAZING experience in and around Lloret de Mar
- EVERYBODY that I met at TBEX. I have made many new friends and I know that I will see some of you again.
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La`Boqueria – Barcelona’s famous market
What did I learn?
- Statistics may be small but they do not always determine the earning potential from a blog
- All travel bloggers are not the same. The breadth of the individual niche areas that they cover is astounding. Many have a wide remit, talking about general travels while others write more specifically about one specific aspect.
- Most seem to have a base to which they can return and from where they can focus on work – there is a real appreciation for those of us who are truly nomadic and work whilst on the road
