The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Arrivederci Sicilia, Hola Barcelona
What can you say about a travel day ... except, perhaps, to hope it isn't too painful? No sheared-off wing tips today, just a pushy crowd trying to board the plane in Palermo. The most painful part of the day was simply saying goodbye to Sicily for awhile.
Arrivederci to our little Fiat Panda who carried us so comfortably. I apologize for leaving you sitting alone for the past four days. At least you had a view of the beach! Arrivederci to arancini, a taste treat we have come to know and love. Perhaps we will find a source in the US, perhaps we'll just have to come back to Sicily. And arrivederci to Cefalu. You have come to feel like an old friend very quickly and we definitely hope our paths will cross again.
After five days in a medieval time warp, it quickly became obvious that we weren't in Kansas anymore! Barcelona is big city life at a big city pace ... albeit nicely decorated for Christmas!
We are staying at Acacia Suites, an apartment hotel in the Eixample area of town (pronounced eh-SHAM-plah in Catalan). It's bigger than a hotel room but smaller than a real apartment (except, perhaps, in NYC!) The little kitchenette is a handy amenity, though. There are several bakeries and small groceries in the neighborhood and with a bit of pre-shopping, it's nice not to have to get fully dressed to have some breakfast.
Being back in Spain we shifted from Italian mode (pizza & pasta) to thinking about tapas ... and where did we end up for dinner? Around the corner in a little Italian restaurant for a pizza! We had set out to find tapas but didn't have the energy to walk very far. When the tapas spot wasn't immediately apparent, the wood-fired oven in the window weighted the decision in this direction. Tapas tomorrow for sure! For tonight, it's good just to stop moving and get re-settled ... although our mild sunny days may be another Sicilian memory.
© 2013 Restaurant Doctor
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