Our Mission for a "Real" Cannoli

When Josh and I landed in Venice on Friday morning I told him one of the things I was looking forward to was a fresh, yummy real Italian cannoli.  That's not to say that they aren't real in the USA, but in my mind, there is nothing more real than one straight from Italy.  I remember being told that the freshest ones are the ones that are filled upon ordering.  So after checking into our hotel, I pretty much peaked into every pastry shop I saw in Venice in search of a tasty treat. 

The funny thing is, cannoli are not my favorite dessert treat - I'm much more a chocolate fan than one of pastries.  But once I had this need for a fresh cannoli in my head, I couldn't get it to leave.  I had to have one!!  However, much to my disappointment, I couldn't find one!  What, no cannoli in Italy?  You can't be serious!! 

So now it had become my absolute mission to find one!  What we kept seeing is a cannoli that actually looked like a croissant but was filled with either a vanilla looking or chocolate cream.  I now know this is called a cornetto, and it's actually the more traditional of the two pastries to Italy.  The cannoli that we know and love in the US is actually a Sicilian Cannoli and originated in, you guessed it, Sicily.  And in actuality, is more of an American Italian pastry than an Italian one.  Go figure... I learned something on this trip!

I finally relented after almost a day of walking around and having no luck.  I'll be honest, it's better than the chocolate filled croissants here, much more of a creamy rather than fudgy texture.  But it just wasn't what I was looking for.  Disappointed, I continued on, though half heartedly.

Josh holding up one of the croissant type ones called a cornetto

Finally at the end of our first full day, as we were on the mission for an Irish bar to watch the Barca vs Manchester United game, I saw a pastry shop with "Sicilian" traditional cannoli's out front!  Yes!!  Sure, they were prefilled, but they were also just what I was looking for.  So I grabbed one and enjoyed every last bite. 

Me very happy with my traditional "real" cannoli :)

We happened to go by the same store again on Sunday so of course, not one to be happy with just one of something, had to go back and get another.  It might not have been my ideal cannoli, but my mission was accomplished just the same.  Perhaps when I go home in a few weeks a trip to Michael's Pastries in the North End might have to be on my agenda, that way I can go and get a "real" cannoli!

Julie

More Visitors!! Kyle and Kelly come to visit us in Barcelona!

We were super excited when Kyle and Kelly emailed us a few months ago to see if we would be up for some visitors.  Are you kidding me?  We were thrilled!  We haven't had a lot of people visit for varying reasons - vacation time, expense of travelling with a family, fear of flying... all totally valid.  So when someone tells us they are coming, we do a happy dance!

They arrived on Wednesday afternoon and settled right in - I love it when you can not see people for months and then just jump right back to where you left off.  That to me is the sign of a great friendship.  We just chilled out on Wednesday as they got to our place shortly before the kids got off the bus and Aidan had jiu jitsu.  Everyone got a good night's sleep on Wednesday night in preparation for a big day of touring the sights on Thursday.

Josh had to work Thursday so Kyle, Kelly and I hit the ground running.  We walked everywhere!  I'm going to say we probably did at least 5 miles of walking and it was a typical gorgeous day here in BCN.  All in all a great day of comfortable conversation, great food (perhaps a drink or two) and lots of sights!  Sadly, I was bad about taking pictures on Thursday so I've got nothing to post.  But we're not done yet!

With only a few days to visit us, Josh took Friday off and we decided to rent a car to go back to Collioure, France.  We went when Becky and Ray visited us in April and we had been hoping to go back, without kids, as a chance to explore the seaside town a bit more in depth.  I asked Josh to rent an automatic since it was a 2 hr drive and it would give us both the opportunity to drive one way.  The beauty of Sixt, the rental car company, is that if they don't have what you want, they upgrade you at no extra cost (remember our beautiful BMW 5 series we had back in Oct for Provence??).  They came thru once again.  Josh had rented an automatic for a whole 60 euros and what did we end up with?  A Mercedes convertible.  I kid you not... it was gorgeous.  However, not really a 4 person car - or at least perhaps, not a 4 person car for tall people (sorry Kyle and Kelly!)... but Josh and I loved it! 

Outside our apartment ready to go...

View along the drive

Josh with the top down

The last time we went to Collioure rain was predicted.  The weather held out but it wasn't the blue sky that Collioure is known for.  So we were extremely happy to have a 75 degree day and perfect blue skies!! 

Had to park waaayyyyy up high on a hill... fine for the way down but not fun at the end of the day!

View from where we parked

View on our way down the hill

Josh

Cool tiles next to a store

One of the quaint streets in Collioure

Took a picture of this walkway last time - it's still there and I still like it :)

I'm a sucker for flowers and a door

More cute streets

More flowers

It's nice travelling with friends - we actual can take couples shots!

Another castle up on another hill

Kyle and Josh

In one of the main squares

Lunchtime!  Same place we ate at last time and just as yummy!

Heading off to explore the castle (not the one from way up on the hill a few pictures ago)

View of town from the castle

Love these boats!

A little something about the castle (you can click the picture to make it bigger) and another view from near the top.

Yes, I know, you've seen several of this photo already but I swear, they are all taken from different places in town!

Just past the entry in the castle

Ouch!!  These ceilings were meant for much shorter people!  Josh and I did just fine :)

View from the top 

Courtyard

Castle walls

Love the views!

I can see what they mean about the Collioure sky - amazing!

Sitting at an outdoor cafe

Yes, he is pretending to be on the cross...

Next we walked all along the rocks you see here

There was actually a little bit of a man made path here though it was definitely in need of repair!

Yes, we conquered the path!

Kyle, Kelly and Josh

Kyle, me and Josh

Yes, he's "that" guy...

We drove back in the early evening, just in time to do dinner at Da Greco's - an Italian restaurant here that we frequent regularly.  All in all an amazing day!!!

Saturday, our last full day - Aidan had tennis lessons so we decided to divide and conquer.  Josh had not been to Parc Guell before and so it was decided that it would be an opportunity for them all to go visit for the first time.  We met up again in the late afternoon to relax a bit for dinner out at our favorite restaurant, Specchio Magico.  It was a great way to end our time with Kyle and Kelly who had to leave first thing this morning.  We were sad to see them go but so happy they took the time to come see us!

Off to Venice this coming weekend and home 2 weeks after that... we're keeping busy for sure!!

Julie

New Views of Society

As we get closer to our trip home, I can help but think about certain differences between European and US living.  These aren't necessarily bad things but things that stand out to me. Please keep in mind that this entry is solely my opinion and yes, I know I live in a bubble both here and probably in the US to, but these are my views of how I see the differences. 

A few months ago Aidan asked me a question.  Quite a simple question but it made me reflect on certain standards we have at home and even expections and perceptions of people.  His question "Mommy, will we use our granny cart (that's our grocery cart) when we go home home?".  Seems like a simple question, doesn't it?  After all, why would we use our granny cart in the US when we have a car?  Right?  Except for the fact that my grocery store is maybe 1/4 mile from my house.  When you are used to walking miles per day, what is 1/4 mile?  So how do you answer that in our society in the US, if you were to walk to the grcoery store you would be considered less than or that people might think that perhaps you don't have the money for a car.  No one walks to the grocery store unless they live in the city, doesn't matter how close you live to it.  Does this mean we have an over reliance on our cars?  Is this one of the reasons for obesity in the US because we can't get off our butts to walk to the grocery store (or other stores for that matter) when it's that close?  Or could it be we need our cars because we purchase for longer term rather than for a day or two like they do here?  It's a tough answer and it was equally tough to phrase it just right for a young mind like Aidan's who is going to absorb every word I say.  In the end I basically told him that we were purchasing for more than just a day or two and therefore it was necessary to use our car.  However, that perhaps some days we would walk just to get some exercise.  The question did make me think though and for that I appreciate his innocent insight...

And the grocery store led me to think of yet another thing that is perceived as low income or lower class in our society but shouldn't be.  Hanging laundry outside.  I have to tell you, I can't do it all year - I just don't have the patience for it to take 2 days to dry in the winter time.  However, in spring, summer and fall, especially summer - I love hanging my clothes out to dry.  Not only do they smell good, but I tend to fold them immediately as I take them off the rack (using the traditional dryer they may sit there for 2 or 3 days before I fold) AND it saves energy and is good for the environment.  Not a lot of people have dryers here.  We're very lucky that our landlord installed one at our request, albeit, it is outside (there was no room inside our apartment for it).  However, everyone hangs there clothes here and no one seems to think less of someone who does. 

I was talking to my dad a few weeks ago about this and he mentioned something to me that I had heard about briefly a long time ago but hadn't made much of at the time.  Did you know that there are some towns in MA and other states that have BANNED drying your clothes outside because it gives the perception that the person hanging the clothes cannot afford to dry them by "traditional" means, aka a dryer?  And that it brings down the value of a home in a neighborhood if they see cloths drying outside?  Really? 

Finally, one other thing that has stood out to me here that has changed my perspective at home is our tolerance (or I should say lack thereof) of others.  I always found it interesting that we are (as in the USA) a country that is founded on immigration and yet there is very little tolerance of people immigrating to the US.  There are new laws making it more difficult for people to enter the country and with the border control well, out of control, we are making it more difficult for people get a chance at the opportunities our forefathers had before them.  But aside from that, and this could be my suburban view rather than my city view, my opinion is that we often think of these people as 2nd class citizens.  And I'll be honest, I thought a bit like that before we moved here.  People who have jobs as a taxi driver or a doorman to a hotel - those would be jobs that someone who doesn't have a lot of education might have... but in reality, these people likely speak several languages and have so been completely misjudged.  That doesn't mean that speaking several languages is a sign of intelligence, but I guess I just never thought of the fact that there is more to certain occupations than meets the eye - and those things that we take for granted.

I never believed in the whole, "you're in America, speak English" philosophy... but at the same time, I will admit, I judged if people couldn't speak it well and would avoid conversations with those people.  And I'm embarrassed by that behavior now.  And can tell you I've made friends with people from various backgrounds and English capabilities.  So back to my suburban view - in the burbs, there is not as much language diversity as in a city... so that could explain my differing view here.  But I believe that at least here, the people are much more open to those who don't speak the language well and will go out of their way to help.  I'm sorry, I don't see that at home and it's a shame.  It's the whole speak English if you are going to live here philosophy.  Aidan has both tennis and jiu jitsu instructors that will speak in English to him and in Spanish to the other students.  I guarantee you, if Aidan were in his tennis lessons at home and there was a Spanish kid there, the instructors would be speaking in English to that kid, not trying to find someone who could translate Spanish.  I just think that the people here are much more open minded about people being "different" than we are at home.

I hope no one sees this as a criticism on the US - believe me... I miss home.  And there are lots of things about home I miss terribly.  However, this experience overseas has opened my eyes so much about the differences between cultures and how some things really just stand out more than others.  There are most definitely things here that I will miss when the day comes for us to move back home.  But then, no place is perfect and there are things that I definitely won't miss here either.  If only I could have the best of both worlds... oh well, maybe someday I can have my cake and eat it too!

Julie

It's Thursday, we should go to Ibiza...

Ibiza is located in the Balearic Islands which is just off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean.  It's a little bit further off the coast than say Nantucket to the Cape but a totally doable trip - just a half hour by plane.  Literally you hit your cruising altitude and they announce that they are preparing for landing.  Known for it's wild parties and nightlife, there is also another side to Ibiza - the relaxing side, especially in what is called the shoulder season (just before the tourism season begins and after it ends). 

So my friend Cristy asked me if I wanted to go to Ibiza for just two days to recharge and relax, it was hard to say no.  Not to mention that her intial proposal would cost us just 4 euros each for the flight.  Unfortunately that first option was also Liam's birthday.  So after some date finagling, we finally decided to go this past Thursday though the cost had jumped... to 21 euros.  A deal?  Oh yes!!!  And it got even better when she found us a 4 star hotel for just 25 euros.  So less than 50 euros to spend 2 days in Ibiza - how could I even think of saying no?  As she said, they are practically paying us to go to visit!  There are people that save years to go to this island and we are going for 50 euros???  That is the life I have to say, and I will admit, I'm incredibly lucky to have this life.

Ibiza here we come!!!

Off we go on Thursday for our journey. We are loaded up with just backpacks - there will be no need for bags of luggage for this trip. A sundress, a sweater and a bathing suit... oh and a book for the beach. That's it, that's all we need to jump start this adventure. We land in Ibiza and are at our hotel by 11AM. By noon we are off to explore.

View from my room to the left - you can see Old Town (the walled city) in the distance

Our hotel - 4 star for just 25 euros each!! 

The picture on the right, the tall building is our hotel - right on the water!

For once, neither of us did any research in preparation for this trip - and both of us are planners by nature.  But it was step one in the relaxation process - just let the day takes us where it takes us.

It decided for day one to take us to the Old Town in which is located in the town of Ibiza (spelled Eivissa here).  Our hotel gave us so-so directions and we were off to explore.  We walked along the beach for a little bit trying to figure out if this was the way to Old Town - given it was a dirt path, we eventually figured out that no, that was not the way we were supposed to go... but it got us to where we needed to be in the end and was a scenic walk along the way so all is good! 

We saw several little geckos along the path to the boardwalk - cute, but keep them a good distance from me, ok?

This was part of the beach "boardwalk" - or what we initially thought was the boardwalk...

we were wrong!

When we finally got on to the walking path, the views just became even more stunning. The water was turquoise in many areas accented with the dark of growth on the bottom of the Med. Palm trees swaying along the water - it was paradise.

 

View from the boardwalk

Another view from the boardwalk

That is til we had to start walking up and up and up.  At least it was a pretty staircase that we had to go up.  And eventually, that same staircase went down - whew!!!  But we definitely got our workout that day and it reminded me of the stairs we had to climb at the Spanish Stairs in Rome, only more narrow. 

This is only the start of the stairs we had to climb!  At least they were pretty!

View from one section of the stairs

We walked thru Eivissa and it was a lovely little town.  It had all the amenities you could expect but with an old world feel to it.  The marina was slightly disappointing as we were hoping for more dining options however, it was also a beautiful area to explore for a little bit.

  

Building along the center of town

  

 

Stunning hotel in the center of town - beautifully maintained and amazing colors that looked spectacular against the bright blue sky

These sailboats are probably the biggest I've ever seen - see the next picture to get a perspective of just how big they are!

With all the buildings surrounding those boats, all you can see is the masts soaring above everything else.  They were HUGE!

One of many upcoming shots of flowers

Old Town is a part of Ibiza where it had a walled city, or fortification.  This fortification which is a World Heritage Site is full of old, beautifuly windy pathways, roads and buildings covered in hanging flowers.  There is a castle and a cathedral up here as well.  The walled city was built in the mid 1500s to ward away the Berber pirates who would try to invade and plunder on the island. 

Cristy at the entrace to the walled city

This is me screaming like a girl because as I walked thru the tunnel all of a sudden I saw this guy's (look to the left of me) feet and thought there was a dead guy next to me.  We laughed til we cried on this one!

Our goal - to reach the top!

But first... lunch!!  Hmmm...where to eat?

Pretty flowers along the entry to the city

Cool arches

View once inside the archway

Drawbridge!  Who doesn't love a drawbridge?

The other side of the drawbridge

These looked to be roses though I can't be 100% sure on that

More stairs... I think they are never ending on this trip!  At least I'll have buns of steel right?

Panoramic view

View going back down - the palm tree is framed just right

Love these flowers!!!!

More freaking stairs?  Seriously????

  

Cool canon overlooking the water

View from the top

In one direction the water, in the other direction a windmill

This was the plaque by the canon - interestingly the canon is called the 24 lb canon but it shot out 25.75 lb cannon balls.  But they reference that they call it a 24 lb canon because that is what they used.  Hmmm... someone doesn't have their math correct here.

View from by the canon

Yet another scenic view

You can't really see it well but on the arm of the light, there is a cool castle etched out.  On the right was inside a gated area

And is this guy supposed to be puking?  Perhaps a medieval representation of the party atmosphere on Ibiza?????

On the left - the very top!!  And the one on the right is the view from the top!

Cool pathway

And another one

Yup, more stairs...

These were the handprints of various arts and entertainment people that must frequent this area

More flowers - what can I say, I love them!

Same flowers, from the end of the pathway

And again with the sun above

These look like doorknobs to me - I really like the way it's put together.  Josh's mom has a picture of Doors of Ireland...this could be doorknobs of Ibiza!

More pretty flowers

I think this is my favorite picture of the whole trip

Hmmm...what do you think they might put in here?

After Old Town we decided to grab a bottle of wine, some chocolate and head back to the hotel for a little R & R before heading out to dinner.  The hotel had a decent hot tub and sauna area in which to relax.  I will admit, we're getting old as we went to dinner around nine and were back at the hotel and in bed by midnight - pretty much when the island is just getting started.  But we still had one more day in which to chill out and enjoy the scene and neither of us wanted to be hungover from that (and we were still feeling the effects from the bottle of wine at lunch).

On our way back to the hotel

View from the hotel room around sunset - unfortunately the sun sets on the other side of the island

Sailboat going between two small islands

Viewo f the walled city from our hotel as the sun finishes setting

On another note, not only did we not go out after dinner, but on our way back to the hotel we counted our lucky stars that we were in the hotel we were in.  There were several hotels along the way with young 20 something's hanging off their balconies screaming to each other with music blaring.  At 25 euros a night for our hotel, that could just have easily been us stuck in that mix (now I feel really old).  We lucked out that we were in a more age appropriate hotel for us :) 

The next day we designated as our beach day.  A friend of mine from home has been to Ibiza and Formentera and has been a plethora of information for me regarding both.  We haven't yet made it to Formentera but it's high on my list and I'm thinking perhaps the September shoulder season would be a good one.  Marco had told us via Facebook that we should check out the area of Ses Salines.  Given it's relatively close proximity to the airport we grabbed our bags, checked out of the hotel and hopped in a taxi to the beach!

The beach was rather hidden.  As a matter of fact the cabbie pulls into a parking lot for a small country store and we kind of looked at him like, did he misunderstand where we wanted to go???  He did not and pointed across the street to a path next to a small restaurant and told us to follow it...

The path turned into this really pretty walkway that led us to Ses Salines beach

Yes, the water was this clear...

For the first hour we were there, this was the only boat out in the water - as much as I'm not a fan of sailing, I do love the look of a nice sailboat on the water!

Shortly after we were relaxing on our rented beach chairs with a good book and just enjoying the views of the Mediterranean in front of us.  Now the beaches in Barcelona are fine but the sand is just ok and the beaches are all very crowded.  Where Josh, the kids and I go on the cape, the beaches are almost completely desserted.  So when I see more than 10 people on a beach, it's crowded to me.  This beach was about as close as I was going to get to those beaches at home but with crystal clear water and fabulous restaurants that fit right into the scenery.  This is where the non 20 somethings go to relax we decided... this was not the party beach for sure and we loved it!!

However, about an hour or so after we arrived we noticed a decent sized yacht pull up and achor off shore.  We didn't make much of it until the people at the restaurant behind us walked out with a container full of glasses and dishes and went down to the beach were a small tender was waiting to take them out to this yacht.  Hmmm... celebrities perhaps???  Or just the uber-rich?  Intrigued we did try to zoom our cameras to catch the name of the boat.  I don't think either of us got a close enough shot.  But as the day went on, more and more things and people went out to it - they brought food and they brought a vase of fresh roses along with a container of rose petals.  And then to top it off, they brought a huge water slide out to them.  Ahhhh to be one of the weathy, right??

The yacht offshore 

The tender bringing the dishes out to the boat

The restaurant bringing food (the guy already halfway down the stairs) to the boat

And finally bringing the water slide out to the yacht.

Our final lunch was at a beautiful restaurant called Malibu that was right on the beach.  Set just above the beach we had amazing views of the Mediterranean and fantastic food and drinks to go with the view.  This was the perfect end to the perfect trip - can't wait for the next one!!!

View of the yachts anchored just off shore from the restaurant

Cool thatched roof makes the enviroment feel even more relaxing and tropical yet nicely upscale

I had a fantastic time recharging my batteries in Ibiza!!   Cristy enough for making the plans for this one!  Next up, we've got visitors coming this week and we couldn't be more excited!  Then it's off to Venice the following weekend.  Lots of fun and exciting things happening!

Julie