Designed by Gaudi and completed in 1912, Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera) is an apartment building in the Eixample neighborhood. At just over 100 years old, it was not only innovative for its time but is still a model for multi-family housing today.
I've had three architectural experiences that have, literally, brought me to tears: Le Corbusier's Notre Dame du Haut de Ronchamp, Carlo Scarpa's Brion Cemetery and most recently, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia.
Fourty-one courses consisting of tastes and sips in a culinary trip around the world. There are some elBulli classics here, as well as many other unique and new dishes, all with the common goals of intense flavor, gorgeous and pain-staking presentation, along with surprise and magic.
Hisop is a small, starkly modern and minimalist dining room located in a quiet alley off Barcelona's busy Avinguda Diagonal. Open since 2001, in 2010 it received its first Michelin star and would be our first Michelin experience. While I know stars aren't required for a great dining experience, I can't say I wasn't curious to see what Michelin star dining was like. Although not pretentious or stuffy, it was the most formal of all our dining experiences in Barcelona and was a nice change of pace from the previous two nights of casual tapas.
Tickets is considered the hardest reservation to get in Barcelona right now. Seats are released at midnight GMT exactly sixty days in advance and are quickly snapped up, so it requires calculated advance planning if you're going there. And you are going – because it's Tickets, and because it's the Adria brothers.
La Pepita was just the type of place I had hoped for. With the energy of a favorite neighborhood restaurant, it was absolutely packed. We decided to give ourselves over to the chef and let them choose which tapas to bring out for us to share, and with a lovely bottle of Catalan wine to accompany the meal the dishes started to arrive quickly.
It's no wonder then that as we were planning our trip to Barcelona food was going to be high on the agenda. With just four nights I spent months doing research, reading reviews and articles, and pouring over websites. There were so many options, and even more opinions. It was overwhelming. But in the end, we narrowed it down to four we hoped would both satisfy and delight: La Pepita, Tickets, Hisop, and 41 Degrees.
More photos of The New Cubs on the Block.
The arrival of five new cubs was a joyous time for staff and volunteers alike, but there were some questions that kept nagging at me, and continue to do so.
This was going to be a special day at Maunga School. It was the re-launch of Kids Club, a Saturday program designed to keep children busy and engaged by providing more learning opportunities and more fun.
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