Author Archives: wes

9 October 2012 Pollenzo, Bra and Canale. We are staying in La Morra at the Conde Gondina. Our days begin at eight a. m. when we open the french doors, then open the shutters, and walk outside on to the stone balcony and feel the chilly, morning dew. The vista includes rolling hills–green with vegetation–andContinue reading “9 October 2012: Pollenzo, Bra and Canale”

5 October 2012 Torino Before we got to Alba and the Langhe, the paradise of grapevines, we were in Torino (Turin) for three nights and the Townhouse 70 was a great place to stay. It is around the corner from the Piazza Castello, the site of at least a dozen major historic structures. There isContinue reading “Torino, 5 October 2012”

It is 1:30.  The sun shines warmly on our terrace. Where we are seated, to our left is a tall impressive old castle and to our right are valleys with rows of grapevines creating a geometric crazy quilt. We were in Serralunga yesterday. Our hike began here. Our long hike. Our six and one halfContinue reading “Serralunga, 8 October 2012”

Sunday, 7 October 2012 Cauliflower cream topped with a caramelized scallop topped with freshly shaved white truffle. Roasted and browned rabbit beside a potato topped with shavings of smoked foie gras. Very rare leaves of veal with a large dollop of a cream composed of pureed tuna and egg and oil. Paper thin slices ofContinue reading “Barolo (near Alba, Italy in the Piemonte)”

 1 October 2012, Monday. We are on the train. Goodbye, Barcelona. Hello, Girona. The ride is about an hour and a half. As we ride the rails out of Barcelona here are bits and pieces about unmentioned Barcelona adventures.           FOOD For our groceries, we have shopped mostly at the queen ofContinue reading “Adios Barcelona, 1 Oct 2012”

First attempt at new “panorama” feature. I think I have a lot to learn.

Our two weeks in Barcelona have flown by. And I have some catching up to do in my reporting. Friday night, Wesley took us to see and to hear the Vienna Philharmonic. The venue was the Palau de la Música Catalana. It is a gorgeous theatre. Jaw-droppingly so. And it is difficult to overstate theContinue reading “29 Sept 2012, Barcelona, Vienna Phil”

We are sitting on the sand at a table under an umbrella 70 feet from the blue water of the Mediterranean Sea at Barceloneta Beach. Roland is with us. He arrived last night from Los Angeles. Since we are at the sea we chose to eat seafood. The tastiest mussels. Plump. Orange. Glistening with freshContinue reading “30 September 2012, Saturday, Barceloneta”

It is Monday, September 24, 2012 and we have completed our first week of residence in Barcelona. We are settled in.  We do our laundry.  We take the buses. We shop for groceries–vegetables, meats, cheeses, vinos, artisanal gelato, organic expresso, eggs from “liberated” chickens (i.e. free range.)  And for the past four days we haveContinue reading “24 Sept 2012 M&W in Barcelona, Part 2”