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Month: April 2018

Baluard – Barcelona, Spain

Through my travels around Barcelona I came across this bakery that was not too far from my hotel, Baluard. I actually visited them on two different occasions. The family that owns this bakery is a fourth generation baker. It is in their blood, dating all the way back to 1892. All this history still amazes me. They had a big window that looked into the bakery. I could see them making the different loaves. It smelt wonderful as soon as I walked in, I love the smell of fresh bread. It is comforting and makes me hungry. They had many…

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Xurreria Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain

One of the major sights that everyone must see in Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia. This is a Minor Basilica that is the master work of famous architect Antoni Gaudi. This iconic structure is actually still under construction (it was started in 1882). I took the audio tour, which I highly recommend. The audio actually help give me a larger appreciation for every aspect of the basilica because I understood the meaning behind everything Gaudi planned. The outside of the basilica has two parts. The entrance façade (at least it is the entrance of the tour) depicts the Nativity of…

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Mercat La Boqueria – Barcelona, Spain

Whenever I travel to a new city one of the first things I make sure to do is check out the fresh markets. Whether it is the Farmers Market in Nashville or Pikes Place in Seattle, fresh markets are a great way to truly experience a city. All the fruits, vegetables, meats and even flowers are the freshest they could possibly be. So in Barcelona I made sure I stopped at Mercat La Boqueria. I got there pretty early in the morning so I could avoid huge crowds. It was still fairly busy. Many of the local chefs shop there to…

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Santa Anna – Barcelona, Spain

I had booked my trip to Barcelona in December and spent months planning things I wanted to do when I got there. However, once I arrived I was so excited to finally be in the city that I did not know what to do first. I started my journey from my hotel to La Rambla, the famous street where all the tourists head to. I just started walking around all the side streets, admiring the architecture of the buildings. As I looked down these alleyways, they kept reminding me of Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter movies. It was the…

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Maru Sushi – Smyrna, GA

Several years ago I lived in Smyrna, Georgia which is a suburb of Atlanta. There was a local Japanese restaurant I loved going to called Maru Sushi. They were fantastic for take-out or eating in. I had recently gone back to Smyrna and was so happy to see that they were still there. When I have visited before I have ordered an array of their sushi, which was always fresh and flavorful. Their fried rice has always been my absolute favorite. When I have gotten it with pork the flavor is the best.    When I recently went back I was there…

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Tin Lizzy’s Cantina – Buford, GA

I normally do not like to write about chain restaurants. When I was headed to Tin Lizzy’s Cantina I thought I was going to a big chain, Tex-Mex place. I did a quick internet search and found out that they really are not that big. They are a small local chain that is based in Atlanta. They have several locations around the metro area. And they just recently expanded to have two restaurants in South Carolina and one in Florida. In my mind this is just a really successful small business that is growing. As soon as I walked in…

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Sakura – Gastonia, NC

The city of Charlotte, North Carolina has been growing rapidly for years. Because of this growth, the suburbs have been growing too. Gastonia is one of those suburbs. It was time for lunch when I was in town and rather than eat at a chain restaurant, I decided to check out Sakura. It is the original Japanese Steakhouse in Gastonia and has been serving up sushi and Japanese dishes for over a decade.    I started off with a house salad that came with a choice of dressing – either ginger or a shrimp sauce. Naturally I chose the ginger…

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