Saturday in Ceret

Last Saturday, I spent a wonderful day touring around Ceret and the Pyrenees mountains.

The director of the Maison de l'Europe in Perpignan, where I volunteer, decided to take an Italian girl doing an internship at the Maison and myself on an excursion to see his town and then to explore the Pyrenees and the French - Spanish border.

The Canigou mountain from Ceret

Beautiful blooms

 

We arrived late morning (after some local bus troubles) by means of the regional 1 euro bus (perfect!) and immediately set off on our adventure.  Ceret is known for a few things: its big and diverse Saturday market, its modern art museum, rugby, and cherries.  The director, our guide for the day, loved sharing everything with us as we walked through town.  He showed us where the old city lines were.  We went to the mediatheque which was basically a combination of a fancy library and an art gallery, where they were unveiling the opening to some very cool exhibitions, one in photography and the other in 3D art that was a mix of glass mosaics and metal.  We saw a separate exhibition on 100 years of rugby photography at another stop.  At each place, our guide seemed to know someone, so we met the mayor and the finance guy for the town among many others.

Giovanna and I in Ceret

Giant loofas at the market!

Ceret Saturday market

Showing off Picasso's signature on this fountain in Ceret

Pi (pronounced pee) - k (pronounced ka) - sceau (bucket - pronounced so) = Picasso!! Isn't that clever!!

After two hours of walking, admiring, and meeting people, we were welcomed into our guide's house for a quick refreshment before going to meet his family at a restaurant for a late lunch.  I had a Catalan dish, that was basically an assortment of cured meats, cheeses, and pan à la tomate.  It was customary to take a piece of bread, rub it with a raw garlic clove, then rub it with a tomato, and top it with meat.  It was really quite delicious.  I finished the meal with a delicious fondant au caramel and a taster of sweet Banyuls wine. 

After a wonderful meal, we hopped in the car for the second half of our adventure.  We followed a route into the mountains along the Via Domitia.  The Via Domitia was the first Roman road, and it stretched all the way from Italy to Spain.  You can still find traces of it in the Pyrenees between France and Spain.  That's pretty incredible!  Fun fact: the University of Perpignan is named after this route.  Also in this area, we followed a small winding road, which happened to by Napoleon's road where he cross the Pyrenees on his way to Portugal.  Apparently, he never made it though as there was an unfortunate incident in Madrid where many people attempted an uprising and it turned into complete bloodshed.  But for us, it was beautiful views and strong winds that tried to knock us off our feet at each stop.

Following the Via Domitia

As we followed these routes, we came upon a great fortress designed by Vauban, like many of the fortifications in this area.  The fortress is in the shape of a star, and it seems like it's out of a fairy tale with his gate and moat.  We walked around it and admired the views, being able to see both France and Spain in one view.  Just below this fortress, we explored the border town of Perthus, which is divided right down the middle (longways) between France and Spain.  The town itself wasn't particularly beautiful and we were told that it doesn't have such a nice reputation now (i.e. trafficking and other bad stuff), but it was fun hearing about our guide's experiences there as a teenager and how he'd always go to a certain cafe with his friends on payday and such. 

View from the fortress

Finally, our last stop was to check out the end of the Via Domitia where it changed name to the Via Augusta for those continuing into Spain.  At this point, we also learned about the system of "bornes" which mark the border.  They are large columns each with a number ranging from 1 to 602 to physically show where the border lies.  They were designated in the Treaty of the Pyrenees marking the end of the war between the two countries, and to this day, they cannot be removed or altered in any way by either country.

"In memory of all the men and women who in time of fascism took these paths towards liberty" (Or something like that - it's in Catalan!)

Borne #567

Our incredible guide and friend, Jean-Marie

At that point, we were exhausted and it was time to head home.  So we followed the route back down from the mountains, and saw a beautiful sunset on our way back to Perpignan.  It was a very full day, and it was clear how passionate and excited the director was to show us everything.  I'm very thankful to be able to have experiences like this.

Maison de l'Europe

This semester I started volunteering at a local association called the Maison de l'Europe Pyrénées Roussillon.  The organization aims to educate the public about the European Union through cultural exchanges, languages courses, school activities and other events.  I've been helping out at the their office with mostly simple tasks including organization, translation, and brainstorming.  It has been interesting to learn about the association by looking at various documents relating to the network of the Maison de l'Europe and its role in informing and involving the public.  It's also been great to be volunteering there because the director loves to talk, which means I'm taking some time to practice French and learn a lot more!  He's always using tricky phrases and interesting terms to describe things.

I first learned about the association through an event at Christmastime when they invited everyone to bring a special dessert from their country of origin.  There were a lot of tasty treats!  Now, these sort of events where everyone can come together in an informal setting to learn about others' cultures are my favorite.  Most recently, the Maison de l'Europe hosted an Irish/ St Paddy's Day potluck for March.  Here's the group (many of which are English and Spanish language assistants) who turned up:

I'll be volunteering with this association through May 9th, when they celebrate la Journée de l'Europe (Europe's Day).  This day is celebrated throughout Europe, though most particularly in France, to commemorate the idea "United through Diversity," as many countries come together to embody the European Union.

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Lastly, I'll leave you with these pretty flowers in bloom.  

I took this picture last weekend on a sunny, warm day while escaping the city to enjoy a walk in nature...  Beautiful, aren't they?!

Barcelona Cooking Class

While in Barcelona on my mom's and my "Eat" adventure, we took a cooking class to further learn about the local cuisine and be able to bring it home with us!

We signed up online for a class at Barcelona Cooking which promptly assured us everything would be good for special requests, i.e. gluten and dairy free.  Before arriving for our 6pm class, we spent a busy day in Barcelona seeing the sights.  The highlights were walking throughout town down Las Ramblas all the way to Barcelonetta Beach, where crowds were taking advantage of the sunny day.  From the beach, we took the cable car (or the swinging bucket as my mom called it) all the way across the harbor to Montjuic.  It was a beautiful view of the city! After more walking, we arrived back at the touristy Las Ramblas and decided we needed a snack before our evening of cooking.  We grabbed a couple of tapas and a large mug of sangria.

Kids playing with some big bubbles

                                     

Then, we turned the corner and arrived at our class! We got to know our group (a couple from New York) and our chef for the evening (a local girl from Barcelona with a family originally from Oregon I believe).  Our wine was poured and we were introduced to our dishes for the evening.

Starter 1: Crema de Calabaza (Butternut Squash and Pear Cream Soup)
Starter 2: Calcots con Salsa Romesco (Calcots with Romesco Sauce)
Main: Chicken Paella
Dessert 1: Crema Catalana (Catalan Cream)
Dessert 2: Wine-Poached Pears

Hungry?! Yep, me too.  Let's walk through it.

Our chef showed us what we would be chopping up and where it would go.  The New York couple got to work chopping all the ingredients for our Butternut Squash and Pear Cream Soup.  Those ingredients went into a pan with some homemade vegetable stock to cook a little before being blended and topped with a Gorgonzola cheese, candied hazelnuts, and decorative flowers.  Very cute!

Mom got to work preparing the Calcots.  They're a special, local type of onion that is long and looks a bit like a leek.  The outer layer was peeled, they were washed and topped with a little olive oil, then they went into the oven to roast.  Everyone helped with chopping up the ingredients for the romesco sauce made of tomatoes, onions, and peppers, which was quickly blended together.

The finished calcots.  Sorry mom, it was the only picture I had, and it does well demonstrate how messy they are to eat!

I was in charge of starting the Crema Catalana.  I separated the eggs, which I combined with sugar and cornstarch and whipped up.  That I combined with a milk that was warmed with cinnamon and lemon zest.  The mixture was put into little ramekins, cooled on the counter a little, and put into the fridge.  Then I also started the wine-poached pears, our extra special treat since mom couldn't do the Crema Catalana.  That was super simple.  I peeled and cut a pear which was put in a pot with a cinnamon stick and sugar, then covered with wine, and set to boil on the stove.

I look like I should have my own cooking show. Don't you think?

From there, our starters and desserts were mostly finished, so we all came together for the star of the evening: PAELLA. Yummm!  As it was a Monday, the local Boqueria Market's fish section was not open, so our chef showed us the chicken version rather than seafood version of paella.  It's all about taking locally-sourced, fresh ingredients.  All of our ingredients were prepared and put in order.  We started with browning our chicken pieces and then taking them away.  In the same pan (that's the key-always the same pan to keep all those delicious flavors), we caramelized our onion, added our tomatoes, garlic, and vegetables (peppers, peas, and asparagus tonight).  After the vegetables were ready, we pushed them to the sides of the pan to give our rice some room to be toasted.  Chicken stock was added a couple times, and eventually everything was mixed back together.  Our paella was left to rest for a couple minutes under a tea towel to finish its magic.

So everything was cooked and ready to go! Time to eat!
Our butternut squash concoction was quite tasty and smooth.
The calcots were messy as we picked them up whole to dangle into our mouths with a dip of sauce.
The paella was delightful with a variation of vegetables and that distinct paella/ saffron/ magic flavor.
I volunteered to get up and blast our creamy dessert with a flame for a delicious crunchy sugar topping, much like a creme brulee, but not quite the same.
And finally, the wine-poached pears were divine and easy enough to make that I can't wait to try them again!

Our night finished there, stuffed to the brimmed with delicious food, house wine, some new recipes in our arsenal, and magical memories.  It was a night of fun, learning, and discussion.  Definitely a highlight of our trip.

Our kitchen. P.S. Contact me if you'd like any of these recipes!

Eat: San Sebastian and Barcelona

I've been on vacation the last couple of weeks traveling through Europe with my mom.  We decided to theme our trip "Eat," meaning that we were taking a culinary adventure! Our main destinations were Perpignan, San Sebastian and Barcelona.

Both San Sebastian and Barcelona are among the top food capitals in Europe and Spain.

San Sebastian

San Sebastian - Donostia, Spain

This lively city caught between the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean in northern Spain is known as Donostia in the local Basque language.  Their role in food culture is influenced by their pintxos (peen-chos), the local version of tapas.  Yet pintxos are a whole new thing.  Traditionally, you would spend your night out pintxo bar hopping, such that you get a drink and one or two pintxos before moving on to the next stop.  Either you help yourself to the pintxos displayed on the counter, or you point at what you'd like while the bartender serves you depending on the establishment.

Pintxo Bar

A pintxo very often involves a slice of delicious baguette-style bread with a topping.  My favorite toppings were the local cured ham, a salmon and cream cheese combination, and goat cheese with a balsamic glaze and caramelized onions.  Beyond the pintxos on bread, there are also various seafood on skewers such as octopus or shrimp, and warm dishes served on request such as peppers or fried foods.

Pintxos on top, tapas below, and a mug of sangria on the side

Cured Iberic ham

Of course with the pintxo, you order a drink.  I was enjoying the red wine.  At the first place we went, the house wine was 1.80 euros per glass! Isn't that shocking!

Barcelona
From San Sebastian, we road-tripped to Barcelona via the city of Huesca for one night.   Once in Barcelona, we feasted on tapas and paella.  Tapas are small dishes.  You order multiple small dishes to make one very delicious meal.  Some traditional tapas are patatas bravas (potatoes with a garlic sauce), small sausages, fried fishes, mussels, and many, many more.  I found there to be more variety in tapas.

Tapas and Sangria

Then there was the paella... a delicious rice dish with seafood or chicken and veggies.  The key with paella is the large pan in which it's cooked evenly, the small-grain toasted rice, and a pinch of saffron threads.  It's a mouth-watering plate of yumminess, that when made with love, is quickly becoming one of my favorite foods.

Seafood Paella

In discussing Barcelona, we can't leave out the drinks to go with our tapas and paella!  There are varied options.  The local rioja wine can be the perfect touch, or a large mug of sangria, or a more dainty cava (Spanish sparkling wine).  Yum yum.

Cava

Rioja

Needless to say, it was a filling week.  I ate very well, and was able to try new dishes, most of which I liked very much!  I had some much needed mommy-time, as we traveled across France and Spain, in search of delicious dishes, castles, and sunshine.  I can't wait for the next installment in our series of "Eat, Stretch, Dance"!

Snow in Perpignan!

Well, it happened.  I never thought it actually would, but it did.  It SNOWED in Perpignan.

The temperature dropped a lot this week, and on Tuesday it actually snowed big fluffy snowflakes... for 5 whole minutes. It was beautiful, and it makes me miss the lovely Colorado, with the possibility of feet of snow at a time.  Sadly, nothing stuck and it immediately turned to water on the sidewalks, so now there's nothing to show for it, but at least I can say that I know it's possible.  On a side note, this is the first time I saw snow here and the second year living here, so obviously it doesn't happen too frequently.

Despite a lack of snow in Perpignan, I've been watching it accumulate in the Pyrenees Mountains not so far away, and specifically on the Canigou (the largest mountain in the region).  Usually, the simplest things are good for the soul.  For me, those things include, but are not limited to: family, chocolate, traveling somewhere new, cuddling in bed on a cold night, sunshine, laughing with friends, and the occasional playtime in the snow.  Since snow once in a while is good for my soul, I think I need to take a trip up there sometime soon.  Maybe I'll go skiing or snowshoeing, but the hot springs could do the trick too!

A view of the Canigou as the sun rose on January 8th.

Leaving school, the day before the snow rolled into town, on February 2nd.

:) -- Danielle

Je suis Charlie.

I'm sure you heard the news at the beginning of this month (January 2015) when there was an attack on the French satirical newspaper called Charlie Hebdo.  Gunmen entered the newspaper's headquarters and killed a group of journalists along with bodyguards and innocent bystanders.  It was a gruesome attack and a shock to the French and the world.  Their shock quickly turned into resistance against fear, and by the following day, there were peaceful marches across the country by students, businessmen, and everyone in between. This was a similar response that I saw in Norway in 2011, where a violent attack brought together a group to preserve a culture or in this case, freedom of speech.

This attack set into motion the phrase "Je suis Charlie," or "I am Charlie" to represent unity among the French against such violent attacks, and to reinforce the freedoms and rights of the French people.

Now to understand, Charlie Hebdo is known for satirical cartoons which are often offensive to certain religions or groups.  Understandably, what they publish is not accepted by all people.  Yet to rebel in such a way, with death and fear, is not the way to express one's feelings.  At the elementary schools where I work, I saw this cartoon which was meant to explain the attacks to the students.

"These are my drawings for the journal. What do you think? -- If we draw a sun, that will make people mad at us that like clouds and rain! -- You think so? -- Of course. -- And the flowers! You see there's a meaning for flowers: some evoke love, others sadness.  Too risky, that isn't possible either. And black cats, that brings bad luck! -- Great, a newspaper where we no longer have the right to draw suns, flowers, or cats.  And little birds, can I?"

 

Even though this movement has brought unification of the French to support freedom of speech and other rights, it calls into question, yet again, the fear of the "other."  In this case, the other is Muslim, which seems to be a theme from 9/11 to 2011 Norway to France today, and despite a call to unify against fear and terrorist attacks, the fear continues to grow.  It is sad to see that there continues to be misguided "reprisal" attacks, as Max Fisher calls it in his article at http://www.vox.com/2015/1/10/7524731/french-muslims-attacks-charlie-hebdo.  Personally, I have witnessed an increase in police and military force around the city, and in particular near to places of worship, to deter further attacks.  Now the question, why is their such fear for individuals who have done no wrong? 

It needs to be understood that even though an individual may look like another, they are not the same.  These terrorists who killed cartoonists are not the same as the son of immigrant parents who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  This son is not the threat that you're scared of.  He will not "ruin" your culture, nor will he take away your rights.  Besides, he's probably just as mad about the attacks as you are.  Please take a moment to think about your community and everyone in it; we're all different and unique, and that's ok!  We're just trying to make this world a better place; don't mess it up.

2014

As the year comes to a close, I'm taking a moment to reflect on 2014.  It's been an interesting year, continuing to be full of travels and adventures.

This year, I...

-lived in Europe for more than half the year (7 months)
-travelled from Denver to L.A. and back in one day (for the 3rd time)
-celebrated my grandma's 75th birthday with a family cruise in the Caribbean
-was called a "youngin'" on that very same cruise
-camped, hiked, and rafted in Buena Vista, Colorado
-explored new places in France including Toulouse, Carcasonne, Argeles, and Prades
-enjoyed hot springs in the snow
-skied in the Pyrenees
-spent an overnight at JFK airport
-hosted a Thanksgiving celebration with 25 people
-said goodbye to my life in Perpignan, and then came back for a second year of teaching English
-squelched through the mud at Muckfest
-ate some Kansas City BBQ
-partied in Denver with my best friend (since 1st grade)
-enjoyed fireworks, a concert, and movies with loved ones at Red Rocks (my favorite place on earth as of yet)
-explored Iceland solo
-had an exciting family visit in France
-was whisked off to Paris for a touristy, artsy, foodie, and romantic getaway
-tried the most amazing duck of my life
-received the cutest drawings and notes from my French elementary students
-hosted a special guest for the summer in Colorado
-met new life-long friends
-laughed until my belly hurt

Thank you to everyone who took part in, supported, encouraged, or otherwise made my many wonderful adventures possible.  I'm looking forward to another great year.  It's hard to say what exactly will be in store for me, but I am sure it'll be great!

My best wishes go out to everyone for a very Happy New Year 2015! Bonne Année!