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Monasterio de Poblet

The wall surrounding Poblet, with a beautiful old wooden door.

The same day we visited Montblanc, we also went to the nearby Monasterio de Poblet, founded in 1151. This is an amazing monastery that was functional for centuries, abandoned in 1835 and restored again in the 1940's. The monastery still has Cistercian monks living there.

Felipe and I had been here one other time together, for the wedding of his friend Enric, but that day did not have time to tour the monastery. (Below is a picture of the main basilica from our previous trip)


The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. We started our tour closer to the living quarters, by the cloister.




This is a large fountain that was used by the monks after working in the fields to wash their hands before eating.


The stone had such an amazing color.

Here is a photo of the dining hall, still used by the monks today. They used to be an entirely silent order - not speaking at all except for during the church service.


Here is a picture of the window in the Capitulary room, you can see in the window the small coat of arms for Poblet (I am fairly sure this is correct, but cannot verify that it is not the specific coat of arms for a specific king - with the red and yellow stripes below a PO).

This is the room where the monks would come to read passages every day, and where many of the Abbots were buried.

Shortly after that we went into the main Basilica, where the guide told us about how many of the Kings of Aragon were interred in a Pantheon there. Tragically, when the monastery was abandoned over a hundred years ago, the remains of the kings and queens were disturbed by people looking for valuables. When people returned to the monastery to open it once again, the remains of the kings and queens were found strewn about the floor, mixed.

A picture of the high alter


Here you can see the tomb of the king and queen, him with a lion at his feet to symbolize his position as king, and her with a dog at her feet to symbolize fidelity.






We visited as well the dormitory that was used up until 40 years ago, and another room where the monks made wine from the vineyards that they tended in and around the monastery. The tour was wonderful and really gave a fascinating and unique look into such a rich part of history for the area. They have public tours many times through out the day, in both Spanish and Catalan. They also have rooms available for men only to stay in for short periods of time (2 days up to one or two weeks) for the purpose of spiritual rest and replenishment.

A Visit to Montblanc

Photo by Alberto Fernandez Fernandez (I could not get as good a shot).

Yesterday we took a drive further in to Catalunya and visited Montblanc, a medieval village in the province of Tarragona, and was founded in 1163. We did not have much time there, so mainly we walked around some parts of the city within the medieval wall.

We ended up in front of the Iglesia de Santa Maria la Mayor (as pictured above). I had a great time seeing the many details of the church.



There were some really beautiful patterns in the stones in front of the church (including these that give they year)






A sun dial clock on the side of the church.


A compelling face.


The beautiful wooden door, the entrance to the church.

And a couple of other details around the door:

Ironwork that was the railing, notice the face?


And the handle on the door, beautiful!

Pizza La Mamma!

A nice family portrait with La Mamma! We're really enjoying our trip here in Spain, but we can't seem to stay away from pizza :D Had a nice dinner with the family at La Mamma pizza in barcelona.

Somewhere beyond the sea...

I just wanted to share the beautiful glints and shimmers of the sun on the Mediterranean. It's such a wonderful view from the living room of Felipe's parents house, especially on a sunny day.

(unfortunately, in order to post I have to compress the video - and it takes away a little of the brilliance. Anyway - hopefully you enjoy none-the-less.)

Happy Birthday Mom!

So I'm a little late in getting this up...I will chalk it up to the fact that I was traveling and rightly distracted.

I was able to call and wish mom a happy birthday from Spain, but neglected to put a post up on my blog...what a jerk thing to do! I guess it goes along with the fact that she got her birthday present a month afterward too.

Merry Christmas - Feliz Navidad - Bones Festes

Merry Christmas to everyone! We did more of our celebrations yesterday with the family here in Barcelona (well...Vilassar really). It was a great time, and I got a couple of nice photos too :D

A nice family portrait



Ana and Sergi opening gifts.


Felipe looking festive :D


Yay! A new purple sweater!

And then we ate...there were ten of us for dinner (Felipe, me, Eda, Primitivo, Ana and Sergi and then Sergi's family). Eda and I had a fun time preparing for dinner - setting the table and making the food (I did the turkey! and we made a few desserts).




Here is Primitivo carving the turkey


And the desserts:



We had so many desserts it was almost diabetes inducing: pave (an egg cream with layers of cookies and dulce de leche on top), some sort of strawberry and whipped cream cake, mini apple tarts, mini chocolate tarts, dark chocolate and coconut truffles, brownies, candy covered almonds and pine nuts, and a chocolate panetone that we didn't even open. And of course wine and cava....

It was a wonderful night, capped by Amigo Invisible (Secret Santa), where we all shared gifts and talked far into the morning.

Merry Christmas to all - I hope your celebrations are merry and that the holidays give you warm memories.

Snapshots from the Past Week

It has been a busy week for us! Rather than trying to catch up with a blog post for every event, I'll just give you the 'snapshots' here.

Wednesday, Dec. 16th - The Holiday Party

There was the Department of Medicine holiday party at the Central Park Boathouse. It is something that everyone looks forward to all year long, and certainly provides a good time! The decor was festive, the food was delicious and the drinks definitely appreciated! Above you can see the main dining room all set to go, and below full of the party goers watching the movie that the assistant chief residents put together each year with video skits (this year was the best I have seen...)



And a nice photo with me and my coworker Ashley


Friday, Dec. 18th - The Dinner Party

We had a great dinner party with a bunch of friends from Felipe's old work - not many pics of the food (I'm always too busy preparing to take photos, and then wishing I had some afterward), but here's one of us getting ready to play Beatles Rock Band (super fun! Thanks mom!)


Saturday, Dec. 19th - Work and Snow.

No pics here...I spent a good portion of the day at work wrapping things up before being gone for three weeks...let's hope it's all taken care of so I don't come back to a crazy mess!

We had a huge snowstorm in New York City - with a total recorded snowfall of 11 inches in Central Park. I wish I could have had more time to take a walk and photograph some of the city while it was covered in a nice blanket of snow. The chances of it being as nice when we return are slim.

Sunday, Dec. 20th - Bon Voyage!

Saying Bon Voyage makes me think of embarking on a trip via ship - but no, we took a flight from Newark Airport (surprisingly and thankfully on time without any problems - amazing given the storm the previous day!). Here's a shot of us on the plane and ready to go

(this was just before the family with the crying six month old got on...fortunately I was so exhausted from the week prior I was able to sleep despite this.)

Monday and so on.... (I'm on vacation - I've stopped counting!)

Most of the rest of this week has just been acclimating to the time change, eating and relaxing with family. We've done a bit of grocery shopping - which doesn't sound super exciting, but there is something really fun and interesting when you can spend time perusing the aisles of a grocery store in a country different from your own. No, I won't bore you with pictures of Spanish grocery stores, instead I'll post a few from our afternoon snacks...


Churros and a cortado (espresso with milk)... I find that the chocolate that people usually get with Churros is way to rich for me, and I could really use the caffeine these last two days, so un cortado it is!

Eda and I at the bakery/coffee shop this evening


And the last photo to catch up so far...Bones Festes (Catalan for Merry Christmas!)


More to come later.

Hot Diggity, Dog Ziggity (Boom What You Do to Me!)

So today (Thursday) is the anniversary of dad's death - the loss against the battle of cancer. I would say there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him. This last weekend I was reminiscing about how he used to sing songs all the time, and then I tried remembering all the songs he used to belt out. It gave me a lot of enjoyment remembering his enthusiastic, yet shortened, performance of each ditty. I've compiled a list below of all the ones I can think of, including that for which this post is titled. I remembered this song earlier this week, and I can't even begin to imagine what brought it back into my head!


1. Hot Diggity, Dog Ziggity (Boom what you do to me) by Perry Como. Looking into it, I learned this song was based on a piece of classical music called España Rhapsody by Chabrier.

2. I Saw Three Ships - Nat King Cole My dad used to sing this one around this time of year. I can just hear him booming the chorus...

3. Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera) - Doris Day.

4. June is Bustin' Out all Over - Carousel Soundtrack. Man, dad had a sweet spot for this one. He loved that first verse of the song! When I was going through dad's papers and stuff after he died I found an autographed photo of Gordon McRae who played the main lead of Billy Bigelow in the movie.

5. Let's all Sing Like the Birdies Sing - The Tinseltown Players. I couldn't find a video link of the Tinseltown players - so the link goes to Ella Fitzgerald and Andy Williams singing it. It was one of dad's all time standards...he used to sing Tweet, Tweet Tweet, Tweet Tweet, Tweet with such enthusiasm.

6. Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer - Nat King Cole. Well, we're far from them, but dad always enjoyed remembering those days by song!

7. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby - Bobby Darin. Dad used to sing this one for my baby sister Grace. I know the video link is Michael Buble and not Bobby Darin - but there's just no Bobby Darin videos out there :(

8. High Hopes - Frank Sinatra. Again another one dad used to sing the chorus with such zeal! I couldn't find a "recording" of this song that is good for posting...sorry!

9. You Talk to Much - Joe Jones. I think my dad was trying to tell me something....

10. Ain't She Sweet - Gene Austin. I think my dad was trying to tell me something.... ;)

11. Easter Parade
- Bing Crosby and Judy Garland. Oh I could write a sonnet, about your easter bonnet.... How many times I heard dad sing that song, I can't even remember. Coincidentally, I also found a signed 8x10 headshot of Judy Garland in dad's things a couple of years ago. He told me once that he got it one night when he and his mom and dad and older sister were at a dinner show of hers in Las Vegas. He said afterwards they got to meet her and she signed a photo for him and a dinner menu for his sister.

12. I've Been Everywhere Man - Johnny Cash. Oh man, dad went through a phase where he sang this about every other day. Every time I hear it I think of him dancing around the living room...

13. It Takes Two to Tango - Ray Charles and Betty Carter. Okay, so this song was sung by a million people (including dad), but the Ray Charles/Betty Carter version is the one I remember best. It's another old standard of dad's. Sorry, no video link!

14. All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth
- Nat King Cole. I'll leave you off with another one of dad's Christmas favorites.... (sorry, the video link is again just a song with the text written out, not an actual performance).

Well I hope you enjoy the songs...I certainly do each time I think of one! I dad's influence on my taste of music and my memories of him relating to music are some of the most significant memories I have of him. How lucky I am to enjoy them still.

I miss you dad...

Un Viaje Muy Pronto!

Felipe and I will be embarking on our Christmas trip to Europe in exactly one week - we'll be flying into Barcelona for the holiday with his family. We'll be there for about a week and a half and then on New Years day will travel to Paris to visit with friends there. I can't wait to go back!

And then - for the first time ever - we'll take a train to London and spend three days and two nights there. I cannot wait! I've been following Becky's blog and flickr stream to see what kinds of great things we can do there - and I'm looking forward to maybe ice skating at the Somerset House. And not to mention a little post-holiday sale shopping :D

I'll probably have another couple of posts here before we head out. We've got a busy week ahead of us! But be sure to stop back to see details of our travels!