Queen's Garden Party: Tastes

People seem to be most curious about the menu. Not to disappoint anyone, but I actually didn't consume any of the tea -- it seemed too hot for Twinings, even with lots of milk in it. So I opted for iced coffee -- which was just the right side of sweet -- and lemon barley water. (Someone asked me how the champagne was, but no alcohol was served.)

I sampled one of each sandwich; don't worry, they were almost literally the size of a finger, with no crusts. I hadn't had a crustless lunch since that phase I went through at age 7. Cucumber and mint was nice but not enough mint for my taste. Gammon ham with mustard was the best, and then there was egg mayonnaise and cress. I think it's a law that all teas must serve egg mayonnaise and cress sandwiches. They are certainly in every sandwich shop in town, and while I enjoyed eating that one, it certainly wasn't a unique selection. But you're not really going for unique I suppose -- you're going for tradition!

And last but not least, the cakes: a rich chocolate and toffee with the crown on top (in chocolate, natch); a strawberry custard concoction; a similar one with raspberries; a type of cheescake; and an almond pastry filled with cream. I didn't sample all of these, just the first two and the last one. Finally, smiling servants walked through the throng with silver trays of Loseley ice cream. The choices were strawberries and cream or Madagascar vanilla. The vanilla was great -- the perfect way to end the day.

Impressions of Barcelona

Last week I was in Barcelona for work purposes. I didn't get to see too much of the city, but that won't stop me from sharing my impressions with you all.

It is a good-looking city. I'm no architecture buff, but even I can appreciate the hodge podge of styles that somehow all work together in this ancient town: Roman walls, medieval churches, Gaudi houses (one does wonder if this is the origin of the English adjective gaudy). All of this on the Mediterranean, no less!

It is a city where people appreciate the finer things. There is a Picasso museum (didn't have time to go), and a chocolate museum (I MADE time to go). In all honesty, the museum part (admission was about $6) wasn't terribly interesting. It was mainly chocolate sculptures and old tools the Incas used to pound the pulp out of cacao beans, with a little history of how it got to Europe (summary: The Spainards stole it from the New World). But the chocolate shop and bar at the end -- magnificent! Best hot chocolate EVER. And I bought a 90 percent pure bar, which is so dark and delicious! Mmmm.

Now that we're on the topic of food, I did eat very well while I was there. Tapas, seafood, lamb, and olives. I detested olives as Smitty will tell you, until I had fresh Spanish ones (black ones). I have been converted. My Italian ancestors will no doubt stop spinning in their graves now.

It wasn't all great. Getting a taxi in Barcelona is only slightly easier than passing through the eye of a needle, I think. And Catalan, not Spanish, is the primary language. It's not hard to follow the signs if you know Spanish and/or French, but my ears were confused and my American-accented Spanish did not seem to help. I had to resort to pointing at maps, or asking the hotel staff to instruct the driver.

You may wonder why there are no photos with this post. I took the camera, but not the battery. I blame Smitty for charging it. Just kidding, Smitty! Meanwhile, Smitty had the other camera with him in Hungary.