Pa de Pages, Our Modest Catalan Bread

In Catalonia when we make things we make it big like say, this modest, tiny, insignificant bread. Hansel and Gretel would have had bread crumbs enough to leave a generous trail behind them, feed the birds and make a nice toast at the end of the road. Pa de Pages is, I quote: "...a rustic round loaf, baked in a shaped tin, containing wheat flour, water, salt and starter dough. It has a generous crumb and thick crust. The body of the bread is dense and rich in flavour, and it can be kept for several days providing that it is bought unsliced..." (Gastroteca.cat). I recommend you browse this interesting site to find a quite complete compilation of Catalan products and recipes.

Pa de Pages, Our Modest Catalan Bread

In Catalonia when we make things we make it big like say, this modest, tiny, insignificant bread. Hansel and Gretel would have had bread crumbs enough to leave a generous trail behind them, feed the birds and make a nice toast at the end of the road. Pa de Pages is, I quote: "...a rustic round loaf, baked in a shaped tin, containing wheat flour, water, salt and starter dough. It has a generous crumb and thick crust. The body of the bread is dense and rich in flavour, and it can be kept for several days providing that it is bought unsliced..." (Gastroteca.cat). I recommend you browse this interesting site to find a quite complete compilation of Catalan products and recipes.

BARCELONA QUEEN OF EUROPE 2011

BARCELONA QUEEN OF EUROPE 2011

Wembley once again

David Saura (enviat especial)

Barça gave a footballing lesson at the home of football tonight. Guardiola’s team claimed the title back with an exhibition of football never seen before in the final. The Club now have four European Cups and are the envy of the world.

Guardiola promised that his players would deliver and they certainly did at Wembley tonight as they turned on the Barça style to see off one of the best teams in the world, Manchester United, who were helpless against the tide of footballing brilliance that Barça showed.

It was Wembley that was the scene for another great success as this Barça, who combine tradition and modernity made the passage from Cruyff’s team’s win at the grand old Wembley to Guardiola’s victory at the new stadium. From romanticism to the avant-garde in football –it’s taken just 19 years for Barça to make that journey!

Into the European pantheon

Barça’s win takes them up into the pantheon of European greats, with four European Cups to their name. Four titles that truly do justice to a Club who have raced to their titles under Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard and Josep Guardiola – three coaches who have given continuity to the Club’s success with their way of understanding the game.

But it’s been Guardiola who has made most of the formula invented by Cruyff. Proof of Guardiola’s commitment to the Club’s philosophy is the fact that seven of his starting players in the last two Champions League finals have been products of La Masia. He has also built a solid defence for his attacking players’ brilliance to sit on and brought out the very best form his stars with his empathy and understanding. He’s also spent hours and hours studying the game, the opposition and his own players’ abilities and that helps explains his phenomenal success – 10 titles as a manager in just three years. It’s this tenth title that has proved the qualitative leap for Guardiola - as he has become the only Barça manager to win two Champions League titles and at just 40, he has become the youngest ever manager to lift the trophy twice - beating José Mourinho’s previous record.

Guardiola’s success has also put him alongside Sir Alex Ferguson as the leading coach in Europe- just like the Scot, Guardiola embodies the values of a Club and his teams always have the stamp of their manager’s commitment to the attacking, attractive style of play that has become synonymous with Barça.

Players are the cornerstone

For all Guardiola’s success though, it’s the players who have also, as the boss would be the first to admit, been the cornerstone of the team’s success. Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa, Pedro, Piqué... all the names that every youngster aspires to emulate right now. Above all though, it’s Messi who has delivered week in and week out, with an astonishing 53 goals this season, with tonight’s his 12th in the Champions League, a total never before achieved in the competition.

Ferguson predicted “the game of the decade” and tonight’s final has confirmed Barça’s position at the top of contemporary football - a win against a team who have rivalled Barça over recent years and that give it an importance that the fans’ mosaic before the game: “We love football” perfectly sums up.

~~~VIEW THE GOALS HERE! HIGHLIGHTS ! ~~~

SOURCES : www.uefa.com

www.fcbarcelona.com

www.youtube.com

BARCELONA QUEEN OF EUROPE 2011

BARCELONA QUEEN OF EUROPE 2011

Wembley once again

David Saura (enviat especial)

Barça gave a footballing lesson at the home of football tonight. Guardiola’s team claimed the title back with an exhibition of football never seen before in the final. The Club now have four European Cups and are the envy of the world.

Guardiola promised that his players would deliver and they certainly did at Wembley tonight as they turned on the Barça style to see off one of the best teams in the world, Manchester United, who were helpless against the tide of footballing brilliance that Barça showed.

It was Wembley that was the scene for another great success as this Barça, who combine tradition and modernity made the passage from Cruyff’s team’s win at the grand old Wembley to Guardiola’s victory at the new stadium. From romanticism to the avant-garde in football –it’s taken just 19 years for Barça to make that journey!

Into the European pantheon

Barça’s win takes them up into the pantheon of European greats, with four European Cups to their name. Four titles that truly do justice to a Club who have raced to their titles under Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard and Josep Guardiola – three coaches who have given continuity to the Club’s success with their way of understanding the game.

But it’s been Guardiola who has made most of the formula invented by Cruyff. Proof of Guardiola’s commitment to the Club’s philosophy is the fact that seven of his starting players in the last two Champions League finals have been products of La Masia. He has also built a solid defence for his attacking players’ brilliance to sit on and brought out the very best form his stars with his empathy and understanding. He’s also spent hours and hours studying the game, the opposition and his own players’ abilities and that helps explains his phenomenal success – 10 titles as a manager in just three years. It’s this tenth title that has proved the qualitative leap for Guardiola - as he has become the only Barça manager to win two Champions League titles and at just 40, he has become the youngest ever manager to lift the trophy twice - beating José Mourinho’s previous record.

Guardiola’s success has also put him alongside Sir Alex Ferguson as the leading coach in Europe- just like the Scot, Guardiola embodies the values of a Club and his teams always have the stamp of their manager’s commitment to the attacking, attractive style of play that has become synonymous with Barça.

Players are the cornerstone

For all Guardiola’s success though, it’s the players who have also, as the boss would be the first to admit, been the cornerstone of the team’s success. Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa, Pedro, Piqué... all the names that every youngster aspires to emulate right now. Above all though, it’s Messi who has delivered week in and week out, with an astonishing 53 goals this season, with tonight’s his 12th in the Champions League, a total never before achieved in the competition.

Ferguson predicted “the game of the decade” and tonight’s final has confirmed Barça’s position at the top of contemporary football - a win against a team who have rivalled Barça over recent years and that give it an importance that the fans’ mosaic before the game: “We love football” perfectly sums up.

~~~VIEW THE GOALS HERE! HIGHLIGHTS ! ~~~

SOURCES : www.uefa.com

www.fcbarcelona.com

www.youtube.com

Tools, Vic, Barcelona

Anvil and hammer. Two tools that changed the history of men. This picture was taken in Vic at a local fair. Sorry I haven't been around here lately. I have not forgotten about the blog. It's just that I am too busy, not so much to post but to take pictures. Anyway I'll keep trying.

Tools, Vic, Barcelona

Anvil and hammer. Two tools that changed the history of men. This picture was taken in Vic at a local fair. Sorry I haven't been around here lately. I have not forgotten about the blog. It's just that I am too busy, not so much to post but to take pictures. Anyway I'll keep trying.

Delishop, Mallorca 241, L'Eixample, Barcelona

Sometimes it is hard to talk to you about nice shops in Barcelona without making the whole post look like a commercial. This is not an ad. You have my word on that. When I browse for places I would love to visit I enjoy reading about interesting spots and I really don't mind some promotion in posts as long as I don't smell the money. Not that I wouldn't accept it here but I prefer sponsoring on the sidebar better than an advertisement-ridden content. Once said that, allow me to show you this snapshot taken at the Delishop at carrer Mallorca right before the clerk turned his back to ask me if he could be of help. The place has nothing special to it except for the looks and that practicality implied in a take away. And that is precisely why I love the place. It is on my way to work and it comes handy when I am in a hurry. Service is good and food is properly displayed. I thought it was a very big franchise but upon visiting their web I found that they are just a couple of young entrepreneurs with an interesting story behind. I guess that made me like the place even more. Now that I give them good reviews why not suggesting the link, don't you think? Maybe I can get my chicken rolls for free!: Delishop, Mallorca 241

Note: I am really interested in knowing your opinion about giving helpful reviews and tips in Barcelona Photoblog the way a travel guide would do or not. I mean, taking pictures inside places and giving my opinion now and then against the usual neutrality of my posts in that sense. Do you have the same problem in your blogs?

Skateboard Pals, Passeig de Lluis Companys, Barcelona

Skateboard pals, taking a breath under one of those beautiful modernist lamps at Passeig de Lluis Companys in Barcelona. I have been out for some days so forgive me for leaving the blog a little unattended. It is great to rest for a while along the way. Next month I change gear so I hope photographs come out more frequently and improve a little a bit. Of course, the gear is no guarantee to take good pictures. That, I'll have to learn in the long run.

Outdoor BBQ Grill, Deltebre, Catalonia, Spain

A scene I found interesting the other day at the beach. An outdoor barbecue grill very near the water at Illa de Buda in Delta de l'Ebre. It is easy to find places like this in Catalonia but they are usually inland. There is a whole ritual around making fire and cooking around such public grills. You usually bring your own meat or fish and you can buy wood or coal at some facility nearby. Like it happens in most barbecues, the fact of gathering several people around the fire be it friends or members of the family turns it into a social event that may include not just the desired lunch but games like soccer, cards, parcheesi, etc. Besides showing you how these public BBQ grills are, I was interested in those people concentrated on the fire, the smoke spreading all over the place and that guy going towards the beach that of course has nothing to do with the barbeque but contributes to the depth to the image.

Fishing Lead, Delta de l'Ebre, Tarragona, Catalonia

Nothing you haven't seen before. Just a fishing lead hanging from a rod and a beach. Although this activity is regulated and there are certain hours and areas to fish, walking under a nylon line along the shore is something very common here. I only tried fishing once to find out I am not patient enough and I am more of the diving kind. If you ever went snorkeling, you probably have watched through the goggles at that man on the pier, wasting bait totally unaware of the deserted underwater prairie you have the privilege to explore. But fishing rods have that certain romantic look, they are part of the landscape, just like fishermen boats are in a painting and they meet their purpose which is, triggering a hypnotic status in the mind of the fisher-to-be. Maybe the most interesting thing here is the location, a wonderful natural park with wild beaches called Delta de l'Ebre, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia. Towns nearby are popular among other things for the fantastic paellas, smoked eel tapas, frog legs, angulas (young eels), etc.