Catalan Traditional Cocas at Suria

A coca is a sort of flat, elongated or round bread dough base baked and covered with different ingredients. Technically similar to pizza you could say, but different in taste. You can have coca de recapte where such base is adorned with escalivada - a mixture of aubergines and red peppers cut into strips and dressed with olive oil (recommended for "anti-baconists") - or you can find the sweet versions (trillions of them swallowed with cava on Sant Joan's eve) covered with glazed fruit, custard, pumpkin jam or just sugar and pine nuts. Although sold in pastry shops and bakeries we prefer the ones baked using traditional recipes and artisan wood fired ovens as the ones in the picture.

Bacon: A Still Life Portrait

Vegetarians should refrain from watching this image for obvious reasons. Bacon, in Spanish: Beicon or panceta, has been present in our "diet" since pigs started becoming pork or even earlier, maybe that's why this product was being sold at the medieval market in Suria, a small town near Barcelona. Learn about the origin of the word here. On the left you have a sample of blood sausages or Spanish chorizos, which you can have in slices in a sandwich or simply add to stews, of course you can do that with bacon too. There is an immense variety of pork by-products in Spain and some of them are traditional in Catalonia such as fuet which is a kind of cured sausage (specially appreciated is the one made in Vic, Girona).

Sunset over Port Vell, Barcelona

Today's picture was taken last Sunday after having lunch at one of the many restaurants in front of the marina in Port Vell (I know, I know, it was quite late for lunch!). It was a hot day, somewhat foggy and the sun was setting rapidly over Columbus column on the other side of the port, just in front of Las Ramblas. Notice that on top of the mountain in the distance you can also spot Calatrava's tower which I had photographed early in the afternoon.