#FoodFriday A special bottle of cava

Welcome to YQtravelling’s FoodFriday. The day of the week when I show off some of the lovely eats I had while travelling.

Today’s drink was a bottle purchased in Barcelona but drunk in Singapore about 2 years after it was bought.

I bought a bottle of cava from Barcelona’s airport at the end of a business trip (aka press trip).

My interpretation of cava is a Spanish champagne. Only sparkling wines produced in a certain region and a certain method can be called cava.

My bottole of cava was dark green with a heavy bottom and a wooden cork. I made a promise to drink it only on a very special occasion.

The bottle moved with me to another place and stood in a corner for a very long while. It seemed like I would never have that special occasion to drink it.

Finally, I did take the bottle out in March 2013. Finally, I was going to travel around the world!

When I got it out eventually, it was covered with thick dust and strong strands of spider web (or was it dust?)

Most of the “dryness” of the wine was gone by the time I shared the bottle. Still, it was a good wine for me as it was still sweet and intoxicating.

Do you have a special drink?

5 places of worship I visited while travelling

I’m not a very religious person although I do visit a Buddhist temple from time-to-time.

Since I am not bounded by a strict religion, I like to visit churches and temples when I travel.

The places of worship are usually peaceful and beautiful. Usually…

Sagrada Familia @ Barcelona

Work in progress. The inside is actually prettier than the outside.

Tokyo Daijingu @ Tokyo

This place is supposedly great for praying for romance. Has it worked for me?

Church of Scientology @ San Francisco

Pretty on the outside…

Candi Sewu @ Prambanan

Candi Sewu is actually nicer than its more famous neighbor.

Masjid Kampung Kling @ Melaka

A mosque with the most unique roof I’ve seen since I was familiar with the onion domes. (Apparently, I’ve not visited enough mosques.)

5 transportation I took during my travels

I rarely take taxis when travelling. One main reason is that I am ~~stingy~~ thrifty. The other reason is that it’s more interesting to take the public transport and see how the locals travel.

Train in Yogyakarta

The ladies-only carriage was among the Top 10 Things I Love about Central Java

D and I were travelling from Jogja to Solo on the local train. Some of the ladies brought their own stools so they don’t need to sit on the floor.

The whole journey felt like a big party, except I was standing.

Public bus in Kamakura

Japanese buses are efficient. They even have a timetable of when the buses come.

Biking in San Francisco

I love cycling and I love cities that embrace cycling. I rented an electrical bike and cycled to Sausalito from San Francisco. It didn’t matter that my bicycle chain fell off and I had to put it back.

Boat in Kuching

A 50 cents ride across the river in the City of Cats.

Becak in Solo

One becak drive who took us from Jogja town back to our hotel didn’t manage to get any commission from batik shops and complained about us being “gemuk” (fat). I thought it was quite funny.

This blog post was inspired by BootsnAll’s Indie Travel Challenge weekly travel blog project.

Week 36 of the Indie Travel Challenge is all about photography: Share 5 photos you took during your travels.

Check out my other #indie2012 posts.

#FoodFri Have my cake and nom it @ Barcelona

It’s my birthday today!

Today’s #FoodFri is a selection of pastry I found in a the windows of a bakery in Barcelona.

I was too shy to go in so I snapped photos instead.

#FoodFri My first Spanish order

Feb 19, 2011 12 noon @Barcelona

One of the best things about travelling is the memories. Today, I would like you to meet my first Spanish order–cafe con leche y pasta.

After seeing the sign outside, I went up the cafe counter, said: “Cafe con leche y pasta.” The employee spoke a long string of Spanish. I looked at her stupidly before blurting out, “No habla espanol.”

She pointed me to the pastry display. I picked the sugar powdered pastry. It was yums.

Celebration by accident: Feast of Saint Eulalia, Barcelona

I was in Barcelona this February for a work trip. It was the very first time I was in Europe.

Before flying off, I read up on the festivals happening in the Spanish city. I was disappointed that the Feast of Saint Eulalia was on February 12 and that I would miss it by just one day.

I reached the city early in the morning. My hosts were still flying over so I had the chance to wander around the town.

Many shops were still closed and the weather was chilly. I walked to the tourist center and looked at the beautiful European buildings.

On my way back to the hotel, I heard lively music and wondered what street musician was making such a racket.

I ran down the empty alley toward the music. To my delight, the citizens were having a parade. I didn’t miss the celebration after all!

Lively trumpet and drums played throughout the parade. I stayed on, staring at the giant figures and the happy people.

Here’s a snap of some guy escaping his giant whateverthatis

I left the parade in the alley and wandered off again. I was also lucky enough to catch the human tower mentioned in the guidebook.

When my hosts finally arrived, the celebration had ended. *evil laugh*

This post is part of BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel Project: Day 7: Celebrate.

The rest of my posts for the project can be found here.