Baden-Württemberg, Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe, trip planning

Ten things I learned this time in BW and Czechia…

It’s time now for my customary “ten things I learned post”. Since this wasn’t our first time in the Czech Republic, I’ve already done a “ten things I learned” post for the country. Nevertheless, this most recent trip was very educational and entertaining on many levels. We really enjoyed ourselves, but we also learned a lot. Besides, people seem to like these summary posts better than my usual detailed postings. So here goes…

*Cesky Krumlov will take your breath away… especially if you climb the castle tower.*

10. Cesky Krumlov is well worth visiting for a day or two.

I mentioned that Bill and I visited Cesky Krumlov for a few hours back in 2009. I thought the town was really adorable then, and vowed to go back someday. This time, we stayed there for two nights. I think one full day in Cesky Krumlov is probably sufficient for most people, although we certainly could have enjoyed another full day there. I don’t know if I’ll go out of my way to return, but I wouldn’t object to it. It’s a beautiful town and well worth a stop if you’re in Czechia.

9. English is widely spoken in the tourist areas of Czechia.

On prior visits to Czechia, we noticed that it was helpful to speak some German. This time, we noticed that a whole lot of people are fluent in English. It’s not a given than they will be, but there’s a good chance that if you go to a touristy area, you don’t have to worry about a language barrier if you are an English speaker.

8. Brno is well worth a stop!

Of all the places we planned to visit when we were coming up with our itinerary, Brno intrigued me the most. I had read that it is an “up and coming” destination in Czechia. It’s not as handsome and charming as Prague is, but it’s definitely got its own vibe. And if you like caving, it’s a must visit destination, as there are several show caves there that are beautiful and worth seeing. I will never forget our visit to the Punkva Caves. I also noticed that Brno was not as heavily touristed as Prague and Cesky Krumlov. For that reason alone, it may be worth putting on your itinerary.

*Choosing to eat here put us in contact with a local…*

7. Someone may be watching you when you’re eating at the street food fest…

We certainly weren’t expecting to encounter an unhoused woman when we sat down to have lunch at a street food fest in Brno. But she did us a favor by eating our leftovers, and teaching us a thing or two about charity and not wasting food. And while I didn’t leave Brno with any artwork, I did leave with a memory and a great story. I doubt I’ll forget it anytime soon.

*Where we spotted a very determined nutria…*

6. Prague has surprising “wild kingdom” moments…

I don’t know if I’d ever heard of nutria (otherwise known as coypu) before I spotted one swimming in the Vltava River in Prague. At first, I thought maybe I was watching an otter or some kind of beaver, but I’m pretty sure I saw a nutria, an animal that has taken up residence in Prague and is apparently causing issues.

*Unusual tufa cave with cauliflower rock formations.*

5. If you’re near Lichtenstein Castle on the first Sunday of the warm months, you should visit Olgahöhle!

Again, this is a suggestion for those who like visiting caves. This cave is kind of special, and it’s only open on the first Sunday of the warm months. We happened to be able to visit by chance, and it was well worth the stop.

4. You can now purchase vignettes for Czechia online and there’s no longer a need for stickers.

This was a really welcome and convenient development for our trip. We were able to buy our vignette online, allowing us to use Czechia’s high speed highways. There was no need to put a sticker on the windshield. And the day before it expired, they helpfully sent a reminder email.

3. But the backroads are still in need of repair…

Our trip required some detours on secondary roads. A lot of them were in need of repair, thanks to potholes and other issues. On the other hand, they can take you to some great places, like the cool burger place we found because Bill needed to pee.

2. The people of Czechia are very warm and hospitable…

I can’t think of a single incident during our trip where we didn’t encounter very pleasant and warm people, especially in the hotels and restaurants. It definitely lent to the country’s charm and makes me want to go back again and again. This is also a great place for shopping, especially if you’re looking for art and unique toys.

The food, wine, and beer is very hearty… but if you want to, you can easily burn it off!

I was amazed anew by how rich and filling the food was on this trip. As heavy as German food can be, I think the Czechs have them beat! But I also found myself working hard, walking, climbing stairs, enjoying nature, and burning that fuel quite handily. Czech wine is pretty decent, by the way. I might not choose it over Italian wine, but it probably deserves a lot more attention than it gets. The beer is, of course, excellent and noticeably different from Germany’s beers.

So… that about does it for our most recent trip to BW and Czechia. We meant to see our dentist in Stuttgart and take in the sights in one of our favorite European countries. We missed the dentist, but sure made up for it with good times, new experiences, new friends, and fun. I hope if you’re inspired to visit the Czech Republic, you will take the plunge! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe

Onward into Czechia… part four of our 2023 Czech tour!

At last, we arrived at the day I’d been eagerly anticipating, Tuesday, October 3rd. One of the reasons we decided to visit the Czech Republic is because October 3rd isn’t a holiday there. German holidays are great if you’re German, because you get a day off work. But if you’re not German, it usually means a lot of things are closed. Our hotel was closed, after all. They said it was due to a lack of staff, and I believe that’s true. But I also think it was because of German Unity Day, which is, of course, a big deal and should be celebrated.

I’m old enough to remember when there were two Germanys. I even wrote about East and West Germany when I was in the sixth grade, having been shocked to find out that the country was then divided. What can I say? We had no Internet in those days, so I spent a lot of time playing outside instead of surfing the Web, learning new things about the world. I don’t know that today’s kids have it better than we did in the 1980s, but they sure do seem to be more articulate and world savvy.

Of course, forty years ago, when I was eleven years old, I had no way of knowing that in just six years, the Berlin Wall would start to crumble. Bill was actually in Germany when it happened, and every time we go to the Czech Republic, he tells me at least once about how he used to guard the German border and mess with the sometimes female Czech border guards. 😉

We packed up our bags, enjoyed the leftover croissants and juice, and Bill got some cappuccinos to go from the bakery. Once we were all set, we loaded up the car and dropped the room key in the mailbox, where the proprietors had told us to leave it. I was kind of glad to be on the way to Czechia, although overall, we enjoyed Hotel La Casa. The people who run the hotel are very nice. I hope they get some new colleagues soon, so they can get back to being fully functioning.

Our drive to Cesky Krumlov would take several fun filled hours. I can’t say that the drive was particularly exciting, although it was quite pretty in some areas. Bill and I are pretty familiar with the German part of the drive, since the beginning of it is the same way one would go to Austria, Slovenia, Italy, or other points southeast from Stuttgart. We broke up the trip by stopping at a pretty awesome truck stop, where I had a really delicious chicken burger and Bill had a Pfännle, which is hard to describe. Luckily, I have photos.

After lunch, we were back on the Autobahn. We had no need to stop at a Rastplatz, because Bill had gotten an electronic “vignette” for the car. This is a cool new thing the Czechs are doing, making it possible to pay to use their highways without having to put stickers on the car. I hope the rest of Europe follows suit. He had pre-paid for the electronic vignette to last for our full time in Czechia– about a week or so.

The countryside on the way to Cesky Krumlov was as beautiful as I remembered it, as the roads were as loaded with potholes. There’s a definite drop off in road quality as one exits Germany. Here in Germany, we have constant road construction projects, but very few shitty roads. In Czechia, it seemed the opposite was true. Our route took us through some scenic areas, albeit with a few aggressive drivers on our tail. Below are some photos I took of the landscape as we headed east toward our destination.

I had pretty vague memories of Cesky Krumlov, as the last time we were there was on my birthday in 2008. It happened to be during their Five Petalled Rose Festival, and everyone was dressed in medieval garb. They had medieval games, too. I seem to remember we parked in a dirt lot near the town after visiting the old town of nearby Cesky Budjovice, where Czech Bud is made. I remember climbing the castle tower, seeing the bears, and noticing how pretty the town was.

Arriving there in 2023 was surprising, as they had parking lots designed for tourists and busses. We had booked two nights at the delightful Monastery Garden, a small lodge near the castle gate. The manager had helpfully sent me instructions on where to park and how to find the place. Unfortunately, we had a lot of trouble finding “P2”, the parking area where we were instructed to park. We finally ended up parking at the bus station and walking into the town to find the Monastery Garden, which we did after about twenty or thirty minutes of searching. Below are a few first looks of the beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov.

As we were checking in, Bill realized that one of his colleagues was also there. They had just spent a week working together in Bavaria. She had her aunt, uncle, and mom with her, and I got the sense that maybe she was delighted to see us. Bill called her by name as I went to get us checked in by the very friendly and English speaking receptionist.

Cesky Krumlov is a very charming medieval town, recognized by UNESCO. Very limited driving is allowed in the town, and you have to pay a fee to legally do so, even just to drop off luggage. Bill paid for the permit to drive into the town, but ended up just parking in P2, once he found it, and trucking in our luggage. Poor guy. He’s such a mensch.

*Monastery Garden in Cesky Krumlov is a wonderful place to stay.*

We booked Room 6, which was one of their “Signature Suites”. It was a very large room, beautifully decorated, with a very cool looking armoire with a door that opened into the bathroom. The bathroom had a clawfoot tub, with a handheld shower sprayer. The place also had an “honesty bar” in the lobby, where guests could help themselves to food and beverages and just report what they had the next day. The lobby is also where they serve their incredible breakfasts that are as beautifully presented as they are delicious. Below are some photos from Room 6.

After we settled in, we started trying to plug in our various electronics. This was when we realized that using a typical adapter doesn’t work in the Czech Republic. Every outlet has a metal post that sticks up. Fortunately, I have a bunch of electronics with European specs, making it possible for Bill to connect his phone and get charged via my laptop computer. The whole time we were traveling, he kept saying he wanted to stop in an electronics store and find a new adapter. He never did, though.

Finally, once we got the electronics sorted, we headed out in search of dinner. I believe this might have been the only night. we went to a restaurant for dinner, which surprised me. I guess we’re just getting old. In the evenings, we were usually not hungry and too tired to go out for an evening repast. So we’d watch TV, drink wine, and eat snacks. It probably saved us money and calories, to some extent.

The place we visited was called Papa’s, and it served very typical heavy Czech fare. I had a duck leg with gravy and heavy dumplings. Bill had pork with a mustard sauce and dumplings. We both had beer. The food was pretty filling. I can never eat more than one dumpling, at most, but they usually give you at least two. I think there were four on the dishes we ordered! We were too full to consider having dessert, so after we ate, we walked around a bit more and stopped at a bar called Apotheka, which used to be an apothecary (druggist). There, we had several interesting designer cocktails. It was a nice way to cap off the evening, even if we did drop quite a few Czech crowns there.

One of the cocktails I ordered…

When we got back to where we were staying, Bill’s colleague and family members were at the big breakfast table playing cards. We stopped to chat with them for a few minutes, but I got the sense we were crashing a private party from the older folk. Bill’s colleague, by contrast, seemed eager to chat with us some more. I can’t say I blame her! As much as I love my family, the idea of traveling with them makes me a bit weak in the knees. I might do okay with my mom, if she was more up to traveling. She’s pretty low maintenance.

Anyway, aside from a rather adventurous “shower” in the fancy bathtub, everything was in order for our night’s slumber. We went to bed and rested up for our big, active day in Cesky Krumlov.

Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part sixteen

One last fancy dinner, then time to go home!

After our walk around Vaduz, we stopped by the Park Hotel Sonnenhof’s pool and spa area. I noticed one person who reviewed this hotel was disappointed that the hotel doesn’t have a gym. The owners of the hotel reminded everyone that it’s a small hotel, and there are many wonderful walking trails and bike paths for fitness enthusiasts. And there’s also the pool, which we enjoyed, especially since we had it all to ourselves.

After a short swim and a shower, which was actually nicer than the one in our room, we went back to the room for a short rest before our 7pm dinner reservations. Maree has minimal dress standards, meaning that athletic wear is not allowed in the restaurant. Although this was a decidedly casual trip for us, I did bring a dress, and managed to look pretty nice– for me, anyway– for our dinner. Maree’s menu is pretty much Europe centric. They do have a set menu option for thrifty types. Bill and I decided to go a la carte. I had a US beef filet with roasted potatoes, white asparagus, and Hollandaise sauce. Bill had Gilthead filet with herbed pesto, and spinach risotto. The beef was tender enough that I could cut it with a fork. I was also pleased that the asparagus wasn’t too much. Before we began our culinary journey, we were visited by the Hubertus Real, owner of the hotel, who also bid us farewell when we left a couple of hours later. Below are a few more photos from the hotel grounds, as well as our Liechtenstein dinner.

After our second restful night, we enjoyed another breakfast. The hotel’s breakfast is pretty plentiful, with something for everyone. There’s a buffet with breads, cheeses, cold cuts, and smoked fish. They also have a lovely lemon cake, a variety of juices, and sparkling wine for those who want it. Eggs and pancakes are also available, made to order.

It was during our second breakfast that I noticed some of the other guests at the hotel. They were among the top 1% of earners. That was reinforced as we were loading our Volvo. I looked around the parking lot and saw a bunch of very expensive cars. There was a Ferrari, a couple of Porsches, a couple of BMWs, an Audi, and even a Bentley! We later saw the Bentley, chauffeured, and occupied by three Asian businessmen who had been having breakfast at the same time we were.

What was especially funny, though, was that one of the Porsches in the lot was apparently a bit of a lemon. After he settled the bill, a fit looking guy called to Bill, asking for help pushing his classic Porsche back into the parking spot. Bill, being a super nice and helpful sort, helped the guy out. As they were pushing the heavy sportscar, the owner mentioned that he was due to race the “classic Porsche” in Monaco in a couple of weeks! And he was going to have to call Herr So and So in town to fix his wheels!

We were still chuckling about the deadlined Porsche as we made our way out of Vaduz and headed back to Wiesbaden. Our drive back was mostly uneventful, save for a quick dog leg through Austria that required Bill to get a vignette. Fortunately, Austria sells vignettes for smaller blocks of time than Switzerland does. I think the sticker cost just a few euros, instead of over 30. Maybe he could have risked not getting a vignette, but we both know what happens when one tests Murphy’s Law.

For lunch, we stopped at a Burger King… talk about a fall back to Earth! But I did spot a Ukrainian truck at the rest stop.

I think as happy as we were to take this trip and experience all we did, it was great to come home. We missed Arran and Noyzi, and the grass in the backyard was insanely high! It took me three days to get it to an acceptable length with the robot mower and trimmer. Plus, we had lots of laundry to do and mail to collect.

We really had a good time on our trip, especially as COVID-19 restrictions are easing. It seemed like we were gone longer than we actually were. I know that we found some places we want to explore a lot more, if the future allows. We’ll see…

Time to wrap up this series and walk the dogs. Tonight, we’re finally going to Mainz to see Keb’ Mo’ perform after about 18 months of waiting. The original show was November 16, 2020, but we know what was happening then… So I’m going to end here, so I can write about Keb’ Mo’ tomorrow. There will probably be a “ten things I learned” post, too. We did learn a lot!

anecdotes

And the winner is…

Well, we scrapped our plans to go to Belgium because we don’t have enough time to make a road trip there worthwhile. Instead, we’re going to go to Colmar, France. It’s a very charming city in extreme eastern France. We meant to visit last time we were here, but we ran out of time.

Colmar is maybe a two hour drive away through the Black Forest. Should be a pleasant ride. I booked us in a basic and inexpensive hotel. I’m hoping for good food and a change of scenery. Colmar is a pretty town.

I was thinking of going to Switzerland, too. But to go to Switzerland and use the motorway, you have to buy a vignette. Unless things have changed, the vignette is good from December 1 until January 31 of the following year. So if we bought one now, it would expire at the end of January 2015. I’m not aware of any discounts, either. No wonder Switzerland is so lush and pretty! It’s better to wait until December to go to Switzerland, if only to get ourselves a vignette. They cost 40 Swiss francs or, I believe, 30 euros… That’s about $40 or so.

Vignettes are a fact of life in a lot of European countries. Some places let you buy vignettes that are good for a few days and they don’t cost much at all. Others, like Switzerland, require you to buy one that is good for a year or so. The countries that don’t have vignettes usually have tolls. Germany is a rare country where there aren’t road tolls or vignettes.

I often see people with Swiss plates driving around here. It’s hard to imagine what would lure them to Germany, although I’m sure a lot of things are cheaper here. Like, the other day, I saw a guy driving a big truck on A81 with four big tires strapped to his roof. I bet he bought those tires here.

Another thing that’s kind of cool is that a lot of Europeans use English to get by in places where they don’t speak the language. For instance, when Bill and I visited Trier a couple of years ago, we had dinner at a little gasthaus. A French family was also dining and instead of speaking French or German, they spoke English. I guess it makes more sense, since English is a bit more global than German is and French and German aren’t somewhat similar the way Spanish and French are.

Ooh… this reminds me of an experience we had in Barcelona at a fabulous restaurant called Cinc Sentits. Here’s my review. It’s from 2009, but boy did that place put a smile on Bill’s face… Hope we can go back to Barcelona and enjoy it again. It’s one place where you’ll hear plenty of different languages.

Cinc Sentits is a five star feast for the five senses…

Apr 21, 2009 (Updated Apr 7, 2010)
Review by knotheadusc

Rated a Very Helpful Review

User Rating: Excellent
Food and Presentation:
Ambiance and Decor:
Quality of Service:

Pros:Outstanding food. Impeccable service.

Cons:Very expensive. Reservations required.

The Bottom Line: Cinc Sentits is an amazing place to eat in Barcelona, Spain!

My husband Bill and I recently spent a weekend in Barcelona, Spain. Whenever we go on trips, we like to dine out at fine restaurants. We’ve used OpenTable.com online reservation service to find excellent dining spots worldwide. OpenTable.com did not let us down on our trip to Barcelona; it was through OpenTable that we found Cinc Sentits, a very unique restaurant offering a tasting menu that engages all of the senses. Indeed, the name itself translates to five senses and we soon found out this restaurant is aptly named.

From the very beginning of my quest to secure a table at Cinc Sentits, I knew this restaurant would be different. When I first tried to make a reservation, I found that the only reservation available on Friday and Saturday was at 10:30pm! Now, I know it’s normal for Spanish people to dine out that late, but 10:30pm was just too late for Bill and me. Luckily, I checked back and managed to grab an elusive 8:30pm reservation. I guess someone canceled.

Arrival

On the evening of April 4th, 2009, Bill and I found ourselves on a tree lined street in Barcelona. Our taxi driver had just let us out in front of Cinc Sentits, an establishment we easily could have missed. The sign out front is very small to go along with the restaurant’s diminutive size. Moreover, there was a graffiti covered garage door pulled about two-thirds of the way down. Bill and I waited outside for 8:30pm; that’s when the restaurant opens for dinner service. We were the first party of the evening to walk into the small dining room, which appeared to have about sixteen tables or so.

Cinc Sentits is outfitted in crimson and cream. Fresh orchids are placed on every table. The small but very professional wait staff is dressed head to toe in black. Everyone we came into contact with spoke excellent English, but I also noticed that several staff members also spoke French. Although we did have one server who appeared to take care of us more often than the others, Cinc Sentits servers seem to work as a team. We came into contact with all of them at least once during the evening.

Reservations are an absolute must!

Although Cinc Sentits will take walk ins if a table is available, the restaurant is often fully booked. That was certainly the case when Bill and I dined there. We were seated at a nice sized table for two as more people streamed in. Every single one of them had reserved a spot.

The whole experience takes at least a couple of hours and it appeared to Bill and me that Cinc Sentits entertains only a few people a night. We did not see any of the tables turn over while we were there. This is not a restaurant you can just drop into or come by for a quick bite to eat. Two ladies who tried to drop in unreserved were politely turned away because the whole restaurant was booked, although the apologetic waiter who broke the bad news was kind enough to offer a suggestion for another restaurant along with directions.

The clientele at Cinc Sentits seems to be an international lot. A table of Germans was seated behind us, while the table to our left included a local and his French girlfriend. We also heard British, American, and Canadian accents in our midst.

Our evening gets underway

We sipped glasses of cava and grazed on snacks of olives, almonds, and crackers as we looked at Cinc Sentits’ unique menu. Cinc Sentits offers a tasting menu in three different lengths. Diners can choose a three, six, or eight course meal with an optional wine pairing. The food is very fresh and presented artistically with flavors that seem unlikely yet still manage to work well together.

Cinc Sentits’ chef, Jordi Artal, is a self-taught culinary genius who uses very fresh, local ingredients and prepares food in the Catalunyan style. Cinc Sentits’ was named one of Spain’s top six restaurants shortly after it opened in 2006 and was awarded a Michelin star in 2008.

Artal’s wife, Amelia Artal, is the very professional yet friendly maitre d’ at Cinc Sentits. Bill and I were surprised by her very American sounding accent. We heard her tell a table full of Germans that she got her American accent from Canada! I later found out that Jordi and Amelia Artal both spent many years in Canada before coming home to Spain.

Bill and I decided to go with the eight course meal along with an optional wine pairing for an additional 30 euros each. Had we wanted to, we could have opted for finer wines at 50 euros each, but that was getting to be too extravagant. Patrons who don’t want the wine pairing can order another beverage or a bottle of wine off Cinc Sentits’ wine list.

The food

Our meal began with a question. One of the servers asked us if there was any food we were allergic to or didn’t like. I told him that I hate mushrooms with a passion. Bill, on the other hand, likes fungus and was happy to accept optional black truffles on one of his courses. That cleared up, Amelia Artal brought us what she called the “welcome shot”, which consisted of shot glasses filled with warm maple syrup, chilled cream, cava sabayon, and rock salt. She told us to down it in one gulp and to be sure to get the salt at the end. I was amazed by that shot, which reminded me of buttermilk pancakes. It sounds like it might be sweet and cloying, but it wasn’t. it was light and creamy and a delightful way to begin the meal.

The first course was a single, cold stalk of fresh asparagus served with a mussel and a delicious cream sauce. I really enjoyed the first course, but was not as fond as the next one, foie gras coca. This course usually gets raves, but I had never tried foie gras before our trip to Cinc Sentits. I was also familiar with how foie gras is made.

In any case, the foie gras was served on a thin pastry base with carmelized leeks, burnt sugar, and chive “arrope”. This course was matched with a sweet riesling wine from Germany. The wine went well with the foie gras, but I’m just not a fan of liver or sweet wine, even when they compliment each other. When I didn’t finish this course, our waiter actually cared enough to ask me why! Even though I didn’t like the foie gras coca, many other people who have reviewed Cinc Sentits disagree with me about it. Apparently, it’s a menu highlight. If you enjoy foie gras, it will probably thrill you as much as it did Bill. Personally, I didn’t like it.

I was much more into the third course, baby squid served with “arroz a banda”, “sofregit”, and saffron allioli. Our waiter described the rice as paella, but to me it looked more like a hushpuppie! This course was served with a dry Spanish white wine that complimented it beautifully. I didn’t have much time to linger on the third course, though, because it was quickly followed by the fourth course, sea bass served with peas and a mint scented sauce. Again, the chef came up with a combination that I might not have considered. The mint went so well with the sweetness of the peas and the sea bass. It was paired with another crisp white Spanish wine.

The fifth course was probably my favorite one of the meal. It was a mouthwatering Iberian suckling pig, paired with red-wine honey glaze and two types of crisp apple, was served with a flavorful red Spanish wine. Bill opted to have his pig with black truffles, while I had mine plain.

The sixth course was a choice between a palate cleansing sorbet or a cheese course. Bill had the cheese and I had the sorbet, which was served in a shot glass.

Dessert started with a blood orange sorbet with naval orange segments, candied kumquat, powdered honey and garnished with Pop Rocks! As a server set the dish in front of us, she commented that if we listened, we could hear the popping of the candy. I have to admit, the Pop Rocks were certainly an interesting addition to this dessert and the blood orange sorbet was very refreshing and not too filling.

The second half of dessert was called chocolate 67% “Grand Cru”. It consisted of a small cup of olive oil ice cream (which tastes much better than it sounds) served with macadamias, “shattered bread”, and a warm chocolate sauce. Once again, there was a salty finish with rock salt at the bottom, which was well matched by the sweetness of the chocolate. This course came with a semi sweet dessert wine.

We thought we were finished eating, but there was one last course… called mandarin. The mandarin was served in a small glass with cardamom crumble, orange-blossom “air”, and passion fruit cream. It was paired with a sweet Spanish muscatel from Malaga. Bill and I don’t usually like dessert wines that much, but we both agreed that the dessert wines we had at Cinc Sentits were very appropriately matched and enjoyable.

Final thoughts

If an eight course tasting menu isn’t your thing, I want to note that there are a few other options available at Cinc Sentits. However, I noticed that most of the patrons opted for the eight course meal and just about everybody seemed very satisfied with their choice to do so. This is a place where you can easily spend several hours and not get too full.

We left Cinc Sentits feeling very satisfied, although the experience did not come at a bargain price. Our meal, which consisted of two glasses of cava, two eight course meals with wine pairing, two bottles of sparkling water, and an extra 12 euro charge for black truffles and a tip, came to about $335. However, Bill and I both agree that this meal was among the best we’ve ever had in our lifetimes and the service was impeccable. Even though $335 is a lot of money to us, we thought it was a fair price for what we got.

I would recommend Cinc Sentits to anyone visiting Barcelona who loves excellent, creatively prepared food and outstanding service. Just be sure to make reservations well ahead of time, plan to stay for at least two hours, bring lots of money, and an open mind!

Cinc Sentits’ Web site: http://www.cincsentits.com

Recommend this product? Yes

Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations This is a good place to indulge yourself. Go for the eight course tasting menu with a wine pairing!
Best Suited For: Romantic Evening

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

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