August 15, 2012

Dinner Parties at 19 Joaquin Costa, Barcelona

It is sad to think that in less than a month, I will no longer live in my little flat on Joaquin Costa and all the fun times we had here will be just a memory... While the flat itself wasn't perfect in many ways, it has still been our home for the last year and a half and has played witness to many a Sunday dinner party, which for a while, was a regular occurrence. Rob Roy would take his bicycle down to the sea to get some fresh air and I would wander around the Raval from shop to shop, sourcing all the ingredients I needed for my feast. I would have bought the meat at the Boqueria market the day before, usually from some old lady who liked to witter on about the best ways to prepare the cut I was using... excellent for practising unusual Spanish vocabulary or defending the ways of the English... I was once nearly set upon for telling the ladies that I wanted to use pork belly in a stew. Utterly unheard of, they quite plainly told me that I was crazy and ushered me away, shaking their heads sadly.
And so, with my bags full and a smirk on my face, I would trot on home and begin preparing... making sure my dish was bubbling merrily away and that my table was laid and ready to receive.
With plenty of little additions to add after for extra flavour and lots of wine...
And then they would come! And how I wish that I had more than two hands so that I could have cooked, served, cleaned AND taken pictures of events unravelling... unfortunately my belly comes first and once sat down, the camera was a forgotten thing. But, as you can imagine, we would eat until we were stuffed, find room to eat one of Pete's famous cakes and then retire to the balcony or floor for recovery.

There probably won't be another dinner party at Joaquin Costa but when I'm packing or all alone in the flat, I like to remember a time when it was filled with people happily chatting to one another, relaxing and unwinding before starting another week.

I wonder who will move in next?
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1 comment

  1. Hi - just to let you know I've nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award!Come on over to mine and pick it up if you have time!
    http://beautyandthebiryani.blogspot.co.uk/

    Jen x



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