Barcelona

It was evening when I arrived in Barcelona. After a quick shower, my son and me decided to go out for our first walk. We managed to find street which leads to famous 'La Rambla' - pedestrian street lined with trees on both sides. A lot of people were outside, young and old, walking and enjoying a warm spring evening. We stopped at a Tapas bar, sat outside and had our dinner. Wine was divine; tapas tasty. My son had his first authentic Paella.
Next few days we had to plan very carefully, as I wanted to see all Gaudis buildings(and parks), some museums (Picasso)and surroundings. Of course, we needed time to visit old city (Barri Gothic) and do our shopping.


I loved architecture in Barcelona. So many different styles, old and new; A lot of details and colours; well maintained old buildings were gift for my eyes. Trees all around (sometimes I couldn't take a proper picture, because of them). I was surprised than not many public spots have any of world languages displayed along with Spanish. Most Barcelonian do not speak English. Many times my question: Do you speak English? was answered with a sharp 'No'. Later, when I sat outside at the table of a fast food outlet to rest, and when a security guard came to told me (in English) that it's only for customers, I realised they actually refuse to speak other languages. Only people in touristic industry will try to help you out.
Another surprising thing was their 'disorganisation' of touristic routes. April is not a peak season for Barcelona, yet in one spot tourists were left for more than 50 minutes to wait for a seat at bus. 7 buses past in front of us, before they (drivers) let us aboard. On another spot we had to get out, and walk 3-4 stations to catch another bus, because of strike. No one let know other people waiting at those stops about strike; so I suppose they could wait a long time.
I visited 'La Bouqeria' famous Barcelona Market.

My God! I was delighted; what a variety of good, fresh things. I bought home made preserved olives - they tasted like no other olives I ever tried. Pity I couldn't take them to Australia!
5 days went fast; If I calculated properly, we managed to have more than 100km on our feet (+ 3 touristic bus lines in 2 days), and we're not sorry. Thank God we had to return to my birth city after that. Good rest was essential.

Barselona

Bilo je vece kad smo stigli u Barcelonu. Nakon brzinskog tusiranja, moj sin i ja odlucismo da prosetamo. Uspjeli smo naci ulicu koja vodi poznatoj 'La Rambla'- pjesackoj zoni okruzenoj drvecem sa obje strane. Puno ljudi je bilo vani, mladih i starih, setajuci i uzivajuci u toploj proljetnoj noci. Zaustavili smo se kod jednog kafea (tapas bar), sjeli smo vani i narucili nasu veceru. Vino je bilo prekrasno, meze (tapas) ukusno. Moj sin je narucio svoju prvu autenticnu 'Pajeju'.
Nekoliko sljedecih dana smo morali isplanirati jako dobro;Zeljela sam da vidim sve Gaudijeve gradjevine (i park), neke muzeje (Pikaso), okolinu. Naravno, trebali smo vrijeme za posjetu Starom dijelu grada (Barri Gothic) i obavljanje kupovine.
Odusevila sam se arhitekturom u Barseloni. Puno razlicitih stilova, starih i novih; Puno detaljai boja, dobro ocuvane stare gradjevine su bile poklon za moje oci. Drvece skroz okolo (ponekad i previse - nisam mogla fotografisati kako treba).
Bila sam iznenadjena da na mnogim javnim mjestima objasnjenja mozete naci iskljucivo na Spanskom jeziku. Vecina Barselonjana ne govori Engleski jezik. Mnogo puta moje pitanje; Dali govorite Engleski jezik? je bilo odgovoreno sa ostrim 'Ne'.
Kasnije, kada sam jednom prilikom sjela vani za jedan sto koji pripada 'fast food' kafeu, i kada mi je prisao cuvar da mi kaze (na Engleskom)kako je to predvidjeno samo za musterije, shvatila sam da oni zapravo odbijaju da govore druge jezike. Samo ljudi zaposleni na turistickim pozicijama ce biti spremni da vam pomognu.
Drugo iznenadjenje je bilo njihova neorganizovanost na turistickim rutama. April nije vrh sezone za Barselonu, pa ipak smo na jednom mjestu ostavljeni da cekamo vise od 50 minuta na mjesto. 7 autobusa je proslo ispred nas prije nego su nas pustili unutra. Na drugom mjestu smo morali izaci iz autobusa i pjesaciti 3-4 stanice da bismo uhavtili drugi autobus, jer je na jednom mjestu izbio strajk. Ljude koji su cekali na tim stanicama niko nije obavijestio o ovome, tako da predpostavljam da su jadni ljudi cekali veoma dugo.
Posjetila sam i 'La Bouqeria' (glavna pijaca). Moj Boze! Kako sam bila odusevljena; Koji izbor dobrih, svjezih namirnica. Kupila sam domace masline - nikada prije takve nisam jela. Steta da ih ne mogu prenijeti u Australiju!
5 dana je brzo proslo; Ako sam dobro izracunala, uspjeli smo preci vise od 100 km na nasim nogama (+ 3 turisticke rute u 2 dana), i nije nam zao. Bogu hvala da se vratismo u moj rodni grad poslije toga. Dobar odmor nam je bio neophodan!

Ginger and Coriander Prawns

I'm back in Australia. I loved spring in Europe, took a lot of photos and will need some time to sort them and write about my findings. By then - something from my draft.
Ingredients:
12-16 Green king prawns
1 small onion, finely diced
1 teas minced chilli
1/2 tbs minced ginger
3 tbs fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 teas minced garlic
1 teas cumin powder
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs olive oil
Dipping sauce-
1 cup coconut milk / cream
1 large tomato, diced
1 tbs fish sauce
spinach leaves to serve
Method:
Mix all spices together with oil, add prawns. Mix again to coat prawns. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more. Brush off spices of the prawns. Pan fry or grill them until they turn pink. Microwave (or cook) the rest of marinade, add coconut milk, tomato, bring to boil. Mix in the fish sauce. Serve as dipping sauce.

Kozice / Škampi sa Djumbirom i Korijanderom

Vratila sam se u Australiju. Provela sam divno proljetnje vrijeme u Evropi, slikala mnogo. Treba mi malo vremena da sortiram fotke i napisem svoja zapazanja - do tada nesto iz 'drafta'.

Potrebno:
12-16 Velikih Kozica / škampa
1 manji luk, citno sjeckan
1 kasicica cjeckanog chilija
1/2 kasike rendanog djumbira
3 kasike svjezeg korijandera, sjeckanog
1 kasicica protisnutog bijelog luka
1 kasicica kima u prahu
1 kasika sezamovog ulja
1 kasika maslinovog ulja
Umak-
1 solja kokosovog mlijeka / krema
1 veci paradajz, isjecen na kockice
1 kasika 'ribljeg sosa' (ili malo soli)
Listovi spinata za servirati
Nacin:
Pomijesajte sve zacine i ulje sa kozicama. Ostavite u frizideru na 1 sat (ili vise).
Skinite marinadu sa kozica; Pecite na tavi ili rostilju, dok ne pocrvene.
Ostatak marinade prokuhajte sa kokosovim mlijekom i paradajzom. Ubacite riblji sos.
Sluzite kao umak za kozice.

Istanbul

It is truly place where East meets West. Istanbul is a huge city; they say 18.000.000people live here! Many things here are modernised, many are still very traditional. I loved learning about it's history, seeing beautiful parks full of flowers. It is city where cats (a lot of them) and dogs walk and live anywhere they like. They sleep next to each other, without fighting or someone disturbing them. Istanbul is city where you have to open your eyes very wide if you're a tourist; Most of the Turks will try to rip you off in any way, if they realise you're foreigner. I also feelt uneasy as a woman, especially because you don't see many of local women arround. Men are working everywhere and in any industry. They smoke a lot! Everyone! My son didn't want to eat. He said "they smoke and serve people at the same time", but once you try their food you quickly go over their smoking. Bye...Barcelona is waiting!

Istanbul

To je zaista mjesto gdje Istok susrece Zapad. Istanbul je ogroman grad; kazu da 18.000.000 ljudi zivi ovdje. Mnoge stvari su savremene, mnoge su jos uvijek tradicionalne. Svidjelo mi se uciti o njihovoj istoriji, vidjeti parkove pune cvijeca. To je grad gdje macke (mnogo njih) i psi setaju i zive slobodno gdje god im se svidi. Spavaju jedi do drugih bez svadje ili da ih neko ometa. Istanbul je grad u kojem morate dobro otvoriti oci ako ste turista. Vecina Turaka ce pokusati ( i mnogi uspjeti) da vas prevari/nadmudri na bilo koji moguci nacin. Kao zena, takodje se nisam osjecala bezbrizno na ulici, pogotovu zato sto njihove zene rijetko mozete vidjeti vani. Muskarci rade svugdje i u svakom zanimanju. Turci puse MNOGO! Svi od njih! Moj sin nije zelio da jede; kaze " ono puse i serviraju ljude u isto vrijeme". Ali jednom kada probate njihovu hranu, brzo prevazidjete njihovo pusenje! Do Barcelone!

Creamy Seafood Tagliatelle (Post from my birth town)

I have arrived in Bosnia.My birth town (Brčko) is beautiful in spring. I'll try to post some photos next time.

Quick, creamy, delicious!

Ingredients:
200 g calamari rings
200 g prawns, shelled
200 g bass fillets, small pieces
200 g mussels, cleaned
(or 800 g of your favorite seafood mix)
1/2 bunch parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs flour
2 gloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tbs Vegetable stock powder
300 ml fresh cream
salt and white pepper
350-500 g Tagliatelle (or other pasta)
Method:
Heat oil in a deep pan, add flour and mix until flour cooked, but pale. Pour cream, add seafood mix, herbs and spices. Cook 10 min, or until sauce thickens. Cook pasta according to packet instructions; drain. Place into serving bowl, pour sauce/seafood mixture on top. Sprinkle with extra parsley leaves (optional).


Kremasti sos sa plodovima mora (sa rezancima)

Evo me u mom rodnom gradu; proljece je prekrasno ovdje.
Poslaću par fotografija u mom sljedećem postu.
Pozdrav mojim virtualnim prijateljima!

Potrebno:
200 gr kalamara, rezanih (prstenovi)
200 gr kozica
200 gr bijele ribe (cvrste), manji komadi
200 gr skoljki, meso samo
(ili 800 gr vase omiljene mjesavine morskih plodova)
1/2 sveznja persunovog lisca, sjeckanog
1 K maslinovog ulja
1-2 K brasna
2 cena bijelog luka, istisnutog
1/2 K Vegete
300 ml svjezeg krema/pavlake
so i bijeli biber
350-500 gr sirokih rezanaca (ili druge tjestenine)
Nacin:
Zagrijte ulje, proprzite brasno pazeci da ostane svijetlo. Usuti krem, dodati plodove mora, zacine i persun. Kuhati 10 minuta, ili dok sos ne postane gusci. Skuhajte tjesteninu, prema uputstvima na paketu, ocijedite. Prebacite u posudu za sluzenje, prelijte sosom. Pospite sa malo persunovog lisca (po zelji).

Pear and Cinnamon Upside Down Cake - Or Bye Sydney

This is my last post before my trip to Europe.
I will try to keep you updated with my recipes, and of course a few photos from places that I'll visit.

Beautiful, aromatic cake. If low fat sour cream and spread used (Weight Watchers recipe), 10 serves give 3,5 points each.
Ingredients:
2 teas cinnamon
2 tbs brown sugar
400 g canned pears, drained (or 3 medium soft pears)
6 tbs melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup SR flour
Method:
Preheat oven to 180*C. Prepare a loaf tin or small ring cake tin; line with baking paper. Sprinkle base with brown sugar and 1 teas cinnamon. Arrange pear halves / slices over sugared base.
Beat eggs with sugar until pale and thick. Add butter and sour cream, mix with low speed. Put flour and cinnamon on top and fold trough. Spoon cake mixture on top of pears; smooth the surface, then knock your tin on a hard surface a few times, so mixture fills spaces between pears. Bake for 50 min. Allow cake to rest for 10 min before turning out onto cake plate.

Prevrnuti Kolač sa Kruškama i Cimetom

Moj posljednji post pred odlazak u Evropu.
Javicu se sa par recepata i fotografija iz mjesta koje cu posjetiti na mome putovanju.
Ostajte zdravo i veselo

Potrebno:
2 K braon secera
2 k cimeta
400 gr konzerva kruski, ocijedjena (ili 3 srednje mekane kruske)
6 K otopljenog maslaca
1/2 solje secera
2 jaja
1/2 solje kajmaka / pavlake
1 solja samodizajuceg brasna (1 s obicnog + 1,5 k praska za pecivo)
Nacin:
Ukljucite rernu na 180*C; pripremite kalup (duguljasti ili prstenasti manji), odlozite ga silikonskim papirom. Pospite dno sa braon secerom i pola cimeta. Rasporedite polovice kruski preko secera.
Umutite secer sa jajima, dodajte otopljeni puter i kajmak. Mutite jos malo na manjoj brzini. Prosijte brasno i cimet na povrsinu, pa rukom sjedinite polako masu.
Prekrijte kruske ovom masom, zaravnjajte povrsinu kasikom, pa blago lupnite dnom kako bi smjesa zasla izmedju kruski. Pecite 50 minuta.
Ostavite hladiti u kalupu 10 minuta prije nego kolac prevrnete.