On our first day in Barcelona, we walked all over the Barri Gotic, La Ribera and El Born neighborhoods.

We really enjoyed the narrow streets and courtyards sprinkled throughout.

We spent a little time wandering around the Santa Caterina market and after some drinks outdoors at a place on C/Vermell, we spent an hour exploring the Museu de la Xocolata. The museum is dedicated to the history of chocolate in Catalonian culture and features several sculptures from local candy-makers.

Next, we made our way to Parc de la Ciutadella and up to the Arc de Triomf. We missed the one in Paris, but this one was still pretty impressive.

At this point it started pouring, so we worked our way back (using large trees to stay mostly dry) to the Picasso Museum to dry off. Neither Eric or I are huge fans of cubism (Miro and Dali are more our speed), but his earlier works is where the museum really shined. It’s divided into years/periods, so it was very easy to see the progression of Picasso’s style throughout his painting career. The museum is actually spread out between a few gorgeous townhouses, so the building itself is almost as impressive as the collection!

I found out last week that due to circumstances beyond her control, a friend of mine could not attend a chocolate class she had signed up for weeks ago. There was no opportunity for a refund so she asked if I would go instead (and report back with recipes and notes, of course).

I had never attended a Southern Season cooking class before, so I didn’t know what to expect. It turns out that this was not a hands-on class, but more of a classroom style setting; in fact, I felt like I was witnessing the taping of a cooking show. Thankfully, the chef, Nick Malgieri, was entertaining and insightful when it came to preparing a few chocolate treats, involving the audience whenever possible.

It also helped that we were plied with generous pours of both tawny port and cream sherry during the two-hour class. Wheee!

Recipes included:

• Cocoa Nib Brownies (absolutely sinful)
• Devilsfood Bombe (light and creamy, delicious)
• Chocolate Walnut Tart Scented with Orange (too orangey, but lovely texture and crust)
• Lemon Scented Chocolate Macaroons (sticky and good)
• Loretta’s Chocolate Cake (crusty top, warm interior with semi-sweet flavor)

I learned a few new tricks and penned copious notes and additional details to the recipes for my friend (and for me!)

The classes are pricey, although not outrageously so; I think they would make an excellent gift. :)

Two things high on our list of things to do while in Zurich for 46 hours was to get ourselves some swiss fondue and taste some swiss chocolate.

First up, the chocolate…

Sprungli’s flagship store on the Bahnhofstrasse is a sight to behold. We visited on a Saturday and it was wall-to-wall people. Thankfully, we gathered our wits enough to get two pieces of luxemburgerli, their signature treat, two flavored meringue cookies with a chocolate center. We tried to go back for more on Sunday, but the place was closed… so, while significantly less glamorous, we bought more at the airport shop instead.

We also popped into Coop, a huge department store, to score some chocolate bars for gifts. Considering these were also closed on Sunday (it turned out), I’m thankful we made the time!

We saved the fondue experience for our last night and we picked the most well-known fondue place in town, Adler’s Swiss Chuchi. As soon as we entered the place the smell accosted us. I can’t say it was bad, necessarily, I love cheese and all… but, it was, well, definitely overwhelming. Thankfully, we got used to the strong fragrance of the place and quickly found ourselves wedged between two other couples surrounded by hot implements. (I quickly wondered how I would look stripping down to a tank top in the middle of February.)

Eric ordered the traditional fondue and I went for the raclette, a do-it-yourself project with melted swiss cheese, a sack of boiled potatoes, and tiny mushrooms that squeaked on the hot grill. After sneaking peeks at the couple next to us, I finally got the hang of seasoning and putting all the ingredients together. Meanwhile Eric was in a delighted cheese fog with a huge smile on his face.

Needless to say, we were very impressed with the quality of the swiss cheese and chocolate.

White we are both fans of traditional candy bars, Southern Season has a wonderful and extensive collection of speciality chocolate. Here is one of our absolute favorites, milk chocolate with almonds and cinnamon…