Burning calories for Sant Esteve

In Catalonia, on December 26th is celebrated Sant Esteve, the first christian martyr. They traditionally eat stuffed chicken and cannelloni with the part of the family that they didn’t see on the 25th. Normally Xmas is celebrated on the 25th at midday, but in the rest of Spain Xmas Eve on the 24th is more important. So in some families, they have family gatherings 3 times in 3 days!

Well, some friend from a women’s cycling group organized a small route on the morning, to burn Turron, a candy quite like nougat, that is traditionally eaten on this day, and that is full of calories! We went from Mundet metro station in Barcelona up to the yellow fountain (la font groga) in Collserola park. As I was looking for some information on the fountain, I discovered a website listing all fountains of Collserola. And unbelievably there are 269! Here you can consult the list.

Collserola park, with over 8,000 hectares, is a true green island between Barcelona and Sant Cugat. 8 times larger than the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, and 22 times larger than Central Park in New York, it is full of joggers and bikers enjoying impressive views on Barcelona. At its top at 512 metres in altitude, you can find Tibidado, a more than centenary attraction park, and the best observation point from which to see the city.

After having reached the fountain, we went downhill up to Can Borrell Masia, a famous restaurant where you can eat calçots, a long onion that look more like a leek, that you barbecue and dip into a romesco sauce after having peeled of its burnt layer. Calçots are cultivated in the interior of Catalonia, and more especially in Valls, near Tarragona. Usually eaten at home in family as it is quite messy, Can Borrell is a typical place where you need to book a table if you want to enjoy a calçotada at the end of the winter with your friends and family. They give you bibs and gloves, what makes the difference with a home calçotada! It is traditionally accompanied with red wine that you must drink from the porró, the Catalan drinking vessel.

Well, once we got warmer, we went uphill back to the yellow fountain and then downhill up to Mundet. Some of us had some chicken waiting for them!

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