Morocco

Fez

Finding alcohol, let alone sparkling wine in Morocco is not an easy task. Hotel bars seemed to be the most common source of beers and other beverages. Between Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez and Tangiers, I came across one single store located in Tangiers that sold liquor. I had given up the notion of trying a Moroccan produced wine until I came a across this wonderful store. I tried a white wine called Domaine De Sahari. It may have not been the most astounding wine I've ever tried but it definitely wasn't bad. It also prompted me to look up wine production in Morocco. I was surprised to learn that Morocco has a long history of growing wine. Their growing history and it's ups and downs is quite fascinating and worth spending your time looking into.

Domaine De Sahari wine

Aside from wine, there are two Moroccan made beers called Casablanca and Speciale Flag that I enjoyed on several occasions. There is apparently another Moroccan made beer called Stork that I never came across. While the beers I tried were enjoyable, I was just as happy drinking the very accessible sweet Moroccan mint tea.

Speciale Flag and Casablanca beer

Morocco as a whole left me with mixed feelings. It was overwhelming for a number of reasons but at the same time was beautiful, colourful, wonderfully cultural shock provoking and rich in history.

Fez Tannery

Fez wood museum

Casablanca

Valencia

My trip from Ibiza to Valencia entailed a six and a half hour boat ride. Nearing the end of trip, I went to get some fresh air and discovered the "Estrella Lounge" where nothing other then Estrella beer was being served. This was not the first time I had come across Estrella. In fact, Estrella appeared to be the dominant beer in Spain showing up in endless advertisements and gushing down the metal taps of almost every bar. This easy and fresh beverage tasted even better as I sipped it to a view of Valencia's approaching city skyline.

Valencia, like Barcelona was another deeply fascinating city, especially when it comes to the topic of food and beverage. When I think of Spanish cuisine, I think of tapas and large skillets of paella. Much to my satisfaction, these mouth watering foods were everywhere. What I didn't expect to continually run into was what appeared to be an obscure off-white looking drink. On the last morning, I went to the mercado central (central market) and decided to give this drink a try. It is called horchata, a traditional drink made from ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice barley or tigernuts. In Spain, it is typically made from ground tigernuts and is served with fartons, a sweet bread . I found the beverage to be very sweet, creamy and earthy. It was definitely an acquired taste but I personally was crazy for it. I also highly recommend dipping a farton into the horchata, letting it soak up the creamy beverage and then taking a huge bite. Unfortnately, I failed to produce any photos of my horchata experience.

Ibiza

Ibiza is located in a chain of Islands referred to as the Balearic Islands. These islands do produce wines but once again I failed to locate these wines. They were likely accessible but I didn't seem to find the time. As with Cinque Terre, I will make it my personal mission to locate a wine from each of these areas and post about it in the future.

I found Ibiza to be a lively and exuberant place. Electronic music seems to be playing in every corner of the island at every hour. I stayed in San Antonia near the sunset strip. The sunsets here were incredible! No matter how many photographs I took, they could not capture what I was truly seeing.

San Antonia, Ibiza

Barcelona

Moving on to Barcelona, I knew exactly what kind of sparkling wine I would be opening on arrival. My go-to sparkling wine at home in Canada has always been Segura Viudas (www.seguraviudasusa.com). Their brut which is readily sold in Canada comes with a nice price tag at around $17.00 Canadian for (in my mind) a quality taste. Segura Viudas wine is a Cava which is a sparkling wine produced in the autonomous community of Catalonia. This Cava is specifically produced in the wine region of Penedes located outside of Barcelona.

Aside from sipping sparkling wine in Barcelona, I ate some mouth watering tapas and revisited some of my favourite sights including Park Guell (www.parkguell.cat), the beach and the colourful rambles market.

After Belgium

I have had some issues with my internet connections during my trip so have been unable to post recently. Since leaving Belgium I have been to Amsterdam, Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre and Nice. There have also been stop offs to Pisa, Menton, Monaco and Cannes.

In Amsterdam I visited the Heineken Brewery. I would describe this experience as a bit "gimmicky" but fun and interesting. Along with videos and interactive games to teach you about the beers history and brewing process, there was a generous offering of beer tastings.

Following Amsterdam, I struggled to locate bubbly beverages from the areas in which I was travelling. I did notice however when visiting Cinque Terre in Italy that there were grapes growing in the hills. I plan to continue searching for a taste of the wines grown there.

During my last night in Nice I went out for dinner and noticed a friendly wine store beside the restaurant. After speaking to the man in the shop, he informed me that few wines are grown in this area. One of the wines grown calls itself Bellet. Although they do not produce my preferred sparkling wine, they make a white, rose and red. I enjoyed the sweet beginning and tangy after taste of the wine and would recommend giving it a try.

I have also been to Barcelona, Ibiza, Valencia and most recently Casablanca, Morocco. I will try to write more on these locations soon!

Bruges, Belgium

My next stop was Bruges, Belgium. This was my second trip to this city and it was just as magical as I had remembered. From swan-filled canals to streets adorned with chocolate shops and beer stores, I felt as though I was walking in a dream.

My bubbly focal point was a return trip to De Halve Maan Brewery (www.halvemaan.be). This is the only brewery in the historical centre of Bruges. The tour ends with a chilled glass of their golden-hued ale, the Brugse Zot. I was so in love with this beer that I had to stay at the restaurant for a second helping.

Brussels, Belgium

The first bubbly of my travels was Trappist Rochefort 10. This beer, along with Triple Karmaeliet and Delirium are not only very bubbly and strong but extremely delicious. They have arguably been described as some of the best beers in the world. If you go to Chill Winston in Vancouver (chillwinston.com) you will see the Trappist Rochefort on there menu with the description,  "Considered one of the worlds finest". From my experiences of beer, it was a definite contender. Sipping it with a view of Brussels breathtaking Grand Place (or Grote Markt) was a moment I will never forget.