As you all know by now, we have a new home in Terrassa, Catalunya, a small city right near Barcelona and full of Catalan culture. I’ve been walking around a lot since I arrived here to get my bearings and to figure out where the mass amount of windy small roads lead to. As I suspected, one thing Terrassa possesses that no Spanish or Catalan town can be without are sidewalk cafés! Here in Catalunya this is as standard as in any other town in Spain. The plus for both me and the Catalans is that you can go into almost any bar and order a Cava! Being in Cava country, a glass of Cava is as typical of an order as a Caña of beer is in any other part of Spain. It is pure heaven!

For many people, Cava is just another refreshing beverage. Here in Catalunya, it is seen as both a casual drink and a beverage reserved for celebrations. For me, being an American, anything that sparkles tends to still be associated with celebration. Now I’m not snobby about wine, and I do know that in the coming weeks the saying, or at least my saying, “A Cava a day keeps the doctor away”, will be fully implemented. However, my sweetie, Gabriella, has yet to join me here. Anyone who has moved knows that the mental and physical support of a loved one can greatly reduce the stress of moving, and while I only have a week or so left, I’m saving my first sidewalk Cava for Gabriella. Self imposed abstinence in the name of creating memories.

We hope that we can live here for a long time, and we will make sure that the future has many glasses of Cava in it. But for now, a week or so without to help the palate grow fonder is in order as I await the arrival of my beautiful bride! However, come that first day that we can walk downtown, grab a sidewalk seat and order up a simple glass of Cava together will be the start of something very special.

So reporting in a Cava-less state in the heart of Cava country,

Ryan Opaz

PS: Don’t worry, I’ll let you all know how it tastes and the future will most likely see a good dose of Cava included in our writing.

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