It was a very special Thursday and Friday for Barcelonians and the Obamas last week, when President Obama and Michelle Obama visited the city along with their close friends Bruce Springsteen, Steven Spielberg and their families. They also attended a concert Friday night by Springsteen's E Street band, which started its European leg of their tour at the city's Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium.
The Obamas, the Spielbergs and the Springsteens had dinner at the Amar restaurant in the Palace Hotel late Thursday night and surprised the staff with a request for a group photo. This photo, uploaded by staff member Pol Perello with the comment "The pleasure this job brings you!" is now viral on social media. And rightfully so.
The lively and energetic concert by “The Boss” on Friday evening featured First Lady Michelle Obama along with Bruce's wife Patti Scialfa and Steven Spielberg's wife Kate Capshaw, playing tambourine and doing backup vocals for Glory Days. What a wonderful sight!
The Dinner
Back to the dinner date at the Amar restaurant in the Palace Hotel. The Amar restaurant, housed in The Palace hotel, is overseen by chef Rafa Zafra and specializes in Mediterranean seafood delicacies.
Chef Rafa Zafra said Amar had been suggested to the Obama by his friend Chef José Andrés.
The guests decided to dine in the main dining hall, instead of the private dining room, since there were few other diners at that time.
The group opted to order à la carte and to share a variety of dishes.
Here are the dishes served at the table, according to www.elcorreogallego.es/...
Starters:
- Iberian ham, anchovies with coca puff pastry with avocado, and a selection of oysters
- The brioche bread toast with butter and caviar, and the famous smoked salmon and caviar Bikini
- Roses XXL Prawns
- Mongetes de Santa Pau with tuna and Iberian bacon
- Little Peas with cod tripe, black bull and spring truffle
Main Courses:
- Classic Sole Meunière
- An exclusive non-carte wagyu beef dish
Dessert:
- Selection of XXL Torrija with ice cream from their embed
- Chocolate cake with nougat salty biscuit
- Warm cheese cake and Happy fruit
Wine:
Here are a few pics of the sumptuous dishes.
Was this dinner expensive? Sure, but not for these guests whose net worth is in the 10’s of millions to billions. Besides, these are people who have earned their wealth the hard way, they pay taxes and they have given a lot back to society.
A 9-course special dinner with drinks at the Amar runs at €360. www.hoteltreats.com/…
- Slices of Galician blonde, smoked sour cream and homemade scold
- Anchovies and coca puff pastry with avocado
- Mussels in sherry pickle sauce
- Oyster with tarragon vinaigrette
- Mongetes from Santa Pau with tuna neck and Iberian bacon
- Galician spider crab cannelloni with chicken juice and crispy skin
- Grilled fish of the day with: Tomato salad / home fries
- Warm cheesecake
- Tower of profiteroles with cream and toffee
Whose mouth is now watering enough to make a trip to Barcelona?
The City Tour
Earlier during the day on Friday, the Obamas and Spielbergs visited some of Barcelona's famous cultural sights, such as the Sagrada Familia basilica and the Picasso museum. Springsteen was probably busy preparing for the concert.
The Concert
The high point of the day was of course Michelle Obama and her friends doing backup vocals at the concert, as seen in the video above.
Also at the concert, the President and the First Lady could be seen dancing in the box area.
A few more videos of the concert. Even at the age of 73, The Boss can put on quite a show and get the crowd energized as no one else can.
The full concert -
Saturday
On Saturday, the Obamas and Spielbergs paid a visit to Montserrat. They visited Our Lady of Montserrat, where they were welcomed by group of Benedictine monks.
They then went by car to the funicular and took it to go up to Sant Joan and visit part of the mountain. When Obama left the funicular, groups of Catalans who were there spontaneously sang Virolai to him.
On the way down from Sant Joan, they had lunch in one of the most classic places on the mountain, the restaurant of the Abat Cisneros hostel. They ordered the tasting menu which costs 39.50 euros.
First dishes to share: the yogurt foam with foie gras , the prawn tartar, the sausage with caramelized onions and the calamari a la Romana.
Main dish choices: baked sea bass with green sauce, lamb shoulder, grilled entrecote and seafood paella.
Dessert choices: macedonia, tiramisu, Montserrat cheese cake, milfuls, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, cottage cheese and crema Catalana.
After the visit to Montserrat, President Obama flew to Zurich for a conference (BTW, people do go to conferences or business meetings and sometimes turn the trip into a vacation with family). Michelle and the Spielbergs had dinner at the Abac restaurant in Barcelona. The creative dishes prepared by Chef Jordi Cruz included root starter with seeds, bourbon-infused ice-cold charred corns and a rice dish with squid and concentrated vegetable waters.
Obama’s European Tour
No, this was not a gastronomic vacation trip for President Obama, although a couple of days of relaxation with one’s spose and friends is good for the soul. Obama held a public event in Switzerland Saturday evening, dishing out words of wisdom to an audience of 10,000 at the event and more online. He spoke on a number of interesting topics such as creativity, corporate responsibility, leadership and transformation.
Obama will also be stopping and speaking in Amsterdam and Berlin. He is an inspiration to young people around the world and his presence and talks make a difference in the development of future progressive leaders.
There is some commentary on the Q&A session at www.20min.ch/…
Obama: “Today's young generation is idealistic and innovative. They want to change something and are disappointed when they realize that there is no progress." He then explains to his daughters that the two-degree goal set by Paris cannot be achieved and that the poorest people in the poorest countries in particular will feel this. But: “That can’t be a reason to give up. Because even if you limit it to three degrees – a change can help millions of people.”
What he is particularly proud of, what he has achieved during his presidency: "I am proud to have made health insurance possible for millions of Americans." He had heard from people that a tumor could be detected early on by a doctor's visit, which could then be removed. "Being able to see a doctor has saved many lives."
Lastly, Obama is asked about what he wants his legacy to be. And he says: "When I'm on my deathbed, I'll definitely remember the time with my family. How I would go to the park with my daughters and play with them." That's why he wants to be remembered as what everyone would want: "A good husband, father, friend and citizen who made mistakes and learned from them by listening to others."
Epilogue
These scenes delight the heart and serve as a reminder to the world that the Obamas, the Bidens, the Harris’s, the Clintons and the Carters represent the best of humanity; these are good and caring people — learned, intelligent, thoughtful, hard-working and giving leaders, who are doing their best to make the world a better place. America and the world needs more of them, not the self-serving hateful destructive critters that infest the right-wing of our politics.