Hotel Review: NH Collection Barcelona Podium

When a work trip took me to Ireland in November 2019, I couldn’t resist a solo weekend getaway to visit friends in Barcelona. Barcelona is a place I have visited before, but I have not spent much time in the city. Its modern attractions from food to art have long inspired me to return, and this time was no different.

For vacation packages on both solo trips and trips with companions, I have been using Costco Travel (which is a fabulous resource, by the way — more on this in a later post!). The NH Collection Barcelona Podium surfaced as one of the hotel options for a weekend trip. I love the variety of package options and discounted rates that Costco Travel offers, which often include meals and ground transportation to and from the airport (at least the ones I have used for travel within Spain).

NH Collection Barcelona Podium attracted me because of its price, location, and amenities. While traveling, I look for hotels that offer affordable meal choices (breakfast was included in the rate for my stay each day, and there was an affordable restaurant on site), gyms, and close proximity to local transportation and attractions I want to visit. Usually a hotel in the city center is key, but these can be expensive. So when Costco Travel offered up the option to stay at NH Collection Barcelona Podium for a decent price including breakfast each day and ground transportation to and from the airport, I couldn’t refuse!

Here is a quick list of the things I enjoyed the most and least about the hotel:

Pros:

• Breakfast was included in my rate each day;

• The hotel is within walking distance to the Arch of Triumph (“Arco de Triunfo” in Spanish or “Arc de Triomf” in Catalan), many shops, restaurants, and local transportation;

• The hotel restaurant has a fabulous selection of Spanish and other red wines from around the world; the hotel restaurant offers the typical Spanish "menu of the day” (“menú del día” in Spanish), which is an economical way to eat in Spain because it includes a drink, first and second courses, and dessert for a flat fee typically advertised upfront (including tax!);

• The hotel is clean;

• The hotel offers laundry service (always a plus when traveling light!); and

• The hotel staff is extremely friendly and willing to help with directions, transportation, etc.

Cons:

• I found the walls to be very thin, so noise was a concern here and there. However, it did not interrupt my activities or sleep.

• The hotel seems to host large groups and events, which may make grabbing breakfast in the morning challenging during peak hours due to the volume of people who stay at the hotel.

Overall, as a female solo traveler (this time around), I would highly recommend a stay at the NH Collection Barcelona Podium. It’s price, food, and location do not disappoint!

Do you consider travel to be a form of self care? Leave us a comment!

All opinions are my own, and I received no compensation for sharing them.

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© 2019 Balanza and Beyond, LLC. All rights reserved.

Full Body At Home Workout: 30-Minute Strength and Cardio Routine

I don’t always like working at home, but when in a pinch, a quick burst of cardio mixed with strength always does the trick. Here’s a fast full body workout you can do when pressed for time to burn some calories, increase your heart rate, and continue to strengthen those muscles.

Complete all exercises in sets of 50 repetitions. Try to move quickly from one exercise to the next to keep that heart rate up! This workout should take you about 30 minutes or so to complete.

Equipment needed: light to medium weight dumbbells, resistance band, and ab roller (optional).

• Bicep curls with dumbbells

• Standing glute / leg kickback with resistance band (50/leg)

• Shoulder circles (50 repetitions forward and 50 repetitions backward) (no weight — the shoulders burn out quickly on this one!)

• Sumo/wide squat (while holding weight as an option)

• Tricep kickback with dumbbells

• Outer thigh leg lift with resistance band (50 repetitions/leg)

• Ab roll-outs with ab roller (or simple crunches or reverse crunches if you don’t have an ab roller at home!)

• Dead lift with dumbbells

• Front and lateral shoulder raise (alternating) (25 repetitions/arm)

Leave us a comment! What’s your favorite workout for a quick burn?

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© 2019 Balanza and Beyond, LLC. All rights reserved.

Quick Cardio Ideas for a Fast Burn

With all the sitting that takes place in our daily lives, sometimes you just need to get up and move around. When I get anxious, I need a quick go-to workout for elevating my heart rate and sweating it out. Here are my top three favorite quick cardio workouts for a fast burn.

Stairs

Complete 10 rounds of up and down stairs as fast as you can with no breaks. Repeat as needed!

Hill climb or fast walk

Find a steep hill to climb, or simply take a brisk walk around your office building or home — wherever you are, try to get your heart rate up by walking at a challenging pace (faster than your normal gait) and moving your arms.

Cardio indoors or outdoors in place (kettlebell and dumb bells needed)

• 50 high knees

• 50 jump squats

• 50 kettlebell swings

• 50 walking lunges

• 50 burpees

• 50 reverse crunches

• 50 push-ups

• 50 overhead presses

Bonus:

Need a quick dynamic stretch?

Complete 10 inch worms with a push up at the bottom for that extra push!

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© 2019 Balanza and Beyond, LLC. All rights reserved.

How to Make an Easy Spanish Tapas / Charcuterie Board

Have an event coming up and need to whip up a quick and easy edible centerpiece to decorate your table, create a theme for a party, or provide simple snacks? Consider an easy Spanish tapas board as a great way to impress guests by keeping your budget down and tastes elaborate.

I love creating charcuterie boards because you can use what you have and design in an attractive way that invites foodies to indulge at their leisure. Finger foods also serve as conversational pieces at cocktail parties or get-togethers of any type by complementing the flow of a room or event.

Spanish tapas board

Key ingredients / staples for tapas boards:

1. Serrano ham

2. Two or three cheeses (Spanish manchego cheese is a favorite!)

3. Marcona almonds

4. Green or black olives

5. Olive oil drizzle

6. Honey drizzle

7. Crackers or bread for dipping

Arrange the food items on a cutting board or large plate — the more rustic- or unique-looking, the better! Organize the food items so that they are not touching each other to maintain a neat and aesthetically please look. Don’t overcrowd the board, and be sure to give each food item the real estate it deserves. Serve food items at a slightly cool temperature to allow them to come to room temperature for optimal taste.

Don’t have all of the ingredients? Use what you have by splitting up food items onto their own plates for viewing and tasting pleasure.

Here are some photos below for organization inspiration:

Ham plates

Cheese plates

Have fun creating your own Spanish tapas board, and leave us a pic or two of your own design!

First image above: Shutterstock.

© 2019 Balanza and Beyond, LLC. All rights reserved.

Recipe: Bizcocho -- Spain's Light and Fluffy Lemon Breakfast Cake

My Spanish friends have been raving about and serving me bizcocho, a type of coffee cake, for as long as I can remember.

I first learned about the popular breakfast item during the summer of 2007 when a friend and I visited his hometown in Southwestern Spain. Every morning, his mother had ready for us our coffee/tea cups on their saucers; spoons; coffee or tea; and bizcocho. We ate it for days, and I was surprised at how long it stayed fresh, esponjoso (fluffy), and moist. It really was the perfect breakfast food: not too sweet, and it was perfect for accompanying coffee or tea.

My favorite trick or flavor about this dish is the lemon peel. This dish first introduced me to the vibrant flavor that lemon or orange peel can add with the right combination of ingredients. By using the correct utensil, the thin fruit shavings add bursts of flavor with which no artificial sweetener can compete. I highly recommend investing in a peeler / microplane zester or grater (available here: https://amzn.to/2N2Ef2Q) because this unique gadget ensures just the right amount of fruit shavings without the risk of cutting yourself like on a regular grater. The recommended technique is to peel the fruit only until reaching the next layer of the fruit’s skin. Once you have reached the white part of a lemon or orange, for example, you have gone too far and need to begin peeling in another area on the fruit’s surface. Peeling only the top layer (the “zest”) of the lemon or orange is important to keeping the shavings full of their natural flavor.

Having improved the blending of ingredients and techniques for this dish, I now enjoy bizcocho for breakfast (or dessert!) in the United States.

Utensils:

Microplane peeler or grater

Large mixing bowl

Large mixing spoon (or hand blender if preferred)

Two small mixing bowls

Fork

Oval, medium-sized baking dish

Spatula

Toothpick

Piece of paper towel or plastic sandwich bag for greasing baking dish

Ingredients:

1 lemon

2 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar (or other sweetener)

¼ – ½ cup of yeast

1 cup of Greek yogurt (2% milk can serve as a substitute)

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil (light)

3 eggs

2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Coat the inside of the baking pan with a thin layer of butter by lathering it onto the pan with the paper towel or plastic bag. The thin coat of butter or margarine is to prevent the cake from sticking.

3. Using a microplane peeler or grater, grate the rind off one entire lemon creating tiny flakes. When you reach the white part of the lemon, you know you have gone far enough with the grating in that particular spot. Keep grating the lemon until you have evenly grated the entire lemon in all areas. Once finished, set aside the tiny flakes in one of the small mixing bowls.

4. After you have grated all of the skin off the lemon, cut it in half. Squeeze the lemon juice from both lemon halves into the other small mixing bowl. Remove and discard any seeds that may have fallen into the small bowl while squeezing the lemon.

5. In the large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients first, including the flour and sugar (or other preferred sweetener). Mix the dry ingredients well, and then add the liquid ingredients including the eggs, yogurt, olive oil, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Using the fork or hand blender, mix all ingredients together, adding in the yeast and the lemon flakes at the end. The mixture should be smooth and just a bit runny once you have finished mixing in all ingredients.

6. Slowly pour the mixture into the already greased baking dish. Use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly throughout the pan to create a leveled cake.

7. Bake the mixture for about 20–25 minutes or until you can strongly smell the cake. Test the center of the cake to determine whether it is done baking by sticking a toothpick gently through the top. If the cake needs more baking, cover it with aluminum foil to prevent the top from burning. Enjoy!

Season of consumption: All

© 2019 Melanie Glover. All rights reserved.

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