A violent storm named Xynthia struck Europe this weekend, according to CNN. At least 58 people have been killed and 60 have been injured.

France was affected the most, with at least 47 killed and nearly 500,000 households were without electricity Monday morning, CNN reports. The Boston Globe reports that Xynthia is the worst storm France has seen since 1999 when 90 people died. Three people in Spain were also killed, four in Germany, and Portugal and Belgium reported one death each. The storm had hurricane force winds, which reached up to 200 mph on the Atlantic coast.

The worst-affected areas of France are the Vendee and Charente-Maritime regions on the western coast of France, according to BBC. Residents went to their rooftops in the Vendee region and police helicopters were attempting to locate and rescue them. Heavy flooding occurred and many buildings were destroyed due to the strong winds and huge waves that battered coastal towns. Over 100 flights scheduled to go out of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport were cancelled due to the storm, reports CNN.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy plans on visiting the Vandee region on Monday, and offers his condolences to the relatives of victims. The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said France would formally declare the storm a natural disaster, freeing up funds to help rebuild communities. He also said “the government will, along with the local authorities, set up without delay a special plan to rebuild and strengthen the dykes.”

Xynthia moved westward causing damage in Germany and Belgium. A man in Germany was killed by a tree that fell on his car near the Black Forest area. Also in Germany, a two year old boy drowned when he was blown into a river, according to CNN. A man in southern Belgium was killed in his garden, also by a tree that had fallen. The storm was given the name Xynthia by the Meteorology Institute at the Free University of Berlin, which names all systems that affect the weather in central Europe.

BARCELONA — I had been anticipating my trip to Barcelona from the moment I booked it. Not only has it been a dream of mine to visit the country that birthed the Spanish language, sangria, Cervantes, Gaudi and many other things I love, but it’s the land of tapas, one of my favorite styles of cuisine. Tapas, from the word tapar -to cover – were originally served as small appetizers at bars, where the small plates were used to cover glasses of wine or sherry from flies. But these small dishes aren’t just appetizers. Order two or three or eight, and you have a substantial and diverse meal. Tapas follow a similar idea to Eastern Mediterranean mezze and Italian antipasti, in terms of offering a variety of fresh, very ethnic, dishes in small portions.

There are many great tapas restaurants in Boston that I’ve been frequenting for years including Tasca, a Brighton gem, and popular hot spot Tapeo on Newbury Street. But as I learned quickly, nothing compares to the incredibly fresh, diverse and innovative tapas of Spain.

Well known for being adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, the fish is fresh, delicate and bountiful in Barcelona. Walking through the Mercat Boqueria, one of the most famous marketplaces in the world, it’s easy to see why seafood is such a huge contributor to the culture. The market is open air but enclosed in a building sans walls, brimming with small counter top-only cafes, bossy produce sellers that exclaim “No toca!” (“Don’t touch!”) when a tourist attempts to touch the fruit and mountains of mouth-watering meats such as jamon serrano. The place is sensory overload, filled with brightly colored candies and marzipan, and massive fruits and vegetables including colossal watermelons and zucchini. The place was worth seeing for sure, despite the dense crowds and fruit rind strewn floor wet with water and who knows what else.

On the first night, we sauntered up and down Las Ramblas, the famous avenue filled with street performers, human statues and all varieties of shopping from cheap souvenirs to expensive leather wear. We stumbled upon a seemingly typical restaurant. Its second floor overlooks the Mercat Boqueria but its entrance is right on Las Ramblas. Euskal Sukaldaria. I don’t even really know if this is the restaurant’s official name, but it was emblazoned on the windows. This place had the best patatas bravas I’d ever had, in my life, in any city. The sauce on them was garlicky, tangy, and just slightly spicy with a heat that’s only pleasurable, without an ounce of pain. I was in heaven. I had one plate to myself, and it was hardly enough.

I also ordered one of the tapas samplers that contained a variety of things including some cheeses, smoked chorizo on thickly cut baguette bread and some type of meat salad (maybe chicken, maybe ham who really knows). I also had a “small” plate of traditional seafood paella filled with razor clams, small mussels, shrimp and some squid (more than ample offerings for three people). I finally realized how Europeans stay so thin; they walk everywhere, all the time, and eat small portions, a little sampling of everything. Also, eating slowly and in a relaxed casual setting actually curbs overeating since it takes the body about 22 minutes to realize satiety.

Every meal should be served with a San Miguel beer, ridiculously inexpensive and amazingly delicious. Move aside Bud Light, you don’t know the first thing about drinkability. San Miguel invented drinkability.

I digress.

Moving on to breakfast. It was an experience that can only be summed up as simply decadent. The trademark Spain breakfast of churros con chocolate is essentially a very basic thing – fried dough served with hot chocolate. But this is not your Dunkin Donuts’ hot chocolate, my friends. The chocolate served in a mug in Barcelona is rich, thick and not overly sweet. It’s a darker chocolate than standard milk chocolate and does not include any added sugar, making it very easy to devour. Dipping the lightly fried, chewy, warm churros into this divine drink is nothing short of heaven, foodie heaven.

My traveling companions preferred a lighter breakfast of American-style coffee (they didn’t embrace the tiny cup of espresso-like coffee they were served when they simply asked for coffee) and fresh fruit. Amble into any grocery store off the main roads or a sidewalk produce vendor and you can get a week’s worth of fresh basics for about 5 Euros. They noshed on apples and bananas and a wonderful dried fig concoction dotted with almonds that was slightly sweet and high in protein. These folks are health-nuts and this light breakfast was the perfect way to start any day filled with sightseeing and ridiculously long and tiring walks.

Since I do frequent tapas restaurants here in the states, I already have a strong dossier of dishes I enjoy. I love tortilla espanola, recognized as a potato and egg omelet – light and fluffy and delicious. During one dinner I had a trio of tortillas, one cheesy and tangy, another made with spinach, and another with tomato and peppers that was amazing. I also indulged in melon con jamon, the perfect summer dish of cantaloupe or honey dew served with a heaping side of salty jamon iberico or jamon serrano. The marriage of sweet and salty is a great way to start any meal.

And while I was enjoying mid-morning and mid-afternoon sidewalk breaks to sip a San Miguel and feast on a light sandwich of jamon serrano and tomate or some perfect machego cheese, I could never really keep my mind off patatas bravas. I was a woman obsessed. I ate patatas bravas at least once each day I was in Barcelona, and I still couldn’t get enough. I was searching for the one, and while all the variations were amazing and had different intricacies and takes on the dish, I knew which prevailed.

Some restaurants served the potatoes more than lightly fried, but cooked darker brown similar to our hash brown. Others would serve it with a deep red sauce that was very spicy, or very heavy with tomato flavors. A beach-side restaurant in the beautiful southern coast town of Sitges served patatas bravas lined with a red sauce just slightly darker and more complex than ketchup, and another swirling circle of what I have to believe was plain mayonnaise. Please do not misunderstand me, they were all delicious, a great way to serve everyone’s favorite starch. But something about that first dish of patatas bravas lingered with me.

Maybe it was because they were the perfect size, approximately 1 x 2 inches making one piece a hearty forkful. Or maybe it was the way it was sort of fried-baked, with a crispy exterior that was barely golden brown and pillowy soft texture on the inside. Or maybe it was that sauce. That ridiculously mouth-watering, succulent sauce that I still can’t stop wishing I knew how to make. All I know, is that the combination of all of these elements melded together to make one of the best simple foods I’ve ever had in my life.

If you’re not a huge beer drinker, another great pairing with patatas bravas is sangria. I can’t talk about Spain, especially Barcelona, without mentioning sangria. Sangria is a wine punch, typically made with a fruity red wine such as a Spanish Rioja, mixed with sliced fruits including anything from apples to oranges to mangoes, and splashed with any number of other fruit liquors from apricot brandy to peach schnapps. The result is always delicious, and always refreshing.

A trip to Barcelona is the perfect antidote to a seemingly nonstop lifestyle of burgers and fries here in the United States. The critical foodie that lives inside me, bubbling on the surface daily to critique, analyze and search out the best in food was ecstatic at the sheer number of tapas varieties and restaurant locations. Ole!

The Euro Cup is getting hot and heavy as we charge towards the June 29th final game. I’ve watched a great deal of it and thought I’d share some thoughts so far:

-France looks old. They didn’t get out of the group round for a reason. They just don’t look like they have much firepower. Eric Abidal’s moronic red-card, in-the-box penalty in the first 22 minutes of their game against Italy sealed their fate. It sounds stupid and obvious to say, but they really miss the glue between the front and back that was Zidane.

-The Dutch peaked too soon. They mopped up France and Italy in the group round, but were taken down 3-1 in extra time on Saturday by the Russians. Big, big disappointment.

-Can someone explain what Italy’s Luca Toni does other than constantly sport a flabbergasted look of disappointment on his face? Italy got bounced by Spain on Sunday in penalty kicks and got zero help from Toni, who was supposed to be considered the world’s best target man (that means he’s a finisher up top. Send it in to him and he’ll put the biscuit in the basket…in theory). He failed to register one goal in the entire tournament, and I’m glad that Italy is out just so that I don’t have to look at that stupid face he makes after he botches a crossed ball in the box.

-Despite not having Fabio Cannavaro in the back, Italy’s defense is simply filthy. They lock up the back like not many others can do. If Toni was worth a damn, perhaps Italy is on to the semi’s.

-How about those Turks! Congratulations to Turkey for making the semi-finals. They were left for dead down 2-0 against the Czech Republic and not only tied it with a minute remaining, but closed the deal with a follow-up goal to win in regulation 3-2. It was cute. They did the impossible to move into the next round. Every dog has his day, right?

Against, the Croatians, the hammer fell on the Turks. With one minute left in extra time, the Croatians scored to seal the fate of the Turks and send them home. The dream was over…but wait! Here comes Turkey! With about zero seconds left on the clock, the scrappy, never-say-die Turkish team put one home to send the game to penalties. And they pulled it off on the spot kicks to find themselves in the semi’s.

These were games that made non-believers into soccer fans. You don’t need to love soccer to appreciate what the Turkish players have done in this tournament. I’m not kidding when I say if they can find a way to at least get to the final, they may have a movie deal.

-Spain’s keeper, Iker Casillas, was phenomenal in the penalty shootout vs. Italy Sunday. The two misses from Italy were more due to Casillas guessing correctly and keeping the net clean. Anyone that has ever been a goal keeper in soccer knows that you are left to die in penalty kicks.

-Spain needs to learn how to shoot during the regular game. They have some nice players, but they don’t finish well at all.

-I’m not a huge fan of Germany’s squad, but I will say that I’m releasing my hatred towards their big striker Miroslav Klose. I have bashed him in the past for being a “me guy” that plays with his head down. I will admit, he seems to be more of a team player than he was in the 2006 World Cup. I even saw him pass the ball in the box!

-Keeping it with Germany, check out Bastian Schweinsteiger. The 24-year old is finally getting to start and he really brings the heat. He’s fun to watch and it’s fun to say his last name in a loud, German accent.

-So, what’s next? Germany takes on those tough-as-hell-despite-not-having-much-talent Turkish team on Wednesday, June 25th. Spain will try to dispose of Russia on Thursday, with the two winners meeting on Sunday the 29th.