BCN: Eat

For my last post about Barcelona I make you a promise - You won't go hungry in Barcelona.

You will find just about any flavor but you should expect the regional Catalan fare to take stage everywhere. And you should try as much of the local food as possible. You can get pasta and baked chicken anywhere, you dont need to fly 14 hours for that.

Sister and I narrowed down our Top 3 to these 5 (alas there were 2 ties, otherwise known as we couldn't make a decision)

Third place

Sagarra
Xuclá i Pintor Fortuny
Barcelona

Located behind the swanky Hotel 1898 we found an alley. The alley had three great indoor / outdoor restaurants. We liked Sagarra the best. Definitely try to snag one of the outdoor tables. You might have to put up with a beggar or two but the street musicians are worth the minor annoyance.

Tapas to try here are: Patatas Bravas, Crab Salad and the uber addictive Spinach Croquettes! Of course, it goes without saying that you will order a litre of Sangria.


Sagarra

Basement of Cortes Ingles
Placa de Catalunya
Barcelona

Sure, you are entering a big mall. So what? Take the escalators down to the basement and round the corner to the counter deli. Pick up a couple of bocadillos (ironically called flautas); make sure to try at least one that is made from Torta de Espana (the ubiquitous potato omlette). This is an inexpensive snack or lunch. Sister and I had these for breakfast so often we started referring to them as Mc Torta Sandwiches.

Second Place

Taller De Tapas
Rambla de Catalunya, 49
Barcelona

On the northern stretch of Las Ramblas in the La Eixample hood. Definitely get an outdoor table and remember noone eats here until at least 10pm. There are items on this menu that we did not see elsewhere and there are some that are just better here.

Tapas to try here: Spinach and Chickpeas with Serrano Ham (we ate this at least four times and loved it!), Patatas Bravas (because you cant get enough of fried potatoes) and Octopus in Garlic Olive Oil (I'm usually luke warm about the Pus but this was unbelievably good!) Once again, you will need to order a litre of Sangria, just in case you forgot.


Taller De Tapas

El Che
Vilà I Vilà, 71
Barcelona

No trip to Barcelona is complete without trying Paella, the most wonderful saffron rice dish. When we asked for the best Paella restaurant we got many responses but this one came up more often as the place the locals would go for their Paella fix.

It was a small, elegant restaurant in the middle of the most diverse neighborhood we saw in Barcelona. Not far from the harbor and only a 15 minute walk from La Rambla. We went old school, Paella with seafood, although we were jealously eyeing our neighbors Paella Negra, a paella made with rice and squid ink; the deep purple of the rice definitely set off everything else. We were totally happy with our paella, although we wanted more seafood.

With paella I recommend taking a break from Sangria and switching over to one of the many wonderful Spanish Tempranillos or Riojas.

Our Favorite

Cuidad Comdal
Rambla de Catalunya, 18
Barcelona


Ask any Barcelona native and they will tell you this place is the best place for tapas. We agree. By now you know the drill: sangria, patatas bravas. Here you should also try Pan con Tomate, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Pork Loin and the Tuna Stuffed Peppers! If you like beer, try the one brewed in Barcelona, Estrella Damm. If you like desserts try the Catalonain Creme, its like Creme Brulee only more pudding like. Its better to sit inside to capture the whole natives-eat-out feel, however be prepared to scream to be heard; its always busy and the Barcelona crowd is loud.


Cuidad Comdal

BCN: Barcelonetta and Port Olimpic

Barcelonetta is a sea-hugging, older part of town having a dual life: it hosts the working class fisherman of the city and its one of the new, "cool" parts of town under gentrification. It's gritty, offers an amazing array of seafood and should not be missed. After strolling through the ultra-confusing, nameless and signless grid of streets, try to emerge at the sea and follow the massive sidewalk toward Port Olimpic, the newer part of town in which you'll find Barcelona's rendition of the "Twin Towers", the "World Trade Center", as well as every luxury hotel built in the last decade.


Port Olimpic

The two taller buildings in the background are known locally as the Twin Towers. They are not twins, of course. The big copper looking structure is known as Moby Dick, its a huge metal scupture of a whale.


Port Olimpic - Jungle Gym at the Sea


Port Olimpic - Boats!


Port Olimpic - World Trade Center (seriously)

Barcelona's World Trade Center is currently up and running although as you can see from the photo, the top floors are still under construction.

BCN: Parc De La Ciutadella

Walking east from La Rambla allows you to explore the soulful neighborhood of Barri Gòtic; an interesting and ecclectic mix of people, smells and sounds, all nestled casually into narrow, criss-crossing streets and older construction vaguely reminding me of Florence, Italy. A eastern exit of Barri Gòtic will place you at the entrance to yet another lovely and historic park known as Parc De La Ciutadella.

Here you will find the Barcelona Zoo, the Catalan Parliament Building and the huge fountain area known as Cascada, loosely modeled after the Trevi fountains in Rome. If you dont know the convergence and divergence of Catalan and Spanish history, this is the place to learn. I would recommend not asking a Barcelona resident about the difference between Catalonia and Spain; this is a black hole from which discussion never exits. Keep in mind the Catalan sense of nationalism is extremely strong and they do not consider themselves part of Spain, technicalities aside.


Building Detail

Metal Sculpture

Creepy Trees

Grand Walkway

Cascada

Cascada

Catalan Parliament Building

BCN: Miró

Along the eastern edge of Montjüic lies The Miró Museum. Even if you are very familiar with Miró's work, you will see pieces here that will surprise you, particularly the paintings from early in his career.

The museum is very thoughtfully spaced and lighted; the architecture includes walkout decks to showcase some of Miró's brighter, metal-based sculptures. They are simply stunning against the starck white stucco of the exterior and the deep blue of the sky.

Another surprise, the in-house cafe is excellent and reasonably priced, so make sure to stop for bocadillos (small sandwich) and cafe solo (espresso).

BCN: Montjüic

Montjüic is another lovely hillside park. Its a pleasant 2-mile stroll from La Rambla and a good way to see the southwest part of the city along the sea. The "hill" can be approached from many directions; sister and I tried them all, the southern most approach off the main street was definitely the kindest.

There are some must see items here: The 1992 Olympic/ 1929 Worlds' Fair site, The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, and The Miró Museum. Between those sites are many surprise gardens and walkways, all of which offer breath-taking views of the city.


1929 World's Fair & 1992 Outdoor Olympic Stadium

1992 Indoor Olympic Stadium

Olympic Telecommunications Tower

Olympic Statue


Random Montjüic park with tree pagoda


Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Closer

View from Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

A gaggle of Barcelona's younger set

Rooftops to Sea

Over The Oranges To The Harbor

The other attraction here is the Fountain of Lights but that only comes alive at night. Considering we had many tapas to try that night and remembering the universal rule of *tapas covers fountain*, we would have to see the fountain on a return trip.

Next - The Miró Museum.

BCN: Gaudí House

The house where Gaudí lived is also within Parc Guell. I was surprised by the house; I was expecting something larger. I was expecting something more grand, more ornate with more linear defying architecture. But there was none of that. Still it was interesting and I'm glad I saw it. Oh yeah, it was pink, yes, Gaudí lived in a pink house. Ick.

BCN: Parc Güell

Parc Güell - Signage
Parc Güell is a beautiful, hilly park and yet another Gaudí achitectural showcase and in fact, was where he lived for a time. The park is located in the northern neighborhood of Gracia. From La Rambla its a 4 mile hike but I highly recommend the walk, since you will see things by foot that are easy to miss otherwise.


Parc Güell - First Front House

Parc Güell - Second Front House

After passing the entrance and marveling over the two houses in the front you reach the stairs with the famous dragon fountain. It was hard to photograph the dragon fountain, apparently noone knew they were supposed to clear the area when I took out my camera. Tourists!




Parc Güell - Gaudí's Dragon Fountain

Behind the dragon fountain there is a semi circular seating area. Beautiful tile work which photos hardly do justice.


Parc Güell - Sister @ Tiled Seating Area

Behind the seating area is what I called the hall of columns. From far away the columns look white and shiny but really they are covered in light colored mosaic tiles; none of which are exactly white, they are light shades of gray, blue, yellow and pink. The entire ceiling of this area is covered in mosiac pieces, mostly looking like elaborate sun dials.



Parc Güell - Hall of Columns

On the way up to the "roof" of the Hall of Columns there is an interesting arched walkway. Asymmetric is an understatement; its almost impossible to walk through the archway without leaning to one side.



Parc Güell - Arched Walkway

Finally, on top of the Hall of Columns is the Serpentine seating. A long ribbon of mosaic tiled seating that created a huge semi circular public area. It was covered in tourists so I didnt get any really good shots.




Parc Güell - Serpentine Seating

BCN: La Boqueria

La Rambla is the big walking street in the heart of Barcelona. There are sidealks on both sides of the street with a quadruple sized sidewalk in the middle of the street, usually housing all sorts of street vendors. Its busy all hours of the day and night. And I mean Barney's annual sale kind of busy. While it can be oppressively touristy, once you know the street, you can get anywhere by foot.

One day while taversing La Rambla we came across this open ar market called La Boqueria. "Market" is an understatement considering you could have done all of your grocery shopping, had lunch, espresso, picked up a few Christmas presents and a date for Friday night.

Sister and I became daily visitors for the fresh juice stand. Sure they had fresh squeezed orange juice. But why bother with that when you can have fresh blackberry juice. Or kiwi. Or pineapple-coconut. Or mango-papaya. Or raspberry-apple. Or that crazy bright pink fruit that looks like a kiwi on the inside.


La Boqueria, Approach

La Boqueria, Closer

La Boqueria, Side

La Boqueria, Meat

La Boqueria, Fruit