Barcelona - 3 days was not enough
We can all agree that fresh delicious food makes you happy. Here at Barcelona's la boqueria mercat you will be as happy as an Iberian pig in...you know the rest. We loved this market. It's full of colour, offers an amazing choice of fresh produce, is buzzing with atmosphere, has tapas and pintxo bars to stop and eat the fresh seafoods, smells incredible and is situated smack bang in the middle of La Rambla, the most famous promenade in Barcelona.
Our stay in Spain was limited but we managed to see and eat a lot during our 3 days in this exciting city. We chose Barcelona as our next destination from America purely because of the cheap flights from Norwegian Air ($260US each) and we had never been here before. We didn't have a house sit but we knew we'd have more opportunities in Europe so off we went into the deep end. We thought we were so clever until we arrived and we couldn't understand a word. We laughed as we looked for the bus stop (google told us it was way cheaper than a taxi and easy to use). We found lots of bus stops but where were they going? We tried to read the signs but had no idea what they said and without internet our translate apps were useless! After almost an hour a clever taxi pulled up and said "Barcelona City?" to which we replied "no, too expensive". He said "$25 euros". We did the math and realised we could be here all night, losing our hotel reservation and another night's sleep after flying through the night, figured we'd save money some other way and jumped in the cab. He kindly put his cigarette out for us and off we went like a rocket zooming through the streets like his $25 Euros was suddenly a challenge that had never before been attempted!
We arrived at the hotel, alive, and thankfully had a very helpful receptionist who spoke English. He gave us maps and tips on where to go and what to see so off we went to get something to eat. That's when the next cultural experience began. You see in Spain people don't eat main meals when we want to eat them. It was 6.30pm on Sunday night and all the cafe's and bars were full of people drinking coffee and beer. Croissants and pastries were available at all the eateries but we needed more. We walked into a busy restaurant, picked up a menu and pointed to the pictures of paella and pasta. The lovely waitress spoke many words of which we had no idea, we thanked her and walked out wondering what she said and how are we going to work all of this out!
Assuming no cooking is done on a Sunday night, I mean isn't that why everyone is drinking and eating pastries?, we walk on past many full bars until we decide croissants will be perfect for dinner. We enter Bracafe and ask bravely if we can eat a meal. The waitress speaks a little English and thankfully says "yes". We feel almost disrespectful making chef cook at such an early time (people eat much later here) but we order the paella anyway. It was delicious and just what you expect from Spain and in a few minutes it was gone. The waitress brought over a basket of bread and was surprised we had finished the dish so quickly. We were yet to learn the art of slowly enjoying the ingredients that nature had taken time to grow and chef had given love to cook but we had woofed down without truly appreciating either efforts. We couldn't help it, it was amazing and so was the bread. We then decided we'd be all Barcelonian and ordered coffee and croissants which were also amazing and woofed down with a little more thought.
The next day we decided to sight see. The architecture here is fascinating. Whether you're into buildings or not you can't help but notice the difference in design and craftsmanship from hundreds of years ago to today. There's many websites you can search for all the must see buildings and in 3 days we could't see them all but by just walking a few blocks in any direction you are sure to see so much history and design in every street you walk. We didn't have a car here and I suggest not to get one as driving the small one way streets would not be easy for tourists. Walking or cycling is the way to get around with many stops to rest, eat and drink.
Our hotel was in the residential area of Fort Pienc. This was great because it wasn't touristy yet walking distance to all the action. The weather was also on our side - sunny, dry and cool. You never know what to expect from a new city and it was exciting to see a protest march from the Arc de Triomf to Parliament of Catalonia. Although we kept a safe distance from the enormous crowd donning Catalonian flags and masks of their leader, Carles Puigdemont, the significant police presence makes you feel both safe and a little nervous. Still it all adds to the adventure and you just keep walking to see what happens next.
The beach and marina were our next stops. Although it is winter the beach front is still a hive of activity with tourists and locals riding bikes along the dedicated paths, paddle boarders skimming across the calm blue water, and lovers enjoying the sunshine in a quiet moment away from the crowds. What opened our eyes were the gorgeous oldies gathering at the sports club that sits along the beach in Barceloneta. The men were playing what appeared to be dominoes while drinking beers in the sun. The women had just been for a swim and were drying off naked along our path. It was quite the sight and what was seen can now not be unseen but we were in their town and how wonderfully free it is.
Further along to the marina there are more sights to keep you amused. Apart from the luxury cruise ships, fancy restaurants and museums, you will find African traders selling their presumably fake bags and shoes and other tourist appealing items. I feel for these hard working people who display their wares fastidiously presented on laid out sheets to no doubt wrap and pick up quickly should the need to move on arise. It's very tempting to buy the goods but as I don't know the law here I would rather just window shop.
There's so much to see in Barcelona even if like us you just spend the time walking the streets. I could go on and on but I must leave some memories for you to make. Put Barcelona on your bucket list, you'll love it!
#Back for more tapas
#Skip the car
#Go walk your legs off