My preconceptions of this city were only that it was the pickpocketing capital of Europe and that there would be a lot of ridiculous mime artists. Only one of those things was proven to be true - the mime artists really are insane!
We ('we' being myself and my fella) arrived in Barcelona on Friday afternoon and checked into our hotel - the Hotel 1898. It was situated on Las Ramblas, which is a promenade just over a kilometre long that cuts through the core of the city centre. Along this boulevard are little cafes and shops as well as the countless mime artists who pose for tourists. One of the strangest "artists" we saw was a man dressed as a baby in a big square crib... very odd! It's certainly a lively street though and well worth a wander. There is also the busy 'Boqueria' market, which sells fruits, vegetables, sweets, nuts, fish and meats. It is a brightly coloured mish mash of fresh produce and their various smells. It is definitely a must see for tourists visiting the city.
At the southern end of the ramblas is Port Vell, where we found a tapas bar called "Tapa Tapa". It served a variety of tapas and we munched our way through a salmon tartare dish, a plate of patatas bravas, cheesy croquettes, mini burgers and a caesar salad that even converted my vegetable-hating boyfriend! I also made the mistake of ordering the most potent Caipirinha (cocktail made with cachaca) ever. Sitting by the sea with good food, drink and of course company is very relaxing and a must when visiting Barcelona.
Unfortunately that night it rained hard angry bullets of rain and as James and I scampered through the side streets of El Raval we quickly became both wet and frustrated. The restuarant we wanted didn't seem to exist and to find somewhere dry we settled for the worst of the city's eateries (this is of course the title we gave it after sampling its wares). It's name was Tapas Gaudi and it was horrible. The food was overpriced and oversalted and the door was left open so cold drafts kept coming in. Poor Gaudi is probably turning in his grave to know that such a shit hole is being named after him.
Fortunately for us our beautiful hotel has a spa facility with a gorgeous hydro-pool, sauna and steam room. We took full advantage of it and highly reccommend it to you should you choose to visit Barcelona. It's worth the extra pennies.
Saturday morning after relaxing in the spa we set out to venture north of Las Ramblas. We stumbled upon a cute cafe called Bracafe in which we ate breakfast (melt in the mouth croissants, coffee and a 'batido' - a type of smoothie) for under ten euros. Then we visited the famous Sagrada Familia - Antoni Gaudi's amazing cathedral, which has been under construction since 1882.
This amazing building is worth the queue which actually seems to move pretty quickly when you're ogeling at the sheer genius of Gaudi's imagination (manifest in the shapes and aesthetics of this triumphant building). Carvings and patterns in the Passion Facade are incredible and generate well-deserved awe from onlookers. Inside, the stained glass windows take your breath away as the light pours through. There is something joyful about them. For those who venture up the tower (in a tiny lift for 2 Euros 50 cents more) keep in mind the height! If you suffer vertigo like my partner then don’t do it! If not then soak up the feeling – a thrill so great it’s almost unbearable. Look at the stunning views, close ups of Gaudi’s nature inspired towers and slices of Spain sneaking through slit stone windows.
After this we walked across to Palau Robert and down Passe de Gracia where we ate lunch at a tapas restaurant called Txapela. This was wonderful although we both learnt how strong the sangria is as we found ourselves accidentally drunk at 3pm on a Saturday! Then we continued walking past some more Gaudi buildings to the Plaza Catalunya, which is just north of the ramblas and has two beautiful fountains. That night we had cava in the hotel bar before crossing to The Attic – a wonderful orange restaurant that gave us a complimentary Kir Royale on arrival and served tasty food including cannelloni, asparagus tempura, sardines on toast and ox burger with home-made chips and sauces. Yummy!
On Sunday after yet another spa session we walked down Las Ramblas and into the Barri Gotic quarter. There we visited the cathedral La Seu, which literally brought me close to tears with its magnificence. The choir were singing and people crossed themselves as they left. We then had breakfast at a nearby cafe called Cafe d’en Victor. We got coffee, tea, a croissant and a donut for the tiny price of 5 Euros. Bargain. Then we had a look around the small art gallery opposite the cafe and explored more of the poky streets. For 4 Euros 30 cents each we had a look around the museum of chocolate (the tickets were chocolate bars). This space shows off chocolate artworks and facilitates chocolate making lessons for the city’s youngsters.
That night we walked up to the Rambla Catalunya to a bar called Da Luca where we were served a cava, a beer and complimentary kiwi fruit for 9 Euros. After this we headed to Tuset and from that onto the Ptge D’Arcadia where we found the infamous Flash Flash restaurant. This quirky and originally decorated place serves tortillas (which are actually omelettes) for a very reasonable price.
On Monday morning it was time to go so after a stroll down Las Ramblas one last time we found a cafe for breakfast. It is called Escriba and it specialises in chocolate. Famous clients include Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello who both had chocolate F1 themed gifts made for them. For fewer than ten Euros we had croissants and hot chocolate before setting off to the airport. The one place we noticed that we hadn’t and probably should have visited (among many of course) was the Museum d’Erotica, which I’m sure would have been a giggle. Other than that I think we really made the most of a great weekend in a beautiful city that I highly recommend you visit at least once in your lifetime.
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