Eating our way through Barcelona
It is Sunday and we were a little worried about how to spend the day. We had read, heard, seen that in Spain a lot of things are not open on Sundays. So what does this mean for 4 Americans renting an apartment? We decided to hit the streets to find out. If anything we did have day old pastries back in the kitchen if things got desperate.First Stop: El Xampayet
We thought we would first try our luck with El Xampayet. It is a tapas bar in the Gothic quarter not to far from our apartment that was known for it's traditional Barcelona tapas and for it's Cava. If they were open what better way to start a Sunday than with Cava??
Success!
Yay! They are open and luck was working in our favor. As we got sat and started looking at the menu the mid day tapas rush arrived. By the time we reviewed the menu there were probably 10 or so different people/parties waiting for a table.
We decided to order light as we had also purchased tickets for a 1:30 entry to the Park Guell, another Gaudi designed place. So, we basically just needed a little snack to hold us over.
1 plate of tomato bread, 1 plate of white anchovies, 1 plate of the house specialty anchovies and one great plate of chorizo salumi and we were all set.
Both the white and house anchovies were very good. The white were done in the traditional Spanish style of chopped onions and pickles on top. The house specialty were light and done in a paprika/oil blend.
We discovered that chorizo is different in Spain than what we see from Mexico. The Spanish version is made with pork, garlic and sweet paprika while the Mexico version is made with chili pepper and vinegar. The makes the Spain version less spicy but more flavorful. They also serve it more like salumi where is it hard and then thinly sliced.
Wait! Did i say we were all set after ordering those items?? Well we were, until the table next to us ordered peppadews stuffed with goat cheese.
They looked so good, we just had to get them. THEY WERE SO GOOD!!!! As Tari said they were little smears of heaven. Even Kelly who normally stays away from the peppers couldn't help herself.
By the look of these smiles.... first stop was definitely a success!
You Can Take the American out of the States.....
As a general rule, our group is normally pretty good at not being "those" type of Americans where we sit plugged into our phones while on vacation or enjoying a restaurant. This is probably one of the only times you will see this.....but we had more tapas places to find!
Funday = Park Day.....But Wait!
That morning we decided to spend some time at Park Guell as it was open on Sundays, it was a sunny warm day, and it was either this or try to eat our way through Barcelona with the places that were open.
We get to the park a little early as we took a taxi and traffic was better than expected. We had a great taxi driver! He used to play American Football and was a big Seahawk fan much to Jamie and Kelly's pleasure and Duane's disdain (silly Packer fan).
For non Barcelona residents you must purchase tickets to gain entry to the park. Duane went online before we left the apartment this morning to purchase a 1:30 entry time for today.... or did he??
Side Note: One of the nice things about traveling with this four some is we get along so well. Funny thing is that Jamie and Tari are similar in personalities and likes. (they both could eat their weight in crab) while Duane and Kelly tend to be more alike. More often then not, Jamie and Tari are finding some way to make fun of something Duane or Kelly did/said. It has led to Duane and Kelly dubbing them "Crab Eaters"
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| The Crab Eaters....Jamie and Tari |
To kill a little time we wondered around the open spaces of the park, took in some live music and then got in line for our 1:30 entry time.....only to discover that yes, we had a 1:30 entry time but for Monday... not Sunday!
So...back to eating our way through Barcelona we go!
Rambla and More Tapas
Since the park got moved to tomorrow, we decided we would see what was happening on the Rambla. The Rambla is like the Champs Elysees or 5th Ave in New York.... it is a tree lined street with an open middle area for pedestrians and shops on either side.
It makes for some good shopping and great people watching.
It makes for some good shopping and great people watching.
One of the surprises along the Rambla was the number of flower/garden booths you walked by. The flowers were very pretty. Along with the typical small bouquets you normally can purchase at a flower stall places were also selling funeral and wedding flowers.
Food Stop #3 - Cafe de la Opera
After walking the Rambla we decided to stop for a beverage at one of the cafe's our guide, Nicole, had mentioned the other day. Cafe de La Opera had some outdoor seating in the shade, so we parked ourselves.
The drink she recommended was the Sangria de Cava. It was similar to typical Sangria but not as sweet since it was mixed with Cava.
The drink was quite refreshing! It also had quite a bit of wine and alcohol in it...hence the pictures you are viewing now. The great debate centered around how strong the drinks were. Tari and Kelly swore they were not strong at all and Duane thought they were VERY strong.
This is what happens when you leave us with large drinks, an outdoor table and good friends..
Time for more food! After starting our drinks, we thought some tapas to go along with it would be a good idea. We ordered the Pinxos K option. Basically the seafood option. They were small bites but all very good and again typical of Spain. We had croquettes, octopus, shrimp with garlic, sardines, and anchovies.
The "Mean" Streets of Barcelona
After enjoying our beverages at Cafe de la Opera we decided to make our way back to the apartment, however got side tracked along the way.
The Guys got side tracked by one of the main cigar shops down by the Rambla. There were quite a few goodies for the to choose from.
Food Stop #4
So we had dinner reservations for a normal Spanish dinner time at 9:30. Why are we eating again before that?? I really cannot say except for it just seemed to happen.
For stop #4 we stopped at a place not to far down from the handbag store, called Mil Griito's. It had one of our favorite oldies but goodies, Montecillo Roja wine. It was still as good as we remembered.
The menu was set up similar to when you order sushi.The table was given a pencil and order form and we wrote the quantity of what we wanted.
They had some very interesting Tapas options. The one in the bowl below is lacquered pork (bacon) with cheese ice cream and sea asparagus.
We also ordered what is being one of our staples, croquettes.
Finally! Dinner Time!
Even though it looks and feels like all we did was eat today, we still had dinner to go. We took a taxi down to the beach to have dinner at Marina Bay. They focused on seafood.
We started out with salads. Duane and Kelly both got what they thought was a small Caesar salad..it had chicken and was anything but small.
Jamie ordered an octopus salad that was more in line with what we expected the salads to be like
Tari ordered a goat cheese salad, that was more in line with what Duane and Kelly had for their Caesars.
More Good Wine!
Kelly ordered the Turbot fish for her main meal. It came out as a full fish that our server plated up for her as well as some oven baked potatoes. It was very well prepared.
Tari and Duane ordered the paella for two, which came out in a pan for eight.
One can never have to much paella, right Tari?
As Jamie said at some point during the day "Stop putting food in front of my face!!" The day had to come to an end but not before one final Irish coffee and cappuccinos.
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