Traveling to Europe from Vancouver always means arriving sometime in the morning the following day. We flew into Toronto and then grabbed our flight to Barcelona. Lana scored us an upgrade to first class with lay flat pods. Randy had never been in one before so it was quite the experience and he loved it. Uneventful flight except for late liftoff. It really was enjoyable being able to lie down and try to sleep for a good part of the flight. Normally, I am in coach.
Randy in First Class
Online pic of Barcelona with perfectly symmetrical buildings and all streets leading to Sagrada Familia.
Barcelona was warm early in the morning. Super long queues at Customs, but us Canadians got pulled from the long lines as our passports have updated bio-metrics and we can simply get our face scanned and then enter the country. Waited for our luggage and then got a taxi. Las Ramblas was chaos as there is road construction. We came to a point where we simply said to our lady taxi driver we will walk to our hotel. Lana checked google maps and the car time was another 17 mins so it was much faster walking. Our room at Le Meridien (444) was not ready yet. We were taken by the bell hop to their spa area so we could use their showers and clean up. By the time we had showered our room was ready. But we both felt 100% better after just having a shower and change of clothes.
In advance of our departure, I had researched some potential restaurants in Barcelona. One of the places was an Anthony Bourdain casual joint serving small orders. Lana found this other charcuterie recommendation from a blogger who goes to Barcelona all the time. It's a very old place that was a short walk from our hotel and in the Gothic Quarter.
Xarcuteria La Pineda
One of my favourite white wine varietals in Spain = Verdejo (Montecillo)
We ordered a few dishes. Anchovies from the Cantabrian Sea. Pork Loin (Amontillado loin head) and four types of famous acorn fed Iberian hams. Wow, these four different hams were incredible, but the price was 50 Euro for just that dish. The four hams were salamanca, Huelva, Cordoba and Extremadura. Plus, we ordered bread which was a crispy style bread with tomato.
Yep, the four types of Iberian ham (pigs are fed acorns) were 50 Euro! OK, we wanted to indulge ourselves in the best ham there is. Trust me it was worth it.... Lana says buttery, nutty, so amazing!
The Iberian ham legs that get sliced just before the meat is served. Each one of these legs is worth thousand's of dollars!
We visited
Casa Battló considered one of Gaudi's masterpieces. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Very cool even to admire from the street. In our first visit to Barcelona we had a tour inside. Tons of tourists around the area. I find Gaudi's creations to be very fanciful. Everyone taking selfies! Steady stream of tourists. We grabbed a seat in front and just relaxes and people watched. Lana loved just sitting and admiring the building--it really is an architectural wonder to behold.
Casa Battló
Casa Battló center court for light to all the apartments
We returned to our hotel as Lana is really suffering with jet lag and time change. She fell asleep on the bed for a cat nap. Upon awakening we decided to take a short walk from our hotel to
Mercado de la Boqueria where we spent some time in our last visit. Super interesting place and easy to navigate around.
Online picture of the front of the very large Market.
Lots of fresh produce, goods, meats etc. These are potatoes.
Very colourful candy.
We believe this space has transformed since our last time here. Less vegetables, produce for locals to purchase and take home to cook and more cups of fruit and packaged sliced meats and prepared meals for tourists to purchase and enjoy. The busiest stalls were sit down stools as part of bars and/or restaurants. Lots of tourists as usual. Many restaurants around the perimeter of the space.
We decided to walk to an Anthony Bourdain favourite called
La Plata. It is located in the Gothic Quarter. Many narrow streets/lanes in this very old section of Barcelona. Lana bought a shirt for herself and a shirt for Georgia at the market. We eventually made it to the small bar which is a sit-down restaurant.
Menu for La Plata. Pretty simple choices. The bartender had a menu card with pictures as well.
Interesting way to drink wine!
By this time my stomach is not good with the jet lag so not hungry at all. We did eat two dishes, drank two bottles of water and a very small glass of sweet white wine. The place was busy the entire time we were there and a few tour groups stopped by for pictures. Total cost of our meal = 16 Euros. A lot cheaper than our lunch!!!
Walked back to our hotel through the narrow side streets. It is still pretty warm outside. We are eager to get back to our hotel suite. The King-size bed was appreciated. There is a huge bathroom with a separate living room area that Lana scored by using some of her hotel upgrade nights--yayyy. Lana's bad knee has been pretty good all day so hoping that is a good omen for our vacation. Watched an American reality show about glass blowers in competition. Lights out around 21:40.
Total steps = 15,000
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