La Boqueria
This market is the one that you would give anything to have access to at home. Every cut of meat imaginable (including those of the phallic variety), a bounty of good seafood, fruit, veggies, eggs from at least ten different animals. Nix wanders through places like this repeating and repeating*, "what I'd give to have access to this at home".
Whilst wandering through we stopped in at Bar Pinotxos for a plate of chickpeas cooked with blood sausage and pine nuts that was simple yet delicious, dragonfruit and coconut, and papaya and coconut juices, and a cone of €2 jamon offcuts.
La Rambla
I'd been promised so much by La Rambla but was let down so cruelly. I was promised street performer upon street performer and heaps of strange pets for sale (I was going to buy a chinchilla that could've been our mascot for the rest of our trip) but there were only a handful of street performers and zero pets for sale. The rain didn't help the first day but even when we returned on Friday, and the sun was shining, things were still disappointing.
Gaudi
Gaudi's work and influence are dotted all around the city which makes for a place that immediately catches you up in its sense of whimsy.
Unfortunately it will still be a while yet until his greatest masterpiece (Sagrada Familia) will be completed. It's a spectacular sight right now, it will be out of this world once it's finished.
The Eating
As is everywhere in Spain, Barcelona is a food paradise.
Quimet & Quimet
This joint specialises in little open sandwiches with a mind boggling array of toppings on offer. We went for the salmon with yoghurt and truffle honey, scallops with caviar, and tuna belly with sea urchin roe. All deliciously decadent but the salmon shone brightest. For the first time in our lives we felt that truffles imparted something worthwhile to a dish. We also tried some tuna jerky (mojama) which was rather interesting.
la plata
This place is very old school and just serves a few different plates and a few different drinks. We opted for some fried sardines, a salad and the ubiquitous Barcelonian tomato and garlic bread. Traditional, classic, good. House wine from a cask behind the bar never gets old either.
Can Paixano
Pirnils (which are closer to an English bacon butty than our Queen over in Porto) and cheap as chips bottles of cava (the regional speciality sparkling wine). We won't say no to that. Who would?
El Xampanyet
Again, more cheap as chips house made cava. First time round here we just had a couple of glasses but after seeing some of the amazing food that was coming out of the kitchen had to return.
Upon returning we had a plate of caracoles (snails) that were cooked in their shells in a garlicky, herb rich oil, some big meaty anchovies and finished off with a mixed plate of sweet biscuit things with a communal glass of sweet dessert wine.
Two words of warning for anyone that heads there. Order "dos casa cava" to ensure that you get the house cava, order "dos cava" and they'll give you the expensive, not in cool glasses stuff. And pay as you go to avoid any rude shocks at the end of your meal.
La Cova Fumada
We trudged through the cold and wet for cap i pota (a super gelatinous almost gummy stew made with various pig bits) and bombas (fried mashed potato balls with a bit of mince inside). Not bad but no need to have again.
Fromatgerie La Seu
Sometimes we end up in a place that I think "gee Nix, you've outdone yourself here". A pretty random little cheese shop that we stopped in to for a tasting of three regional cheeses and a glass of red. The girl does love her cheese.
The Drinking
Because you need to do something in between the eating.
BierCAB for Cutie
This place is a beer geek's wet dream. Two screens up behind the bar show what's on tap, where it's from, the beer's style, its ABV, IBUs. Across the 20 or so taps there is essentially no filler and that's without looking at the fridges. There are only two but they're full of quality. Belgian sours, bottles of Fantôme that we didn't even see in Belgium, a few rare Americans and some good Scandinavian stuff. As I said, beer geek's wet dream.
Morro Fi
Locally made vermouth with a slice of orange and an olive. The concept didn't really appeal to me at first but it's very, very more-ish. The disappointment comes from the fact that it's only supposed to be an aperitif and that you should only stop in for the one.
Horchata
Ever since I've known Nix she's told me about the joys of horchata, a traditional Spanish beverage made from tigernuts (which are similar to almonds). I was sceptical but wrongly so. It has a lovely grainy texture to it and a beautiful nutty taste and would be a great thirst quencher on those searing Spanish afternoons. Maybe pre-siesta.
We had great horchata from both Horchateria Sirvent and La Valenciana.
Nomad Coffee
Coffee as good as you'll find anywhere and made with as much care and thoughtfulness as you'll struggle to find anywhere else. Nix had a couple of life changing cortados (which is the Spanish equivalent of a macchiatto only better) and me two expertly prepared espressos.
That was two full days in Barcelona. The amount that we walked, ate and drank was pretty impressive, even by our standards.
*and repeating and repeating and repeating and repeating and.......
