Barcelona (Days 3 and 4)

So on day 3, the top of the to-do list was visiting the Palau de la Musica Orfeo Catala. This absolutely gorgeous Moderniste masterpiece was designed by Domenech i Montaner in 1908. The exterior is extraordinary, but the interior is awe-inspiring. Wagner's valkyries, a giant bust of Beethoven, an inverted stained glass cupola...I've never seen anything like it.

Following our tour of the Palau, we headed for the Born Ribera. Just past the tiny 12th Century Marcus Chapel, we found the Picasso Museum, housed in 6 former palaces. (No photos allowed. Sorry.) We spent some time with Picasso, and then wandered through the Barri de Sant Pere some more. Thanks to Frommer's Great Walks of Barcelona, we found small churches, former homes of textile barons, examples of sgraffito designs on buildings, and Farmacia Padrell, the oldest pharmacy in Barcelona - founded in 1562.

We'd seen the Santa Caterina market at a distance the day before, but I wanted to get a closer look. It was sort of like the Essex Street Market on the lower East Side--lots of meat and produce, as well as some dining areas. The roof is covered with brightly colored tiles, though this isn't the best photo. It's cute of Eddie, though. :)

By this time, we were starving, so we headed back to La Rambla. But we couldn't seem to find any place that looked good to us. Fortunately, Ed's Pfizer colleague and Frommer's had both recommended Cal Pep, a tiny tapas place near the Placa del Palau. So we hung a left at Christopher Columbus and went on the hunt.

It was a bit of a hike, and we didn't have a good map. I tried asking directions at a bodega, but to no avail. The Barcelonans are incredibly friendly, but I don't think he had any idea what I was asking him. We managed to find it, though, and after a bit of a wait (there are 18 seats in total), we had a great tapas lunch and followed by a signature dessert. 

After lunch, we headed across the square to a little Irish pub called the Lennox Bar. It had a Guinness sign out front, and on this trip, that was enough to get us to visit. We had a beer there and decided to pub-crawl our way home. So mapless, we wandered the streets, heading in the general direction of the Casa Fuster. We managed to find Flaherty's (another Guinness sign), which was one of the bars that had been on our soccer-watching list. It was quiet when we arrived, but once the bachelor party showed up, complete with groom-dressed-as-baby-in-footie-pajamas, we figured we'd head out. Our final stop was the London Tavern (Guinness sign!), where we sat at the bar and watched 80s videos I haven't seen in about 30 years. A nightcap at the hotel bar, and we were done for the night.

Day four was all about soccer. Or football, since we were in Spain. The top of Ed's to-do list was touring Camp Nou, the home of the Barcelona football club. Saturday was the nicest weather day we had - the high was supposed to get into the high 50s or low 60s, so we decided to walk the 4 kilometers from the hotel. 

98,000 seats

Happy pilgrim. :)

They even have a chapel in the stadium.

A really bad photo of the first cup Barcelona ever won

By the time we'd spent a couple of hours at Camp Nou, we were exhausted, so we cabbed it back to the hotel. After a quick rest, it was time for lunch. We tried to get into Bar Mut again, but to no avail. They were booked solid. We found a little place called Clare's (there should be an accent on that e) and had a great lunch sitting in the window, watching the world go by. This is a really good wine, by the way, if you can find it here.

Casa Mila, aka La Pedrera, was only a few blocks away, and we had time to kill so we decided to check it out. I'm so glad we did. As impressive as it is from the outside (see Day 1), the inside and the courtyards are stunning. Everything is so colorful! We were able to explore a period apartment, as well as interior courtyards...

...and the roof (don't those chimney tops look like Stormtroopers??)

The two tiled arches frame the two most famous churches in the area. The Sagrada Familia (that photo wasn't good) and Sagrada Cor on Mount Tibidabo (below).

Broken wine bottles as ornamentation

Vaulted ceilings

And my favorite space of all

The second thing on the soccer/football to-do list was an actual game. Since Barca was out of town, we decided to try for tickets to see Espanyol. So after rushing back to the hotel to layer up (I didn't bring my winter coat, and I've been to night games before), we hopped in a cab and headed to "Campo del Espanyol". We got great seats, and we got to see them win for the first time in 2016.

The stadium only holds 40,500 people and it was by no means full, but it was the loudest stadium I've ever experienced. And you can smoke in there! 

The problem with taking a cab to a game is finding one to take you home. I had screen-shot the subway instructions we needed to be able to get home on the metro, but I hadn't thought to map out how to get to the station. So we did what New Yorkers do - we followed the crowd, assuming they were all headed to public transportation. Not so much. We ended up first in a motorcycle/Vespa parking lot, and then in a dark dead end car parking lot. After wandering around completely at a loss for about 30 minutes, we ran into a guy who told us the metro was too far away and to go back to the stadium and "turn left" to find a cab. Which, amazingly, worked! As soon as we got back to the stadium, the cops opened up the streets and an open cab magically appeared. One or both of our guardian angels must have been keeping an eye out. 

After we got back to Casa Fuster, we went off in search of dinner. (Wandering and searching seem to be a theme with us. We either need to plan better or I need to buy a thesaurus. Probably the latter.) We walked up the Passeig de Gracia, looking into windows, finding lots of sushi places, strangely enough, and finally found the Bou Cafe. Ed's jamon iberica sandwich was perfection; my mushroom croquettas were good but nowhere near as amazing. But the food was hot and filling, and the waitress was charming. She gave us an aperitivo that was the nectar of the gods. I wish I'd made her write the name of it so that I had some idea what it's actually called. The bottle came from her fridge, and it had no label. It had something to do with "oro", but even after asking her three times what it was called, I was still ignorant. Like the bay leaf aperitivo we had in Italy (that I'm still kicking myself for not buying a case of), I have a feeling I'll be regretting the not-asking for years to come. 

Thus ended our lovely four-day trip. We loved Barcelona and are definitely planning a return trip. Ed told his dad that Barcelona is in his top 3 cities in the world. I agree completely.

Barcelona!! (Days one and two)

We finally made it! Barcelona is a beautiful city, and mid-February is a great time to visit. The weather was a little cool, but the lines for everything were really manageable. The Rambla was crowded, but we got into restaurants and attractions with little issue. Fortunately, we didn't wait till the following week--on Sunday as we were leaving, 100,000 members of the Mobile World Congress were descending on the city. It was a bustling city before--I can't even imagine what adding 100,000 tourists would do. Ed and I pretty much decided we'll never visit during peak season.

We took the red eye over on Tuesday night, arriving on Wednesday morning and heading straight to Hotel Casa Fuster. A Domenech i Montaner designed building, this is the best hotel I've ever stayed in. The service was exemplary, and the people were incredibly friendly. It's right on the Passeig de Gracia, so it's a convenient location for wandering yet far enough from the crowds to seem quiet. Plus, it's just up the street from several Gaudi buildings.

 

Our first outing in the city was to visit Park Guell. (You pronounce it "Gway" - Catalan is HARD!) The exterior part of the park is open to the public, but if you want to see the Gaudi stuff, you have to pay 8 Euro for a ticket. The line was a bit long - we got there at 1ish and the earliest tickets we could get were for 2pm. So plan ahead. But it's totally worth it.

By this time, I was starving, so we went off in search of food. We found a little shop that served sandwiches (Tortilla Espanola on fresh baguette with an Estrella? Yes, please!!) And then it was nap time. 

On Wednesday night, Barcelona was playing (though not at home), so we wandered off in search of a local bar to watch the game. We wanted to find a place where we'd be surrounded by crazy local fans. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find the equivalent of a sports bar in Barcelona. We wandered down La Rambla, thinking that was our best option. We finally found Hogan's--thank heavens for Guinness signs--in time to watch the last half. (Note to self--even if you hate Suarez, don't cheer against him when in Barcelona. Oops!) There weren't really any fun/loud fans at Hogan's, so we went off to find a new place to watch the Real Madrid game. We'd heard good things about a place called 7 Sins, but no go. She wasn't showing the game. And had no recommendations for us. So we ended up stumbling onto a place called Grizzly 72. Apparently, they have naked karaoke on Saturday nights, if you're into things like that. By the time the game was over, we were done for, so we headed home.

Thursday morning, I had made (I thought) a reservation for us to take a guided tour of Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece, a basilica that has been under construction since 1882. It was at the top of my to-do list for the trip and the only place I wanted an official tour guide for. We headed down Passeig de Gracia, stopping for a cornetto and cafe con leche on the way. The tour, sponsored by Barcelona Turisme, meets at Placa Catalunya at 10am. Apparently I was so enthusiastic about the tour, I had us there a day early. Fortunately, they had room on the bus and allowed us to jump on. The group was small - about 10 people total, and our tour guide, Dani, was phenomenal. The tour bus goes past Casa Batllo and La Pedrera along the way, so we got a little insight into those two buildings as well. (More on La Pedrera later...)

The building to the left of Casa Batllo below is Casa Amatller, the most famous building by another Moderniste master, Josep Puig i Cadafalch. This block is known as the Manzana de la Discordia or Apple of Discord and is home to building by all three of the Moderniste masters. (Domenech i Montaner's Casa Lleo Morera isn't in the photo.) 

La Pedrera, aka Casa Mila

So finally, Sagrada Familia. The building's construction began in 1882 and is supposed to be completed by 2026. Then the cleaning and restoration will commence, and the basilica will be able to be seen in its full glory in 2060 or 2070. I don't imagine I'll see that. But it was fun to take the tour with Dani, who hadn't given a tour in over a month and couldn't stop exclaiming about all the changes that had occurred. The towers were visibly taller. 

The "sunrise" side of the basilica, which has scenes from the early life of Christ.

Even though the building was designed by Gaudi, he left room for other architects to put their own stamp on things. After all, it has been under construction for over 130 years. For example, this door which was created by a Japanese architect:

Closer detail from one of the doors. He keeps with Gaudi's theme of life and nature on the sunrise side but creates something his own.

The interior--pillars that are reminiscent of trees, arches that are bird-like--highlight Gaudi's dedication to nature as the ultimate architect.

Much of the stained glass was just added within the last few months. It's mostly blues and greens on the sunrise side, and yellows, oranges and reds on the sunset side.

The "sunset" side of the basilica shows scenes from the passion and death of Christ. The sculptures are angular, stark, modern, and there's almost nothing from nature at all, unless it's representational, like the snake below.

We spent several hours exploring the basilica, the museum beneath it, and the schoolhouse that Gaudi designed for the workmen's children. That last is just a reproduction as the original was burned by anarchists.

Once the tour was over, we decided to wander back toward our hotel. Thank heaven Ed has a good sense of direction. I had no idea which way to go, though I did recognize some buildings eventually, which confirmed that we were actually headed in the right direction. 

Lunch, at the suggestion of a Pfizer colleague of Ed's, was at Paco Meralgo. We had our first glass of cava and several plates of tapas to get us through the rest of the afternoon. After lunch, we figured we'd head toward the Palau de Musica Catalana, but we were too late for the last English tour of the day. So we used my 24 Great Walks of Barcelona book to do a little exploring in the Barri de Sant Pere. (Walk #6) Which, of course, required a stop at Picasso, Gaudi and company's favorite cafe, Els 4 Gats for a little sustenance. 

The building was designed by Puig i Cadafalch and the facade is really something. I thought I had a photo, but I guess not...

One of my favorite things to do in any city is wander the streets and see what we find. We happened upon the Cathedral at one point that afternoon. It's Europe's darkest cathedral, according to the guidebooks. (Not the best description to get you to drop 7 Euro just to enter.) 

But sometimes wandering gets you exactly where you'd wanted to be without your knowing it. Ed, again on the advice of his friend, wanted to visit "the espadrille store". Not that he knew what espadrilles were. So as we were wandering down one of the many old streets, I happened to see a window filled with them. "Here, honey. These are espadrilles." Which happened to be in the window of the very store he'd been searching for. So in we went to buy espadrilles. :) They've been making them on the spot since 1973, and I watched one of the women as she stitched a tiny pair of children's shoes. 

After all that wandering (and the jet lag), we needed a nap. So we headed back to Casa Fuster. The concierge had been able to get us a reservation at Bar Mut (another Pfizer attorney recommendation) for dinner that night at 8:15. This was far and away my favorite meal of the trip. Because I'm not one of those people who takes pictures of food, I could never remember to do it this time. So you'll just have to imagine the scallops in parmesan sauce, followed by an endive salad with burrata, pine nuts, and tomatoes, then an egg yolk carpaccio with shrimp topped with crispy curlicue strings of potatoes, and finally a filet of pork with roasted vegetables that was almost more than we could handle. But of course we also had to have dessert. Torreja, which I'd never had before but has jumped to the top of my list of things to order whenever I can find it. We sat at the bar, which was great entertainment. We had spectators...Say hello to the stone fish...

...and entertainment in the form of some razor clams which spent the dinner freaking me out by oozing in and out of their shells as we ate. At first, I thought I was losing my mind, seeing things moving out of the corner of my eye. But no--the seafood is just that fresh!

After dinner, we headed across the street to Stingers, where they serve a bar mix with gummy bears.

Then off to bed.

Tune in later for days 3 and 4...