Wednesday
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| Early morning view from our terrace |
Today we visited Park Guell to see some more of Gaudi's masterpieces. We caught a tube and then had a bit of a walk to get to the park. I found it fascinating that there were escalators going up the hill.
We had a lovely wander around the park, because we got there early we largely beat the crowds. It was getting a bit crowded as we left.
We then caught a bus down-town, stopping for coffee, pastries and a play for Issy along the way. Tried the cafe con leche again... still disappointing! We made our way to Ciutadella Park, where Rox and Jon took Issy to the zoo (which she apparently loved) and Paula, Grant and I spent some time hanging out near the amazing fountain (and a mammoth!) before making our way home via the Arc de Triomphe.
We stopped in at this gorgeous bakery near our apartment to grab a bite to eat... thank goodness I don't live here, I'd be the size of the mammoth!
We had a long siesta before Grant, Paula and I headed out for our food tour with Barcelona Taste.
Our food tour was a lot of fun. It was the three of us with 4 American ladies and our guide was Tito. We started off at a cheese shop (Formatgeria la Seu) where we sampled some truly delicious cheeses and enjoyed a glass of wine.
Then it was off to a restaurant for some lovely tapas dishes and a couple of drinks (and from here on out the drinks clearly went to my head because I cannot recall a single restaurant's name.... ) . Paula and I tried our first Vermouth which, surprisingly, we both really loved. The tapas included chorizio, pork cheeks (which, again surprisingly, was my favourite dish of the night), tortilla, patatas bravas, salad rusa and rabbit. Yeah... rabbit. Paula and I have decided to not be vegetarians overseas, but even so... the rabbit was pushing the envelope a bit. I had the tiniest mouthful and Paula didn't even go there.
We then went to another cute restaurant where we had a gorgeous salad, some delicious char-grilled vegetables (couldn't get over how they made humble vegetables taste soooo good by cooking them so simply), potatoes with Romanesco sauce and sausage pinchos, all served with a variety of drinks to choose from. What made the evening particularly special was the conversation. One would think it would be awkward, sitting sharing a meal with a group of strangers, but it wasn't at all. Our guide, Tito, was lovely, sharing information about the foods of the region and life in Catalonia, and the American ladies were very friendly. So by this point of the evening we were chatting away quite happily.
Finally it was off to a bodega where we enjoyed amazing desserts and a choice of wines. I had Cava, Paula had a muscadel and Grant had beer. The desserts were: trio of chocolate - chocolate mousse with salt and olive oil (which sounds seriously weird, but was to-die-for) chocolate truffles and chocolate ice-cream - strawberry on a pastry base with mascarpone, a cheese covered in honey and toasted walnuts and finally a french toast-type of dessert. They were all utterly delicious. Our tour ended after dessert, but we finished up in a 70s style bar with the American ladies, before making our (slightly tipsy!) way home.
As we were walking from the tube station to our apartment Grant said that he was glad Paula and I had stopped being "hunny-buggers" while in Barcelona... He meant "bunny-huggers", he was referring to the fact that we were eating meat.... well the hunny-bugger thing tickled Paula and I and we literally cried with laughter! A very happy evening in more ways than one!!
We had a lovely wander around the park, because we got there early we largely beat the crowds. It was getting a bit crowded as we left.
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| This pic of Issy just cracks me up.... all she saw all morning was all of us taking photos..... so she got herself an imaginary camera and joined in too....!! |
We then caught a bus down-town, stopping for coffee, pastries and a play for Issy along the way. Tried the cafe con leche again... still disappointing! We made our way to Ciutadella Park, where Rox and Jon took Issy to the zoo (which she apparently loved) and Paula, Grant and I spent some time hanging out near the amazing fountain (and a mammoth!) before making our way home via the Arc de Triomphe.
We stopped in at this gorgeous bakery near our apartment to grab a bite to eat... thank goodness I don't live here, I'd be the size of the mammoth!
We had a long siesta before Grant, Paula and I headed out for our food tour with Barcelona Taste.
Our food tour was a lot of fun. It was the three of us with 4 American ladies and our guide was Tito. We started off at a cheese shop (Formatgeria la Seu) where we sampled some truly delicious cheeses and enjoyed a glass of wine.
Then it was off to a restaurant for some lovely tapas dishes and a couple of drinks (and from here on out the drinks clearly went to my head because I cannot recall a single restaurant's name.... ) . Paula and I tried our first Vermouth which, surprisingly, we both really loved. The tapas included chorizio, pork cheeks (which, again surprisingly, was my favourite dish of the night), tortilla, patatas bravas, salad rusa and rabbit. Yeah... rabbit. Paula and I have decided to not be vegetarians overseas, but even so... the rabbit was pushing the envelope a bit. I had the tiniest mouthful and Paula didn't even go there.
We then went to another cute restaurant where we had a gorgeous salad, some delicious char-grilled vegetables (couldn't get over how they made humble vegetables taste soooo good by cooking them so simply), potatoes with Romanesco sauce and sausage pinchos, all served with a variety of drinks to choose from. What made the evening particularly special was the conversation. One would think it would be awkward, sitting sharing a meal with a group of strangers, but it wasn't at all. Our guide, Tito, was lovely, sharing information about the foods of the region and life in Catalonia, and the American ladies were very friendly. So by this point of the evening we were chatting away quite happily.
Finally it was off to a bodega where we enjoyed amazing desserts and a choice of wines. I had Cava, Paula had a muscadel and Grant had beer. The desserts were: trio of chocolate - chocolate mousse with salt and olive oil (which sounds seriously weird, but was to-die-for) chocolate truffles and chocolate ice-cream - strawberry on a pastry base with mascarpone, a cheese covered in honey and toasted walnuts and finally a french toast-type of dessert. They were all utterly delicious. Our tour ended after dessert, but we finished up in a 70s style bar with the American ladies, before making our (slightly tipsy!) way home.
As we were walking from the tube station to our apartment Grant said that he was glad Paula and I had stopped being "hunny-buggers" while in Barcelona... He meant "bunny-huggers", he was referring to the fact that we were eating meat.... well the hunny-bugger thing tickled Paula and I and we literally cried with laughter! A very happy evening in more ways than one!!
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