Barcelona

This is the Ramblas were people stroll in the evenings when it's cooler.


Here are the hams hanging in the market.




This is just one small part of the Gaudi Sagrada Familia.



This is one of the historic Roman gates to the city.


The first stop on our tour was Barcelona – a sunny city on the Mediterranean Sea and home to Gaudi and Picasso. We had an easy flight and found our hotel without any problems. Of course, we had the advantage of not being jet-lagged like the rest of our group! The tour group was 24 people from the US and Canada. Our leader, Amanda, is also American but lives and works in Madrid.

The first evening, we went out as a group for our first taste of tapas. Most of the tapas were fried – calamari, fried artichoke hearts, and fried cheese. There was also a small plate of paella, a yummy potato salad, and tortilla, which is potato layered with egg. All in all, the food was pretty boring.

The next day, we started the tour in earnest with a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter and Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. The Gothic Quarter was cool because it was the old Roman city with narrow streets and all the historic buildings. Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia was a bit disappointing. Apparently, it’s been under construction constantly since it was started. So, you have to look past the workers and the scaffolds and junk to see what’s going on. Of course Gaudi was known for his “more is more” philosophy so there was a lot going on. Actually, when you looked at each section individually, it was quite beautiful. The whole thing was designed to show his love for God. No public funds have been used in the construction. It’s all funded by entry fees and donations. That’s part of why it’s taking so long.

After our long walking tour, we were set free for the rest of the day. Dennis and I grabbed some sandwiches at a small shop and then went on to the Boqueria Market, a beautiful food market. The fruit sellers make all sorts of fruit juices which is really refreshing on a hot day. The seafood was stunning as well. But what we really noticed were lots of shops selling Serrano ham. The ham legs were just hanging from the awnings. When someone orders, they shave thin slices off the leg. Some of the ham is 150 euros per kilo! We tasted a mid-priced ham and just got a couple euros worth. It was tasty but rather dry and chewy.

For dinner, we tried some more tapas and also had sangria. The tapas were mostly French bread with some toppings like ham, cheese, or seafood. Really, the tapas thing seems to be over-rated. But with the dinner restaurants not opening until 8:30 or 9:00, we didn’t have a lot of options. Since it’s so hot during the day, the Spanish go out very late. In the evenings, they walk outside (called the paseo) to meet their friends and get some food. They eat tapas as a snack before their main meal.

Our other problem with the tapas was that the menus were not in Spanish – they speak Catalonian in Barcelona. So the menus were not helpful. We tried sitting at the bar to get a better view of the tapas on display. That way we could point to what we wanted and not have to know the name. But you also don’t know the price…

The coolest part about Barcelona was the Rambla, a mile-long pedestrian boulevard stretching from the waterfront to the main square. It’s full of little shops and kiosks, street entertainers, tourists, and pick-pockets. The people- watching was fabulous! We chose to spend more time walking the Ramblas rather than seeing the Picasso museum. Neither of us are big Picasso fans.

In a nutshell, Barcelona is beautiful, warm, and sunny, but the language barrier is difficult. It seemed pretty touristy along the Ramblas. The tapas here were not so great.