Plucky Survivors See Europe Day 47: Barcelona

I’m digging Barcelona.  It has a great energy but still feels relaxed and despite its massive size, everything feels like a series of neighborhoods instead of one big city.  I could see myself living here.  Of course then I’d have to learn more Spanish than “Lo siento, no habla Espanol.”  You’d think after living in Los Angeles for 35 years I’d know more.

I started the day by taking a car to Park Guell.  It was designed by none other than Antoni Gaudi and built between 1900 and 1914.  As such, many of the structures have his design aesthetic – Baroque with a touch of whimsy.

After a walk up a VERY steep hill because the car couldn’t get any closer, I found out that I had screwed up.  I thought it was just a park you could walk into, but you have to buy tickets and they sell out regularly.  The very nice woman at the gate told me to buy one online for later in the day and she’d let me in.  I think she saw how hot and exhausted I was.

The park itself is, in fact, mostly just a park but there are some Gaudi aesthetics throughout with gardens, lots of colorful tile, sculptured walls, and other cool touches.  To be honest, I was expecting more, but what was there was interesting.  It would’ve been more interesting if seeing it didn’t involve a choice between long incline paths or more route via ten flights of stairs.  There are actually more than that, but that’s all I could do.  I did get some good panoramic shots of the city.

I walked back down the ten flights of stairs and then down the hill to catch another car to the Gothic Quarter.  This is the oldest part of the city, with some of the medieval Roman wall and other structures still standing.  Most of it dates to the late 19^th century, but whatever – it’s a visual feast to walk through.  Yes, most of the store are selling tourist crap, but if you look you’ll find art galleries, local clothing shops, candle makers, and more.  I spent a solid 90 minutes just wandering around.

Lunch was required by that point, so I found another tapas restaurant that I didn’t write down the name of.  No great loss – the chicken croquettes, the potato omelette, and the beef in pepper sauce were fine but nothing I would tell people to go out of their way for.

I made it back to the hotel and got more work done – still behind, but getting there – and then took a nap.  47 days of this, y’all.  Your boy is tired.

I woke up in time to go have dinner.  Food.  Nap.  Food.  My kind of day.

The restaurant I ate it was worth going out of your way for – Barcelona Steak House.  It’s a Brazilian/Argentinian/Spanish fusion with a long list of starters, meats, and sides.  I got the chicken empandas, which were perfectly spiced and then driven into overdrive with a chunky tomatillo sauce; the spicy (but not too spicy) chorizo with chimichurri; the melted provolone cheese with Catalan peppers and warm, soft bread, which was so good I wanted to bathe in it; and the sliced potatoes dripping in parmesan cheese.  Absolutely one of the best meals of the trip. 

Tonight I have a meeting and then planning on catching a show here at the hotel.  I was going to go to the Clean Bandit concert, which is happening as part of the Pride celebrations this weekend, but it doesn’t start until 1:30… in the morning.  WTF?  I know things happen later here – when I eat at noon and 6:30ish, I’m usually one of the only ones in the restaurants – but a concert at 1:30am?  That’s insane.

Tomorrow more Barcelona and then the Pride parade and celebration.