Gothic Sensibilities

| 24-Aug=2009 | We wrapped up Sunday with tapas and sangria at a nice little restaurant our B&B owner recommended. When we headed out around 8:00pm (look at us on local time!) and it was a lovely evening. After dinner we strolled back to La Sagrada Familia and took some night time pictures – it’s lit until about 10pm. It’s creepier at night than during the day – if that’s possible.We headed out first thing this morning to the Mercat de Sant Josep (“La Boqueria”) on La Rambla. The market opens at 8am but many of the vendors were still setting up when we got there. It’s like Pike Place Market on steroids and is one of the most famous markets in Europe. We snapped a few pics after picking up fresh juice and pastry. We’re eating well on this trip!

Next stop: Barri Gòthic. Narrow alleys lined with small shops topped by apartments, the Gothic Quarter is medieval meets “modern”. Basically, to find anything is a combination of luck and perseverance as many of the alleys aren’t on the city maps by name. We managed to find the restaurant our friend recommended – now the trick is to get there when they’re open: 1:30pm – 4pm, 9:00 – 11:30pm. Um, yeah.

Weather-wise – more of the same, though hazier today. We spent mid-day in the cool of our room; Jeff enjoyed a siesta while I surfed the web gathering information for tomorrow’s adventure afield.

After several foiled shopping attempts (couldn’t actually find the stores – even with the addresses) we had tapas at La Catalan. Tapas are tricky when one doesn’t eat fish, but we’re getting by. Jeff has had several fish dishes while I’ve had the usual european fare for me: ham and cheese.

Sangria at Cuidad Condal last night. Pleepleus loves sangria. There were tapas, too, but I neglected to take pictures of them. Trust me, they were delicious, as was the espresso that wrapped up the meal.

Fruit stands at La Boqueria, just after opening. We went back through later in the day and the crates had been replaced by people. It was completely packed.

A typical square in the Gothic Quarter: bicycles and graffiti. And a public water fountain.


For today’s random nonsense: our friend Ed, who lives in Barcelona, recommended a restaurant in the Gothic Quarter called Petra. He sent us the google map and link so we could find our way with both his description and some pictures. We looked up the link before we left and saw on Google a nearby building with cutout cartoon donkeys on it. Seemed like a good landmark . … and it was. But there are two donkeys now – check it out. This is what I love about travel in the internet age.