The beautiful beach in Barcelona... just like L.A. but cleaner!(Caution: Long Post but Great Cities Deserve it!)
It is only our second day in Barcelona and we are quickly falling in love with it. Every little hour of the day has its own unique joys, unique experiences, that add to this city’s charm.
It is only our second day in Barcelona and we are quickly falling in love with it. Every little hour of the day has its own unique joys, unique experiences, that add to this city’s charm.
Breakfast in La Boqueria at Pinotxo Bar... tropical fruit, fresh squeezed juice, and great atmosphere.
We began our morning with a refreshing breakfast at Pinotxo Bar in La Boqueria Market. (Yes, that is an “X” between the T and O… the beautiful thing about the Catalan language is that you just randomly insert the letter “x” at random points, just to make it feel more a part of things*.)
A Big Thumbs Up from our man Juan.The owner of the bar is named Juan, and when asked how long he has worked there, he just laughs and says, “Mucho…mucho… por todo la vida!” (My whole life!) He wears a pink and baby-blue striped vest and matching bowtie over a white collared shirt, and has a million dollar smile that reminds me of Bob Barker. He serves us two Spanish “Churro-like” pastries covered in sugar, which we pair with the fresh squeezed Banana-Strawberry juice and fruit salad we purchased for a couple Euros a few rows over. The whole atmosphere just screams “life-experience” – which we soak up while listening to the various vendors pedal their goods. Before we leave, we snap a picture with Juan – who of course gives us a big thumbs up and pat on the back. Amazing what a smile and a little Spanish can do.
Whacky, Wild Park Guell... like Disneyland minus the Rides.From there we headed to Park Guell, the scenic park overlooking the whole city and home to more whimsical architecture from Barcelona’s favorite son, Antoni Gaudi. (I devoted a whole post to him yesterday, check it out.) While I had never even heard of him before this trip, I am now fascinated with the innovative & non-traditional designs of this genius. He definitely ‘thought outside the box’ – and just having his buildings dotting the city add to the whole ambience of this Spanish playground.
When we’d had our fill of sightseeing, we caught the sleek Metro system to the beach, and we instantly wondered why we hadn’t done this any sooner. Barcelona is already a sweet place – but when you drop the whole town on one of Europe’s best beaches, things just got a whole lot more interesting. White sand stretches out for miles, turquoise water begs for swimmers, and hundreds of beachside patios play laid-back tunes and serve fresh Paella. Christie and I are both ‘beach people’ and have seen many a beach, but Barcelona’s is unique.
When we’d had our fill of sightseeing, we caught the sleek Metro system to the beach, and we instantly wondered why we hadn’t done this any sooner. Barcelona is already a sweet place – but when you drop the whole town on one of Europe’s best beaches, things just got a whole lot more interesting. White sand stretches out for miles, turquoise water begs for swimmers, and hundreds of beachside patios play laid-back tunes and serve fresh Paella. Christie and I are both ‘beach people’ and have seen many a beach, but Barcelona’s is unique.
Not a bad place to grab lunch...
Catching waves in Barceloneta... a great beach that's only a 10 minute walk from downtown.
Christie in Heaven to the 3rd power! These little Yorkies were enjoying lunch right next to us... and you knew that Christie couldn't resist this trio!We went with Burgers, Fries, and Corona at the nearest patio, then lazily walked for miles down the coast while watching surfers, beach volleyball games, and of course, countless dogs. (Each getting their mandatory ooh, ahhs, and three minutes of petting.) The whole beach scene here is, in a word, CLEAN… with elaborate concrete boardwalks, marinas, and restaurants forming a long chain of continuous entertainment. (I’m guessing much of which was done in preparation for the 1992 Olympics.) No grimy street vendors were seen or run-down Venice Beach (California) shacks, instead just the refreshing breeze, palm trees, and miles of Spanish sand. (OK, I admit I am getting a little sappy, but the only person who might love it more than me is Jimmy Buffett.)
After napping for an hour and letting this whole ‘vacation’ thing actually hit us, we meandered back up Las Ramblas and finished the day with some shopping and a dinner of traditional Tapas... however, like all things I do, there is a story:
After napping for an hour and letting this whole ‘vacation’ thing actually hit us, we meandered back up Las Ramblas and finished the day with some shopping and a dinner of traditional Tapas... however, like all things I do, there is a story:
A sample of the many Tapas available in Barcelona.First of all, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of “Tapa” – Tapas are small appetizer like finger foods, which feature all-sorts of interesting flavor combinations and are typically eaten in Spain to form an entire meal. My definition, however, I think is a little better:
TAPA is a Catalan Word (or some kind of machine) that makes everything “Smaller” and “More-Expensive.”
Our plan for dinner was to go to a great little Tapas place we had spotted the day before, on a little side-street in the Gothic Quarter. I couldn’t remember the name of it or where it was exactly, but I knew I could get us close. However, while flipping through the trusty guidebook of our constant companion Rick Steves, I had found an intriguing place that sounded very similar… where open-faced sandwiches are served at the bar like Sushi for $1.60 each, and you pay for your meal using the honor system based on the number of toothpicks left on your plate. Christie agreed that this sounded fun and we headed out using a small map to find “Taverna Basca Irati.”
However, like is customary in a strange city with mediaval streets, you tend to get a little turned around… and after a half hour of looking we were nowhere nearer to Sushi-Sandwiches. Frustrated and hungry, we were about to just give up and go to our "Original" place... when we finally found it - AND IT WAS OUR ORIGINAL PLACE THAT WE WANTED TO GO TO!!! Laughing, we enjoyed little sandwiches until our stomachs hurt. (Final count: 17 toothpics!) Ironically, the guy next to us at the bar was an American from Chicago... who had also followed Rick's advice to this spot... gotta love our boy Steves!
Glad to be on the same wavelength as our tour guide... holding up toothpicks number 8 and 9!
At First Taste, I can say that we truly are loving Barcelona and all it offers – even if, just like Tapas, it needs to be explored one bite at a time.
~ J. Twice
* I find myself constantly digressing, which may make you laugh but actually hinders the flow of some of my stories. Therefore, I might start ‘footnoting’ my blogs or using asterisks to add in these other thoughts. Therefore, my ‘thought’ on the letter X and its usage in Catalan directly reminds me of my favorite Mitch Hedberg joke, which I quoted on my 3rd blog post a couple months ago (click HERE to read it!).
TAPA is a Catalan Word (or some kind of machine) that makes everything “Smaller” and “More-Expensive.”
Our plan for dinner was to go to a great little Tapas place we had spotted the day before, on a little side-street in the Gothic Quarter. I couldn’t remember the name of it or where it was exactly, but I knew I could get us close. However, while flipping through the trusty guidebook of our constant companion Rick Steves, I had found an intriguing place that sounded very similar… where open-faced sandwiches are served at the bar like Sushi for $1.60 each, and you pay for your meal using the honor system based on the number of toothpicks left on your plate. Christie agreed that this sounded fun and we headed out using a small map to find “Taverna Basca Irati.”
However, like is customary in a strange city with mediaval streets, you tend to get a little turned around… and after a half hour of looking we were nowhere nearer to Sushi-Sandwiches. Frustrated and hungry, we were about to just give up and go to our "Original" place... when we finally found it - AND IT WAS OUR ORIGINAL PLACE THAT WE WANTED TO GO TO!!! Laughing, we enjoyed little sandwiches until our stomachs hurt. (Final count: 17 toothpics!) Ironically, the guy next to us at the bar was an American from Chicago... who had also followed Rick's advice to this spot... gotta love our boy Steves!
Glad to be on the same wavelength as our tour guide... holding up toothpicks number 8 and 9!At First Taste, I can say that we truly are loving Barcelona and all it offers – even if, just like Tapas, it needs to be explored one bite at a time.
~ J. Twice
* I find myself constantly digressing, which may make you laugh but actually hinders the flow of some of my stories. Therefore, I might start ‘footnoting’ my blogs or using asterisks to add in these other thoughts. Therefore, my ‘thought’ on the letter X and its usage in Catalan directly reminds me of my favorite Mitch Hedberg joke, which I quoted on my 3rd blog post a couple months ago (click HERE to read it!).
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