WE will be in Barcelona for only three days, how much Catalan should i attempt to learn and can anyone recommend a great tapas bar in the waterfront area.

If you already speak Spanish, don't bother with Catalan. If not, learn the basics(hello, goodbye, thank you, etc.) and menu-speak. I carried my Timeout guide with me so I could look up words on the menu. I would recommend just photocopying it and putting it in your purse/bag. <BR>Fodors suggests Cal Pep for tapas, and I second that. Its not quite at the waterfront, but I didn't see any tapas bars there, mostly just upper-range seafood restaurants. Make sure you get there early, or be prepared to wait and wait. They don't have a print menu, but one of the waiters speaks some English and will help put together a good varitey of tapas for you, especially if you know some of the Catalan or spanish words for foods that you like, ie shrimp, peppers. Ask for the tiny whole fried fish. They looked quite odd at first, but were delicious. Sorry, I can't remember what they were called.

topper

We ate zarzuela, the Catalan equivalent of paella, at the waterfront, not tapas. But we had wonderful tapas at Tapa Tapa on Passeig de Gracias, the street in the Eixample that has several of the Guadi buildings. It's apparently a member of a small chain and pictures of the dishes are right on the menus so I was a bit skeptical. The tastes were wonderful, however, and while it loses a bit of the authenticity to sit rather than stand while you eat your tapas, it is certainly more convenient and comfortable. Had a molded salad with meat, potatoes, egg and mayo, salad of hears of palm and crab, meatballs, chicken chunks, sausages and cheeses, and my favorite--warm potatoes mush with meat, originally selected becaused its jellied appearance implied head cheese. Total cost of meal for 4 with 17 items and a bottle of pretty good cava--approx. $48. This is a franchise I'd like to have in my neighborhood.

I too will be going to Barcelona and along the coast from France to Tarragona. I am trying to find those special Hotels and restaurants on the way. Have you been to the Cavas wine area? Great wine.<BR> I leave Tues Mar 20.

tttttooopper

I also really liked Tapas Tapas. It had a wide variety of choices (even for someone like me that does not eat pork or shellfish). We really liked their chicken brochettes, even if that is not a typical tapas. We were also skeptical about having pictures on the placements of the foods, but it ended up being great.

Tapa Tapa was fine, we had dinner ourselves there one night. However, if you only have a few days, I would try to make it to Cal Pep. The food was SO much better, and it was a much more interesting experience. The area is also more lively at night, so you could head out afterwards and wander until you found an interesting scene.