Trip report--Costa Brava & Barcelona
Apr 2nd, 2008, 03:00 AM
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Trip report--Costa Brava & Barcelona
This is a report of our February trip to Costa Brava and Barcelona.
I posted it previously under the title �If this is February, it must be Barcelona� and it rather promptly sunk. Since I spent a fair amount of time on it and think it includes some useful info particularly on dining establishments and food in general in that area, I was rather hoping that it might receive a bit more readership so I�ve reposted it under this title as an experiment. Apologies to any of you who looked at the thread the first time and wound up tricked into clicking it again. If any of you who recall seeing the first title and didn�t open until this one would provide me feedback just on titles, I�d appreciate that. Thanks.
Introduction
This is the second year in a row that my husband and I have gone to Barcelona (BCN) in February. On a sample of two, I�m ready to call it one of the best destinations in Europe for a winter vacation. It�s a fabulous city with interesting surroundings for day trips or related exploration of longer duration and temps in the 50 to 60 and even higher ranges permitting outdoor dining at least for lunch�and best of all, the food is fantastic. We may well do it again next February.
Thanks and an apology
Like everyone else who goes to Spain, I have to begin with a thank you to Maribel. Her guide to Barcelona was so much better than anything I found elsewhere on the net or in guidebooks, especially her guide to tapas and dining in BCN. I also want to thank those who answered my post about travel to Collioure, France at this time of year. I received mixed advice and finally decided to go for it. We got lucky and the weather cooperated so much that I may have had the optimum Collioure experience�sun enough to drive out the locals but no tourist crush.
My Husband takes terrific pictures and we have many from this trip. I�d hoped to be able to furnish you a link to them like other computer savvy folks on this site do. Alas, try as I might, I cannot figure out how to do that or even how to get them into a site where I can e-mail them to friends. I�ve just got to learn, but meanwhile I thought I�d get this report out sans pix.
Overview
We spent 9 full days and nights on this trip, four on the Costa Brava and five in BCN including a day trip to Sitges�arriving from Ft. Lauderdale via Detroit on NWA/KLM on Feb. 20 and departing the 29th. The 4/5 mix turned out well and if you have time I�d recommend it. Otherwise, just the 5 full days in BCN would make for a fine winter break.
We picked up a car through AutoEurope at the BCN airport and drove through the city to the Costa Brava, stopping for two nights in Llfranc, Spain and then two nights just outside of Collioure, France before returning to BCN where we stayed, as we did last year, in the Eixample district at the Gran Derby Granados 83.
Costa Brava �sights and hotels
We got off to a bad start. Initial reaction to the drive from BCN up the coast was not good. Though we were traveling with a Garmin we could not get it to work (turns out the cigarette lighter in the front seat of our rental car was defective) and were a bit crabby about trying to find our way through the city with a large scale map. Also the road up the coast parallels the train tracks for quite a distance, muddying the view of the sea. To top it off the first coastal city we had thought to stop in was Lloret de Mar, which is way over built and super touristy. We kept going and things got better as we arrived in Tossa de Mar, a walled old town with castle, a nice waterfront with abandoned fishing boats and cute pedestrian streets. We were quickly in camera mode and thinking we hadn�t erred in selecting the Costa Brava after all. And we were right.
Other nice towns along our route included Feliu de Guixos and Llfranc, the location we selected for a two night stay at the Hotel El Far, a ways up the hill from town next to the light house for which it was named. Hotel was terrific. A friend of ours found it in �Spain for Dummies� a guidebook she swears by and about which you don�t hear much. It was directly on the sea but up a steep hillside with wonderful rooms. Small�only 9 rooms total, but apparently does a good restaurant business. Lovely breakfast on the glassed in porch. We had a sitting area with French balcony overlooking the sea, an enormous bathroom and a bed with curtains on the sides. Lots of blues and whites in a nautical theme. Very nice, casually tasteful place though we agreed that if we returned
we�d prefer to stay on the shore directly in town at the cute little hotel where we dined on our second night. The place is not so elegant as El Far, but would afford more local color and activity.
We began our second day by walking about the cute little town of Llafranc. Small but very pretty with fishing boats on the beach and cute little hotels and guesthouses that you can imagine full to overflowing in peak tourist season. Next stop was Begur, a Disney clean and cute little town with a lovely small church, cute streets and a nice square where we had 3 euro cavas (that�s cavas for 3 euros not 3 cavas each) in the sun outside with the locals. A great stop before moving on to Peratallada, an even better stop--a medieval town with an overgrown moat keeping out the cars of tourists. Our friend had also found a hotel in a castle here in her Spain for Dummies book and liked it, so we were intent on having lunch there. Alas, it had closed two years ago, but we were told we could buy and reopen it for a mere 9 million euros.
On day three we moved from Spain to France stopping first at Figueres for a second look at the Dali museum (we�d been several years ago on a trip which had us staying near Roses on the Costa Brava). It was well worth revisiting (love the Mae West room) and we even saw more of the town than we had previously. There is a nice church just down the pedestrian street from the museum/theatre that provides a good contrast to the wonderful surreal, absurdity of the museum. We also enjoyed wandering along the Ramblas in Figueres and about the rectangular �square� beyond the pedestrian walk. Figueres would certainly be a worthy day trip from BCN.
After leaving Figueres we moved on toward a destination I�ve wanted to get to for years having seen it listed as one of the most lovely small towns in France/Europe on various threads on this forum�Collioure. Because of the season, open hotels directly in Collioure were in short supply and I booked us in the nearby town of Argeles sur Mer�not quite the garden spot that I had hoped for. In fact I�d call it a pit. Rows of cheap little shops and restaurants lining the beach utterly lacking in charm. The hotel, however, was terrific�Auberge de Roua, newly remodeled in the modern style with a two room (bedroom and sitting room of substantial proportions) suite with a shower as large as some complete bathrooms we�ve had, and all for 129 euros. It had a nice pool, a Michelin rated restaurant, and nice breakfast including homemade fig jam. It was situated near the main traffic artery to Collioure and across from a vineyard (hence its entry in a guide for �Chateaux, Demeures de Tradition et Grandes Etapes des Vignobles�) Again a great hotel but one I�d forgo in favor of something directly in Collioure if I could find it on a future trip.
Collioure did prove to be everything I�d hoped for. Seashore, plenty of boats, wonderful lighting, cute shops, nice walking areas, good views�including views through iron picture frames mounted at appropriate spots focusing on the church in a sort of artsy spoof of tourist picture taking, much like the Disney Kodak stops, only more clever and tasteful. We sat for an hour of so having drinks by the boat basin looking toward the church in perfect sunshine with seemingly everyone from the town and beyond seated similarly just lolling away a Sunday afternoon. It was perfect. My husband must have taken a million pictures and instantly added Collioure to his list of all time favorites. It�s no wonder that the Impressionists loved the place.
Dining on the Costa Brava
Actually our first meal on this trip was at the Detroit airport as we waited for our connecting flight. Each time I�m there hope springs eternal that I can find something decent somewhere and each time it�s the same awful stuff. This time we had sushi and tempura at La Sora. The place has never been good and never will be. Ugh. I�ve only tried the restaurant in the Westin hotel there once. I recall it and the adjoining lobby as lovely and a nice, quiet place to sit but don�t recall even the food there as being worthy. Has anyone else eaten there recently and enjoyed it? I�d hate to add another trip through security to the painful experience of another disgusting meal at that airport. But I digress. On to more interesting dining experiences.
El Taller in Tossa de Mar�Michelin rates this place two knives and forks and I�d agree. Only 18 seats in the main floor dining room which has nice exposed stone walls and wooden beams and fairly good artwork. DH had anchovies (a theme with him on this trip) then cream of crab soup. I ordered a Catalan assortment assuming it would be a variety of meats but it turned out to be beans in a mint tinged broth with slices of pork fat, blood pudding and other, apparently Catalan minced meats�interesting if unexpected. Then suckling lamb chops with mashed potatoes and a bottle of good rose cava. 76 euros for the two of us. Good value, but that�s what you can expect from Spanish restaurants off the immediate tourist streets in small towns on off-season at lunch.
El Far restaurant�Overall I�d have to say that the place is better as a hotel than as a restaurant even though it�s apparently as a restaurant that it�s most frequented. That makes it sound like our meal wasn�t good, and that�s not true, it was. It just shows what a swell place the hotel is. My starter was actually terrific�pigs feet with shrimp. The shrimp were poached only until barely cooked and their texture was almost identical to the cartilage of the pigs feet, a very interesting and tasty combination. Second course was the Suquet�fish stew with potatoes, that St. Cirq is fond of. This may not have been a great example of the dish, however. It was ok, but not as good or as interesting as the pigs feet and shrimp. Again DH had anchovies on tomato bread and a different type of fish soup with sausage and potatoes followed by cannelloni of scallops, mushrooms and truffles. Although we ate alone in the large restaurant (it was a weeknight off season and we were early for Spain as we almost always are) it was a pleasant, almost grandiose, experience, kind of like being served in your own house by a phalanx of servants.
L�Arc Vell in Peratellada�we chose this place for lunch after learning that the castle and its restaurant had closed. It�s directly across the square from the closed castle and we enjoyed our meal there. Olives, cannelloni, iberico ham, tomato bread, sausage with deep fried white beans and terrific fish soup and good Spanish wines.
Restaurant at the Hotel Llevant in Llafranc�afforded a pleasant meal. (BTW that Ll business is very common in Catalonia.) The place is modern and very white with floor to ceiling windows onto the harbor which must open during warm weather. Food was worthy of the setting�cannelloni with chicken and lamb in tomato and green pepper sauce. The hotel must have been full and the dining room was nearly full also, not bad for a little place pretty much in the middle of nowhere on a February weeknight.
All of our meals on Costa Brava were quite reasonable price wise and certainly good but one of the best was at Meson Asador Castell in Figueres where we had Cochenillo--whole suckling pig, head and all and even an itty, bitty foot, all with nicely crispy skin accompanied by sweet onion and potato tortilla. A nice, atmospheric place with multiple levels and a neighborhoody feeling just down the street from the Dali museum and off the main square. Highly recommend this one for an authentic Spanish lunch.
L�Amadeus is likely the most hip and trendy, upscale place in Argeles sur Mer. It is also one of the few decent places in that bleak town that is open on Sunday nights and so we had to eat there�and had to wait until it opened at 7:30. Not a good beginning, waiting in our car in the parking lot across the street hoping to see some activity signaling the opening for dinner. The place, however, redeemed itself with its good food. In keeping with the place�s desire to be hip and trendy, most of the food was overplated with just too many things going on, but the basic ingredients and preparation were sound. We had tuna tartare with avocado crème, rougets with caramelized veggies and cucumber wrapped salad followed by sweetbreads with cream sauce, cheese plate and a chocolate biosphere over passion fruit foam. Very ambitious and generally quite good.
We had two meals in Collioure. One was lunch at Bar La Marine on the bank of the dry river bed where cars park during dry times. More anchovies and tomato bread. My husband never tired of it and now I�m trying to figure out how to replicate it at home. Good oysters and a ham omelet. But just lunch, nothing particularly special. Dinner was at La Fregate at the hotel of the same name, with decorative Spanish ceramic tiles on the walls and the ceiling. Like the little place at lunch, it was completely filled and turning folks away. The place had a somewhat old world, formal feel and food was served with some fanfare. We had smoked salmon cream cheese roll ups, also roll ups of lamb with eggplant, risotto and fish soup. We must have made the right choice in ordering the rose wine. As we looked around at our fellow diners there was a similar bottle on almost every table.
All in all, our food on the Costa Brava was good and we�d have been raving about it, had we not eaten later in Barcelona where the food and the food and restaurant scene outshines most everything else.
I posted it previously under the title �If this is February, it must be Barcelona� and it rather promptly sunk. Since I spent a fair amount of time on it and think it includes some useful info particularly on dining establishments and food in general in that area, I was rather hoping that it might receive a bit more readership so I�ve reposted it under this title as an experiment. Apologies to any of you who looked at the thread the first time and wound up tricked into clicking it again. If any of you who recall seeing the first title and didn�t open until this one would provide me feedback just on titles, I�d appreciate that. Thanks.
Introduction
This is the second year in a row that my husband and I have gone to Barcelona (BCN) in February. On a sample of two, I�m ready to call it one of the best destinations in Europe for a winter vacation. It�s a fabulous city with interesting surroundings for day trips or related exploration of longer duration and temps in the 50 to 60 and even higher ranges permitting outdoor dining at least for lunch�and best of all, the food is fantastic. We may well do it again next February.
Thanks and an apology
Like everyone else who goes to Spain, I have to begin with a thank you to Maribel. Her guide to Barcelona was so much better than anything I found elsewhere on the net or in guidebooks, especially her guide to tapas and dining in BCN. I also want to thank those who answered my post about travel to Collioure, France at this time of year. I received mixed advice and finally decided to go for it. We got lucky and the weather cooperated so much that I may have had the optimum Collioure experience�sun enough to drive out the locals but no tourist crush.
My Husband takes terrific pictures and we have many from this trip. I�d hoped to be able to furnish you a link to them like other computer savvy folks on this site do. Alas, try as I might, I cannot figure out how to do that or even how to get them into a site where I can e-mail them to friends. I�ve just got to learn, but meanwhile I thought I�d get this report out sans pix.
Overview
We spent 9 full days and nights on this trip, four on the Costa Brava and five in BCN including a day trip to Sitges�arriving from Ft. Lauderdale via Detroit on NWA/KLM on Feb. 20 and departing the 29th. The 4/5 mix turned out well and if you have time I�d recommend it. Otherwise, just the 5 full days in BCN would make for a fine winter break.
We picked up a car through AutoEurope at the BCN airport and drove through the city to the Costa Brava, stopping for two nights in Llfranc, Spain and then two nights just outside of Collioure, France before returning to BCN where we stayed, as we did last year, in the Eixample district at the Gran Derby Granados 83.
Costa Brava �sights and hotels
We got off to a bad start. Initial reaction to the drive from BCN up the coast was not good. Though we were traveling with a Garmin we could not get it to work (turns out the cigarette lighter in the front seat of our rental car was defective) and were a bit crabby about trying to find our way through the city with a large scale map. Also the road up the coast parallels the train tracks for quite a distance, muddying the view of the sea. To top it off the first coastal city we had thought to stop in was Lloret de Mar, which is way over built and super touristy. We kept going and things got better as we arrived in Tossa de Mar, a walled old town with castle, a nice waterfront with abandoned fishing boats and cute pedestrian streets. We were quickly in camera mode and thinking we hadn�t erred in selecting the Costa Brava after all. And we were right.
Other nice towns along our route included Feliu de Guixos and Llfranc, the location we selected for a two night stay at the Hotel El Far, a ways up the hill from town next to the light house for which it was named. Hotel was terrific. A friend of ours found it in �Spain for Dummies� a guidebook she swears by and about which you don�t hear much. It was directly on the sea but up a steep hillside with wonderful rooms. Small�only 9 rooms total, but apparently does a good restaurant business. Lovely breakfast on the glassed in porch. We had a sitting area with French balcony overlooking the sea, an enormous bathroom and a bed with curtains on the sides. Lots of blues and whites in a nautical theme. Very nice, casually tasteful place though we agreed that if we returned
we�d prefer to stay on the shore directly in town at the cute little hotel where we dined on our second night. The place is not so elegant as El Far, but would afford more local color and activity.
We began our second day by walking about the cute little town of Llafranc. Small but very pretty with fishing boats on the beach and cute little hotels and guesthouses that you can imagine full to overflowing in peak tourist season. Next stop was Begur, a Disney clean and cute little town with a lovely small church, cute streets and a nice square where we had 3 euro cavas (that�s cavas for 3 euros not 3 cavas each) in the sun outside with the locals. A great stop before moving on to Peratallada, an even better stop--a medieval town with an overgrown moat keeping out the cars of tourists. Our friend had also found a hotel in a castle here in her Spain for Dummies book and liked it, so we were intent on having lunch there. Alas, it had closed two years ago, but we were told we could buy and reopen it for a mere 9 million euros.
On day three we moved from Spain to France stopping first at Figueres for a second look at the Dali museum (we�d been several years ago on a trip which had us staying near Roses on the Costa Brava). It was well worth revisiting (love the Mae West room) and we even saw more of the town than we had previously. There is a nice church just down the pedestrian street from the museum/theatre that provides a good contrast to the wonderful surreal, absurdity of the museum. We also enjoyed wandering along the Ramblas in Figueres and about the rectangular �square� beyond the pedestrian walk. Figueres would certainly be a worthy day trip from BCN.
After leaving Figueres we moved on toward a destination I�ve wanted to get to for years having seen it listed as one of the most lovely small towns in France/Europe on various threads on this forum�Collioure. Because of the season, open hotels directly in Collioure were in short supply and I booked us in the nearby town of Argeles sur Mer�not quite the garden spot that I had hoped for. In fact I�d call it a pit. Rows of cheap little shops and restaurants lining the beach utterly lacking in charm. The hotel, however, was terrific�Auberge de Roua, newly remodeled in the modern style with a two room (bedroom and sitting room of substantial proportions) suite with a shower as large as some complete bathrooms we�ve had, and all for 129 euros. It had a nice pool, a Michelin rated restaurant, and nice breakfast including homemade fig jam. It was situated near the main traffic artery to Collioure and across from a vineyard (hence its entry in a guide for �Chateaux, Demeures de Tradition et Grandes Etapes des Vignobles�) Again a great hotel but one I�d forgo in favor of something directly in Collioure if I could find it on a future trip.
Collioure did prove to be everything I�d hoped for. Seashore, plenty of boats, wonderful lighting, cute shops, nice walking areas, good views�including views through iron picture frames mounted at appropriate spots focusing on the church in a sort of artsy spoof of tourist picture taking, much like the Disney Kodak stops, only more clever and tasteful. We sat for an hour of so having drinks by the boat basin looking toward the church in perfect sunshine with seemingly everyone from the town and beyond seated similarly just lolling away a Sunday afternoon. It was perfect. My husband must have taken a million pictures and instantly added Collioure to his list of all time favorites. It�s no wonder that the Impressionists loved the place.
Dining on the Costa Brava
Actually our first meal on this trip was at the Detroit airport as we waited for our connecting flight. Each time I�m there hope springs eternal that I can find something decent somewhere and each time it�s the same awful stuff. This time we had sushi and tempura at La Sora. The place has never been good and never will be. Ugh. I�ve only tried the restaurant in the Westin hotel there once. I recall it and the adjoining lobby as lovely and a nice, quiet place to sit but don�t recall even the food there as being worthy. Has anyone else eaten there recently and enjoyed it? I�d hate to add another trip through security to the painful experience of another disgusting meal at that airport. But I digress. On to more interesting dining experiences.
El Taller in Tossa de Mar�Michelin rates this place two knives and forks and I�d agree. Only 18 seats in the main floor dining room which has nice exposed stone walls and wooden beams and fairly good artwork. DH had anchovies (a theme with him on this trip) then cream of crab soup. I ordered a Catalan assortment assuming it would be a variety of meats but it turned out to be beans in a mint tinged broth with slices of pork fat, blood pudding and other, apparently Catalan minced meats�interesting if unexpected. Then suckling lamb chops with mashed potatoes and a bottle of good rose cava. 76 euros for the two of us. Good value, but that�s what you can expect from Spanish restaurants off the immediate tourist streets in small towns on off-season at lunch.
El Far restaurant�Overall I�d have to say that the place is better as a hotel than as a restaurant even though it�s apparently as a restaurant that it�s most frequented. That makes it sound like our meal wasn�t good, and that�s not true, it was. It just shows what a swell place the hotel is. My starter was actually terrific�pigs feet with shrimp. The shrimp were poached only until barely cooked and their texture was almost identical to the cartilage of the pigs feet, a very interesting and tasty combination. Second course was the Suquet�fish stew with potatoes, that St. Cirq is fond of. This may not have been a great example of the dish, however. It was ok, but not as good or as interesting as the pigs feet and shrimp. Again DH had anchovies on tomato bread and a different type of fish soup with sausage and potatoes followed by cannelloni of scallops, mushrooms and truffles. Although we ate alone in the large restaurant (it was a weeknight off season and we were early for Spain as we almost always are) it was a pleasant, almost grandiose, experience, kind of like being served in your own house by a phalanx of servants.
L�Arc Vell in Peratellada�we chose this place for lunch after learning that the castle and its restaurant had closed. It�s directly across the square from the closed castle and we enjoyed our meal there. Olives, cannelloni, iberico ham, tomato bread, sausage with deep fried white beans and terrific fish soup and good Spanish wines.
Restaurant at the Hotel Llevant in Llafranc�afforded a pleasant meal. (BTW that Ll business is very common in Catalonia.) The place is modern and very white with floor to ceiling windows onto the harbor which must open during warm weather. Food was worthy of the setting�cannelloni with chicken and lamb in tomato and green pepper sauce. The hotel must have been full and the dining room was nearly full also, not bad for a little place pretty much in the middle of nowhere on a February weeknight.
All of our meals on Costa Brava were quite reasonable price wise and certainly good but one of the best was at Meson Asador Castell in Figueres where we had Cochenillo--whole suckling pig, head and all and even an itty, bitty foot, all with nicely crispy skin accompanied by sweet onion and potato tortilla. A nice, atmospheric place with multiple levels and a neighborhoody feeling just down the street from the Dali museum and off the main square. Highly recommend this one for an authentic Spanish lunch.
L�Amadeus is likely the most hip and trendy, upscale place in Argeles sur Mer. It is also one of the few decent places in that bleak town that is open on Sunday nights and so we had to eat there�and had to wait until it opened at 7:30. Not a good beginning, waiting in our car in the parking lot across the street hoping to see some activity signaling the opening for dinner. The place, however, redeemed itself with its good food. In keeping with the place�s desire to be hip and trendy, most of the food was overplated with just too many things going on, but the basic ingredients and preparation were sound. We had tuna tartare with avocado crème, rougets with caramelized veggies and cucumber wrapped salad followed by sweetbreads with cream sauce, cheese plate and a chocolate biosphere over passion fruit foam. Very ambitious and generally quite good.
We had two meals in Collioure. One was lunch at Bar La Marine on the bank of the dry river bed where cars park during dry times. More anchovies and tomato bread. My husband never tired of it and now I�m trying to figure out how to replicate it at home. Good oysters and a ham omelet. But just lunch, nothing particularly special. Dinner was at La Fregate at the hotel of the same name, with decorative Spanish ceramic tiles on the walls and the ceiling. Like the little place at lunch, it was completely filled and turning folks away. The place had a somewhat old world, formal feel and food was served with some fanfare. We had smoked salmon cream cheese roll ups, also roll ups of lamb with eggplant, risotto and fish soup. We must have made the right choice in ordering the rose wine. As we looked around at our fellow diners there was a similar bottle on almost every table.
All in all, our food on the Costa Brava was good and we�d have been raving about it, had we not eaten later in Barcelona where the food and the food and restaurant scene outshines most everything else.
Apr 2nd, 2008, 03:02 AM
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Barcelona sights and hotel
On day 5 we drove the approximately 260 km back to BCN, dropped our car at the Sants train station without problems and took a taxi to Granados 83, the same hotel we stayed at the year before. It’s very new—probably only 2 or 3 years since it was renovated into a hotel—and very modern. At 145 euros per night, it’s a steal. Another good reason to go to BCN in February—off season hotel prices. It has a 4 star superior rating and while the rooms themselves are small, they are so well organized and so attractive that you don’t even notice. Besides the bed, the sleeping area has a large leather couch, and the wall facing the bed pulls open to reveal the tv, and a desk, etc, plus small closet. The bathroom is in the modern squared off style with great lighting and a tub with shower. Amenity liquids in multiple colors are provided in a little purse-like plastic bag that you may take with—great free gift for any teenage girls you may need to bring something to.
The staff is very helpful—and hip. There is free internet and a very nicely appointed restaurant downstairs where you can dine on what appears to be a nice if small menu or have breakfast at a beautiful but pricey (18 or 23 euros) buffet with sliced fruit and the ubiquitous tomato bread with iberico ham. The breakfast is very nice if you don’t mind paying the price. I’ve never had lunch or dinner there so I can’t vouch for that. All in all this is a very nice hotel, in a very good location, close to many nice restaurants and I would stay there again and again, especially when the great low season prices are in effect—if I hadn’t decided next time to try to stay in the new hip, happening El Born area.
Since I can’t wait to tell you about the wonderful food we had I’m going to try to cut the sights a bit shorter here in the interest of retaining reader interest and saving my wrists. So, hitting the highlights….
Returned to the Ramblas, the ultimate strolling street, and went several times to the Boqueria market, one of my favorites of all the many markets I’ve been to. The colors, the fish, everything about it is interesting and top drawer. I have yet to eat there so I must return some more.
Walked Passeig de Gracia street to see the wonderful architecture of Gaudi and his contemporaries—especially La Pedrara and Casa Batillo with the eyebrow windows. We toured the former on a previous visit and did the latter this time. It’s not cheap at 16 or 17 euros but very worthwhile. They have audio guides so you can listen to as much or as little as you like and go at your own pace. There is nary a straight line in the place—save for the floors. The mosaic chimneys on the roof are wonderful and worth the 6 story climb.
Also toured the old Cathedral. It’s ok, but not as nice as the newer Santa Maria del Mar in El Born and of course, nowhere near as exciting as the Sagrada Familia at which we made the obligatory stop to see progress and take photos.
Enjoyed our new find, the Placa Tetuan and the wonderful Moorish Arc De Triomphe then the walk down the wide boulevard past the Palace of Justice and a stop for pictures there. A policeman gave us the gentlest warning about not taking pictures there (I suppose people don’t want to be pictured going or coming to their trials) and then a nice explanation about the history of the building. We hardly recognized that we’d been admonished.
Once more we saw and took pictures of the lovely Palau Musica without either touring the place or getting tickets to a concert—yet another good reason to return, and next time to be more proactive about getting tickets in advance.
Walked the streets of El Born and found the area that’s starting to come alive as the hip, trendy area of town, exciting and interesting. Enjoyed the Santa Caterina newly remodeled covered market, nice but not as spectacular as the big, older Boqueria. BTW, one of the best aspects of the Boqueria is next door to it. There’s a beautiful art nouveau mosaic covered old Farmacia which is now a chocolate and coffee shop with outdoor seating at teak tables with beautiful floral centerpieces—a great haven of peace, quiet and luxury after the exuberance and grittiness of the market.
Took in the Maritim Museum because we were near it and it sounded good in the literature. It was. Replicas of the Nine, Pinta and Santa Maria and an enormous 21 or more oared old sailing ship with visuals that helped you envision what it would be like to see a crew actually rowing the ship. There was a nice group/club of older gentlemen there all working on their own model ships, and of course, the requisite group of elementary school children being moved through the various exhibits with their teacher exhorting them and the “trip mothers” keeping them in check.
Also walked about the Port Vell area with its harbor views and the Olympic Port and a bit of Barceloneta, the old fishermen’s quarter, across the street from Port Vell.
Barcelona once seen and then seen again, and again, is becoming for us a lot like Paris. We no longer feel the need to keep checking off sights, but rather just enjoy walking in the various areas we’ve walked and enjoyed before. It’s a great city where many of even the unmarked buildings are quite remarkable, well worthy of viewing and photographing and most of the sidewalk cafes worthy of a stop.
We left the city on one day for a trip of about 45 minutes by train to the seaside town of Sitges, south of BCN. (For some strange reason the trip was free. Must have been a promotion or something. We gave our money to the ticket seller who refused it and sent us to the appropriate track. Same thing happened on our return. Such a deal) Our initial impressions were negative and we feared another Lloret de Mar type place but as we walked deeper and deeper into the city after leaving the train station it got nicer and nicer. There is a pretty church that anchors one end of the seaside promenade area and some nice walking/shopping streets just beyond the streets that front on the water. There are plenty of restaurants and large and small hotels, including once again, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. I’d certainly recommend Sitges as a day trip out of BCN to anyone who has 5 days or more to spend and enjoys balancing a city with a bit of countryside or seaside. I’d gladly have paid for the trip they gave us free.
So, now for the best part.
Food in BCN.
BCN is a food city for sure. It’s also a design city. So the restaurants are fabulous even if you just step inside to take a look and never open your mouth.
We tried to check out as many as possible, stopping for a coffee or a cava at a new place each walk. Even the chain restaurants and the newly built coffee and donut shops have that extra touch of class and design you might expect to find only in an upscale, currently hot spot in a major US city. But that’s not to say that the décor overshadows the food, at least not usually in my experience. In BCN I can get my all time favorite meal with some frequency—a plate of razor clams gently fried in oil, garlic and parsley followed by a small leg of goat, all perfectly done. To me that feast is the essence of the Catalan dining experience, just like my favorite meal in Liguria is trofie with pesto, green beans and potatoes followed by perfect osso buco. I’m starting to drool just remembering the good meals.
My husband’s favorite way to eat is tapas. In the US he frequently orders a dinner of appetizers, so tapas is a natural for him. He would gladly have gone to tapas restaurants and bars every lunch and dinner we were in BCN. I wanted to try some other options but we certainly started with tapas and true to form, it was his favorite meal in BCN. We returned first to a place we’d eaten before—Cervaseria Catalan—and just like before were able to snag a table outside on the sidewalk. I have mixed feelings about this seating. The good thing is that it is seating. I have ankle and knee problems and would become uncomfortable standing throughout an entire tapas meal. The bad thing is it is away from the wonderful “scene” of the interior of the restaurant with its beautiful displays of food and flowers everywhere and the crush of beautiful people eating or waiting to eat it all. I had to content myself with a short foray into the crowd to snap pictures after finishing my meal eaten in the peace and quiet of the covered sidewalk tables. We were certainly off to a good start with the food we had at Cervaseria—white anchovies in vinegar—the best anchovy preparation IMO, also anchovies andalusian style—did I mention my DH loves anchovies?—which is deep fried not unlike the smelt we former Minnesotans used to have from Duluth in the Spring, Butifara—soft sausages with tripe and a little head cheese, very tasty and not too tripey, a plate of various hams and salamis, fried mushrooms, olives, potato omelet and the ubiquitous tomato bread, all accompanied by one of the delicious cavas we drank almost non-stop while we were there in the capitol of cava country. N.B. To tell you how much my DH likes tapas, on this trip he didn’t even hunger after a Chinese meal like he normally does. For once he was totally happy just eating native. That would never happen if we were in pasta or sauerkraut country.
Paco Maralgo is a another tapas restaurant quite close to Granados 83 and I’d read about it in the Maribel guide—and practically everywhere else—so I had the hotel book us for our first BCN dinner there. Wise choice. This time I got to sit while eating tapas AND be in the center of the action. The place is very bright and cheerful, modern with high stools at the bar and at small tables for two across a narrow “waiter route” from the bar. Everything is written on the blackboard but you also get a menu. The waiters will guide you but my guess is you can’t go wrong no matter what you order. We had both razor clams and tiny regular shaped clams (btw razor clam shells, if you’ve never had them, are pencil shaped about the circumference of a human finger or thumb and range in length from about 4 to 7 inches and their meat is very sweet and unique). I had a bikini which is what they call a ham and cheese sandwich, fried so that the cheese melts perfectly, a little like the perfect little sandwiches they charge so much for at Harry’s Bar in Venice. We shared Galician crab which was the big winner, and had sausage from the sausage making town of Vic which seemed a lot like Italian salami, steak in garlic and, of course, anchovies in garlic and another bottle of cava. DH was in tapas heaven. Service was terrific. The staff, all male, seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves and their enjoyment was infectious. With reservations at 8 p.m. we pressed our noses to the door and were admitted just as they opened –how do the Spanish keep those ungodly hours?!!
Each morning instead of partaking of the hotel’s beautiful but relatively expensive breakfast, we’d stop for coffee and tomato bread with ham someplace different along our route. This gave us a chance to see how the locals do it and to compare places. A couple of the places we stopped into on Provenca were a few steps below street level and at one we even sat on low stools surrounded by giant cans of tomatoes. A chain called Café et The provided the best of these experiences at their place on the Ramblas. The bread had just the right touch of oil to make it perfect with the tomato and ham and they had excellent coffee.
Day two in BCN was not quite as good as day one possibly because we strayed from the tapas theme and actually ate full meals in real restaurants. We passed up the tourist mecca of Set Portes for an old favorite at Port Vell—La Gavina. We’d eaten two good meals there on previous trips and were expecting a third. We were seated outside overlooking the boats in the harbor. They still have some of the best razor clams around and my DH’s fish soup was good but our main courses were just not up to snuff. I believe mine was fideau, the sort of paella with noodles instead of rice that the Catalans make. Sometimes you can’t go home again.
True as that old adage proved at Gavina, it was debunked at La Vinya del Senor, the wine bar in the shadow of the Santa Maria del Mar church. We loved it on our previous trip. We adored it on this. If I could take one place from BCN home with me and install it down the block from where I live in FLL, it would be this place. They love their wines and they want to share them with you. They serve in quality glassware. They pour generously. They chat with you. You feel at home—if your home has wooden boxes of wine sitting everywhere in a seemingly haphazard arrangement that probably took them hours to work out. Besides the terrific interior zinc bar they have tables outside, so you can drink great wine while drinking in the beauty of the church. They even serve tapas that are supposed to be innovative and artistic, but stupid me, I’ve always opted to move on to a full-blown restaurant for meals. I’ll not make that mistake next time. Next time, I’m prolonging my stay to have lunch there.
Dinner was a biggie. We’d reserved at Ca’ L’Isidre, regarded as the best traditional restaurant in BCN by no less a foodie than Patricia Wells and reportedly frequented by King Juan Carlos. On the night we dined there, however, neither Pat nor Juan were in attendance. It was just us and a rapper type and his girlfriend in our little alcove. The food was well prepared as we had expected—and very traditional as we had also expected—Tuna tartare, fois gras, pigs trotters with fois gras and porcini, kid leg with potato sticks. The décor harked back to the 80s maybe even the 70s in a good comforting way, but certainly a far cry from the exciting décor of other places we went to in BCN. I guess that’s part of the charm of the place. As I think back on this meal, I realize it really was excellent and yet somehow it just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps I too have become a tapas fancier who prefers that style and that energy and that informality to the more staid, traditional setting and service of the “special meal” in the temple of gastronomy. Seems sort of like looking a gift horse in the mouth not to have been totally swept away by this place. Once more I may be coming closer to the viewpoint of DH.
Our third day we took our free trip to Sitges. We were spoiled for choice in selecting a lunch spot. The restaurants nearest the church seemed to be the new, trendy places and I was interested in them, but DH prevailed and we selected the largest of the three hotels named for Columbus’ ships, the Santa Maria. It covered almost a seaside facing block with outdoor tables. With that kind of size I was a bit apprehensive but I certainly didn’t need to be. DH’s fish soup was pronounced excellent and I was able to have my favorite meal—razor clams and goat joint. The latter was actually better than the kid I’d had the night before at the Pat Wells/Juan Carlos place and at ½, maybe even 1/3 the price. Perhaps goat is a relatively rustic dish that is best eaten in a more rustic place and setting. Whatever. It was really good.
Dinner that evening was at La Provenca just around the corner from our hotel. I’d wanted to eat at this place on both our previous trips and just hadn’t had enough meals to be able to fit it in. It has a bib gourmand rating in the Michelin guide and I can see why. We had an excellent meal with a nice bottle of cava in a lovely setting for 100 euros. And it’s in the Maribel guide, of course. DH had fish soup (right up there with anchovies in his book and he’ll order it every chance he gets). I had artichoke stew with shrimp croquettes, then monkfish with crispy pig trotters and shrimp. We even had dessert—pommes anna for DH and pineapple with rosemary ice cream for me. Décor at this place was really lovely. Perhaps it’s because I so enjoy eating that I also enjoy displays of edible items either with or rather than flowers. Here they had green apples floating in various sized clear glass bowls and vases. The green of the apples complimented their light teal blue décor perfectly. It was a beautiful and highly relaxing setting.
Next day for lunch we had my favorite tapas meal—at Lonja de Tapas, in my new favorite El Born area (just like my favorite wine bar, La Vinya del Senyor is there) and another Maribel recommendation. We selected it from among a group of tapas places all in the same area because it has the virtue of opening at noon rather than one p.m. as most others do and the noon starting time fit best with our schedule and our stomachs. Once more we were the first ones in but by the time we left the place had filled up. As we’d come to expect, the place was trendy, with black board menus and bare brick walls, but very comfortable. The food was excellent—sausages with matchstick potatoes and fried egg on top, fried tiny quail eggs on top of calamari, shrimps in egg roll skin with aioli, bread with oil—but no tomatoes for once, kalamata olives, diced raw salmon in soy sauce and dill oil, spicy potatoes and meatballs, and more cava. Hey, it’s the local beverage of choice. Who are we to break with local tradition?! All this for 76 euros. Great lunch.
That evening we asked our hotel staff to book us at Balthazar, a place we’d seen nearby that looked exceptionally attractive (in a place where every restaurant is attractive, that’s saying something) and whose posted menu sounded good to us. We thought we might be able to produce our own personal “find.” The hotel staff, who appeared trustworthy, disabused us of the idea, however, calling the place “ok” but saying “there are better.” In response to my quick “like what?” they replied “Windsor” and since I remembered it as appearing on the Maribel list, that was all I needed to hear. They booked us for an 8:30—their opening time—reservation. This was a sit-down, traditional dining experience that made me rethink my new found preference for the tapas experience—something the more highly rated Ca’ L’Isidre couldn’t achieve. First off, the place is gorgeous, modern, white walled, small rooms/seating areas, with big art in bold colors. To add to that we were seated in the cool (both aesthetically and temperature wise) porch area with multi-paned windows looking out onto a rough hewn cement fountain covered in ivy with water dripping down. Incredibly relaxing. We opted for the chef’s choice 38 euro tasting menu and were assured that it would, at our request, include the pigs feet meat in cannelloni with parmesan cheese sauce. Service was unobtrusive but accommodating. Overall the meal was fun and filled with great flavors. We started with fresh green peas and tiny chunks of iberico ham in martini glasses with pea soup. Pretty, cute and tasty. Next came scallops with a covering of iberico ham and green broad beans. Then the pigs feet meat cannelloni. If you’ve steered clear of pigs feet because of the idea of eating feet, or of gnawing on foot bones (though I must say that’s half the fun) this is a great way to try them. All the work is done for you and all you have to do is keep an open mind while you dig into one of the tastiest meats known to man/woman. Anytime you get a chance to introduce yourself to pigs feet by eating the meat apart from the bone and think you have the slightest interest, go for it. This stuff is wonderful. We topped that with lamb with coriander, an interesting spice with lamb that I’d never had before, then a cheese plate and a scoop of crème catalana ice cream. We chose to accompany all of this great food with an excellent, Alion Ribera Del Duero red wine for 48 euros—a real steal, made by the people who produce Vega Sicilia, generally regarded as one of, if not THE, best red wines in the world. Total bill of 202 euros for the best non-tapas meal of the trip and probably one of the best meals of the last two or three years. I can’t recommend this place too highly. It provides a truly special occasion meal in a beautiful setting with completely unstuffy but attentive service. DH who hates wearing a suit also felt perfectly fine there in a sweater. A great dining experience.
Our third day we took our free trip to Sitges. We were spoiled for choice in selecting a lunch spot. The restaurants nearest the church seemed to be the new, trendy places and I was interested in them, but DH prevailed and we selected the largest of the three hotels named for Columbus’ ships, the Santa Maria. It covered almost a seaside facing block with outdoor tables. With that kind of size I was a bit apprehensive but I certainly didn’t need to be. DH’s fish soup was pronounced excellent and I was able to have my favorite meal—razor clams and goat joint. The latter was actually better than the kid I’d had the night before at the Pat Wells/Juan Carlos place and at ½, maybe even 1/3 the price. Perhaps goat is a relatively rustic dish that is best eaten in a more rustic place and setting. Whatever. It was really good.
Dinner that evening was at La Provenca just around the corner from our hotel. I’d wanted to eat at this place on both our previous trips and just hadn’t had enough meals to be able to fit it in. It has a bib gourmand rating in the Michelin guide and I can see why. We had an excellent meal with a nice bottle of cava in a lovely setting for 100 euros. And it’s in the Maribel guide, of course. DH had fish soup (right up there with anchovies in his book and he’ll order it every chance he gets). I had artichoke stew with shrimp croquettes, then monkfish with crispy pig trotters and shrimp. We even had dessert—pommes anna for DH and pineapple with rosemary ice cream for me. Décor at this place was really lovely. Perhaps it’s because I so enjoy eating that I also enjoy displays of edible items either with or rather than flowers. Here they had green apples floating in various sized clear glass bowls and vases. The green of the apples complimented their light teal blue décor perfectly. It was a beautiful and highly relaxing setting.
Next day for lunch we had my favorite tapas meal—at Lonja de Tapas, in my new favorite El Born area (just like my favorite wine bar, La Vinya del Senyor is there) and another Maribel recommendation. We selected it from among a group of tapas places all in the same area because it has the virtue of opening at noon rather than one p.m. as most others do and the noon starting time fit best with our schedule and our stomachs. Once more we were the first ones in but by the time we left the place had filled up. As we’d come to expect, the place was trendy, with black board menus and bare brick walls, but very comfortable. The food was excellent—sausages with matchstick potatoes and fried egg on top, fried tiny quail eggs on top of calamari, shrimps in egg roll skin with aioli, bread with oil—but no tomatoes for once, kalamata olives, diced raw salmon in soy sauce and dill oil, spicy potatoes and meatballs, and more cava. Hey, it’s the local beverage of choice. Who are we to break with local tradition?! All this for 76 euros. Great lunch.
That evening we asked our hotel staff to book us at Balthazar, a place we’d seen nearby that looked exceptionally attractive (in a place where every restaurant is attractive, that’s saying something) and whose posted menu sounded good to us. We thought we might be able to produce our own personal “find.” The hotel staff, who appeared trustworthy, disabused us of the idea, however, calling the place “ok” but saying “there are better.” In response to my quick “like what?” they replied “Windsor” and since I remembered it as appearing on the Maribel list, that was all I needed to hear. They booked us for an 8:30—their opening time—reservation. This was a sit-down, traditional dining experience that made me rethink my new found preference for the tapas experience—something the more highly rated Ca’ L’Isidre couldn’t achieve. First off, the place is gorgeous, modern, white walled, small rooms/seating areas, with big art in bold colors. To add to that we were seated in the cool (both aesthetically and temperature wise) porch area with multi-paned windows looking out onto a rough hewn cement fountain covered in ivy with water dripping down. Incredibly relaxing. We opted for the chef’s choice 38 euro tasting menu and were assured that it would, at our request, include the pigs feet meat in cannelloni with parmesan cheese sauce. Service was unobtrusive but accommodating. Overall the meal was fun and filled with great flavors. We started with fresh green peas and tiny chunks of iberico ham in martini glasses with pea soup. Pretty, cute and tasty. Next came scallops with a covering of iberico ham and green broad beans. Then the pigs feet meat cannelloni. If you’ve steered clear of pigs feet because of the idea of eating feet, or of gnawing on foot bones (though I must say that’s half the fun) this is a great way to try them. All the work is done for you and all you have to do is keep an open mind while you dig into one of the tastiest meats known to man/woman. Anytime you get a chance to introduce yourself to pigs feet by eating the meat apart from the bone and think you have the slightest interest, go for it. This stuff is wonderful. We topped that with lamb with coriander, an interesting spice with lamb that I’d never had before, then a cheese plate and a scoop of crème catalana ice cream. We chose to accompany all of this great food with an excellent, Alion Ribera Del Duero red wine for 48 euros—a real steal, made by the people who produce Vega Sicilia, generally regarded as one of, if not THE, best red wines in the world. Total bill of 202 euros for the best non-tapas meal of the trip and probably one of the best meals of the last two or three years. I can’t recommend this place too highly. It provides a truly special occasion meal in a beautiful setting with completely unstuffy but attentive service. DH who hates wearing a suit also felt perfectly fine there in a sweater. A great dining experience.
Dining in the Olympic village area is probably not an invitation to a great meal. It’s more for the fun of being in the energetic area with the sea and the boats and the Frank Gerhy fish that you go there. There are almost limitless choices of restaurants, most featuring the same menus so they rely on hawkers to bring you in. The area at the end by the FG fish probably has more upscale places since they are actually in buildings rather than tents, but it’s the tents with the hawkers to which DH is drawn so that’s where we ate. Since they’re all pretty much alike, I didn’t even keep notes of the name of the one we selected. They got the nod because they promised—and delivered—more razor clams, also tomato bread, olives, ham and sausage and seafood paella. Not great but ok and pretty good theatre.
Our final meal in BCN was at L’Olive, a favorite from a previous trip where we had our hotel book us when they couldn’t get us a last minute reservation at a tapas restaurant nearby. Since I was going home to the starved pavements of no razor clams (you can mailorder them for $40 for a tuna fish sized can and they are good, but just not authentic sans shells) I started one last time with razor clams, then had soft cooked leg of lamb—they didn’t have goat this time. DH had one last fish soup and we called it a night-and a vacation. L’Olive is again relatively close to Granados 83 in the Eixample area, has pleasant décor (long skinny vases on the walls with shocks of wheat or rye or some form of grain/grass), very reasonable prices and very competent cooking. We were lucky to get a seat. The place was full and the diners all looked happy and contented, as were we.
So, 9 meals in Barcelona on this trip, and a similar number on previous trips, and I still haven’t eaten at Cal Pep, the super tapas place that most everyone raves about. Next February!
Because I’m lazy and because it’s all there already, instead of providing you addresses, phone numbers and websites for these and other great dining spots in BCN, I just suggest you google or search this site for Maribel’s Guide to Barcelona. That info and much, much more is all there. It’s almost gilding the lily to even do a report on food in Barcelona, Maribel has done such a good job of it. Perhaps all of the foregoing will, however, add some “weight” to her well-expressed opinions from a pigs foot, razor clam and goat joint aficionado and an anchovy and fish soup freak. Consider BCN, especially in February. It beats Minnesota, youbetcha.
On day 5 we drove the approximately 260 km back to BCN, dropped our car at the Sants train station without problems and took a taxi to Granados 83, the same hotel we stayed at the year before. It’s very new—probably only 2 or 3 years since it was renovated into a hotel—and very modern. At 145 euros per night, it’s a steal. Another good reason to go to BCN in February—off season hotel prices. It has a 4 star superior rating and while the rooms themselves are small, they are so well organized and so attractive that you don’t even notice. Besides the bed, the sleeping area has a large leather couch, and the wall facing the bed pulls open to reveal the tv, and a desk, etc, plus small closet. The bathroom is in the modern squared off style with great lighting and a tub with shower. Amenity liquids in multiple colors are provided in a little purse-like plastic bag that you may take with—great free gift for any teenage girls you may need to bring something to.
The staff is very helpful—and hip. There is free internet and a very nicely appointed restaurant downstairs where you can dine on what appears to be a nice if small menu or have breakfast at a beautiful but pricey (18 or 23 euros) buffet with sliced fruit and the ubiquitous tomato bread with iberico ham. The breakfast is very nice if you don’t mind paying the price. I’ve never had lunch or dinner there so I can’t vouch for that. All in all this is a very nice hotel, in a very good location, close to many nice restaurants and I would stay there again and again, especially when the great low season prices are in effect—if I hadn’t decided next time to try to stay in the new hip, happening El Born area.
Since I can’t wait to tell you about the wonderful food we had I’m going to try to cut the sights a bit shorter here in the interest of retaining reader interest and saving my wrists. So, hitting the highlights….
Returned to the Ramblas, the ultimate strolling street, and went several times to the Boqueria market, one of my favorites of all the many markets I’ve been to. The colors, the fish, everything about it is interesting and top drawer. I have yet to eat there so I must return some more.
Walked Passeig de Gracia street to see the wonderful architecture of Gaudi and his contemporaries—especially La Pedrara and Casa Batillo with the eyebrow windows. We toured the former on a previous visit and did the latter this time. It’s not cheap at 16 or 17 euros but very worthwhile. They have audio guides so you can listen to as much or as little as you like and go at your own pace. There is nary a straight line in the place—save for the floors. The mosaic chimneys on the roof are wonderful and worth the 6 story climb.
Also toured the old Cathedral. It’s ok, but not as nice as the newer Santa Maria del Mar in El Born and of course, nowhere near as exciting as the Sagrada Familia at which we made the obligatory stop to see progress and take photos.
Enjoyed our new find, the Placa Tetuan and the wonderful Moorish Arc De Triomphe then the walk down the wide boulevard past the Palace of Justice and a stop for pictures there. A policeman gave us the gentlest warning about not taking pictures there (I suppose people don’t want to be pictured going or coming to their trials) and then a nice explanation about the history of the building. We hardly recognized that we’d been admonished.
Once more we saw and took pictures of the lovely Palau Musica without either touring the place or getting tickets to a concert—yet another good reason to return, and next time to be more proactive about getting tickets in advance.
Walked the streets of El Born and found the area that’s starting to come alive as the hip, trendy area of town, exciting and interesting. Enjoyed the Santa Caterina newly remodeled covered market, nice but not as spectacular as the big, older Boqueria. BTW, one of the best aspects of the Boqueria is next door to it. There’s a beautiful art nouveau mosaic covered old Farmacia which is now a chocolate and coffee shop with outdoor seating at teak tables with beautiful floral centerpieces—a great haven of peace, quiet and luxury after the exuberance and grittiness of the market.
Took in the Maritim Museum because we were near it and it sounded good in the literature. It was. Replicas of the Nine, Pinta and Santa Maria and an enormous 21 or more oared old sailing ship with visuals that helped you envision what it would be like to see a crew actually rowing the ship. There was a nice group/club of older gentlemen there all working on their own model ships, and of course, the requisite group of elementary school children being moved through the various exhibits with their teacher exhorting them and the “trip mothers” keeping them in check.
Also walked about the Port Vell area with its harbor views and the Olympic Port and a bit of Barceloneta, the old fishermen’s quarter, across the street from Port Vell.
Barcelona once seen and then seen again, and again, is becoming for us a lot like Paris. We no longer feel the need to keep checking off sights, but rather just enjoy walking in the various areas we’ve walked and enjoyed before. It’s a great city where many of even the unmarked buildings are quite remarkable, well worthy of viewing and photographing and most of the sidewalk cafes worthy of a stop.
We left the city on one day for a trip of about 45 minutes by train to the seaside town of Sitges, south of BCN. (For some strange reason the trip was free. Must have been a promotion or something. We gave our money to the ticket seller who refused it and sent us to the appropriate track. Same thing happened on our return. Such a deal) Our initial impressions were negative and we feared another Lloret de Mar type place but as we walked deeper and deeper into the city after leaving the train station it got nicer and nicer. There is a pretty church that anchors one end of the seaside promenade area and some nice walking/shopping streets just beyond the streets that front on the water. There are plenty of restaurants and large and small hotels, including once again, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. I’d certainly recommend Sitges as a day trip out of BCN to anyone who has 5 days or more to spend and enjoys balancing a city with a bit of countryside or seaside. I’d gladly have paid for the trip they gave us free.
So, now for the best part.
Food in BCN.
BCN is a food city for sure. It’s also a design city. So the restaurants are fabulous even if you just step inside to take a look and never open your mouth.
We tried to check out as many as possible, stopping for a coffee or a cava at a new place each walk. Even the chain restaurants and the newly built coffee and donut shops have that extra touch of class and design you might expect to find only in an upscale, currently hot spot in a major US city. But that’s not to say that the décor overshadows the food, at least not usually in my experience. In BCN I can get my all time favorite meal with some frequency—a plate of razor clams gently fried in oil, garlic and parsley followed by a small leg of goat, all perfectly done. To me that feast is the essence of the Catalan dining experience, just like my favorite meal in Liguria is trofie with pesto, green beans and potatoes followed by perfect osso buco. I’m starting to drool just remembering the good meals.
My husband’s favorite way to eat is tapas. In the US he frequently orders a dinner of appetizers, so tapas is a natural for him. He would gladly have gone to tapas restaurants and bars every lunch and dinner we were in BCN. I wanted to try some other options but we certainly started with tapas and true to form, it was his favorite meal in BCN. We returned first to a place we’d eaten before—Cervaseria Catalan—and just like before were able to snag a table outside on the sidewalk. I have mixed feelings about this seating. The good thing is that it is seating. I have ankle and knee problems and would become uncomfortable standing throughout an entire tapas meal. The bad thing is it is away from the wonderful “scene” of the interior of the restaurant with its beautiful displays of food and flowers everywhere and the crush of beautiful people eating or waiting to eat it all. I had to content myself with a short foray into the crowd to snap pictures after finishing my meal eaten in the peace and quiet of the covered sidewalk tables. We were certainly off to a good start with the food we had at Cervaseria—white anchovies in vinegar—the best anchovy preparation IMO, also anchovies andalusian style—did I mention my DH loves anchovies?—which is deep fried not unlike the smelt we former Minnesotans used to have from Duluth in the Spring, Butifara—soft sausages with tripe and a little head cheese, very tasty and not too tripey, a plate of various hams and salamis, fried mushrooms, olives, potato omelet and the ubiquitous tomato bread, all accompanied by one of the delicious cavas we drank almost non-stop while we were there in the capitol of cava country. N.B. To tell you how much my DH likes tapas, on this trip he didn’t even hunger after a Chinese meal like he normally does. For once he was totally happy just eating native. That would never happen if we were in pasta or sauerkraut country.
Paco Maralgo is a another tapas restaurant quite close to Granados 83 and I’d read about it in the Maribel guide—and practically everywhere else—so I had the hotel book us for our first BCN dinner there. Wise choice. This time I got to sit while eating tapas AND be in the center of the action. The place is very bright and cheerful, modern with high stools at the bar and at small tables for two across a narrow “waiter route” from the bar. Everything is written on the blackboard but you also get a menu. The waiters will guide you but my guess is you can’t go wrong no matter what you order. We had both razor clams and tiny regular shaped clams (btw razor clam shells, if you’ve never had them, are pencil shaped about the circumference of a human finger or thumb and range in length from about 4 to 7 inches and their meat is very sweet and unique). I had a bikini which is what they call a ham and cheese sandwich, fried so that the cheese melts perfectly, a little like the perfect little sandwiches they charge so much for at Harry’s Bar in Venice. We shared Galician crab which was the big winner, and had sausage from the sausage making town of Vic which seemed a lot like Italian salami, steak in garlic and, of course, anchovies in garlic and another bottle of cava. DH was in tapas heaven. Service was terrific. The staff, all male, seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves and their enjoyment was infectious. With reservations at 8 p.m. we pressed our noses to the door and were admitted just as they opened –how do the Spanish keep those ungodly hours?!!
Each morning instead of partaking of the hotel’s beautiful but relatively expensive breakfast, we’d stop for coffee and tomato bread with ham someplace different along our route. This gave us a chance to see how the locals do it and to compare places. A couple of the places we stopped into on Provenca were a few steps below street level and at one we even sat on low stools surrounded by giant cans of tomatoes. A chain called Café et The provided the best of these experiences at their place on the Ramblas. The bread had just the right touch of oil to make it perfect with the tomato and ham and they had excellent coffee.
Day two in BCN was not quite as good as day one possibly because we strayed from the tapas theme and actually ate full meals in real restaurants. We passed up the tourist mecca of Set Portes for an old favorite at Port Vell—La Gavina. We’d eaten two good meals there on previous trips and were expecting a third. We were seated outside overlooking the boats in the harbor. They still have some of the best razor clams around and my DH’s fish soup was good but our main courses were just not up to snuff. I believe mine was fideau, the sort of paella with noodles instead of rice that the Catalans make. Sometimes you can’t go home again.
True as that old adage proved at Gavina, it was debunked at La Vinya del Senor, the wine bar in the shadow of the Santa Maria del Mar church. We loved it on our previous trip. We adored it on this. If I could take one place from BCN home with me and install it down the block from where I live in FLL, it would be this place. They love their wines and they want to share them with you. They serve in quality glassware. They pour generously. They chat with you. You feel at home—if your home has wooden boxes of wine sitting everywhere in a seemingly haphazard arrangement that probably took them hours to work out. Besides the terrific interior zinc bar they have tables outside, so you can drink great wine while drinking in the beauty of the church. They even serve tapas that are supposed to be innovative and artistic, but stupid me, I’ve always opted to move on to a full-blown restaurant for meals. I’ll not make that mistake next time. Next time, I’m prolonging my stay to have lunch there.
Dinner was a biggie. We’d reserved at Ca’ L’Isidre, regarded as the best traditional restaurant in BCN by no less a foodie than Patricia Wells and reportedly frequented by King Juan Carlos. On the night we dined there, however, neither Pat nor Juan were in attendance. It was just us and a rapper type and his girlfriend in our little alcove. The food was well prepared as we had expected—and very traditional as we had also expected—Tuna tartare, fois gras, pigs trotters with fois gras and porcini, kid leg with potato sticks. The décor harked back to the 80s maybe even the 70s in a good comforting way, but certainly a far cry from the exciting décor of other places we went to in BCN. I guess that’s part of the charm of the place. As I think back on this meal, I realize it really was excellent and yet somehow it just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps I too have become a tapas fancier who prefers that style and that energy and that informality to the more staid, traditional setting and service of the “special meal” in the temple of gastronomy. Seems sort of like looking a gift horse in the mouth not to have been totally swept away by this place. Once more I may be coming closer to the viewpoint of DH.
Our third day we took our free trip to Sitges. We were spoiled for choice in selecting a lunch spot. The restaurants nearest the church seemed to be the new, trendy places and I was interested in them, but DH prevailed and we selected the largest of the three hotels named for Columbus’ ships, the Santa Maria. It covered almost a seaside facing block with outdoor tables. With that kind of size I was a bit apprehensive but I certainly didn’t need to be. DH’s fish soup was pronounced excellent and I was able to have my favorite meal—razor clams and goat joint. The latter was actually better than the kid I’d had the night before at the Pat Wells/Juan Carlos place and at ½, maybe even 1/3 the price. Perhaps goat is a relatively rustic dish that is best eaten in a more rustic place and setting. Whatever. It was really good.
Dinner that evening was at La Provenca just around the corner from our hotel. I’d wanted to eat at this place on both our previous trips and just hadn’t had enough meals to be able to fit it in. It has a bib gourmand rating in the Michelin guide and I can see why. We had an excellent meal with a nice bottle of cava in a lovely setting for 100 euros. And it’s in the Maribel guide, of course. DH had fish soup (right up there with anchovies in his book and he’ll order it every chance he gets). I had artichoke stew with shrimp croquettes, then monkfish with crispy pig trotters and shrimp. We even had dessert—pommes anna for DH and pineapple with rosemary ice cream for me. Décor at this place was really lovely. Perhaps it’s because I so enjoy eating that I also enjoy displays of edible items either with or rather than flowers. Here they had green apples floating in various sized clear glass bowls and vases. The green of the apples complimented their light teal blue décor perfectly. It was a beautiful and highly relaxing setting.
Next day for lunch we had my favorite tapas meal—at Lonja de Tapas, in my new favorite El Born area (just like my favorite wine bar, La Vinya del Senyor is there) and another Maribel recommendation. We selected it from among a group of tapas places all in the same area because it has the virtue of opening at noon rather than one p.m. as most others do and the noon starting time fit best with our schedule and our stomachs. Once more we were the first ones in but by the time we left the place had filled up. As we’d come to expect, the place was trendy, with black board menus and bare brick walls, but very comfortable. The food was excellent—sausages with matchstick potatoes and fried egg on top, fried tiny quail eggs on top of calamari, shrimps in egg roll skin with aioli, bread with oil—but no tomatoes for once, kalamata olives, diced raw salmon in soy sauce and dill oil, spicy potatoes and meatballs, and more cava. Hey, it’s the local beverage of choice. Who are we to break with local tradition?! All this for 76 euros. Great lunch.
That evening we asked our hotel staff to book us at Balthazar, a place we’d seen nearby that looked exceptionally attractive (in a place where every restaurant is attractive, that’s saying something) and whose posted menu sounded good to us. We thought we might be able to produce our own personal “find.” The hotel staff, who appeared trustworthy, disabused us of the idea, however, calling the place “ok” but saying “there are better.” In response to my quick “like what?” they replied “Windsor” and since I remembered it as appearing on the Maribel list, that was all I needed to hear. They booked us for an 8:30—their opening time—reservation. This was a sit-down, traditional dining experience that made me rethink my new found preference for the tapas experience—something the more highly rated Ca’ L’Isidre couldn’t achieve. First off, the place is gorgeous, modern, white walled, small rooms/seating areas, with big art in bold colors. To add to that we were seated in the cool (both aesthetically and temperature wise) porch area with multi-paned windows looking out onto a rough hewn cement fountain covered in ivy with water dripping down. Incredibly relaxing. We opted for the chef’s choice 38 euro tasting menu and were assured that it would, at our request, include the pigs feet meat in cannelloni with parmesan cheese sauce. Service was unobtrusive but accommodating. Overall the meal was fun and filled with great flavors. We started with fresh green peas and tiny chunks of iberico ham in martini glasses with pea soup. Pretty, cute and tasty. Next came scallops with a covering of iberico ham and green broad beans. Then the pigs feet meat cannelloni. If you’ve steered clear of pigs feet because of the idea of eating feet, or of gnawing on foot bones (though I must say that’s half the fun) this is a great way to try them. All the work is done for you and all you have to do is keep an open mind while you dig into one of the tastiest meats known to man/woman. Anytime you get a chance to introduce yourself to pigs feet by eating the meat apart from the bone and think you have the slightest interest, go for it. This stuff is wonderful. We topped that with lamb with coriander, an interesting spice with lamb that I’d never had before, then a cheese plate and a scoop of crème catalana ice cream. We chose to accompany all of this great food with an excellent, Alion Ribera Del Duero red wine for 48 euros—a real steal, made by the people who produce Vega Sicilia, generally regarded as one of, if not THE, best red wines in the world. Total bill of 202 euros for the best non-tapas meal of the trip and probably one of the best meals of the last two or three years. I can’t recommend this place too highly. It provides a truly special occasion meal in a beautiful setting with completely unstuffy but attentive service. DH who hates wearing a suit also felt perfectly fine there in a sweater. A great dining experience.
Our third day we took our free trip to Sitges. We were spoiled for choice in selecting a lunch spot. The restaurants nearest the church seemed to be the new, trendy places and I was interested in them, but DH prevailed and we selected the largest of the three hotels named for Columbus’ ships, the Santa Maria. It covered almost a seaside facing block with outdoor tables. With that kind of size I was a bit apprehensive but I certainly didn’t need to be. DH’s fish soup was pronounced excellent and I was able to have my favorite meal—razor clams and goat joint. The latter was actually better than the kid I’d had the night before at the Pat Wells/Juan Carlos place and at ½, maybe even 1/3 the price. Perhaps goat is a relatively rustic dish that is best eaten in a more rustic place and setting. Whatever. It was really good.
Dinner that evening was at La Provenca just around the corner from our hotel. I’d wanted to eat at this place on both our previous trips and just hadn’t had enough meals to be able to fit it in. It has a bib gourmand rating in the Michelin guide and I can see why. We had an excellent meal with a nice bottle of cava in a lovely setting for 100 euros. And it’s in the Maribel guide, of course. DH had fish soup (right up there with anchovies in his book and he’ll order it every chance he gets). I had artichoke stew with shrimp croquettes, then monkfish with crispy pig trotters and shrimp. We even had dessert—pommes anna for DH and pineapple with rosemary ice cream for me. Décor at this place was really lovely. Perhaps it’s because I so enjoy eating that I also enjoy displays of edible items either with or rather than flowers. Here they had green apples floating in various sized clear glass bowls and vases. The green of the apples complimented their light teal blue décor perfectly. It was a beautiful and highly relaxing setting.
Next day for lunch we had my favorite tapas meal—at Lonja de Tapas, in my new favorite El Born area (just like my favorite wine bar, La Vinya del Senyor is there) and another Maribel recommendation. We selected it from among a group of tapas places all in the same area because it has the virtue of opening at noon rather than one p.m. as most others do and the noon starting time fit best with our schedule and our stomachs. Once more we were the first ones in but by the time we left the place had filled up. As we’d come to expect, the place was trendy, with black board menus and bare brick walls, but very comfortable. The food was excellent—sausages with matchstick potatoes and fried egg on top, fried tiny quail eggs on top of calamari, shrimps in egg roll skin with aioli, bread with oil—but no tomatoes for once, kalamata olives, diced raw salmon in soy sauce and dill oil, spicy potatoes and meatballs, and more cava. Hey, it’s the local beverage of choice. Who are we to break with local tradition?! All this for 76 euros. Great lunch.
That evening we asked our hotel staff to book us at Balthazar, a place we’d seen nearby that looked exceptionally attractive (in a place where every restaurant is attractive, that’s saying something) and whose posted menu sounded good to us. We thought we might be able to produce our own personal “find.” The hotel staff, who appeared trustworthy, disabused us of the idea, however, calling the place “ok” but saying “there are better.” In response to my quick “like what?” they replied “Windsor” and since I remembered it as appearing on the Maribel list, that was all I needed to hear. They booked us for an 8:30—their opening time—reservation. This was a sit-down, traditional dining experience that made me rethink my new found preference for the tapas experience—something the more highly rated Ca’ L’Isidre couldn’t achieve. First off, the place is gorgeous, modern, white walled, small rooms/seating areas, with big art in bold colors. To add to that we were seated in the cool (both aesthetically and temperature wise) porch area with multi-paned windows looking out onto a rough hewn cement fountain covered in ivy with water dripping down. Incredibly relaxing. We opted for the chef’s choice 38 euro tasting menu and were assured that it would, at our request, include the pigs feet meat in cannelloni with parmesan cheese sauce. Service was unobtrusive but accommodating. Overall the meal was fun and filled with great flavors. We started with fresh green peas and tiny chunks of iberico ham in martini glasses with pea soup. Pretty, cute and tasty. Next came scallops with a covering of iberico ham and green broad beans. Then the pigs feet meat cannelloni. If you’ve steered clear of pigs feet because of the idea of eating feet, or of gnawing on foot bones (though I must say that’s half the fun) this is a great way to try them. All the work is done for you and all you have to do is keep an open mind while you dig into one of the tastiest meats known to man/woman. Anytime you get a chance to introduce yourself to pigs feet by eating the meat apart from the bone and think you have the slightest interest, go for it. This stuff is wonderful. We topped that with lamb with coriander, an interesting spice with lamb that I’d never had before, then a cheese plate and a scoop of crème catalana ice cream. We chose to accompany all of this great food with an excellent, Alion Ribera Del Duero red wine for 48 euros—a real steal, made by the people who produce Vega Sicilia, generally regarded as one of, if not THE, best red wines in the world. Total bill of 202 euros for the best non-tapas meal of the trip and probably one of the best meals of the last two or three years. I can’t recommend this place too highly. It provides a truly special occasion meal in a beautiful setting with completely unstuffy but attentive service. DH who hates wearing a suit also felt perfectly fine there in a sweater. A great dining experience.
Dining in the Olympic village area is probably not an invitation to a great meal. It’s more for the fun of being in the energetic area with the sea and the boats and the Frank Gerhy fish that you go there. There are almost limitless choices of restaurants, most featuring the same menus so they rely on hawkers to bring you in. The area at the end by the FG fish probably has more upscale places since they are actually in buildings rather than tents, but it’s the tents with the hawkers to which DH is drawn so that’s where we ate. Since they’re all pretty much alike, I didn’t even keep notes of the name of the one we selected. They got the nod because they promised—and delivered—more razor clams, also tomato bread, olives, ham and sausage and seafood paella. Not great but ok and pretty good theatre.
Our final meal in BCN was at L’Olive, a favorite from a previous trip where we had our hotel book us when they couldn’t get us a last minute reservation at a tapas restaurant nearby. Since I was going home to the starved pavements of no razor clams (you can mailorder them for $40 for a tuna fish sized can and they are good, but just not authentic sans shells) I started one last time with razor clams, then had soft cooked leg of lamb—they didn’t have goat this time. DH had one last fish soup and we called it a night-and a vacation. L’Olive is again relatively close to Granados 83 in the Eixample area, has pleasant décor (long skinny vases on the walls with shocks of wheat or rye or some form of grain/grass), very reasonable prices and very competent cooking. We were lucky to get a seat. The place was full and the diners all looked happy and contented, as were we.
So, 9 meals in Barcelona on this trip, and a similar number on previous trips, and I still haven’t eaten at Cal Pep, the super tapas place that most everyone raves about. Next February!
Because I’m lazy and because it’s all there already, instead of providing you addresses, phone numbers and websites for these and other great dining spots in BCN, I just suggest you google or search this site for Maribel’s Guide to Barcelona. That info and much, much more is all there. It’s almost gilding the lily to even do a report on food in Barcelona, Maribel has done such a good job of it. Perhaps all of the foregoing will, however, add some “weight” to her well-expressed opinions from a pigs foot, razor clam and goat joint aficionado and an anchovy and fish soup freak. Consider BCN, especially in February. It beats Minnesota, youbetcha.
Apr 2nd, 2008, 03:53 AM
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Julie what a great report! Those cannelloni with "pig's feet meat" sounds truly scrumptious! (I like the English name, too!)
I would love to return to Barcelona and do a similar trip!! One of these days. And you also must return to sample Cal Pep..I would like to her your opinion.
Thanks for taking the time!
I would love to return to Barcelona and do a similar trip!! One of these days. And you also must return to sample Cal Pep..I would like to her your opinion.
Thanks for taking the time!
Apr 2nd, 2008, 07:12 AM
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Julie,
Loved your report, especially the great detail on your dining experiences.
I'm so, so glad you made it to my very, very favorite small plates dining spot, Paco Meralgo. It just serves dishes of the most impeccable ingredients and is just so much fun. It never disappoints.
We must think alike food-wise, as our very favorite "fancy" dining experience was at Windsor, just drop dead elegant with impeccable service and cuisine. It flys under the radar because it isn't mentioned in many English language guides (except for mine!) and gets an "in the know" local crowd. We were most impressed. And I'm so envious that you snagged a table on the patio!
Now, on to your planning of your summer Northern Spain trip. I must get busy and finish my Galicia-Asturias-Cantabria file and put it up, so that you can have it before you leave! You've given me the push to get it done!
Thanks again, from a fellow foodie, for a great report!
Loved your report, especially the great detail on your dining experiences.
I'm so, so glad you made it to my very, very favorite small plates dining spot, Paco Meralgo. It just serves dishes of the most impeccable ingredients and is just so much fun. It never disappoints.
We must think alike food-wise, as our very favorite "fancy" dining experience was at Windsor, just drop dead elegant with impeccable service and cuisine. It flys under the radar because it isn't mentioned in many English language guides (except for mine!) and gets an "in the know" local crowd. We were most impressed. And I'm so envious that you snagged a table on the patio!
Now, on to your planning of your summer Northern Spain trip. I must get busy and finish my Galicia-Asturias-Cantabria file and put it up, so that you can have it before you leave! You've given me the push to get it done!
Thanks again, from a fellow foodie, for a great report!
Apr 2nd, 2008, 04:00 PM
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Thank you for re-posting, as I missed the first one.
We are not currently planning a trip back to Barcelona, etc., but I am saving your report for later because of all the detail. We traveled to Barcelona, Figueres, Girona and Cadaques several years ago and really enjoyed it. Everything but navigating, as the signs and directions along the Costa Brava are pretty bad and we frequently had to retrace some steps.
I completely agree with your comments about Maribel, who is extremely helpful for any trip in Spain.
Did you make it to Cadaques? that was our favorite spot on the Costa Brava, although as I recall it is not one of Maribel's favorites.
We are not currently planning a trip back to Barcelona, etc., but I am saving your report for later because of all the detail. We traveled to Barcelona, Figueres, Girona and Cadaques several years ago and really enjoyed it. Everything but navigating, as the signs and directions along the Costa Brava are pretty bad and we frequently had to retrace some steps.
I completely agree with your comments about Maribel, who is extremely helpful for any trip in Spain.
Did you make it to Cadaques? that was our favorite spot on the Costa Brava, although as I recall it is not one of Maribel's favorites.
Apr 2nd, 2008, 06:38 PM
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I have thoroughly enjoyed your trip report - we're going to be in Barcelona for the first time this coming October. We're a little confused as to where to base ourselves for the week. We want an apartment and I've zeroed in on several. The question I pose to you is, would you advise us to stay in the Barri Gothic or in the Born area? I want to be really conveniently located and I am leaning to the the area around the catedral. But I've heard lots of great things about Born area. I know you posted that you want to stay in the Born area next time but since we are going to be seeking out all the major sights of the city - would Born be convenient for that?
Apr 3rd, 2008, 02:56 AM
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jd dallas, we were in Cadaques in a third earlier trip in the Fall, and enjoyed it very much. I would have liked tto have returned on this trip, but chose not to because of the season (expect it would be pretty well shut down tight) and because of the driving problem there. DH still remembers the drive to get there, and not fondly.
caroltis, BCN is an infinitely walkable city so for sightseeing I don't think there would be much difference between staying in Barri Gotic or El Born, latter actually closer to some sights like Port Vell, Barceloneta, Parc de Ciutadella, and Olympic Port. Of course, it's further from Eixample area, but there's a good metro system. I just think El Born has more going for it right now. We also found a couple of very nice very reasonable hotels there--in the 100 to 125 euro range.
Maribel, We went to most of the restaurants we did based on your suggestions and we loved them, so you have two more devout followers. Thanks again for the wonderful suggestions for my upcoming trip to Galicia, Asturia and Cantabria. Can't wait for your guides to those areas.
caroltis, BCN is an infinitely walkable city so for sightseeing I don't think there would be much difference between staying in Barri Gotic or El Born, latter actually closer to some sights like Port Vell, Barceloneta, Parc de Ciutadella, and Olympic Port. Of course, it's further from Eixample area, but there's a good metro system. I just think El Born has more going for it right now. We also found a couple of very nice very reasonable hotels there--in the 100 to 125 euro range.
Maribel, We went to most of the restaurants we did based on your suggestions and we loved them, so you have two more devout followers. Thanks again for the wonderful suggestions for my upcoming trip to Galicia, Asturia and Cantabria. Can't wait for your guides to those areas.
Apr 3rd, 2008, 03:49 AM
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JulieVikmanis-
My husband and I will be traveling in Catalonia two weeks from today.
From Figueres, we're planning on visiting Sant Pere de Rodes on route to Cadaques.We're curious about the roads(???). I had put out a message on this web a few days ago seeking some info about the roads to Cadaques( e.g. Gl 613, Gl 614. Any specific info you might have about getting to and from Cadaques would be greatly appreciated.
My husband and I will be traveling in Catalonia two weeks from today.
From Figueres, we're planning on visiting Sant Pere de Rodes on route to Cadaques.We're curious about the roads(???). I had put out a message on this web a few days ago seeking some info about the roads to Cadaques( e.g. Gl 613, Gl 614. Any specific info you might have about getting to and from Cadaques would be greatly appreciated.
Apr 3rd, 2008, 04:23 AM
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Sorry, I can't provide specific route information although I'd guess there's only one route by the time you approach the town and you have to take it if you want to go there. And I don't want to scare you. it's doable, it's just narrow, twisty and a bit hairraising. Perhaps there will be others who have driven it more recently who will see your question here and respond more definitively.
Regardless, Cadaques is well worth going to.
Regardless, Cadaques is well worth going to.
Apr 3rd, 2008, 04:39 AM
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Julie--
Firstly, thank you for your report-
and- for your reply.
Just have one more question---
At any point did the road run along cliffs (with steep drop offs) without guard rails?
We going to Cadaques regardless- but need to get mentally prepared.
Firstly, thank you for your report-
and- for your reply.
Just have one more question---
At any point did the road run along cliffs (with steep drop offs) without guard rails?
We going to Cadaques regardless- but need to get mentally prepared.
Apr 3rd, 2008, 04:45 AM
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I did that drive a few years ago. The road winds around and around, and does run along mountainsides , but it is not all that scary. (Of course, I was not the one driving!) Certainly worth the drive to visit Cadaques.
Apr 3rd, 2008, 05:17 AM
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OK, I did find your report the first time, but now that you have reposted it I am taking the time to copy it into a file so I can find the restaurant recommendations if I ever make it back to Barcelona (which your recommendations are making a very tempting option).
Apr 7th, 2009, 05:47 AM
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Caph52, thanks. Glad you found my reports helpful. I'm definitely Scandinavian but the last name is Latvian. We most often get mistaken for Greek with the I S at the end of the name. Sveiks! One of my only Latvian words.
