The market was hustling and bustling as usual, but adjoined to it, was a restaurant we had often passed that was well attended by locals. Being a bit chilly outside, we took a seat at the bar, and ordered their tortilla of the day.
PS: The food photos and the restaurant's interiors during our travels are always shot with a Samsung Galaxy SII cell phone.
The tapas were hard to resist so close to us. So we tried one, sardines wrapped around tomato stuffed green olives.
And a bit later, a large sashimi like piece of salmon rubbed ontop with an olive oil and probably parsley spread. Both were quite wonderful.
We then headed off to our destination for the day, Park Güell .
http://www.parkguell.es/en/portada
Originally intended as a high end residential developement (which did not succeed) it is now a delightful 30 acre park. We entered through one of the many entrances and made our way around the park, and exited through the entrance.
I would highly suggest walking in by the entrance, as it is spectacular. The entrance is flanked by two ginger bread looking Gaudi buildings, with a huge staircase ahead of you.
As you mkae your way up the decorated staircase, three sets of fountains are to be found in the middle.
The third is the famous Gaudi dragon, an icon of Gaudi and of Barcelona. At the top of the stair case is a large space held up with Doric Columns. This space I lated learned was to be the market area for the 60 mansions that were never built. The roof of this structure is a huge terrace that offers spectacular views of the park and the city. Much of the surfaces are highly decorated with broken shards of ceramic and glass. At times, it reminded me of the decorative style I had seen in Bangkok.
Meandering paths abound in the park, along with several rough stone covered colonades. One could walk for hours here, and I can easily see myself returning for a picnic. It was getting a it late in the afternoon, and it was time for us to head back home.
We were going to meet up with a friend that was visiting with her 20 year old daughter. Goggle maps are so practical. I just spoke out loud the name of her hotel into my cell phone and voila, it found it a few blocks off the Ramblas. We met them in the lobby. Her daughter came down to greet us, but gave her regrets for joining us as she was tired after a long day of shopping. I joked that today's youth cannot keep up with us party animals.
We headed over to a classy looking restaurant. Carol Ann ordered a Paella, while Hera ordered two different appetizers of squid. I ordered a grilled squid in a black ink sauce.
The food was good, as we talked and compared notes of our travels and expereinces in Barcelona.
Having had such a good brunch the day before at a local restaurant, we decided to do the same this Sunday morning. After a good espresso coffee at home, we made our way out late in the morning. We sat at the bar, but and was told that the kitchen was closed, and would not open for another 30 minutes or so. We decided to head out, and realized that most everywhere was closed. We walked over to a nearby bakery and picked up a warm loaf of bread and went back home and made a rustic chorizo sandwich. I added some wonderful ham as well to mine.
Today's goal was to watch the magic fountains at night, located at the base of Montjuic. The Catalan Art Museum is just up the stairs from the fountains, so we thought we would hit the museum during the day, and the fountains at night.
As we made our way up the spectaluar promenade, and then stair cases, we were disappointed to learn that the museum closes early on Sundays. While we still could have gone in, we would have been overly rushed to really appreciate it, so we decided not to enter. Instead, Hera took her photos of the area.
Nearby, is the Arena. The old Bull Fighting arena. Bull fighting is a Spanish, that is Castillian (Madrid) traditional sport, not a Cataluan sport. Cataluan outlawed bullfighting years ago, and they converted the arena in a really pretty shopping complex. The stores were all closed, but we were still able to walk into the mall, and take the free escalators to the roof which offers wonderful views all around. Including Miro's colourful sculpture of Woman and Bird.
We walked the streets and sat at one corner bar for a refreshing drink, then continued on our way towards the El Ravel neighborhood. We stumbled upon and old market, the Sant Antoni market, that was being refurbished.
We found a place to sit and rest. Ordered some drinks and some tapas. This time we ordered some a Spanish Tortilla, grilled squid, and anchovies. Only later had we realized that what had caught our eye for the place, was fried little fish which we did not see on the menu. We called the waiter over, and ordered some. One of the least expenisve tapas, but so tasty.
As we made our way back out of the neighborhood, we came across a tiny old church called the Monastery of Sant Pau(l) del Camp. While the history of the place is imprecise, it seem it was established around 950's.
We entered and admired the place. We were quite fortunate in that a trio were there getting ready for a perfomrance. One of the woman sang, and the acoustics are amazing. We continued our walk back towards Placa d'Espanya, and up the promenade towards the fountains.
Hera had already spied her location, and we stood and waited. People started to do the same. It is still a bit bright at 9pm this time in Barcelona when the Magic Fountain show starts.
A spectacular show of changing water effects with colourful lights and music. People "ooed and awed" at the display just as one might when an unexpected firework lights the sky. It was an amazing show. I could only imagine how the specators almost a century ago felt as they witnessesed this extravaganza at Barcelona's 1929 World's Fair.
