I spent a long weekend in Spain earlier this month. Unfortunately for J, this was a girls’ weekend: I left him behind in Paris to meet an old friend in Barcelona.
Leading up to the trip, the weather forecasts for Barcelona were predicting highs in the 60s, but it was quite a bit cooler while I was there. I had left my winter coat at home and just my trench coat wasn’t warm enough, particularly during the cool evenings. This led to quick trip to buy gloves and a hat the second day of the trip. In both Spain and France, all of the stores have just two big sales a year: one in January and one in July. I have yet to dip into the soldes (“sales” in French) here, but for these purchases I was able to take advantage of the rebajas (“sales” in Spanish).
The trip was extremely relaxing. We spent a lot of time walking around the Barri Gotic and El Ribera, two cute neighborhoods near our hotel. We also walked through the L’Eixample neighborhood and enjoyed the spectacular Art Nouveau architecture while on our way to La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell.
Leading up to the trip, the weather forecasts for Barcelona were predicting highs in the 60s, but it was quite a bit cooler while I was there. I had left my winter coat at home and just my trench coat wasn’t warm enough, particularly during the cool evenings. This led to quick trip to buy gloves and a hat the second day of the trip. In both Spain and France, all of the stores have just two big sales a year: one in January and one in July. I have yet to dip into the soldes (“sales” in French) here, but for these purchases I was able to take advantage of the rebajas (“sales” in Spanish).
The trip was extremely relaxing. We spent a lot of time walking around the Barri Gotic and El Ribera, two cute neighborhoods near our hotel. We also walked through the L’Eixample neighborhood and enjoyed the spectacular Art Nouveau architecture while on our way to La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell.
A few of the buildings in L'Eixample:
Views of the city from Parc Guell:
Both Parc Guell and La Sagrada Familia (along with some of the other buildings we saw in L’Eixample) are the work of Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan architect. La Sagrada Familia is an amazing basilica that has been under construction since 1882, and one of my favorite things to do in Barcelona is to go and see what has changed since my last visit. I’ve been there in 1999, 2006, 2008, 2010 and now 2012. I really enjoyed an exhibit on display in one of the outer rooms of La Sagrada Familia showing how different elements of nature influenced Gaudí’s design.
La Sagrada Familia:
Parc Guell:
Two things that I had been looking forward to on the trip were speaking Spanish and the food. My Spanish is pretty rusty at this point, but what I’ve retained still feels much more natural to me than French. It was a relief to be able to understand people more easily and to be able to express more complex thoughts. And it felt good to effortlessly pronounce things and to know which nouns are masculine or feminine without having to think about it, both of which are things I still struggle with in French.
J and I enjoy many different cuisines and types of restaurants, but we are both very fond of Spanish food. In particular, there are a few Spanish dishes that will always be special to me. I studied in northern Spain for a summer in college and lived in a dorm while I was there. I was a much pickier eater at that point in time and the Spanish dorm food, like most dorm food, was not great. Tortilla de patatas and patatas bravas were two of my favorite dishes: they were inexpensive in restaurants and even the cooks in the dorm couldn’t ruin them. I usually get both when I go out for tapas or am in Spain (and sometimes make them at home).
On this trip I had tortilla and patatas bravas a few times. The best tortilla was at El Xampanyet, an adorable cava bar in the La Ribera neighborhood. J and I discovered this place on our honeymoon, and I dragged my friend there to sit in the blue-tiled room, nibbling tapas, sipping cava, and watching the bar fill up with tourists and Barcelona residents of all ages. Eventually people were spilling out into the street with their drinks and snacks. We also really enjoyed a wine/tapas bar in the L’Eixample neighborhood called La Bodegueta Provença.
It was a great trip, and I had a wonderful time visiting a country I’ve loved since 1999 with someone I’ve been friends with since 1989!
J and I enjoy many different cuisines and types of restaurants, but we are both very fond of Spanish food. In particular, there are a few Spanish dishes that will always be special to me. I studied in northern Spain for a summer in college and lived in a dorm while I was there. I was a much pickier eater at that point in time and the Spanish dorm food, like most dorm food, was not great. Tortilla de patatas and patatas bravas were two of my favorite dishes: they were inexpensive in restaurants and even the cooks in the dorm couldn’t ruin them. I usually get both when I go out for tapas or am in Spain (and sometimes make them at home).
On this trip I had tortilla and patatas bravas a few times. The best tortilla was at El Xampanyet, an adorable cava bar in the La Ribera neighborhood. J and I discovered this place on our honeymoon, and I dragged my friend there to sit in the blue-tiled room, nibbling tapas, sipping cava, and watching the bar fill up with tourists and Barcelona residents of all ages. Eventually people were spilling out into the street with their drinks and snacks. We also really enjoyed a wine/tapas bar in the L’Eixample neighborhood called La Bodegueta Provença.
It was a great trip, and I had a wonderful time visiting a country I’ve loved since 1999 with someone I’ve been friends with since 1989!
