March 31 – Barcelona, Spain. We've been to Barcelona several times so we decided to take a low key tour today. We're going to walk through the city, visit a couple of markets and then have some tapas.
We headed downtown on the bus. On the way we passed some of the city's famous landmarks, the Columbus Monument among them. We were dropped off near the beginning of La Rambla, Barcelona's famous promenade. This wide, pedestrians only, is paved with alternating waves of black and white tiles. It's lined with stores, hotels, churches, flower stands and cafes. There's even a Dunkin' Donuts. We are heading to the La Boqueria an old (1217) but updated (1853) market in an upscale area. The 1853 building is an iron girder building with a metal roof. I think it's called Modernist Style.
The entrance to the market would be easy to miss. It's set back from the street about 15 yards and has a fairly simple wrought iron entryway. Inside it's very impressive. The fruit and vegetable vendors' counters look like they are waiting for a famous still life artist to paint them. The attention to detail is amazing.
The butchers were not to be outdone. Their displays, although limited by the need for refrigeration, were also impressive, as were the prices, especially on the cured ham. One had four types of cured ham on display, not just slices but the entire leg. Each was partially cut to show the meat. What was most impressive was that one of them, the most expensive was €189 per kilo. That's €85 a pound. At the current exchange rate that's over $90 per pound. Yikes. I doubt you'll find that on your tapas place.
Even the fish vendors are into artful display. The variety of fish and shellfish was impressive. Another stand had at least 20 kinds of mushrooms for sale and I didn't try to count the number of cheese varieties they had. Olives are another item available in at least a dozen types. The place is a bit overwhelming. We stopped at a small stand where our guide had arranged for us to get a small skewer with a shoestring potato wrapped shrimp, a deep fried ball of mashed potatoes and a medallion of chicken breast, also deep fried (sort of an upscale Chicken McNugget). All three were very good.
But the candy vendor topped them all. Part of their display was marzipan candy in the shape of various fruits, insects, frogs etc. But the interesting area was the ones shaped like fast food. They had McDonald's fries, KFC chicken nuggets, hot dogs, burgers, Coke, and other foods. It was both colorful and funny.
We left the La Boqueria and walked a little way on La Rambla before we came to the start of the Gothic Quarter. Here you can find a large section of the old city wall as well as the Cathedral. Just down the street is the St. Catherine Market. The building is old and at one point they were considering tearing it down because the roof was in terrible shape and would cost a lot of money to fix. They solved the problem by putting a suspended cover over the building. It's an undulating wood roof covered with colorful tiles and supported by steel posts. A very pleasant way to preserve a historic building.
This market is in a different part of town and serves a different clientele. Our guide said it is less showy than La Boqueria and the prices are lower. She's probably right. I priced my favorite olives at La Boqueria and they were €15.50 a kilo, here they are only €12.00 a kilo. The displays are not as artistic but the selection and quality seem to be about the same. I walked past a vendor I thought was selling wine but on closer inspection it was all olive oil, hundreds of brands and types of the stuff. I don't know how you would ever make a selection. You'd have to have an olive oil sommelier to help you and samples to taste.
After examining the market we walked through the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter to a place where our small bus could pick us up. We drove down to the seaside where they have an elevated boardwalk along the beach. Under the boardwalk, why does that phrase sound familiar, they have a small life guard HQ and some shops. Our guide said she had to go check on the restaurant and told us to enjoy looking at the beach.
When she returned we walked down the stairs to the beach level and then walked on a wide concrete patio that extended the entire length of the raised boardwalk. Part way down we came to an area where men were playing dominoes with great gusto. They slap the tiles down on the table usually with emphatic hand motions and oral outburst of some sort. And when they play the winning tile you would think a fight was about to break out with all the yelling and gesturing that accompanies the final play. Fun to watch but tapas are calling.
The restaurant was called Xup, xup. We were seated on a wooden patio that extended a short way out onto the beach. It was warm and sunny, just perfect. Apparently the locals thought so to because several young ladies turned their bikinis into monokinis to be sure that they wouldn't have any unsightly tan lines no matter what type of top they wore.
The tapas were very good. First they gave us a small bowl of some very short pasta with seafood, shrimp and scallops, in a light but spicy tomato sauce. That was the hit of the day. It was a large serving for what I think of as tapas. The next course was a skewer with grilled red bell pepper and calamari. After it was grilled some excellent olive oil was applied and then finely chopped fresh basil. Tasty. Even D ate the calamari, something she usually passes up. This was followed by a hush puppy looking item. Turned out to be mashed potatoes with cheese and ham, breaded with something and then deep fried. At this point the tapas were taking on the feeling of lunch. Then next plate had a slice of smoked salmon on toast, 4 deep fried cod balls and a slice of omelet made with potatoes and red peppers, pretty much like a quiche. At this point we were all ready to surrender. No lunch when we get back to the ship.
We sat for a while enjoying the weather, beach and surroundings. All too soon it was back up to the boardwalk and on to the bus for the ride back to the ship.
There was no entertainment this evening as we are not leaving until 11PM.
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