Day 7 Barcelona Trip Review 2010

Today, Thursday, is my last day in Barcelona. It's only a partial day so I can't do any sight seeing as my train leaves from Barcelona Sants Train Station at 3pm so I can't go far. Plus, I have to check out of the Pension Plaza de Goya no later than noon.

I awoke today at 8am, much earlier than I'd hoped, but felt rested. Time to get my "stuff" together. But NOT before breakfast. So once again, I throw on yesterday's clothes and head down for breakfast, this morning choosing another bar on the same bloc, I walk in and the Spanish/Catalán bar tender looks at me like I'm a foreigner. Ha! I order a "pan tumaca" with coffee. He asks me to repeat the order, I do, and he still doesn't understand me. So I say, more simply, a "pan tostada con aceite y tomate". THAT he understands. So I have my breakfast in peace at the bar and then go back to the pension for a long morning getting my stuff ready for the day's travel.

Not quite sure how I'm going to get through the morning before my 3pm train but decide to find a nearby coffee shop to kill some time. And that's just what I do after my noontime checkout.
I found a bakery/café called "Fleca els Angels" at Plaça Àngels, 4, in the upper El Raval neighborhood, not all that far from my pension. Luckily, there was a table in the back corner where I felt comfortable with my suitcase and shoulder bag as I drank my coffee and croissant. There, I spent the better part of an hour writing postcards - so they'd have the Barcelona postmark.

It's time to go at 1pm and and I'm a little nervous knowing I'll have to use their restroom before leaving, me with my suitcase, shoulder bag, and jacket - which won't all fit in the bathroom with me. So I tie the shoulder bag strap around not only the suitcase handle but also around the back of the chair, making it at least a little more challenging for any would-be thief. So that's how I left all my worldly belongings behind, in a public space, while I was behind closed doors - for exacly 25 seconds. And DON'T think I washed my hands, either. And there they sat, everything where I left them. Untouched. And yes, I ALWAYS wash my hands after using the restroom. Something, as I've found, is a rarity in Spanish restrooms at bars or restaurants - or anywhere else for that matter.

Now it's about 1pm, I mail my postcards, and go to a place I'd seen before on my route to/from the pension. It was called Restaurante El Sol, on the Carrer dels Tallers, 75, which has a good-looking menu del día. I've found it's more affectionately known as "Restaurante Pedro y Manolo". This is my kind of place; no-nonsense, very friendly and casual, and a lunch menu for 9 Euros. Can't beat that. Although they have a dining room in the back I put myself next to the open door facing the bar with my suitcase back in the corner, inaccessible to anyone.

Good thing I wouldn't need to use the restroom while here as it's up a narrow staircase and can't imagine having to carry all my stuff up there. Nope. I'm good.

I choose the paella, which was good, and the oven roasted chicken (which turned out to be fried chicken) with potatoes. The chicken was only a little dry inside a little olive oil took care of that. Besides, how can I complain for 9 Euros?! I opt for the red house wine, skip the dessert, and have coffee at the end. It was a good, big lunch.

Time to head to the metro station - which I do at about 2pm. I feel a bit of anxiety for the time, but that quickly passes as I realize the metro will take about 20 minutes maximum and 2 minutes to get through security to my train at Sants Station. This is just what happens - EXCEPT I went to the wrong waiting area, realizing my mistake about 10 minutes before the train leaves and still get there with 8 minutes to spare. Isn't traveling by train great?

My tourist-class car is about half full upon leaving but fills to the maximum in Zaragoza, the only stop along the AVE Barcelona-Madrid route. There's a group of 8 teenagers SEATED in the middle of the aisle in the section between train cars where the toilets are, all playing cards and shouting for the good-or-bad of the game, smacking each other on the head and making all the passengers' heads turn whenever the car doors open. Passing-through passengers literally climb through the game and it never occurs to the kids that they're in everyone's way.

FINALLY, after about 20 minutes of this ruckus, the angry, 50-something train attendant sternly throws them out, marching them all past me, presumably to their seats. I was wishing he'd throw them OFF the speeding train! I thought, man, ONLY in Spain would youngsters brazenly sit in the aisle, totally blocking pedestrian traffic and never think they were causing any trouble. Not their problem, after all. My dad would be proud hearing me repeat his words, "Kids these days."
The nearly 3 hour train ride speeds as I work on this blog and look over trip photos, never once looking up to see what awful Hollywood action movie they're showing on the monitor. My only "break" has been to use the restroom once in the car's "Play Space".

My train arrives in Madrid about 30 minutes from now but we're still traveling at nearly 300 Km/h over flat terrain. It's cloudy, yet again, but I'm happy to be returning home. I only wish my time in Barcelona could've offered nicer weather to get better photos for BarcelonaMan.com. that I'm a bit disappointed. But it was still interesting. I saw some new things, made some new contacts, tried some new pensiones, and the Alimentaria Barcelona 2010 "scene" was definitely an experience. I can only hope to return to Barcelona again soon.
Final Barcelona Thoughts:
We've all read the cautionary tales about rampant crime, pickpockets and prostitution in Barcelona. But in all my 6 nights, 7-days there I didn't once experience or witness any crime of any kind - but I did see only a few prostitutes. (Remember, prostitution is legal in Spain) Besides, what with the rain and cool temperatures it wasn't exactly "hooking weather".

The food was good enough although my standards aren't exactly high. I rarely choose higher-bill restaurants. Lunches were nearly always basic foods chosen from a "menú del día" and dinners mainly consisted of a couple of "raciones" or "tapas" and an equal (or greater) number of beers to make up a lighter dinner. Just good food at good prices and in comfortable environments.
The weather rarely cooperated. Keep in mind I visited March, clearly part of the rainy season, but coastal forecasts are always unpredictable. Next time I'll try returning in the autumn after the tropical summer passes, when it's less humid yet still green.

Look soon for individual reviews on Hostal Martin, Pension Bahia, and Pension Plaza de Goya, each posted in this chronological order, one entry per day. At the very end I'll also post a number of new photos not yet seen in the previous blog entries.

Thanks for following along with BarcelonaMan!

Day 6 Barcelona Trip Review 2010

I slept kind of late, later than I wanted to, until about 9:30am. So I got myself up, dressed in yesterday's clothes, ran a comb through my hair and headed out to an old wooden-everything café across the Plaza de Goya. There, I ordered the "pan tumaca" - which I had to pronounce twice and even then they didn't understand me so I just said "pan tostado con aceite y tomate". THAT, they got. Man, I must be losing my touch.

So there I sat at the old, wooden bar and ate my toast with a café con leche while watching the cute, blond, Eastern European waitress and less-cute Italian bartender do their chores. The table area was full of mostly old guys reading their papers and drinking coffee. More than once one of them (seemingly) secretly came to the bar to order a coffee with a little liqueur poured in. Good for them - at 10am.

Back at the Pension Plaza de Goya, a little nervous for the late hour (10:30am) - I'm always nervous in the late mornings when I'm still in the pensiones/hotels because you never know when/if the cleaning staff will barge in to clean your room and catch you naked. Thankfully, this never happened during my Barcelona stay. In fact, it's never happened to me in my life. So why does it make me nervous? I know. It's irrational.Showered, things put away and in their place (I also like to have everything packed away so the cleaning staff doesn't have to work around it), dressed and off I go. I feel obligated to return to the Alimentaria Food and Beverage Expo - since I went to so much trouble to go, but my days are few and "BarcelonaMan" is more about BARCELONA than the expos it hosts. So fine. Off to the bat cave!! Errr.... to the metro station! (insert cheesy action music here)


Exiting the metro at Plaza Espanya, I find myself facing the forever-being-renovated old bullring, the "Arenas de Barcelona". I don't think they'll be using it for bullfights, however, as they're putting a dome on top and bullfighting is now no longer popular in Barcelona City.
In the distance you see the hilltop Palau Nacional, home to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC). In the foreground you have the twin towers which "frames" the endless museum-bound boulevard nicely. The MNAC is someplace I'd never visited so this was my chance. Luckily, there were escalators to the top but took some of the stairs, making me feel like Rocky Balboa - until my knees hurt and I got back on the escalators.

The view from the MNAC entrance is really beautiful and wide. Shame it was another cloudy, hazy, relatively crummy day so, again, my photos are relatively useless for BarcelonaMan.com but serve me well for memories and this blog. Couldn't quite make out Mount Tibidabo from here, either.

So in I go, dodging the large tour groups of youngsters (they were everywhere, of all ages groups), and got my free pass to the museum. I was impressed with all collections in the expansive museum: Romanesque art (my favorite), Catalan art nouveau, modernisme, Gothic, renaissance, baroque, as well as works by Picasso, Dali, El Greco, and Velázquez.

My two hours spent there were very enjoyable. In fact, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed an art museum more! There were a few foreigners there but not many, maybe because of its location, causing the visitor to travel by taxi, bus, or metro to get there - and then walk.If you have the energy, it's certainly worth the trip and the view is very nice too - nicer on a nicer day, of course. You can even take photos of the works of art - without flash, mind you, and no matter how many time some of the foreign tourists were told they continued taking photos WITH flash, presumably because A) they didn't speak Spanish OR English, or B) they didn't know how to turn off the flash mechanism on their cameras.

It's now about 1:30pm so I decide to walk through the Montjüic Park, the location of the MNAC, and reach the Poble Espanyol. I'd been here before but since I was in the neighborhood I decided to visit again, maybe have lunch there. My Press Card was good, again, and they waved me through the ticket aisle. It seemed much of the Plaza Mayor, the main plaza of the Poble Espanyol, was the personal playground for 500 small children, all running about and shouting, chasing each other and kicking balls here and there.

Further away from the plaza were small groups of teenagers, all eating their home-brought sandwiches while other couples smooched passionately on steps. As I said, I'd been here before many years ago and enjoyed it more this time, MAYBE you always enjoy things more when you know you're not paying for them. I spent a good 45 minutes walking about, not going into any shops or buildings except for the working glass-blowing factory. That was pretty cool.I'm done. I'm tired. ..... SO WHAT'S NEXT?!? Something a little more low-key, maybe.

Through the twin towers of "Avila" I cross the street, waiting for the hop-on-hop-off Barcelona Bus Turistic which comes in about 10 minutes. I flash my card, they wave me through, and the mostly empty tour bus goes uphill and passes the squiggly Torre de Calatrava communications tower, the Olympic Stadium and Olympic Museum, and get off at the Plaza de Dante. There, I get the Teleférico de Montjuic, riding with a group of Asian teenagers who didn't stop oooh-ing and ahhhh-ing over the views of Barcelona down below, snapping off photos like crazy.

There at the top we disembark, finding ourselves at the base of the Castell de Montjüic, the fortress at the top of Montjuic which usually offers beautiful views of not only the port of Barcelona but also the coastline. Not today, however. It's hazy and hardly worth being there so I took 3 or 4 photos as proof and got the Teléferico de Montjuic back down the way I came, meeting the Hop-On-Hop-Off Barcelona Bus Turistic immediately.

My plan was to get off a couple stops later to take the cool, high, suspended teleferico from the foot of Montjuic, going over water to the tip of the Barceloneta. But since I could see no cars running I just stayed on the bus, getting off at the Marina Port Vell and immediately went "inwards", essentially going up the middle of "Barcelona profound", avoiding the marina-facing posh bars and terrace restaurants. I was looking for something "authentic" for lunch and I don't know if I found it but it was still good.

Passing through the Plaza Poeta Boscá of the Barceloneta, I soon thereafter found a tiny little bar-restaurant called the "Ke? Bar". It was more bar than restaurant but they did have a tiny dining room in the back. The front, bar section is where I entered and immediately felt comfortable. This is a hippy-ish bar, old, worn-out sofas and cushion-covered beer kegs. The barmaid, Sofia, is probably nearly 50 and greeted all her regulars with a kiss as they walked through the door. I think she was from Argentina. She urged me to take the sofa to eat the "Manu" sandwich I ordered with a beer (actually, 3 beers in total).


The "Manu" consisted of york ham, cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise and tomato. It came with avocado too but ordered mine without. It was quite good and a bargain at less than 10 Euros total (including the 3 beers - or was it 4?). Better yet was they had free Wi-Fi internet so I was checking email and doing what I could - which was the same as 3 or 4 others sitting around the joint. One regular, "Pierre" (yes, he was French, and yes, that was his real name), continuously asked the barmaid to translate things for him and to "secretary" his calls in Spanish. At first I thought he worked there - or was the owner - because he kept going behind the counter to get things, pens, paper, drinks. But at the end, Pierre paid his bill and left so apparently he was just a well-known client, a local expat.

I like the Barceloneta. It's very small-town-ish, very mixed ethnically, and well-known for its nightlife - AS IS my next stop, the EL BORN district. El Born is a very nice neighborhood and has a lot of charm. Similar to the Gothic Quarter for its narrow, winding streets and stone buildings, El Born is upscale compared to the Barceloneta. It has more stylish, modern, fusion-type places but also a few good, no-nonsense local places - which is what I always seek. You know what? I'm tired of touring. Let's relax and have a few beers and things to eat. So that's just what I did. At only one place in Barcelona did they give a free tapa with my beer order. Barcelona, as it becomes quickly evident, is not known for their tapas culture, not free nor otherwise. Barcelona, however, does have several popular Basque pinxtos places which are popular with the locals.

After a couple of real bar-bars, I found myself at the entrance to the Picasso Museum at 6:30pm. I'd been to the Picasso Museum in El Borne before but this time it was just after dark, the illuminated old stone patio and pillars are beautiful. The museum is REALLY something! I don't remember it being so interesting. Maybe it was because I'd already consumed 4-6 beers in the previous 3 hours - or maybe not - but I really enjoyed it! But if you know Picasso's work, its incongruence takes on a whole new dimension after bar-hopping.

Not only did I admire his works of art but also reading about his life in Málaga, Barcelona, a year studying in Madrid, and Paris. He lived a surprisingly long time for an artist, whom usually die young because of their vices. But not Picasso. He didn't seem to be your typically tortured genius. FYI: No photo-taking allowed in the museum but you can take them in the patio/courtyard - which is, in itself, photo-worthy.

Across the street from the Picasso Museum is the Basque bar, "El Xampanyet" (video link), where I tried three "pintxos" with a large beer. The place was popular but with a high percentage of foreigners, not surprising for being across the (pedestrian) street from the museum. It was good and the three older bartenders were all Spanish or, more politically correct, "Catalans" (I'm guessing they were locals).

After the pintxos I meandered about the district and found myself in the City Hall Square and Plaça del Rei where I took several nighttime photos of the illuminated buildings, the latter of which was nearly deserted, eery, and cold with my all-stone surroundings.

After consuming in two more local bars, ordering finger foods to complete my dinner, I made my last-stand in a bar which publicized Wi-Fi Internet access. There was one quiet couple seated at the bar and a girl on one of the sofas with her laptop computer, typing away. I ordered the beer in Spanish and the bartender served it up. After I thanked him, he returned to his conversation with the couple - IN ENGLISH! Turns out I stepped into an English bar. Actually, as I found out later, the bartender was Irish but grew up near London. The couple at the bar were English too.

Oh, my. I'm not a fan of English OR Irish bars in Spain, I avoid them like the plague, in fact, but my beer was already sitting in front of me so fine. I asked the Wi-Fi password and started checking email. Soon after, he started telling the couple that he'd attended TWO revival tour shows of the British Punk Band "The Sex Pistols". I, believe it or not, was a Punk (light) in my day, "The Sex Pistols" being my favorites, so I joined in the conversation - something I rarely do at bars. Odd thing is, I REALLY enjoyed myself, for which I later felt ashamed, and swore never to go into another Irish/English bar again until I was in Ireland or England. Done. Pact made. Still, I gave the bartender a good tip simply for being a Sex Pistols fan.

Finally I reach the Ramblas once again, take a few last photos and get on back to the Pension Plaza de Goya where I went to sleep early. Tomorrow, I return to Madrid but expect a blog entry for that day as well.

Day 5 Barcelona Trip Review 2010

FINALLY! A completely sunny day in Barcelona from beginning to end!!

And I truly took advantage of it, deciding NOT to go to the Alimentaria Barcelona Food & Drink expo. It was evident immediately. The morning was almost warm as I'd finished my breakfast at Pension Bahia and decided to go to the Mercado de la Boqueria to take some photos and have a coffee at the Bar-Restaurante El Quim.

Upon arriving at the market I realized I'd left my camera in the room. Hmph. The day wasn't starting out well but I made the best of it and ordered a coffee at the popular aforementioned bar. Lots of locals eating there at 10am, some even drinking wine, and I sipped my hot coffee amid the market bustle and surrounding merchants ordering the same over my shoulders.

Since I didn't have my camera I wasn't going to waste my time so I went back to the pension and called ahead to the next pension, Pension Plaza de Goya, to see if my room was ready. It was so I checked out of the Pension Bahia and walked 20 minutes to the other pension, my last lodging establishment of this trip. Another 2 nights here. It was an easy walk, crossing La Rambla and walking to the end of the Carrer de Tallers through the El Raval neighborhood. I was hot and sweating a bit when I arrived but my room was ready and I was glad for that.After taking a few minutes to admire the plaza from my balcony, I stripped off my sweaty clothes, hoping they'd dry by the time I went out again for lunch. And they were.


Now it's about 1:15pm and I make my way back the way I came through El Raval, and went back to the Bar-Restaurant Elisabets - which is in all the guide books and even the maps. And since it's so well known there were several tourists having lunch but several locals as well. I took a seat towards the back with the full-bar view and decided to have their Menú del Día.There were 5 choices for the first course, 5 choices for the second course, 5 dessert choices, and it came with bread and beer, wine, or water. I ordered the Fideua for the first, the solomillo al roquefort for the second course, and, of course, the Crema Catalana for dessert. GOTTA order the Crema Catalana while I'm here in Barcelona whenever it's offered. Oh, and I also chose the half-bottle of house wine.

The total was 10.75 and it was all good. The fideua was much different from that you get in Madrid, which is a normally macaroni paella - instead of using rice. Here, it was simply fried noodles with a dollop of mayonnaise on top. Interesting. The tender solomillo steak pieces with roquefort sauce and sliced mushrooms was very good too. The house wine was decent and very drinkable. But the crema catalana was the best. I enjoyed my lunch while writing postcards to friends - a typical tourist activity over a meal - and chatting with the Catalonian waitress about how TYPICAL we tourists are after she gave me a smirk when seeing me take photos of my food.


Now it's about 2:30pm and I make my way to Plaza de Catalunya where I get the metro to the Sagrada Familia Temple. It was a perfect day for it. Not hot, not too windy, and not cold. It was my 3rd visit to Antonio Gaudi's temple but was more there just to take photos so I didn't rent the audio guide this time. The sky was perfectly clear and blue, making a striking solid-color backdrop for Gaudi's color schemes. I waited about 30 minutes to take the elevator to the top, took in the views from the different towers, squeezing by photo-taking, backpack-wearing tourists, and then walked down the super-duper spiral staircase to finish.


Now I'm done. Tired. My feet hurt. First I'd thought to go over to the Alimentaria expo late in the afternoon but thought better of it. Instead, I took the metro to the Gothic Quarter and started winding my way up and back, up and back, zig-zagging a path towards nowhere in particular - and getting there was half the fun. I stopped at two bars for a sit-down and a beer. One was modern and empty. The other was old, very old, and a bunch of elderly men were playing dominoes in the wooden booths. There was no one at the bar or eating in the back. It was a beautiful place, all wooden, and full of earth tones. This was my kind of place. And since I didn't fit in there, I got a number of stares, not only by the domino players but also by the bar tender which served me the beer. I thanked him, drank it, and left immediately. A 3-minute beer - a new BarcelonaMan record. What I really needed was a stool and there were none at the bar.

I turned a corner and BOOM, I was at the rear entrance to the Barcelona Cathedral where I entered into the beautiful gardens. Now it's about 6:30pm and the light is low, making interesting sunbeams across the plant-filled cloister. There were geese (or large white ducks) swimming in the pool, tropical fish swimming about, and birds singing above. As the sun fell, the soft lights came on and people began lighting votive candles, presumably for not only the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ, but also for the upcoming Holy Week. Soft, far-away chanting could be heard (but was probably coming from tiny speakers tucked away in the corners).

Next, I spent the next 30-40 minutes on the inside of the Barcelona Cathedral. I know I'd been here before but this time, for some reason, it was more special, I was in no hurry, and it was quiet, very few people were inside.

My time in the cathedral was really special. In fact, I was moved by the experience. I'm not a religious person but I found myself somewhat emotional by the art, the history & age, and the size of everything. And, now, just after dark sundown, the illuminated ceiling was something spectacular. Upon leaving I crossed the San Jaume square and sat on a bench for about 20 minutes to admire the structure. It was nice and I felt very peaceful.

It's getting late and I'm a little hungry so I decide to head back through El Raval to Pension Plaza de Goya and get a ham and cheese sandwich on the way - when I realized I have a 10:45pm Flamenco Show at the Palacio del Flamenco. Oh, goodness. I'm beat and would rather be in bed at 10:45 than sitting at a flamenco show until midnight - THEN walking back 8 blocks. Sure hope I can sleep late tomorrow morning.

The flamenco show at Palacio del Flamenco was very good and I enjoyed myself a lot. My V.I.P. seat was along the left side, maybe 3 tables from the deep, wide stage, so I had a wonderful view. The seating area is modern and elegant and most everyone seemingly had just finished their dinner when I arrived for the show. Palacio del Flamenco is located on Carrer Balmes, 139, very close to the DIAGONAL metro station in the upper Eixample.


The flamenco show began with three yellow-dressed ladies, all standing in preparation for the number, when the music started. They remained motionless for a good 60 seconds until they began. The music was perfect, so rich that I was certain it was a recording. But HOW could they possibly use recorded music for a flamenco show, I thought. They wouldn't. Then the curtain rose very slowly, proving to me and the full-house that there were real musicians playing live music. Wow, they were great and I was impressed. All the while I was wondering where I could buy their music.

The flamenco show itself lasted about one hour and fifteen minutes and never ceased to entertain. There were maybe a total of 7 different "sets", all without a break. The featured dancer, a woman dressed in all black, was REALLY something. She danced alone but used the entire stage. Truly impressive. A real professional, as was the entire guitar-playing, singing, and clapping group. I was in Flamenco Heaven!

I took note that the woman playing the violin in the group, I'm CERTAIN, was German-born Lisa Bause of the Barcelona-based, 4-woman flamenco folk band Las Migas, whom I saw in Madrid at one of last year's Suma Flamenca concerts. She's very talented.


The below, taken from the Palacio del Flamenco website:

A show of the purest flamenco

Currently Palacio del Flamenco is offering a show called “El Duende del Palacio” (The goblin of the palace) presented by a cast of 15 artists on stage. Flamenco singers, dancers, guitar players and other musicians are offering a powerful staging and musical event. A journey through different types of Flamenco provides the Flamenco lover with the opportunity to participate intensely in this art performance while the amateur audience will be able to enjoy a wonderful and unforgettable Flamenco night.

The show is made up of original choreography acts including soloist acts. The night begins with the unique and enthusiastic performance of our flamenco group. The guitar and the sound of the palms accompany the "taconeo" and the movement by the “bailaores” that introduce to us in this enthusiastic world.

In our show also, you will be able to see some classic Spanish dance acts with the intention to offer a glimpse of the wonderful ones and varied dances of flamenco

The music, created originally for this show, is interpreted live giving rise to a full picture of plastical beauty, light, and strength. The improvisation between the musicians and the bailaores, makes the show different day to day.

BarcelonaMan can easily recommend seeing a flamenco performance at the Palacio del Flamenco in in the upper Eixample district of Barcelona.




During my walk back, I was tempted to go out, "hit the clubs", and dance Sevillanas 'til dawn. Nahh.... I had another full day tomorrow so I headed back to the Pension Plaza de Goya to get some shut eye. Which is just what I did.

Day 4 Barcelona Trip Review 2010

I'm exhausted - but in a good way! Sure, my shoes are super comfortable but the soles aren't very thick so that's taking its toll on my feet. Slept pretty well last night here at the Pension Bahia after the 20-something group of girls went to sleep. I also woke up earlier than my alarm sounded because I hear people moving around in the hall, presumably checking-out. No problem at all, though. I threw on some clothes, ran a comb through my hair, put on some pants but left the slippers and pajama top on and went out my door to the breakfast area - right outside my door.The breakfast was complete but I only ate the toast with butter and marmalade and drank the coffee and juice and left the donut and muffin to the suit-wearing guy sitting at the next table, presumably not Spanish, and so tall he couldn't fit under the table to eat. I had to wonder why a suit-wearing man was staying at a pension but maybe he was working at the Alimentaria - or just attending it as I was. I didn't wear not silly suit, that's for sure.

So I showered, shaved, and got dressed, leaving Pension Bahia at about 10am for the Alimentaria Barcelona 2010 Food and Beverage Exposition. Got the L1 metro from Plaza de Catalunya to Plaza de Espanya. There, I got the local train line L8 to the Plaza de Europa/Fira, accompanied by hundreds of suited professionals, no doubt attending and/or going to "make business" with the exhibitors. So I got off the train and just followed the crowd - and what a crowd it was at 10:30am!

Walking in to the exposition hall was a bit daunting. There must have been 20,000 people standing around all in different lines, trying to get tickets or accredited or something! Finally I asked one of the information helpers where the PRESS check-in was and he directed me downstairs. Whew! I could avoid these long lines! Got downstairs and there was a long line there - but shorter than those UPstairs. I waited... and waiting... and waiting for at least 30 minutes, those issuing the press name badges took at least 5 minutes per person and the very attractive, professional, made-up Spanish woman in front of me was complaining all the time about how disorganized it was. Maybe she was right but I didn't care, I was just happy to be exchanging small talk with her during our wait.Finally got my badge with the big "P" for "press" with attached neck strap and made my way upstairs and through the hordes of people STILL waiting in line. Thank goodness I didn't have to pay for this. If I had, I'd have been REALLY upset. But wait. It gets better - and in a good way.Each "pabellon" or section of this exhibition hall is enormous, probably bigger than a regulation football or soccer field. There are FIVE sections in the entire place so just imagine the acreage we're talking about.


The first "pabellon"/section I entered was the international foods, foods from all over the world. Seemingly every country was represented here and all offering samples of their cheeses, olive oils, plantain chips, honey, sausages, and anything else you can imagine. Here I got several samples while the exhibitors interacted with me, hoping I was a would-be distributor for their foods which, in most cases, still weren't being sold in Spain. When I showed them my badge and told them I was "Press" you could see their faces drop. Poor things. I noticed the USA had one of the larger displays as did France.

The next "pabellon"/section was ALLLLL Spanish food products. Ahhh... I was in heaven. Really! Imagine walking into a hall of this size and every single stand was offering you Spanish cheeses, chorizo, jamón/ham slices, olives, dunk-this-bread-in-our-extra-virgin-olive-oil stands by the dozens, Cantabrian sobaos and quesadas (a GREAT display in the shape of a mountain village house). It was in this section, "pabellon 2", where I essentially had my lunch.

I'm already really tired and my feet are aching but I ventured into the "pabellon"/section 3, drum roll please, which was totally dedicated to.... mind you this is a football-field-sized space... Spanish wines and liqueurs!!! BELLY UP TO THE BAR, BOYS, and TRY to walk a straight line after this visit! That was probably the mind set for many visitors but I was nervous.


Sure, it was enticing, inviting, and was oh-so-tempting. But I wondered, "How does THIS work??" I mean, I didn't see any money changing hands so the drinkers weren't paying for it. But (nearly) all those drinking were suit-and-tie wearing gentleman and, maybe, they were simply "making business" with the wine companies, testing their wines to see if they wanted to distribute them. Who knows. But every exhibitor had several tables in their space and more often than not there were 4 business-men sitting around, all chatting, all drinking, and all eating jamón and cheese. Did they know each other? Were they making deals with the producer?

Other exhibitors had larger spaces and it literally looked like a night club; tables had lamps, the raised wood floors had a dark varnish, the display was impeccable. Did I dare venture into this unknown world? I didn't.


I did, however, see a more inviting space which had 4 long counters with large "WINE TASTING" signs, constantly replenished wine glasses so I felt those were safe. But I didn't try these either. Everytime I would start near a bottle an attendant moved in my direction so I backed off, scared off. The people who WERE testing them were really testing them! They'd pour in a half-inch of wine, sniff it, hold it up to the light, check to see if it "had legs", swig it, then pour the rest out into the nearby sink receptacle, rinse out their glass with the crystal pitcher of water and move on to the next bottle. This was too much for me so I kept on. Maybe tomorrow I'll have more courage.


I left Alimentaria at about 4pm, my feet really hurting now and the hams and cheeses taking their toll. I was thirsty too. So I got back on the train-metro combination to the Diagonal metro station on the Passeig de Gracia and stopped in to an Italian café for a coffee to lift me up - while sitting down. Thankfully, they had free Wi-Fi internet so I checked my email and sent messages to friends.

Rested, I went STRAIGHT for the nearby "La Pedrera"/Casa Milà, another Antonio Gaudí designed building. This is the one with the skull-shaped chimney pots on the roof. Cha-ching! Another free entry with my Press Card, 10 Euros saved. It wasn't raining, only sprinkling, so the chimney pots took on a "bleeding" look. Eery! After the roof I looked over the attic displays and then downstairs to "the apartment" and out I went to take photos of the building's façade.


Now down the Passeig de Gracia and here I am, AGAIN, at the Casa Batlló, the place I visited the day before but took all my photos in LOW resolution. Ugh! Thank goodness I don't have to pay the 17.80 Euros entry. They gave me the audio guide because it's included in the entry, but I didn't use it this time. I just whisked my way around and took all the same photos I took before, the hour of the day was about the same but this time it wasn't as cloudy as yesterday, and (now) wasn't raining either so that shed a somewhat different light on today's photos as compared to yesterdays. I think I like yesterday's better. Hmph. Oh well. At least on the roof the photos are a little brighter. This time I went down to the ground floor in the old wooden elevator. That was cool.



Now I'm REALLY tired, man. Not so hungry but it's about 7pm and I should eat something. But first, I went to see my long time buddy Artur at the Hostal Marenostrum. Artur is the son of the family who owns/runs it. And there he was at the reception desk when I arrived. We went back to the dining room to talk about "the business", internet, the crisis, the hostal business, advertising, and other stuff related to the travel industry. He a nice guy, 20-something, very tall and thin, good looking with long hair, and knows the business. I'd stayed at his hostel 4 years ago for a couple nights but for this visit there was no space, they were completely booked for the Alimentaria exposition. Good for them. They deserve it. They're located RIGHT ON the left side of Las Ramblas at the Liceu metro station, and just in front of the Miro painting on the ground of La Rambla. My balcony room overlooked this the last time.

Said my farewells to Artur and walked into El Raval, looking for something to eat and - almost more importantly - something to drink. And I did just that. It seems THIS IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD which has all the typical bars and cervecerias!! I passed two of them on Carrer Sant Pau, the same stree on which you enter the Hostal Mare Nostrum, just around the corner from Las Ramblas. The place I settled on was an oh-so-typical bar, just like I like them, FULL OF LOCALS. I was sure I was the only NON-neighborhood person there. The clientèle was mixed ethnically but this is just how El Raval is. The waiters behind the bar were both Spanish and "other". Mine was totally Spanish, 60-something, and joked around with all of his well-known regular clients - whom were an average age of 65 - minus me, of course. The people at the other end of the bar, towards the door, were much younger, and there was a small child playing around too. No tourists. Not one. Maybe, only me. It was called "Restaurante Pollo Rico" (click for website and funny music video made there) and they specialize in roasted chickens to-go but they have absolutely everything you could imagine. They even have a dining room upstairs but the bar is on the ground floor. It's kitsch, eh, very typical, working-class people in there - and WORKING in there, laborers having their evening beers and meals. Then there was me. My bartender was so nice, joked with me a little.

I ordered the "chipirones fritos" and it came with fried potatoes. "Chipirones" are small squid, very similar to "chopitos" - which I love - but these were nearly identical. The waiter later said I could have ordered the grilled "pulpitos" for one Euro less at 5 Euros. I was inquisitive so he took 6 of them, grilled them himself, poured some olive oil over them, and served them to me for me to try for free. They were good, a little chewy, and probably healthier than the fried "chipirones" which, my bartender admitted, was half flour. He was right, of course, but the "chipirones" were very good too and the 3 "Estrella Damm" beers I ordered went down easy too. I paid my bill, came to about 11.50 Euros, and left the change for the bartender. I expected a warm, "See you later!" but he was involved discussing something with one of his long-time clients and didn't look up. Still, it was good food at good prices and good, friendly service from a waiter who clearly enjoyed his interaction with the public. I felt at home.

And it was home I found myself 10 minutes later, back to my Pension Bahia. The clerk greeted me out in the stairway as she smoked here cigarette. A jovial, older woman. From the 3rd floor up we chatted about how if the 5-flights of stairs didn't kill me I'd probably be stronger for it. In my room, the bed was made, my towels were changed, and everything was in order.

Have to change pensiones tomorrow in the late morning to Pension Plaza de Goya. Not looking forward to moving again but that's the name of the game in my business. It's good for me to try as many "hostales", "pensiones", and other lodging establishments as possible so that I may give good, firsthand reviews to those interested. Speaking of reviews, check out my review of Pension Bahia coming soon. Good night!!

Day 3 Barcelona Trip Review 2010

Today wasn't a total bust - but it wasn't far off either. I got up a bit earlier to get my suitcase ready for departure from Hostal Martina, shower, and have breakfast in their breakfast room. At mid-day I moved to Pension Bahia, my next lodging establishment for 2 nights. But first I had the "Gothic Walking Tour" given in English by the Barcelona Tourist Office. I was looking forward to that.Yes, I left the hostal a little late but still arrived 10 minutes before the 10am departure. Hmmm.. No one's at the Walking Tours counter. So I go to the other counter and the woman tells me it does NOT leave from the Plaza de Catalunya but, instead, from the Plaza de Jaume I about 5 minutes away. By the time I exited the underground tourist office it was already 5 minutes before 10am but I made my way in that direction, not really sure where I was going. Well, needless to say I never found the plaza because walking tours map the woman gave me doesn't show the street names on it and I'd left my other city map back at Hostal Martina, ready for the move. Hmmm.. So I created my own little Gothic Quarter Tour and walked up and down narrow, empty pedestrian streets on this Sunday morning, dodging the pesky flies.


I actually had quite nice morning even though it was exceptionally cool in the gothic quarter, all that stone pavement and stone walls surrounding you, my breath was fogging up my glasses as I walked, in fact. After an hour of this I was tired and stopped at the Granja Dulcinea on the Carrer Petritxol, 2 - the place our Gourmet Barcelona Tour guide showed us just yesterday, and also the place where I'd visited more than 10 years earlier on my first visit to Barcelona. And I ordered the exact same thing today as I did then; "crema catalana" and a cafe con leche. Although I realized that 11am is NOT the proper time to be eating Crema Catalana I had to order it, I was there, and they're known for their "crema catalana" as well as their Xurros con Chocolate (yes, "churros" with an "X"). But since I'm not such a fan of the latter, I ordered the former. The Granja Dulcinea is a nice old place, founded in 1803 and it looks every year of it. The bathrooms were literally the size of broom closets and the tiny, common sink was just outside, across from the coffee maker.

Rested, I paid and made my way to the Plaça Reial where their Sunday Flee Market was taking place. The Plaza was buzzing so I didn't stay and instead walked down Las Ramblas. It never ceases to amaze me how often we/I see American teenagers in their knee-length shorts, tennis shoes, and sweatshirts on a cold winters (still) day in Spain. What were they thinking when they packed their suitcases?!


My plan was to make a reservation for the Tablao Cordobes on Las Ramblas so I went upstairs and spoke with the man in charge. I asked him if he had a space available for me for tonight and he said he did. I flashed him my Barcelona Press Card and he said that with that I'd get a whopping 20% off - the regular price is 37 Euros per person for the show plus drink. I passed, feeling a bit deceived that they were listed in the "free pass" list for those with the Barcelona Press Card. Oh well, I have another flamenco show, Palacio del Flamenco, reserved on Tuesday night.
Since I was more-or-less in the neighborhood, I decided to check in to my next place of lodging, Pension Bahia, towards the top of Las Ramblas. Almost immediately after seeing my room, I headed back out and back to Hostal Martina to not only collect my suitcase but also to see more of the hostal which wasn't ready to see before. After the tour, I said my goodbyes and offered my sincerest thanks for a wonderful 2 night stay. Back to the Pension Bahia with my suitcase, rolling noisily across the tiles and make it to my pension 15 minutes later.
Now I'm hungry and it's already 2pm so I literally walk circles around the Plaza de Catalunya looking for a simple sandwich shop and can't find anything which A) has a short line and B) gives take-out sandwiches. I must have spent 45 minutes looking for a place. Where are all the cervecerias in this town?? I dart into El Raval where I find a bakery which has hand-made, plastic wrapped sandwiches so I get one and go back to the Plaza de Catalunya.

I decided to try going up to the amusement park peak of Mount Tibidabo. This was my only opportunity as the Tramvia Blau cable car only runs up the Avinguda del Tibidabo on Saturdays and Sundays during the "winter months" so here was my chance. I took the L7 train (not metro, but my T10 pass is good for these local trains too) from Plaza de Catalunya to the Avinguda del Tibidabo and ate the sandwich on the way, then crossed the street upon arriving and there was the blue Tramvia pulling away so I'd have to wait 'til the next one. No problem. I'd get my choice of window seats since I was first in line. While waiting, heeeere comes a large group of Germans towards me, they crowd around me, no queuing or any form of a line, just a mob. I tried to tell one, in English, that *I* started the line and the tram would be there in 20 minutes. She nodded her affirmation and nothing changed. No order whatsover. The tram came and everyone pushed for the door - but I didn't realize the entry door was the one on the down-slope so I was out of position and the others, which were "Johnny Come Latelys", got on first and took all the good seats. Common queuing courtesy went out the window.

So we all get up to the first level of Tibidabo where the funicular is located. The Germans, being their first visit, didn't know where to go - but I did and made a beeline to the ticket line. And don't think they weren't quick to follow ME. Ha! Eat my dust! The funicular tickets are 4 Euros for the go-and-return ticket. I paid it and got my choice of seats. Once up top, next to the Amusement park is the beautiful Sagrat Cor Church (beautiful inside and out!). You can go to the top of the church in the elevator (2 Euros) but today there wasn't much point, it was misty, foggy, windy, and darn cold and not likely to see anything from up above. As it was, I couldn't even see the coast line, barely making out Barcelona's skyline.


Needless to say, I didn't stay on Tibidabo very long and took the funicular back down 30 minutes after arriving. Got the waiting Tramvia Blau back down to get the L7 train at its end point at Avinguda del Tibidabo to Plaza de Catalunya once again.

NOW it's raining and I pull out my umbrella and think. What's a good thing to do on a rainy day? Aha! A museum! Or... Antonio Gaudi's Casa Batlló!! Got there and apparently everyone else had the same idea so I had to wait in line for about 20 minutes. The Casa Batlló is REALLY something special. Definitely a MUST-SEE, although it's expensive at 17.80 Euros per person. Luckily, my Barcelona Press Card got me in for free. I took A LOT of photos, really pretty photos, and left happy with my new collection of inside, rooftop, and outside photos just after the lights turned on the façade. It was then when I was walking away that I realized that... get this.... back in the Avinguda del Tibidabo train station, while waiting for the train, I was taking some silly photos of the signs and of myself in the mirror and, as I said, silly stuff. And when I take such silly photos I always take them in low-resolution to save memory card space, and took these at 640 by 480 pixels - and FORGOT to change it BACK to HIGH resolution! So all those "great" Casa Batlló photos were taken in low resolution, not even big enough to make a banner for the BarcelonaMan.com website - and that was my plan for some of them. Guess that means now I have to return but will have to go at the same hour to have the same light. UGH!!!!! What an idiot. What a waste of time. Sure, it was beautiful and I got in free, but come on! Now I have to go back and do it all again!!!

I'm frustrated, angry with myself, a little hungry, and nearly desperate for a big, cold mug of beer. Again, this town must only have ONE cerveceria - and I still haven't found it. I walked for an hour and a half looking for a suitable, basic bar with bar food and beer, walked much of the upper Gothic Quarter and El Raval too. Sure, there are lots of nice, somewhat fancy restaurants and loads of places for pintxos but they were all high-style-types and I wanted something more no-nonsense. Again, I walked for-ever until I found one place in El Raval which LOOKED like what I wanted - but was far from it. Sure, the beer was cold and good but the bocadillo de calamares was not only VERY chewy but I counted ONLY 7 rings of squid - and two of those were very small!! The ones at El Brillante in Madrid are so much better, bigger, and cheaper. So there!

Somewhat fed, less angry with myself after the mega-beer, and still under rainy skies, I decide to go back to the Pension Bahia at 8pm and get to work writing my blogs. No Internet here, unfortunately, so the posting will have to wait until who-knows-when.

Tomorrow starts the Alimentaria Barcelona International Food & Beverage Exposition! That should be nice. Gotta work in another visit to the Casa Batlló sometime this week, as well as a visit to Gaudi's La Pedrera and Sagrada Familia temple, Poble Espanyol, the Gracia neighborhood, and a few museums too. Man, I just don't see how I'm going to be able to get it all done - but I'll try!!!

Day 2 Barcelona Trip Review 2010

What a busy day. I got up at 8:15am and went across the street from Hostal Martina for an early breakfast of pan tostado con aceite. Later, I realized it would've been customary to request tomato too, but next time. I'd slept little because I was up so late writing, editing, and making photos for last night's blog entry. And so here we go again tonight. I'm tired. Very tired. Had a long, busy day, much of it spent on my feet.

After breakfast I went directly to the Plaça de Catalunya where I went downstairs in the south eastern corner to the Barcelona Tourist Center. That's not only the main location for tourist information but also to arrange and meet for tours. This morning I was there to take the 10am "Gourmet Barcelona Walking Tour", detailing Barcelona's and Catalonia's most common foods and drinks.

I'd hustled to the information center at 9:45am as expected and then waited another 15 minutes for the tour to start, get instruction about how to turn on and use the individual audio devices. Cristina, our Catalan guide, gave our 2-hour tour in English, which is available only on Fridays and Saturdays at 10am.

Cristina gave me permission to take her photo and use it on the internet. She was a very good, pleasant tour guide and her English was certainly good enough for us to understand her through her microphone and broadcast to our group of 7 persons.


She took us directly down Las Ramblas and through El Raval neighborhood to enter the Mercat de la Boqueria from the "right side". She walked us through, pointed out the typical fruits as well as those which were imported, explained the different types of ham, told about the seasonal "pilgrimages" to collect mushrooms in the mountains, explained how much and how often Spaniards and Catalonians eat fish, and surprised us all with a container of fresh fruit upon leaving the Boqueria Market.

Next, we crossed over into the Gothic Quarter and walked up one street and down the other, stopping at a number of chocolate shops, shops for churros, shops for wines, and other shops for health foods. We ended the gastronomical tour in the other market, recently renovated, the Catalina Market where Cristina presented us all with ticket to have 2 pintxos and a drink at the cafe in the market for free. What a nice detail!

After the wonderful Barcelona food tour I returned to my hostal where I got my thing together to head off to Sitges for the afternoon. Upon arriving by metro to SANTS station, I then began the confusing process of finding out where in the heck the dark green line 2 was. Looking high and low I couldn't find it, just a monitor with confusing directions, so I asked at the information counter and the older woman told me, surprisingly in English, that it left from Via 7. The monitors do not show the line number or color, ONLY the end-stop, and from that you determine your line/via. Happily, walked down the escalator and my regional ceranias train was just arriving. I was nervous. Was THIS the correct train? I wouldn't know until the first stop, to compare to my cercanias regional train map. Sure enough, I was on the right train. Thank goodness.

The train ride, which cost a mere 3 Euros, lasted only 30 minutes maximum to Sitges, a town which has only one station and one cercanias stop. There, a couple of friends were waiting for me and they commenced to tour me around old downtown Sitges and take me from one pintxos bar after another as we talked about life and living in Spain. They're a mixed nationalit couple, one from Finland/England and the other from Spain and they have a small baby which is just adorable.

Sitges is nice. I like it a lot. It seems like a normal town at first glance but upon further inspection you realize it has a certain poshness about it too. They say Sitges is where all the rich and famous live, many business tycoons and Barcelona football players live in the Sitges hills, all with Mediterranean views. Nice. It was a cool, mostly cloudy day but at least it didn't rain more than a few sprinkles. Even with that, there was a very active volleyball tournament taking place across several courts on one of the Sitges Beaches.

We said our goodbyes back at the train station where I got the cercanias train back to Barcelona about 15 minutes after buying the 3 Euro ticket. The double-decker train was almost empty so I had my choice of seats and chose one on the top deck. Getting back to Sants Station, I had to change cercanias trains again for one going to the Plaza de Catalunya, something I didn't realize I could do on the trip out. That was also confusing, trying to figure out which train/via I needed to go from one line to another but I got it right on my first try.

Upon walking up the station steps to the Plaza de Catalunya I realized it was lightly raining, but not enough so that I'd need an umbrella. My walk back to the hostal was slow and my feet hurt, but not enough to keep me from stopping at a bar near my hostal for a couple beers and an order of patatas bravas - which are quite different from those served in Madrid. These are made with a spicy white sauce and is tasty.

I'd arrived at Hostal Martina by about 8pm and saw María, the owner, immediately. She then took me on the grand tour of the entire hostal. I'd seen many of the rooms a few years ago during my last stay but some changes had been made and she was keen to show me. This place is really nice. I'll tell you about it tomorrow night - if I have internet at Pension Bahia, my next lodging establishment. But for now, I'm just going to bed early. Breakfast is served here at the hostal at 9am and I have the "Gothic Barcelona Walking Tour" tomorrow morning at 10am so I'll have to eat fast. Goodnight!