Barcelona: Part I

Sugar-coated whole Almonds in almost every colour imaginable; from pink and pastel blue, to shiny-shiny silver.

The chance to see at least a dozen species of Primate, Panthers, Lions, Leopards and Cheetahs – Amongst countless other astonishing creatures at Barcelona’s Zoo -, followed by an evening of hard rock*, a mountain of Beef Brisket and “Onion Fries”; that has to be up there as a pretty epic way to spend your 21st birthday, yes?

*A visit to Hard Rock Cafe was how we full-stopped our trip to Italy at Easter, and I know that the place does nothing for sharing in the unique character of Barcelona, but I love it. As much as I enjoyed my first real Paella – a rip off though it was – the atmosphere inside Hard Rock really floats my boat.

But it wasn’t just the Paella that was rather un-sportingly overpriced either; we perused the menus of restaurants across the City (and I do mean right across), and €8-10 for “Chicken and Fries” is frankly, quite disturbing. Plus, the last time I checked, Pizza was not indicative of authentic Spanish cuisine.

Nor was “No Sandwiches!” the proper way to speak to customers before they had even ordered, because sandwiches wouldn’t make your business enough money over a busy lunch time. Dissapointing. It was rather fortunate that we were more than happy to remain satiated with beautiful, crusty bread filled with Chorizo, Ham, or the unashamedly blunty-named Tetilla Cheese.

Stall-holders at the famous and well-loved ‘La Boqueria’ in Barcelona, insert beautiful green leaves between these layers of sumptuous Peaches.

Since this was an almost-budget-less trip, it was so important that we made use of every single hour, from the airport and back again. Loosely translated as “Sandy Riverbed”, most likely because of the current of people that flow constantly up and down it, ‘La Rambla’ was our first truly memorable port of call after passing the Sagrada Familia – which was impressive, no doubt, and not something I could imagine seeing in the same way, without those huge Cranes around it. For the record, I actually love the Cranes.

Not that it ever will, but could you imagine this street in the snow?

We got to see a myriad of street performers; Flamenco dancers, painters, puppeteers, and of course, the living statues. A poster for the Gran Teatre caught my eye on the Metro, and given the time and money, I’d have loved to have gone.

La Rambla runs for just under a mile (just over 1km) up to the Waterfront, where you can sit and look at the shoals of big, striped fish, or watch the expensive ships coming in. Going the other way, the street is enclosed on either side by Florists and souveneir stalls; but about half way up is what I really came for – ‘La Boqueria’!

Meat, vegetables, and confections of all shapes and sizes, but La Boqueria is a celebration of the most astonishing display of gorgeous fruit that I’ve ever seen.

If you’ve ever been, then I don’t need to tell you how addictive those little fruit drinks are; Mango and Pineapple, Strawberry and Papaya, the list goes on, but I couldn’t help but be defeated by the simplicity of ice-cold Coconut. At €1 a pop, if I lived there, I’d be seriously out of pocket!

Just while I remember: Are the Spanish doing this the right way round?

Anyway, here’s some more from the market.

They’re just a bit bigger than Walnuts. Aren’t they a great colour?

I think she may have noticed me…

I know you can find these anywhere in the world, but they’re still pretty cool.

Dried fruit, nuts, and even more sweet things.

That’s that then! Barcelona is such a unique, almost a bit wacky sort of place, and La Boqueria on La Rambla really fits the bill, don’t you think? Exciting stuff.

~ by gkbloodsugar on September 7, 2008.