El discubrimiento
Barcelona,
Catalonia,
Spain
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The day started with breakfast at Wil and Tim's hotel, then off to Parc Güell. It was not as broad as I had expected but still quite a sight. The heat tired us out so we refreshed with a pitcher of sangria (why not?) then headed back towards the center. I went straight for MACBA (the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona) which did not disappoint. I took a break at Laie in the museum - an inverted pizza with a glass of white wine on the terrace - then continued on to see the rest of the museum. I wandered around La Raval before heading back to the hotel for some sun on the roof and a shower.
We met up again for dinner at Cal Pep. Warned that it would be popular we arrived early, before it even opened for dinner. We were going to grab a drink and come back but a Barcelonian woman in front of us warned us not to leave, and she was right. We were seated right away at the bar and the waiter took care of everything - he asked us if we ate seafood and meat and everything else was handled from there. Grilled peppers, fried seafood, amazing octopus with paprika, claims in a butter and ham sauce, a torta with chorizo and potatoes, and sausage with beans, followed by a variety of cremes - so delicious! Seated next to us on the right was a cute couple (more about them in a second) and on the left after the Barcelonian couple left, a German couple, who told me they were sure I was a Spaniard (love it!!).
We left and wandered around, encountering a Sambo drum band in the old city, then coming to a wine bar where the couple to our right were enjoying a few glasses. We got a bottle and said hello - they are from Austria and way fun. We spent the rest of the night talking to them and enjoying some lovely wines. We're expecting to meet up with them tomorrow for some more tapas.
