Well it’s happened.
This is it.
I’ve liked certain places before…
I was really impressed with Venice. Historical, yummy food, beautiful architecture. When Victoria and I went to Japan I so enjoyed Tokyo. Who wouldn’t adore Athens on a sunny day like we did in May 2014.
But I now have a new thing.
Barcelona: my favourite place ever!
It was raining a little, but who cares.
It was dark when we arrived and we seemed to leave the ship by the wrong exit. Whatever.
The taxi fare had an extra €6 for coming to the port. OK. Fair enough.
But Barcelona itself, oh dear… I think I have might have fallen in love with you 🙂
When I booked the ‘culinary backstreet’ walking tour a month or so ago, I did lots of research first. Who would we learn the most about the Barcelona food scene from? Which was the best value for money? Which times fitted into our schedule?
‘Backstreet tours’ fitted the bill perfectly. A 9.30am start from an easy-to-reach location. An English-speaking guide. All food and drinks included.
It lived up to all the excellent reviews online. Dave (easy name to remember) was an wonderful guide. He was an English ex-pat who married a Spanish girl and moved to Barcelona 17 years ago. He led (my) Dave and I, and a very nice American couple, through the ‘Gracia’ area of Barcelona. He led us through the origins of the Catalonian cuisine (Northern Spain region), the history of the local architecture (including Gaudi), the experiences of the local people and to many, many fantastic tasting experiences.
We started with churros and chocolate, of course. Crisp freshly fried churros with rich, thick, spoon-stands-up hot chocolate. A wonderful start, and Dave was hooked on this ‘food tour’ thing straight away!
The churros was followed by numerous other experiences. A pigs trotter terrine served with the most divine small white beans braised with onions at a small local restaurant. Chocolate covered nuts, a very different nougat, tiny custard balls, amazing crunchy (not bitter) roasted almonds. Then to one of Barcelona’s 43 covered markets, which included tasting many amazing cheeses, butifarrita (Catalonian sausage) and a variety of local olives. Then onto an Iberian ham shop and sampling Jamon from both black and white pigs; front leg and back legs. Incredibly interesting and amazingly tasty.
But wait… there’s more!
Vermouth, in a small bar, served in typical Catalonian style with ice, an orange slice and a green olive.
Then Dave (the guide) took us into an underground car park. We were curious as to what sort of food experience we were going to find down five flights of stairs in an underground car park! It turned out more historical than foodie. We were taken through a locked gate into a dark tunnel, to what was, during the Spanish Civil War, an air raid shelter. Now Dave was really starting to get impressed with this tour!
Walking back up the five flights of stairs (and therefore burning many calories) allowed us to eat again 😉 Another sit-down restaurant. This time serving salted cod, soaked and then baked and topped with alioli and sautéed potatoes, which Dave the guide referred to as ‘Fish and Chips’ for my Dave’s benefit, alongside a pretty good glass of red! The tour finished a short time later with a glass of cava (Catalonian version of champagne) at an amazing bottega (wine shop).
Dave (the guide) then sorted us a taxi, including organising the driver to stop at a small grocery shop on the way back to the ship, that had an amazing range of paprika, which I was keen to buy.
FYI: Tapas come from the south of Spain, not this region, so no tapas today!
I could go on more, but I’m exhausted and its time for bed. Tomorrow I’ll upload a few more photos, of my new one and only…Barcelona!
P.S My one and only love (human) is still most definitely Dave, especially after enduring, with a smile, a six-hour food tour.
Adios!