Barcelona City Tour and Sites

So much to see in Barcelona. We only got the overview this trip. Many of the sites are within walking distance in the downtown hub. We had a driver and tour guide for the better part of one day and went to Mountjuic and the surrounding area of Barcelona. It was altogether a very interesting and fun day!

Barcelona has really changed since I was here in 1978. That was the time in the aftermath of Franco's dictatorship, and Spain was just trying to figure out who it was. Franco hated Barcelona and allowed Hitler to bomb Barcelona over 200 times as target practice for the Nazi troops. During Franco's regime, Catalan, the native language of Barcelona and that region of Spain, was outlawed and severe punishment was given for anyone speaking, or teaching the language. After Franco's death, Catalan once again began to emerge as the dominant regional language; Spanish is also spoken throughout the area.

Some very wise city visionaries realized that Barcelona need to be updated and made attractive as a site for tourism. Today the city has a wonderful metro system, clean, friendly streets for walking, lots of parks and pedestrian malls, and is friendly to many cultures and languages. At least three and sometimes more languages are spoken everywhere, so a traveler from about any country will feel welcome. This is why Barcelona is now the No. 1 Tourist destination in Spain.

Skyline of Barcelona - three smokestacks of the old electric power plant

Skyline over the marina and port area

Our tour first took us to Montujuic (Mount of the Jews, so called because in old times there was a Jewish cemetary there). Today Montjuic is the home of the Olympic facilities built for the 1992 games. Happily, these wonderful facilities are in full use today.

Flame for the Olympic torch was ignited by an arrow passing over the top of the gas torch

Stadium for Olympic games 1992

The complex where the stadium is located has the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, several competition venues and a wonderful promenade for walking.

Japanese sculptor imagines an athlete bending down to receive his crown of laurel leave

Stadium facade

Bull fighting is really a sport of Southern Spain, so Barcelona outlawed bull fighting and turned their bull fighting ring into a shopping mall. They did preserve the exterior of the old ring.

Old Bull Fighting ring turned to shopping center

Next stop the Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya

This marvelous building was constructed for the 1929 World Exhibition and later repurposed to be the National art museum. It is a huge building with several wings for different styles of art. We did not visit the different wings -- that would be an entire day or more to see all the exhibits -- but went into the main hall and public areas. 

View of the plaza in front of the Museu

Entrance hall to the Museu

Hall used for conventions, meetings, birthdays, etc.

Rotunda artwork

Park Guell

Park Guell was designed by Anton Gaudi. It is located on the hills outside Barcelona. Originally it was intended to be a location for vacation homes for the wealthy Barcelona people to escape the summer heat, but because the public transportation didn't reach that far, it fell flat as none of the serving people could get out there (the rich had horses and carriages). So only two houses were actually built.  This park is beautiful and defies description, so I am only including one photo. You will have to see it for yourself!

Standing atop Park Guell, Barcelona

Sagrada Familia

The Basilica de Sagrada Familia is another totally amazing place that is hard to describe in photos or words. This project was started in 1882 I think, and Gaudi took over the design and construction until the Spanish Civil war interrupted it's progress in 1936. It was not until the 1950s that progress resumed. Of course, Gaudi was long dead but models were found of the finished building and process along the lines of his original design. 

Sagrada Familia

Old and new sections

Stained glass represents the green of earth and blue of sky

Cooking Class in Barcelona

Cooking Class in Barcelona
One of the most fun things we like to do when traveling is to learn to prepare the local foods. Taking a class with a local chef is the perfect way to learn the history of the foods, the differences between the different seasonings and methods of preparation, and of course, then you get to eat all that delicious food also!

Our class was at Cook & Taste - Tallers de Cuina. We had a class of 14 this evening. The venue was a large kitchen area with counter seating all along one side and a wonderful prep area and range on the other. So here is our chef Carla in the kitchen.

The group consisted of a honeymoon couple from the US, a single lady from Tunisia (I think English was her third language), a family of 6 from Texas, and another couple from Philadelphia that was about our age. The group was very friendly and after just a few minutes we were laughing and cooking together like old friends. Everyone shared in the work and had a great time.

Our Menu
Crema De Calabaza Con Crujiente De Puerro y Brocheta de Langostino (Butternut Squash cream with crispy leek and prawn brochette)
Tortilla de Patatas con Pan con Tomate (Potato omelette with tomato bread)
Paella Valencian Style
Crema Catalana (Catalan cream)
Red wine
White wine

I will give the recipes here a long with some photos of our class.

The first thing we prepared was the dessert, Crema Catalana since it needs to chill before being eaten.

Ingredients to serve 8
6 egg yolks
200 gr. sugar (7 oz)
1 liter milk (4 cups)
40 gr. corn starch (1.75 oz/ .11 pounds)
peel of one lemon
1 stick of cinnamon
(the option many use is orange peel and vanilla instead of lemon and cinnamon)
Method
Blend the egg yolks and the sugar until it becomes a fine cream. Add 750 ml. of milk and stir to get a good mixture. Add the lemon peel and the cinnamon.

Heat it over medium high heat in a saucepan.

Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining cold milk and stir the mixture into the saucepan.

Bring to the boil, stirring all the time and set aside at first bubble. (about 5 - 7 min)

Let it cool for a while, still stirring and distribute it in the little earthenware dishes before it cools down completely. Put into the refrigerator while you prepare the other dishes.

The custard should coat the back of a spoon when ready

The small brown ramekins are most popular here both for tapas and desserts

After the custard has chilled and right before serving, finish it off with a burnt sugar glaze. Sprinkle a scant teaspoon of sugar on top of each ramekin and use a kitchen torch to burn the sugar to a nice brown crisp.

Final touch

Crema de Calabaza 

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 kg of butternut squash

1 medium potato

1 medium onion

1 leek

4 prawns

salt

black pepper

olive oil

Method

Peel and chop the butternut squash, the onion and potato. 

Fry above ingredients slightly in the pan with some olive oil. Cover with water and cook for 25 - 30 min.

Blend it and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Blending the squash, potato and onion

Clean and peel and chop the leek finely (in match stick size pieces, the length of about half the leek). Peel and cut horizontally to remove the intestines, using the tip of the paring knife.

Dredge in corn starch and fry in a pan of hot olive oil. Drain on a paper towel.

Serve the butternut squash cream in individual bowls.

Put the cleaned prawns on a wooden skewer and sauté quickly over high heat turning once. Garnish the soup with a prawn and a handful of fried leek.

Finished Crema de Calabaza

Handy tip: Olive oil can be reused after frying vegetables. Strain off the bits that are in the oil while still warm and before storing.

Tortilla De Patatas 

The Spanish omelette came along as a way to stretch the budget when you only have two or three eggs to feed a family, so add potato and other ingredients to it to make it go further.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

300 gr potatoes, peeled, chopped (10 oz)

1 onion, peeled, in half rings

3 eggs

olive oil

salt

Method

Peel and rinse the potatoes, slice them thinly

Peel the onion and cut it in half rings

Fry the potatoes in plenty of hot olive oil. Add the onion into the frying pan when the potatoes are half done.

Fry the potatoes gently -- don't break them

Leave over medium heat until both the potatoes and the onion are well done. Drain the oil off the potatoes. Let cool a bit.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a separate bowl and season with salt. 

Pour the drained potatoes and onion in the bowl and mix with eggs gently.

Drain the oil off the potatoes and onions (notice toasted bread in photo for the Pane con tomate)

Remove excess oil from the pan. Pour the egg and potato mixture into the heated pan and cook until the bottom starts to brown, gently lift the sides so the uncooked egg runs underneath. Using a plate a little larger than the size of the skillet, flip it over, and gently slide the tortilla into the pan again so the uncooked part is face down and finish cooking. 

Carla demonstrates using a special plate with a handle on it to flip the tortilla

Slide cooked tortilla onto a plate. Divide into wedges for serving.

Finished Spanish omelette

Pane con Tomate 

This simple but delicious starter came into use as a way to help use bread that was getting a bit stale, and for tomatoes that were also a bit past ripe. So many simple recipes born from a practical necessity have evolved into the traditional Catalan/Spanish cooking!

4  large slices of farmhouse bread (not sliced American sandwich bread -- you want a chewier crust bread like a sourdough rough or baguette type bread)

2 red ripe tomatoes (the Spanish use a particular type of tomato called a hanging tomato)

1 garlic clove (Spanish garlic is very strong)

olive oil

flaked salt

Toast the bread (or not if it is already getting dried)

Peel a clove of garlic and cut it in half

Cut the tomatoes also in halves cross-wise

First rub the bread with the garlic with the cut side, and then with the tomato, squeezing gently on to the bread. Sprinkle it with olive oil and then with the flake salt. Let the bread sit until you are ready to serve. Will actually keep a couple of days.

Carla showing us the Tomate de Colgar - the Hanging Tomatoes.
This particular type will keep all winter when hung this way.

Preparing the Tomato bread - rub with garlic, then gently rub in the meat of the cut tomato, discard the skin

Paella Valencian Style (with chicken)
Ingredients (serves 4)
500 gr chicken, in serving size pieces
150 gr asparagus
1 red bell pepper
2 or 3 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed
1 tomato, peeled, minced or grated
6 tablespoons of olive oil
400 gr rice (1 lb/14 oz) sushi-style rice works well
1.1 liter of chicken or vegetable stock (4.4 cups)
8 - 10 saffron threads for colouring
(any vegetables can be used -- green beans, zucchini, cut in small pieces; the seafood paella doesn't usually have vegetables in it, only garlic and onion)

Method
Paella is the classic Spanish dish and there are special pans that are used to prepare it. Carla has a free standing gas powered ring that she attaches to a gas canister under the sink. The ring sits on the counter top and the large pan sits on top of the ring.

Gas for the paella pan

Pans come in many sizes; this one will serve 14 but there are larger ones as well

Heat the oil in the pan and brown the meat slightly. Arrange around the edge of the pan.

Add the tomato in and cook gently. After some minutes, add chopped garlic and fry over medium heat.

Johnnie on left: Lots of chopping onion, garlic, green beans, peppers

Sauteeing the veggies

When the tomato is half-way cooked, stir in the rest of the vegetables (clean and chopped).
When the tomato starts to burn, stir in the rice and fry for some short minutes.
Finally add the stock (previously heated) and saffron. Distribute everything evenly.
Rice can't be touched beyond this point!

Stock added, distribute meat and now let it simmer 

Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for +/- 8 minutes, rotating the swirling the pan to distribute the heat evenly. Reduce the heat to minimum and cook +/- 10 min. more.
Let stand for about 5 min. before serving.

The Wine
No Spanish meal is complete without wine. We had both a red and a white wine for this meal. Actually, the cooks had a glass while preparation was going on as well!

The White Wine

The Red Wine

Christmas in Barcelona

Getting here
We booked the cheap flights on Ryan Air, leaving Ciampino Aeroporto in Rome directly to Barcelona. Ciampino is the city airport in Rome which was close to defunct before Ryan Air and EasyJet breathed new life into it. Now it is pretty busy but still a small airport compared to Rome's Fuimicino Leonardo da Vinci Aeroporto across town.

We neglected to figure in the traffic in Napoli and spent almost an hour in the city just to reach the Autostrade. Once on the Autostrade we made good time and arrived in time to catch our flight. The only questionable part of the trip was parking in the airport parking lot. Because we were starting to be pressed for time, we just parked without really deciphering which lot was which, or figuring out what the cheaper long term rates are. Sure hope we don't have a nasty surprise when we return! Ha!


Ryan Air
The plane was a 737-800 with winglets, so a relatively new and reliable aircraft. The pitch of the seats was tight, in the 3 x 3 configuration. No problem there. It was definitely a no frills flight though; no assigned seats and packed, everything was for sale including all manner of drinks or snacks (and expensive too), lottery tickets, cigarettes (for smoking later), and perfume. Basically the flight attendants were selling stuff the entire 1 1/4 hr. flight. It was pretty amazing!

We bought a sandwich before we got on board, so we only paid 4,50 Euro for coffee and a coke! We will do it again for another short flight but for longer flights, we'll opt for a few more amenities. After it is all tallied in the end, we may just fly from Naples. The cost of the fuel to drive to Rome (probably will be 60 Euro), the 12,50 Euro Autostrade toll each way, and the yet to be determined long term parking fee could make up the difference n the price of the tickets. We'll see.

The Lights of Barcelona
We are immediately impressed by the beautiful lights of Christmas throughout the city. Some are very unusual and the city fountains spread throughout the city are coordinated in colors with the Christmas decor. It is very nice!

El Corte Ingles Department Store at Placa Catalunya

Avenida Portal de L'Angel - pedestrian only 

In the Placa Catalunya

Christmas Eve

We headed out for our Christmas Dinner to the Mandarin Hotel restaurant Blanc. It is an Asian Fusion menu and quite delicious. Mo Angok met us there. He is another of the Boeing people in Italy who just happened to be in Barcelona for the holiday too.

In the lobby of Hotel Denit heading out for Christmas dinner

Johnnie and Mo at the Blanc restaurant

Christmas Day

We keep pinching ourselves asking "are we really in Barcelona on Christmas Day?" It seems a bit unreal. The streets were pretty quiet this morning when we went out to wander. Later more people came out. We have no specific itinerary for today -- just to explore on our own. We found several places we will go back tomorrow when they are open. Lots of restaurants open today and some souvenir shops but most stores are closed.

Huge flock of pigeons at Placa de Catalunya

Fountains of Placa de Catalunya in the daytime

We did find a Starbucks and had to stop in and have coffee just to say we have been to Starbucks in Barcelona!

Starbucks on Las Ramblas

Capuccino Starbucks style 

Carmel Macchiato with Soy Milk

Then of course we ran into Burger King and had to stop in there for a burger. It was actually pretty good and took care of our burger fix for a while.

Have it Your Way at Burger King

Along Las Ramblas

People watching is extraordinary here. We see and hear people from all over the world. This is pretty much the tourist center and we have paid too much for meals a couple times but we will wander further as the week goes on and find the places where the local people eat and play.

Alabama Gospel Choir at the Gran Teatre de Liceu

At the last minute we deduced to get tickets to hear the Alabama Gospel Choir and a beautiful old theatre on La Rambla.  The concert was great and this theater is spectacular. Built in 1847, it is in perfect condition updated yet in the original style. The acoustics are beautiful and seating is very comfortable. We paid a little extra for a box seat, but there is not a single bad seat in the entire theatre.

Johnnie in the Box seat at the Gran Teatre de Liceu

Jenny sharing the Box

Grand entrance hall to the Gran Teatre de Liceu

Panorama from stage right

Ceiling

Basilica of Santa Maria Del Pi

Gothic style church built in the 14th and 15h centuries, it is sandwiched in the middle of the city though it takes up what might be almost a city block -- hard to say since the streets run at angles. It has many shrines ringing the main sanctuary and one very nice stained glass rose window.

Early Gothic style

Rose stained glass in the rear of the church

Walking, Tapas and Wine

With so many plazas (placas in Catalan) to explore, and dozens of ancient buildings and monuments scattered through the city, we simply took the approach to just keep walking. So on Monday, we probably walked 5 miles or more exploring the city. In the evening we had a Food and Wine guided tour which took us to four different places throughout the city, having tapas and a different wine at each place. Now of course I wish that I would have taken photos of each and made a list of all the foods we tried but, alas, I did not. Once you get into the fun of the evening, you forget to take notes. We were in a small group with another family of 6 from the US. It was a good time and our guide was also a man from the US who lives in Barcelona now, and he had a very good knowledge of the history of Barcelona as well as the great places to eat.

Our first stop was Comte Cuitat where we tried a Spanish Chardonnay and a couple tapas. The Chardonnay was acceptable but truly Washington State has better. Then we went onto a place called La Fragia to try a dry Rose (or Rosado) which was quite good. 

Some of the tapas we tried here included a delicious white sauce with crumb topping on a clam in the shell,  meatballs, little sausages, tiny marinated mushrooms,  fried tiny green peppers (but not hot), fried tiny squid, and roasted potatoes with a spicy sauce.

De Casta Rosado

From here we went to a place called Andou which is a made-up word from the English Undo. The owner is Canadian and when he purchased the restaurant, he removed all the updates that previous owner had made in the 1970s, and went back to the basic bare bones of the restaurant, hence the name Andou. It has a very rustic atmosphere, benches and wooden plank tables, the "old smokey" atmosphere (although there is no smoking there), low lights and all you expect from an inn two hundred years old. There we drank an excellent dry red wine, and the tapas were more hearty and spicy: platter full of Iberian ham, olives, various Manchego cheeses and goat cheese, and tomato bread. We learned that the best Jamon Iberico is not exported into the US because the USDA does not approve  the part salt/part air cure process that is used. So, we sampled several grades of the Iberico and could definitely tell the difference, although all were good. The Manchego cheese was awesome, our favorite being the variety that was marinated in olive oil and a bit more sharp than the other.

Bold Spanish Red Wine

Our last stop was a very out of the way place in the maze of streets of Born district at a small place that serves the delicious sparkling white wine of the region called Cava. It was standing room only in this place and not tapas, just some toasts to the evening and new acquaintances we made. Altogether, a lovely evening was had by all!

Finish the evening with a nice Cava