Barcelona

When I worked in NYC, I had an incredible Time Inc. boondoggle. I administered the Ticketmaster call center test call program. Time Inc. had an incredibly successful partnership with Ticketmaster in the days before the internet, when you had to call on the telephone to buy event tickets. If you didn’t want to go in person and camp out overnight and whatnot. At the end of your call, you were offered subscriptions to Time Inc. magazines. Which many people either took advantage of, or were taken advantage of by unscrupulous Ticketmaster agents looking to up their numbers. 

We had two test callers, the mothers of employees, who got paid to call and order tickets and check that the agents were doing what they were supposed to do. And the test callers actually bought tickets to local events, which were distributed to call center agents as prizes. We tended to buy inexpensive tickets to inexpensive events, usually smaller touring bands playing local clubs. I’m sure bands like the String Cheese Incident are still wondering why they sold so many tickets to local events that no one used.  Everything went swimmingly until various states attorneys general got interested, and the internet wiped out the whole scheme anyway. 

Anyway, when the mothers bought the tickets, all the charges went on my corporate AMEX.

And I could keep the points for my personal use. 

All of this is to explain why Kirk and I traveled to Europe for free two or three times a year for many many years. And we loved Paris, so we went there all the time. We eventually were Paris experts, but we never went anywhere else. And so there are gaps in my Europe experiences. And for me the biggest one was never having been to Spain. 

That’s being remedied this year. Four days in Barcelona, and three in Madrid, before I take a cruise from Reykjavik to NYC that I am convinced will literally be once in a lifetime.  

Cruises don’t appeal, but I want to make sure. 

Barcelona was the first stop on the journey, after a flight from Guayaquil, Ecuador via Bogota, Colombia. The flight was uneventful, just like I like flights to be, and I love flying to Europe to arrive in the morning. You can sleep on the plane, push through the day, go to sleep, and wake up with no jet lag. 

I’ll also throw out a tech recommendation here. I have my NYC 212 cell phone number parked at Tello. Normally I pay $5 a month for a plan with no data, and just use it on WiFi to supplement my Ecuadorian cell number and data plan. But you can change your Tello plan monthly, and they have free roaming in Europe this summer. So I bought an unlimited $25 plan for the month of my travel. I didn’t have to deal with any SIM chips or eSIMs or installations. When I landed in various countries and cities, my phone just automatically connected with nothing needed from me. I can’t stress enough how chill this was. 

In Barcelona I stayed at the Hotel Granados in the Eixemple district, which, unbeknownst to me, is a trendy gay district. Thanks, random fate. Great hotel, great service, clear glass bathroom wall, perfectly cozy. 

My first stop in Barcelona was to buy a new suitcase, my checked bag having been trashed by either Avianca or an airport baggage system. Didn’t lose any contents, only the four wheels. My second stop was to get my nails done — they were trashed by the travel and the wheelless suitcase dragging. Nails are a new habit, but I’m liking the process. 

I had an early tapas dinner at Bar El

Velódromo, after which I turned in early. I love noshing, and, much like ciccetti in Venice, tapas is a concept I love. There’s always a bar to sit at and eat tapas, which is perfect for solo diners. And you can get lots of small bites so there’s variety. Ended up talking to an off duty waiter sitting next to me, and we had one more drink elsewhere as he migrated to work. 

After a quick early breakfast of a sandwich and a latte at 365 Obrador, I headed for the Sagrada Família — I had bought the early morning entry ticket months in advance, and the experience was a highly organized joy. Those people really know how to process hordes of tourists through their incredible space, without you feeling like you are being herded through, and with you feeling you are unhurried and totally informed. I had a guided group tour, got the lay of the land, and then wandered around looking. They have a great app with detailed information and audio tours. It really was one of the best pure tourist experiences I’ve ever had. 

Barcelona is an urban planning triumph. Wide streets, each intersection a beautifully arranged amalgam of street, sidewalk, bike lane, and businesses. In the afternoon I walked La Rambla, a wide boulevard that connects Barcelona to the sea. It was fun but a bit touristy for me. Better was Mercat St. Josep. I love my mercados in Ecuador, and this one was everything you’d want. Foodie heaven. 

I had a late lunch at Restaurant Centfocs, a larger space full of locals. My restaurant strategy is to look for places full of people, especially when it’s an off peak time, and to listen to make sure I hear no English being spoken. They succeeded on both accounts. They squeezed me in a two top and I was treated very well as a solo diner. 

 By the time I finished a leisurely lunch, the afternoon heat was getting oppressive. So I started what became a daily habit of taking a couple of hours midday to recuperate in my air conditioned room, after which I took an early evening walk in Gòtic, the medieval district with narrow streets. 

I like to walk a lot the first couple of days, and save the public transportation for later. There’s lots you miss if you don’t walk places. I found Rambia del Raval, definitely not a tourist area. It was cool, young, multicultural, urban, and edgy. And its central plaza had a large Fernando Botero sculpture, a cat. So I felt as if I had a little piece of South America on my trip. 

Friday morning I had an early breakfast at Cafe Caracas, a great place to stand, have a coffee and a croissant, and watch the locals stream in and out. Not for too long though, unfortunately, as I had a 9am opening time entry for Park Guell.  Bought a two day metro/bus pass and went out there. Park Guell is atop a very steep hill, but the connecting streets have outdoor escalators — it was a great way to get there effortlessly. 

It was a beautiful cool breezy morning for Park Guell. I had an early 9:30am entry for the Gaudi House museum. I went in a side entry that was comparatively unused, and I was able to tour the house before lines formed. That gave me time to walk some of the gardens before the crowds really arrived. Every angle in the park is a different vista — it reminded me a lot of

Central Park in that regard.  In contrast to the Sagrada Família, nothing was extremely well marked, which nicely encouraged exploration. 

By 11:00am the place was a madhouse of crowds and tourists. On reflection I could’ve gone to the main entrance on Carrer d’Olot first thing and had a timed entry for the Casa Gaudi museum later. That way you can do the free entry houses early before the crowds arrive. Honestly though there are just so many people that, even with it being a large park, there’s probably no one perfect way to approach it.  

After leaving I took a long walk through Gracia, the neighborhood below Park Guell. I liked it a lot— it seemed normal and residential. 

I’m not much of a beach person anymore and hadn’t planned to go to Barceloneta Beach, but it was a perfect cool day for it so I took the hour long metro to bus ride out there. I’m so glad I did. The beach was nice, but the best part was La Cova Fumada, a small and definitely local restaurant a couple of blocks off the beach. I ate a bomba (kind of a potato ball), ensaladilla (potato salad with tuna), pan tostada con tomate, and a Estrella beer. But the highlight was cap i pota, the perfect combo of meat, fat, and soft cartilage. Stewed for what might have been days, with all the rendered fat left in and combined with a bit of tomato to make a sauce. Far and away the best thing I ate in Barcelona, and also part of the least expensive meal I had. 

Since I was relatively close anyway, I took a bus to take the funicular to Montjuic, the highest point in Barcelona. The highest point of the Sagrada Família is intentionally one half meter shorter. I took the teleférico to the top, visited the Mirimar for a great sea view, and looked around the castle but didn’t pay to go in.  Took the metro back to hotel. Again, best to stay out of the afternoon heat  — recharged the phone battery and my battery as well. 

Had a nice tapas dinner at Vinitus — mini parradilla of clams, mussels, and shrimp; tomato bread; sardines, tomatoes, and avocados; and a terrific torrija cremada de Santa Teresa for dessert. Soft bread, two flavors of cream, and topped with caramelized sugar. Definitely the best dessert I had. 

But, ugh, the food tourist next to me at the bar at Vinitus. When you show the Instagram photos you found of the food to the waiter, and he tells you the menu changes daily, believe him, and don’t ask him to reproduce the food you saw online. So annoying. But please feel free to loudly proclaim your disappointment, and take a dozen pictures of each item you do get, from a variety of angles. And use a flash. 

My last morning in Barcelona I had a tortilla Francesa and coffee, and walked around to see Gaudi buildings. The two big tourist draws are the ones directly on Passeig de Gracia, but I liked the two a bit off the beaten path as well.  Casa Calvet had a great ground floor coffee shop with a cute and friendly barista. He had great sky blue nails, and poured a unicorn with cream for my latte that was art in a cup. 

My final metro trip was to the Barcelona Sants train station for my trip to Madrid. So comfortable, and nothing like zipping along at 300 km/h. 

So, Barcelona? Expensive but fantastic. Such a livable and walkable city. I could definitely spend more time here.