Now that I finally have a bit of free time I shall squeeze in my loooong dated barcelona post.
If you don't already know, something foul happened to me when we arrived. I was getting onto an escalator to get out of the metro station when it stopped very abruptly. Naturally I got a shock and asked if S was ok. Fine. So I carried my luggage and walked up. We reached a shopping center 5 mins later to buy something and only then did I realized that my iPad was stolen from my backpack!!!! Tracing back, I could only reason that a man behind me on the escalator pressed the stop button and opened my bag the moment I jerked forward. You wouldn't believe how bloody pro he was..I didn't even notice/feel anything. What a rotten start and sure enough we went through the 4-day holiday with much moodiness. So I don't care how many times others have said it but when you're in Spain PLEASE BE CAREFUL.
Ok, you know how food always manages to cheer us up so we decided to go ahead with our lunch reservation that day (we actually cancelled a 2-star lunch just to make up for the lost iPad). Thank goodness the restaurant fared well! I'm supposed to keep this post short so won't go into details but I'd definitely say it's worth trying. On a separate note, Spain is such a pork country I tell you..we couldn't resist buying truck loads of Iberico & Serrano ham =D
Name: Cinc Sentits
Location: 58 Aribau, Barcelona, 08011
Expenditure: 46€ pp for 6-course tasting menu, excl. wine
Since we're on the subject of food I'll take you to another place that's more hippy and sells superb tapas - something I love Spain for! This casual restaurant is tucked away in a small street off Barcelona's main shopping area and we wouldn't have found it if not for S' Spanish friend. I suspect it's featured somewhere given the number of "guidebook-in-hand" tourists I had spotted. But fear not. This place is nowhere near touristic and we ate with so much happiness! People were staring at us because of the sheer amount of food we ordered. Haha. If I remember correctly they don't take reservations so go early to avoid crowds. Grilled asparagus, mushrooms, and roasted artichokes are must-tries.
Name: Cervecería Catalana
Location: C/ Malloca 236, 08008 Barcelona
Expenditure: <50€ for 2. cheap!
After the satisfying meal, we walked 10 mins to Casa Batlló - a famous building by Antoni Gaudí. We learnt much about him during this trip and absolutely adore how he newly defines "out-of-this-world" in terms of architectural designs. You'll know what I mean after showing you just 2 of his main works that we managed to visit. Again, to cut short my post, please google if you're interested to know more.. You CAN'T miss this.
More of his impressive stuff coming up in part 2...
