Day 11 - Barcelona

The cocktail of extreme fatigue, bubble bath, 1 litre of Sangria, nice food and nice bed led to a very good night's sleep. We dragged ourselves out of bed at 10am.

Searching for Churros
But none was to be found for a kilometre. So we settled for some (very thick) Hot Choc and croissant at a corner Cafeteria.


Gaudi
What a spectacular architect!!! very beautiful.


Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's unfinished work)


Absolutely breathe-taking architecture. This church is STILL in construction mode even though it started in the 1800s. Although the new work shows whiter/newer stone work, the continuity remains. We got there at 11am and were swamped by truckloads of tourists. We will come back tonight and tomorrow morning to beat the crowds.


La Pedrera


Casa Batllo

Rambla
This is a stretch of pedestrianised road filled with tourists, performers, flower stalls and fruit stalls.




Lunch at La Boqueria market




This Tapas store we visited was called Pinotxa.

Large prawns - grilled. Like last night, very sweet and tasty.


Mussels


Clams - very juicy and plump


Baby squid and white beans

Another bill shock: 50E! We need to eat cheaper tomorrow.

My Siesta
After lunch we went for a walk in the old town (Barri Gotic). Guitar sounds were heard in a small courtyard surrounded by the back wall of La Catedral, and a few other buildings. That's where I rested for at least 20mins while listening to Spanish guitar playing.



It's so relaxing that I bought his CD as memorabilia.

Afternoon stroll

Hot chocolate - It's so thick that the spoon doesn't even sink.


Near the port


Estacio de Franca train station. Needed to buy tickets for our train ride to Perpignan in 2 days' time.

Dinner - Con Gracia
Tripadvisor rated this as the top restaurant in Barcelona. So we gave this a try and we were not dissapointed. We opted for the 5-course "surprise" menu and ordered 1 serve of matching wine.


Course 1 - Foie gras, balsamic vinegar reduction and onion & ginger compote. Very well balance of flavours


Course 2 - King spider crab - grilled; and sashimi. Very sweet. Favourite dish of the night.


Course 3 - Seared tune with avocado mousse and pan-fried pig trotter meat.


Course 4 - Pan fried duck breast with egg plant puree, apricot and red wine jus.


Course 5 - Choc brownie with home made whipped mascarpone and strawberry soup.

All were nice and definitely worth the 45E+drinks pp. Matching wine got us drunk, worse than last night.

More Gaudi after dinner