Last month my husband, two good friends and I set off on our annual vacation choosing Barcelona , Seville and Madrid as our destination for 10 glorious days. September 23rd we flew from San Francisco to New York where we met our friends and from New York to Barcelona . We arrived in Barcelona September 24th the beginning of the Fiestas de la Merce.
September 24th is the day dedicated to the Virgin of the Mercé, the city's patron saint since 1687. This festival is the city's most important holiday, therefore, the entire week is packed with different events and concerts, and the city is literally buzzing with excitement and life. I should note that there is nothing remotely religious about this festival! Barcelona knows how to celebrate all night long, really I mean all night long! During the festival one of the most traditional things to do is to watch the "castellers", who usually gather on one of the main squares. The "castellers" are one of Catalonia 's most deeply-rooted traditions; it consists of building human towers: a delicate, acrobatic structure consisting of several people. My dear friend all most caused a catastrophe when she let out a loud shrill when one of the acrobats lost his balance and fell from the tower; he was fine. Another highlight of the
festival is seeing the giant statues parade and dance down the street. There were drums, devils, monsters and all matter of happy creatures lighting up the night!
The trip was filled with
fun activities, after a long night we would pull ourselves together and be ready for our morning coffee by 11:00am. After our morning coffee we would absorbed Gaudi’s work in all of its splendor and whimsy from the La Sagranda Familia to Park Guell. We visited the Picasso Museum and trolled the avenues to enjoy the street art from Miro to Lichtenstein; pretty impressive. Our hotel was on the Las Ramblas a classic European boulevard with cafes and bars,
newsstands and metro stops, into an outdoor street theater-cum-circus. You name it and you will see it on Las Ramblas!
We had a few misses with food and a few highlights but the wine never disappointed. Tempranillo, Rioja, Granacha we had it all and Cava too! The first night we dined at La Barca Del Salamanch http://www.gruposilvestre.com/ where we had good basic sea food, the portion size was enormous with enough food to feed a family of five! Somewhere in the middle of our trip we dinned at Botafumeiro http://www.botafumeiro.es/, a very pricey seafood restaurant. The décor was a bit old school with photos of all of the rich and famous diners. I ordered Paella which was probably a mistake
; it was good but not outstanding. However, the olives were delicious so much so that I bought a bottle home with me. The olives are in a mixture of vegetables and cornichons in a very mild herb olive oil – lovely!
The last night before taking off on an early morning flight to Seville the husband and I dined alone at a restaurant on Las Ramblas called Attic. We were a little skeptical at first since this restaurant was right on the tourist strip but it turned out to be quite nice. It was a very contemporary restaurant on the top floor of a building with a roof top terrace. The food was a combination of Bistro fare meets modern Spanish food. We had a simple meal of filet mignon and papa frites.
Stay tuned for our adventures in Seville , and be a little patient with me since this is my first blog!
Adios
September 24th is the day dedicated to the Virgin of the Mercé, the city's patron saint since 1687. This festival is the city's most important holiday, therefore, the entire week is packed with different events and concerts, and the city is literally buzzing with excitement and life. I should note that there is nothing remotely religious about this festival! Barcelona knows how to celebrate all night long, really I mean all night long! During the festival one of the most traditional things to do is to watch the "castellers", who usually gather on one of the main squares. The "castellers" are one of Catalonia 's most deeply-rooted traditions; it consists of building human towers: a delicate, acrobatic structure consisting of several people. My dear friend all most caused a catastrophe when she let out a loud shrill when one of the acrobats lost his balance and fell from the tower; he was fine. Another highlight of the
festival is seeing the giant statues parade and dance down the street. There were drums, devils, monsters and all matter of happy creatures lighting up the night!The trip was filled with
fun activities, after a long night we would pull ourselves together and be ready for our morning coffee by 11:00am. After our morning coffee we would absorbed Gaudi’s work in all of its splendor and whimsy from the La Sagranda Familia to Park Guell. We visited the Picasso Museum and trolled the avenues to enjoy the street art from Miro to Lichtenstein; pretty impressive. Our hotel was on the Las Ramblas a classic European boulevard with cafes and bars,
newsstands and metro stops, into an outdoor street theater-cum-circus. You name it and you will see it on Las Ramblas!We had a few misses with food and a few highlights but the wine never disappointed. Tempranillo, Rioja, Granacha we had it all and Cava too! The first night we dined at La Barca Del Salamanch http://www.gruposilvestre.com/ where we had good basic sea food, the portion size was enormous with enough food to feed a family of five! Somewhere in the middle of our trip we dinned at Botafumeiro http://www.botafumeiro.es/, a very pricey seafood restaurant. The décor was a bit old school with photos of all of the rich and famous diners. I ordered Paella which was probably a mistake
; it was good but not outstanding. However, the olives were delicious so much so that I bought a bottle home with me. The olives are in a mixture of vegetables and cornichons in a very mild herb olive oil – lovely!The last night before taking off on an early morning flight to Seville the husband and I dined alone at a restaurant on Las Ramblas called Attic. We were a little skeptical at first since this restaurant was right on the tourist strip but it turned out to be quite nice. It was a very contemporary restaurant on the top floor of a building with a roof top terrace. The food was a combination of Bistro fare meets modern Spanish food. We had a simple meal of filet mignon and papa frites.
Stay tuned for our adventures in Seville , and be a little patient with me since this is my first blog!
Adios
1 comment:
Nice first post! I look forward to reading about more of your adventures abroad and at home.
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