Hi everyone!
Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve posted anything on my good old blog!
Who knew I would have less time to post while on VACATION!!?
It does make sense when you think about it… I mean, we are always out and about, wandering around this wonderful Spanish (Catalan) city that is Barcelona!
Barcelona is one of my favourite cities. It is so beautiful and full of life! People here speak Catalan, which is a mixture of Spanish and French.
Karl and I both took Spanish classes in high school and university and it is quite hard for us to understand Catalan, and therefore speak it, so we sometimes have to get creative! ( yes, I do use my hands to make up a slice of cheese to ask for the nearest cheese shop)…A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to right!? I mean…I need my cheese or else I get grumpy!
Anyways, enough about us!
We found some cute places that I want to share with you!
Last time we came to Barcelona, we had the pleasure to try the “Cereal” Croissant at the best pastry/bakery in Barcelona; Baluard. It is in the heart of La Barceloneta, which is right on the side of the beach. These croissants are so good!!! They are made with whole wheat/seeds like sunflower seeds and poppy seeds. AMAZING!
Here are a few pictures of the place. I don’t know if you can see inside but it is fully packed! This place is very popular amongst the locals, which is always a good sign when looking for quality food while traveling!
And here’s the pièce de résistance! The Croissant!
No joke, I could eat about 20 and still want more! A very nice twist on the plain croissants we all know!
But to tell you the truth, they are actually known for their amazing variety of delicious breads like the picture shown a bit earlier.
Anyways, all of that to say that if you ever go to Barcelona, please take the time to go and try these amazing croissants! (They call them croissant integral).
Ok, now internet and coffee shops.
Our apartment is great. It has everything we need except for fast internet. I know what you are thinking; You’re on Vacation, why would you need internet!?
Well first of all, Karl is a major tech geek so internet is like air for him (almost). He reads about everything online, it’s his virtual newspaper. Second of all, I am still working even though we are on vacation (only part-time but still).
So our internet problem got us to look for a coffee shop with fast internet. That’s when we found this awesome place called La Clandestina! It is situated in the area called Barri Gotic and it is such a cool place! It has a very “clandestine” feel to it and they serve over 20 different types of tea (Alex heaven alert!!!).
We’ve been coming here everyday (not really but almost!) since we found the place! We come for a coffee, tea/chai and we check our emails/do a bit of work!
As for food/restaurants, we had a wonderful surprise from one of my favourite person on earth, my friend Steph, for my birthday. She planned a whole night at this amazing restaurant called Con Gracia.
Wow! The food was incredible and the combinations of flavours were just amazing as well as very creative! On top of that, the service was spectacular! Needless to say, we had a perfect evening thanks to her!
Unfortunately, since it was very dark inside, we do not have nice pictures to show you but go check their website (click on the restaurant name up here) and you will see how exquisite the food was!
We also went to a “Pintxo Bar” in the Barri Gotic area called Sagardi; suggestion of my friend Shanna. It was so delicious! The ambiance is half the fun really! The food was really good as well!!
You see how all the Pintxos are ready for you to eat? You just pick whatever you want and at the end, they count the number of toothpicks you have in order to know how much to charge you!
These are the Pintxos I ate! So delicious and fresh! 🙂
So remember! Next time you plan a trip to Barcelona, you have to go get your croissants at Baluard, your Pintxos at Sagardi and your coffee/tea/wifi fix at La Clandestina!
Kisses from Spain!
Alex
xox
