BCN Dia Dos

We welcomed our first day in Barcelona with a long walk to some of the city’s famous Gaudi architecture. Antoni Gaudi was the most well-known architect of the Modernisme movement, which Lonely Planet calls the Catalan version of Art Noveau. Casa Batllo was our first stop. To think that this intricately-designed five or six story house on the posh Passeig De Gracia, a street equivalent to New York’s Fifth Avenue, was once a family’s home, is incredible. Now, the legendary building holds a few residences, but is mainly a tourist destination. Though living in one of Gaudi’s pieces of architectural art at one of Barcelona’s most prominent addresses would be an unmatched experience, hauling bags of groceries up flights of stairs crowded with tourists could be a downside. Pictures of the Casa Batllo rooftop are below.
From here, we wandered along the Passeig De Gracia, past high-end designer boutiques, toward another Gaudi building called La Pedrera. We ooed and awed at the outside, but didn’t stop to wait in the long line to go inside. Instead, we found our way to a super stylish chocolate boutique called Bubo that also served coca, a crisp puff pastry dough covered with savory toppings. The sardine and roasted vegetable slice was just enough to keep us through our hike to the Sagrada Familia, the third and final stop on our Gaudi tour. The Sagrada Familia, a privately-funded cathedral under construction since 1882 (set to be completed by 2020), is Barcelona’s most famous building. Symbolic towers stand 100 to 170 meters tall and elaborate carvings on the building’s façade display Biblical scenes complete with various animals, baby Jesus, and others present at the turn of the last millennium. Inside is a display of the type and origin of each stone used in the construction. Despite the sign predicting a 45-minute wait and Mom’s fear of heights, we decided to take the speedy elevator to the top of one of the towers for possibly the best view of the city. I took the photos of the skyline below from the extremely narrow walkway between two of the high towers. Though a sign at the elevator warns of steep stairs, Mom was gripping both sides of the wall (which were only about two feet apart) all the way down the dark, winding staircase. Yes, the elevator ride only takes visitors up. Going down requires great balance, night vision, and anti-nausea medication. Somehow, we were ill-prepared.
After a long walk back to the Boqueria (the bustling market in the city center), we parked at Kiosk Universal, a highly recommended breakfast and lunch spot for its fun setting (on the edge of vendor madness) and uber-fresh seafood. We had our fill of razor clams, paella, sea bass (an entire fish cut down the middle and seared), and flan before our much-needed siesta back at the hotel.
The afternoon held more walking, this time around the shopping neighborhoods. We stumbled upon a strip of independent artists selling clothing and accessories on one of the pedestrian malls and vowed to return the next day. Suddenly, it was time to head toward our 9:00 (the earliest time!) dinner reservation on the other side of town. On the map it looked rather close, but each intersection has a roundabout, so pedestrians cannot walk straight down the sidewalk. The urban planners were smart in cutting the corners off the intersections to make more room for parking and to allow for more storefronts, but walking through the streets does feel a bit windy. Walk straight, then walk a half circle, walk straight, then walk a half-circle. We showed up almost 15 minutes late, which didn’t seem to be a big deal because we were only the second group of people in the place. I felt kind of like my Grandparents arriving at 4:30 for the early bird special. Except it was 9:15 and the interior of Sauc restaurant was approximately 15 million times more chic than the 70’s floral upholstery (that highly flammable, plastic stuff) on the booths of the Diner 99 (need I mention the exterior is entirely covered in chrome? Sorry for making you cringe).
Sauc means elderberry, as we learned during the cheese course (between the meat and dessert) when our waitress explained that the deep purple square on our plates was the jellied juice of the delicate fruit. The meal at Sauc was equally creative and funky as was the food the night before. Highlights included a chilled apple soup over briny raw oysters with green apple slices and a savory cake, sweetbreads with morel mushrooms and langoustines, and a dark chocolate sauce poured like broth over a coffee granita and caramel cream base, sprinkled with sour white candies. The final course was creamy mascarpone cheese and diced peaches topped with refreshing red wine foam, mini madelines and nut cookies, and chocolate ganache lollipops with candied orange pieces. By the time we left around 11:30, the place was almost full and a table of six 50-somethings were only on dessert number 1. Did you catch that, Dad? 50-somethings out past 9 and enjoying themselves! I didn’t know it was possible either.