WHERE YOU GOING? / BARCELONA / OH

Up early … the new decade morning … David went to dip his toes into the Mediterranean before our French petite dejéuner in Fréjus.

The HOTEL LE CATALOGNE had a lovely offering, and we enjoyed croissants, pain au chocolat, and café au lait. The bonus was a DIY juicer next to a bowl of plump oranges … delicious.

We even made sandwiches so we wouldn’t have to stop along the way. Six hours driving was long enough in the car, and as tempting as it might be to sightsee along the way, we decided to get to our destination.

We hadn’t heard back from the hotel in Barcelona about the parking, so we called again to check.

DAVID: I called yesterday, and am waiting to hear back if you reserved parking for us.
CLERK: We usually don’t do that.
DAVID: Your colleague said she’d do it. Plus today’s my 0 birthday.
CLERK: OK, we’ll contact them.

(I see a pattern here.)

5 minutes later, she called back to say a place was reserved.

Our drive, even on a 0 birthday, wasn’t traffic-free. One delay included a toll booth … 4 lanes merged down to 2, before widening to 3 … eventually revealing a bad accident. The other was due to a fire on the side of the road. But there was a gift of schadenfreude … 4 bad jams east-bound.

Our sandwiches au jambon were yummy.

Ole! Barcelona was an immediate surprise … wide boulevards full of pedestrians.

The navigation led us to the HOTEL K+K PICASSO EL BORN. There was only one last minute hair-pin turn from the street onto the small, parallel road where we could unload our luggage. I ran into the hotel to ask the receptionists about the parking lot.

“Right around that corner,” she indicated, waving a hand. “PLEASE go outside and explain it to my husband,” I said in a we’ve-been-in-the-car-for-over-6-hours voice. She obliged.

And as I brought in our bags, I saw David back up the car and then out of sight. He reappeared in the lobby a few minutes later, and exhaled.

The hotel is modern and sleek, and the receptionists slash concierges were very nice and helpful throughout our stay. The elevator was by a company named Schindler. It was [sorry] Schindler’s Lift.

We got to our room … and Wow! There was a bottle of cava on ice, along with 2 flutes and a Feliz Cumpleaños card. Muchos gracias.

The receptionists mentioned two restaurants that were walking distance, and we picked the one with tapas and seafood. LA GAMBETA is across the piazza from the El Born Cultural Museum. We were happy to sit outside under one of their many umbrellas. The waiter spoke Catalan … and since our Spanish is, shall we say, limited, we opted for the English menu.

Our tapas pick was Cantabrico anchovies drizzled with olive oil, delicate, salty, and sea-full … and the restaurant brought crusty bread with crushed tomatoes, simple and rustic. Next was octopus on a bed of hummus, tender and creamy and flavorful fusion … and marinated tuna with seaweed and ponzu sauce, nice bites of fish (despite the strangely chewy texture) and the classic Japanese multi-flavored condimento.

Instead of dessert there, we decided to walk around. Maybe something would catch our eye. The El Born area is energic, a cross of old streets with trendy retail establishments and eateries.

And we found just the place. But FARGGI BORN ICE CREAM SHOP was more than a gelateria … they had waffles. Gofre. Made fresh, right before your eyes (the only way I eat waffles). The birthday boy had it topped with chocolate ice cream and fudge sauce.

We walked outside, and sat on one of the marble benches along the sidewalk. Take it from me … that is The. Worst. Way to eat a hot waffle with ice cream and sauce on top. Especially with only a plastic fork. But it was totally fun and absolutely delicious … creamy and crispy, hot and cold.

The birthday day was winding to a close. What a unique and special day it was.

The hotel’s breakfast buffet was great … a bounty of breakfast breads … a choice of cheeses … jamon … eggs, potatoes, bacon … plus a refrigerated section with jars of yogurt and cups of cut-up fresh fruit. Instead of cappuccino, I opted for café au lait.

With tickets in hand, we headed to La Sagra Familia. It was a wonderful walk along the park, then on broad boulevards toward the majestic cathedral. On my last visit, Gaudí was still working on it [wink]. The spires first appear in the distance among the buildings … it beckoned.

We found the entrance … and the start of the audio tour. Given the years of construction and the intacracies of its architecture, it was great to have the explanation of the facades, carvings, shapes, and images. Are those bowls of fruit?, I asked David, pointing skyward toward the spires.

We wandered inside, eyes gazing at amazing sights everywhere. Gee, those colors are so vivid … wow, the columns are trees … hey, a wedding is in the subterranean chapel … look, the door has a carved poem … omg, what a huge organ … see, the suspended Jesus above the altar … ha, that statue looks like Batman.

As I took photos, I snapped one that I thought was particularly good of the young man standing in the foreground. David walked over to him … “my wife took a picture, and it’s a good one of you.” He was intrigued, so I showed him. He liked it … we exchanged info … technology did the rest. And as we all took a break, we talked with David and Tim about the Cathedral, Barcelona, and travel.

We wandered outside, looking at the other sides with their different stories. We left, taking a new route … this one through a park filled with Jacarandas. How lovely their purple blossoms framed the cathedral.

… to be continued …
HOLA SPAIN

PASTA WITH BROCCOLI RABE AND SAUSAGE

Bunch of broccoli rabe
Olive oil
4 sausage, out of the casings and crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. short pasta, like radiatore
Pecorino … for sprinkling

- In a large saucepan, cook the broccoli rabe in salted boiling water. When tender, use tongs to remove from the water into a bowl or strainer. Use scissors to cut into small pieces.
- In a frying pan that is large enough to hold the pasta, sauté the sausage in a little olive oil. When it starts to brown, add the garlic.
- Add the broccoli rabe … toss.
- Cook the pasta in the “broccoli rabe” water until barely al dente.
- Reserve some of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta.
- Add the pasta to the frying pan. Toss well, and if necessary, add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to keep the pasta/sauce moist.
- Serve.
- Sprinkle with pecorino.
Enjoy!