Day 5 - Barcelona photos

Day 5 - Barcelona

Our day started early as we needed to catch the 830 train to Barcelona. It was a lovely journey and we got a last wee peek at Tarragona on the way past.

Our first port of call in Barcelona was the locker place that is handily just off the main square. Once our load had been lightened we took off through the old town. We wandered onto La Rambla and it was even busier than usual cos Barcelona were playing Bayern Munich that night - Germans were everywhere. Our first port of call was the market where we managed to bag a couple of seats at one of the cafes to grab a snack. It was brilliant watching all the food being cooked and how they all moved round each other, it was like a dance. We had some croquettes, patatas bravas and green peppers and they were all delicious. Every now and again some Germans would come in and start chanting. Who in their right mind thinks a food market is the place to do that?!

After the market we jumped on the tube then the funicular to get up Montjuic. The views were amazing and we were even brave enough to get the cable car up to the castle at the top. The views were even more spectacular from up there!  We didn't actually go into the castle cos we're too cheap so after a lot of photos later we walked down the hill a bit then got the cable car back down. We went to the Miro Foundation for a pee and had a look at the shop, we didn't have time to visit but I definitely want to go next time.

Back off the mountain we wandered about the Barri Gotic for a while then got some froyo to cool down and sat outside the cathedral enjoying some people watching. We went to Taverna Del Bisbe next to the cathedral for a wee snack at the bar. It is a lovely old place and they had Damm Lemon on tap. There was a hot lesbian in training which was fun to watch.

Our time was coming to an end so we went a quick browse of the shops in the Raval area including the awesome La Central del Raval bookshop. We stopped at 100 Montaditos for a final snack as it was euromania day - bargain!

We picked up our bags, hopped on the bus to the airport and began our journey home and so ended our awesome trip!

Days 3 & 4 - Valencia photos

Days 3 & 4 Valencia

We got the early train to Valencia which was quick (2 hours), easy and very pleasant with lovely views. When we arrived we jumped straight on the tour bus outside the station to orientate ourselves. The thing that immediately stood out was how beautiful every single blinking building was.

After doing a loop we hopped off and wandered up to the cathedral where we had lunch sitting outside looking at the cathedral at General Life. Tourist trap location, lots of stupid tourists but the food was actually pretty good. I had paella followed by steak and then arroz con leche (rice pudding). K had the same but a salad to start.

Stuffed we went to check into our hotel which was wonderful (Ad Hoc Carmen), amazing location and amazing room. We had a blinking duplex, 2 mins from the cathedral for £40 a night. Highly recommended.

We then got the other tour bus route to the City of Arts and Sciences which was the main reason we wanted to come to Valencia. It was beautiful and futuristic and concretey with amazing lines. We spent ages there taking it in but didn't actually go to any museums. We also had a wander in the park made in the old river bed. We hopped back on the bus and had a wander down the port and the beach with a wee beverage stop overlooking the sea.

Back in the old town we wandered about a bit, had a delicious snack of toast with sobrasada and honey for merienda and took lots of photos.  Our dinner was paella overlooking the cathedral, nothing special but nice enough and amazing views and people watching. We then spent ages wandering about taking pictures of amazing street art amd getting lost (in a good way). We ended the night at a delightful brew pub where I had Lemonzilla beer and K had a giant chalice of jd and coke.

Tuesday started with a traditional breakfast of horchata and fartons outside the market, they were delicious! We then wandered about the beautiful market for a while, it was very like the one in Barcelona but I think even nicer. We had a stop at the central bar in the market for a coffee and tortilla and decided we want to visit again and get an apartment so we can shop at the market.

We wandered about for hours just taking pictures of murals and stuff, it was like being back in Miami the street art scene was so strong. After a cheeky beer we went to the modern art museum (IVAM) which had some great exhibitions on.

After the museum we went for a menu del dia for lunch at Maria Mandilas, we sat outside in a beautiful square in the heart of Carmen and chilled for ages. We both had a beautiful salad to start then I had pasta pesto amd K had chicken and rice - muy rico. Pudding was weird but actually really nice, it was a banana with chocolate sauce drizzled over it.

Wander, wander, wander then a horchata break at the famous Santa Catalina Horchateria (not as good as the wee stall outside the market but beautiful tiled decor). More wandering but with a destination in mind this time, the beautiful Colon Market. After seeing the market we walked back to the hotel for a chill because we were exhausted after pounding the streets for hours in 30 degree heat.

Our dinner for the evening was at Las Cuevas, in a handy square near our hotel. We sat outside as it got dark drinking beer and eating delicious food. The table was a board game from K's Spanish youth so she was delighted. We shared patatas bravas, jamon croquettes and a delicious salad with goats cheese and crunchy ham. I'm already dreaming of getting that salad again. We then went for some drinks around the old town at Laboritorio and L'Emrita, id recommend both.  Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and our Valencian adventure came to an end. I'll definitely be back.

Day 2 - Tarragona part dos photos

Day 2 - tarragona part dos

After K's siesta we headed back out into the sunshine. We headed down to the Rambla cos K had her eye on am amaretto granita. We got an outside seat and k got her alcoholic slush puppy and I got a vermouth. We sat there for a while drinking our icey bevs and generally enjoying the day. K felt the need to tell e how good her drink was every few minutes. The cyclists were being presented with their prizes and we were enjoying all the men in lycra.

After this we strolled down to the Balcony of the Med and got some froyo, we relaxed a bit, enjoying the view and the froyo. Froyo overlooking the sea and the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre is quite special.

We went another stroll about the old town and ended up at Sha which is outside the cathedral. We sat there for an hour or so enjoying the views and the beverages. 730 arrived so the d'tapes competition restarted, we played it cool and waited til 740 before hitting our first one.

Our first stop was Gallo Moron for a wee roll with sausage, caramelized onions and melted brie, this was really nice - I could easily have eaten 2! Even though it was early it was pretty busy so we didn't feel like losers.

Stop 2 was El Bon Arroz for wild rice mushroom risotto topped with crispy ham and a fried basil leaf. Even though I dont really like mushrooms this was delicious. An extra bonus was that a hottie id spotted about town a few times during the day worked there.

Stop 3 was Pulvinar which was one of last year's highlights so expectations were high. The tapa was shredded duck and honey wrapped in pizza dough sitting on top of aubergine. I can't describe how good this was, crazy delicious. We deviated slightly beverage wise here too and had a shandy instead of a beer. Pulvinar is in a great location too, highly recommended.

Our 4th stop was the one I was most excited about at La Pepita. It was crazy busy and tbe waiter looked super harassed so the service was slow but still friendly. The tapa was a calcot with a pipette of romesco served with 2 wraps of bacon round sausage with calcot inside too. It looked amazing and it tasted pretty good but it didn't blow me away.

We walked across the square to Raffa Gelati where we had cannabis flavoured ice cream and chocolate ice cream served with a drink of gin ice cream in tonic water. The waitress explained we wouldn't get drunk or stoned and also that the wafer tube with the ice cream was meant to look like a joint. It was delicious and refreshing and I'd say the cannabis ice cream tasted like raw cake batter.

Our 5th and final tapa of the night was at Hamburgeseria Tastum in the main square and unsurprisingly it was a mini burger. The lid of the bun was a bit hard but otherwise it was delicious, the caramelized onions and goats cheese really worked well with the burger.

It was 1030 by this point so we decided to have a quick drink then call it a night due to our early train to Valencia. K was desperate to get another amaretto slush and luckily there was another branch of thw chain that she got it in across from the hotel. However, even though it was on their menu and on a chalkboard at the front ot the restaurant, they had no idea what she was talking about and then said they had none. Disappointed, we went back to the hotel.

Tarragona Day 2- part uno photos