Brunch & Cake
My perfect day in Barcelona was always a Sunday. Sundays are fantastic wherever you live; a day that belongs to you and only you, a day consisting of a morning, an afternoon and an evening, with which you can do whatever you bloody well want to do.
Sundays in Barcelona were extra special. Sunday mornings were iced with slightly hazy memories of dancing til 5am in La Fira or Museum with my housemates. And the kitchen was lavished with the gossip from the night before.
But Sundays in Barcelona are not for hangovers. You can’t let your nauseous tummy and delicate temples take over your day of fun. With all the supermarkets closed the first thing you need to do is take yourself out for breakfast. My number one spot for a dose of carb-induced hangover recovery was always Brunch & Cake on c/ d’Enric Granados. Giant turkey bagels with a side of guacamole and a latte (and an orange juice and two waters – you’re on a recovery mission here). A stroll down c/ d’Enric Granados to play with all the dogs and daydream about someday owning a lovely little flat on this street is a must. Read the rest of this article…
Contributor Duncan Rhodes shares five of his favourite Barcelona nightclubs…
Barcelona’s nightlife contributes much to its allure as one of Europe’s top destinations… this is the city where girls and boys come to combine hedonism and beach life, with just a small side helping of culture, and there are certainly no shortage of venues promising nocturnal adventures to young thrillseekers. Despite my advancing years I’ve spent much of the last four years ‘researching’ the city’s nightspots, either as a freelance journalist or for my own website (see my author profile below) or – more frequently – as just an ordinary alcoholic. It’s high time the info that I’ve amassed during these ill-spent hours hit the blogosphere, so without further ado allow me to present to you my current Top 5 Nightclubs in Barcelona. Read the rest of this article…
The beach at Barceloneta
“I first visited Barcelona just under four years ago. It was an unplanned visit but one that would set me up to fall helplessly in love with the place. I was on a four-month sabbatical from my job in London to focus on my ‘other’ life as an artist. I had started off in a small village in France but it was there I realised it wasn’t the peace and quiet or nature that was inspiring me but the vibrancy and energy of a city. So I headed to Barcelona. I arrived in to BCN at Arc de Triomfand had a while to wait for a friend so I grabbed an ice cream and sat by the exit to the metro watching the city fall in to its afternoon routine. Coming from London, where everything runs at an acutely fast pace, I felt an extension of time in the way the people of BCN went about things.
The streets of Barceloneta
After I met my friend we grabbed a drink in the back streets of Barceloneta, an area which would soon become a real favourite of mine, and decided the only thing to do as a new visitor to the city was to head to the beach and jump in the sea. We quickly stripped down and threw ourselves into the water diving in and out of the waves. At one point I turned back to look at the city around us and felt a further sense of adoration for the place. Something about being in the water surrounded by the throngs of a city, but more than that, a sense of energy from the place that I couldn’t quite place yet. I felt it had welcomed me with open arms instantly. No judgement. Read the rest of this article…
Playa de la Mar Bella
“Barcelona… the city that Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations described as “the most exciting place to eat in the Western world”.
The perfect day in Barcelona would fall in late September, when the stinging heat gives way to long barmy nights. Barcelona is the only global city with access to incredible beaches via public transport (Sydney and Rio de Janeiro also come to mind), so a morning swim at Playa de la Mar Bella is obligatory.
Breakfast in Spain does not hold the same status as it does in the UK (Full English) or Latin America (Calentado), but a slice of melon draped with jamon, some fresh mato cheese with honey and the caffeine kick of a cortado is a nice way to start the day.
Shops and galleries begin opening at 10am in Barcelona so a visit to the Picasso Museum, the Ferran Adrià & El Bulli exhibition and Roca Gallery will easily fill a few hours and have you thinking about lunch. Read the rest of this article…
“My perfect day in Barcelona is a walking and eating day.
It starts on a sunny summer day at about 7:30 am with a run down the center of Rambla Catalunya, through La Rambla, down to the pier and over to the W Hotel. This is a great time to be out, as there are not a lot of cars and almost no pedestrians on La Rambla, and it’s a great running route if you’re staying in Rambla Catalunya.
As I head back, I stop a ½ block from my apartment at Forn de Sant Jaume (Rambla de Catalunya, 50) bakery and pick up a post workout snack – the best chocolate croissant I’ve found in Barcelona. It has to be the one with the powered sugar on top, not the chocolate covering the outside. It is perfectly buttery, yet like and flakey. If you get them early enough after they come out of the oven, the chocolate is still oozy. Yummmm.
Rachel & Quim at El Quim de la Boqueria
After a shower, I head back down La Rambla to El Quim de la Boqueria for breakfast at around 9:30-10 am. Quim makes the best potato tortilla (Spanish omelette) in town, but I’m torn as my favorite is actually the huevos con setas (eggs with wild mushrooms). He uses olive oil for everything, so it’s 2 fried eggs in olive oil, topped with a mix of mushrooms sautéed in olive oil, all topped with a balsamic reduction. A glass of fresh squeezed o.j. and perhaps a plate of either razor clams or gambas con cava to round out breakfast and I’m set for at least 2 more hours. ;) Read the rest of this article…
