Barcelona in October

There is so much to do in Barcelona. Escaping from the dreary Autumn weather in London, Himself and I had a Cava-infused culture and food fest in this fantastic city. As well as visiting the amazing Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlo, both infamous and unmissable Gaudi designed architechural masterpieces, wandering the Barric Gothi in search of Picasso's favourite haunts, an evening mingling with Barcelona FC fans around Camp Nou on the day of El Classico against Real Madrid, and even an afternoon on the beach, right there in the city, of course the highlight for me was the food. Real Spanish Food.

Tapas at Bar Plaza on Placa de Sant Josep
(First day - no idea where we were!)

Tapas and Rioja at Casa Tomasa, at Passeig d'Isabell II. Romantic, and friendly service, close to the marina, but not so close it's too expensive.

Anchovies

Tortilla, chorizo in cider, spicy chicken, and ham croquettes

Chorizo in cider

Brunch was a Bocadillo with serranito pork with iberico jamon and sweet red pepper at Terraza Sweet, Moll d'Espanya. A bit of a tourist trap, I fear, but I enjoyed it.

Tuna tataki at Restaurante Grill Room, Carrer dels Escudellers. Just a slight break from the tapas, this was really delicious. Don't worry, I still had Rioja.

Tuna Tataki

Pre-Gaudi Catherdral lunch was a salsichon bocadillo at La Palmera with a full on view of La Sagrada Familia. Excellent location, but they could have made so much more of this.

Salsichon Bocadillo

Obligatory Churros con Xocolate outside Camp Nou.

Churros with chocolate

At Vitae Tapas, Baixada Sant Miguel, we had Gambas al Ajillo...

Gambas al ajillo

...and Merluza con Almejas a la salsa verde (hake with clams garlic and parsley)...

Hake with clams and salsa verde

...Himself ordered Steak and Pepper (typical!) and got a steak with padron peppers! Yum!

Steak and Peppers

We watched some Star Wars/Trek people wander by on a little Placa near El Born, while we sampled calamari (first meal of the day, really shouldn't have been calamari...)

Calamari

Chips with beer? No! Patatas Bravas at Bar International just off La Rambla, expensive beer, to be expected for the location.

Patatas bravas

On the last evening, dinner at Sedna, on Passeig de Colom. Mixed paella. Nuff said.

Paella

Of course, no self-respecting foodie can visit Barcelona without spending several hours at La Boqueria Food Market! An amazing range of fresh everything, I only wished I'd had access to a kitchen for the weekend!!

Foie gras

Fresh meat

Frutas

Pig

Crab and Sea Hedgehogs

Insides of sheep

Giant Shellfish

Freshly Salted Cod

Squid and Sea Hedgehogs

Saffron and other spices

Only about 6 Euro a gram

Freshly slice Iberico Jamon

Papaya

Sheep

Sheep stomach and other internal delights