Our group was slowly starting to arrive to the hotel in various degrees of sleepiness. We have travelled with everyone on this trip before (except for significant others) so we had several reunions during the day.
We received several restaurant recommendations, and we were sampling one today Can Sole. Billed as a traditional Spanish seafood restaurant, I was most excited about having authentic paella. My husband is not really much of a seafood fan, but I slyly talked him into it since I needed a companion to order the seafood paella.
The Spaniards make a career out of the dining experience which means a meal that would take us Americans 30 minutes easily stretches to 2 hours. We started with salad, roasted peppers, eggplant and onions and tomato bread. Tomato bread, made by rubbing raw garlic and halved tomatoes across toasted bread then drizzle with olive oil nod salt, is very Spanish. We had full view of the kitchen so we watched our main course being prepared. A large paella pan emerged from the kitchen and was presented at our table before being whisked off to be split among our plates. This paella was amazing! Just the right balance of cooked and flavorful. It was well worth the 2 hours we spent enjoying our meal.
After lunch we slowly made our way back to our hotel. The Gothic Quarter was near by, so we chose to stroll through the narrow, winding pedestrian streets to people watch (and do a little shopping). It appears that all roads lead to the Cathedral, which we stopped to enjoy the interior and the cloisters. It is a lovely church with the Choir walled off in the center of the church. Apparently this allows for smaller private services within the giant church. At one time, the chapels that run along the sides of the church were rented to local guilds for their offices. Outside in the Cloisters we found 13 white geese that apparently represent the 13 year old Saint Eulalia who is buried in the church. The floor tiles serve as headstones to various guilds, which explains the multitude of scissor inscriptions.
We saw some signs from the Independence movement in the square in front of the church but none of the protest we anticipated before departure. The Saturday crowds were out in force enjoying the fine sunny day we were having.
The sunny day turned stormy about the time we were departing for dinner. Our destination, Oaxaca, is one of the few true Mexican restaurants found in Barcelona. The owner splits his time between Spain and Mexico. Our meals were quite delicious and very authentic. We were ready to crash after a long day of sightseeing.
Tomorrow: Our first day as a group
We received several restaurant recommendations, and we were sampling one today Can Sole. Billed as a traditional Spanish seafood restaurant, I was most excited about having authentic paella. My husband is not really much of a seafood fan, but I slyly talked him into it since I needed a companion to order the seafood paella.
The Spaniards make a career out of the dining experience which means a meal that would take us Americans 30 minutes easily stretches to 2 hours. We started with salad, roasted peppers, eggplant and onions and tomato bread. Tomato bread, made by rubbing raw garlic and halved tomatoes across toasted bread then drizzle with olive oil nod salt, is very Spanish. We had full view of the kitchen so we watched our main course being prepared. A large paella pan emerged from the kitchen and was presented at our table before being whisked off to be split among our plates. This paella was amazing! Just the right balance of cooked and flavorful. It was well worth the 2 hours we spent enjoying our meal.
After lunch we slowly made our way back to our hotel. The Gothic Quarter was near by, so we chose to stroll through the narrow, winding pedestrian streets to people watch (and do a little shopping). It appears that all roads lead to the Cathedral, which we stopped to enjoy the interior and the cloisters. It is a lovely church with the Choir walled off in the center of the church. Apparently this allows for smaller private services within the giant church. At one time, the chapels that run along the sides of the church were rented to local guilds for their offices. Outside in the Cloisters we found 13 white geese that apparently represent the 13 year old Saint Eulalia who is buried in the church. The floor tiles serve as headstones to various guilds, which explains the multitude of scissor inscriptions.
We saw some signs from the Independence movement in the square in front of the church but none of the protest we anticipated before departure. The Saturday crowds were out in force enjoying the fine sunny day we were having.
The sunny day turned stormy about the time we were departing for dinner. Our destination, Oaxaca, is one of the few true Mexican restaurants found in Barcelona. The owner splits his time between Spain and Mexico. Our meals were quite delicious and very authentic. We were ready to crash after a long day of sightseeing.
Tomorrow: Our first day as a group
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