barca

continuing the 'while the mister was away' series, i thought to solo trip to barca. i'm not a fan of weddings and don't believe in flying halfway round the world for them. a bit rich coming from someone who had people fly more than halfway round the world for hers in iceland, but hey, i'd been happy eloping but nooo the mister is a social creature much loved by family and friends. i've, maybe, three friends. so when it came to returning the favour, i pleaded busy-ness (true) but not disinterest (also true). solo-tripped barca while backpacking a few summers ago on my grad trip and have always felt strangely safe in this city of dodgy repute. everyone knows someone who was mugged / pickpocket-ed in barca, no? i cite my mother, and her insistence that i've an unhealthy lack of fear but really, it's more about being sensible, having one's wits about oneself, and not looking like i'm worth robbing. it was nice to return to barca on my own, having last been on our first wedding anniversary with in-laws in tow. not the most romantic of getaways, to say the least!

gorgeous lounge at gatwick - not entirely necessary as the flight times were very civilised, none of that leaving home at 4am nonsense. but i'm not one to turn down a free lounge!

really only had one full day in barca (landed in the afternoon) and spent day 1 wandering around and riding the cable car. i like cable cars, so much so i rode another one on day 2!

the esplanade

view from montjuic where cable car 1 terminated

oops more views from the cable car

climbed a hill in parc guell in lieu of paying EUR4 to enter the mosaic terrace-y bit that was free the last time i went

did the hop on hop off bus tour on the second day as figured it'd be the best way of getting around and there were two different loops that would occupy most of the day. alighted to walk at some stops, found food at others.

and no trip to barca would be complete without a pilgrimage to el quim for fried egg and baby squid. worth every (EUR)cent despite the hefty EUR19 price tag.

anniversary

 it's been some time since i last took a photo of every. single. course.  at a restaurant because 1. i don't take very good photos and would never do it justice 2. it's an azn cliche i rather not be associated with. doesn't mean i don't like food photos (totally voyeuristic that way!) but i try not to take them myself. or post them. but now and then, some thing comes along that is truly photo worthy and then i succumb. like at our anniversary dinner. it was also fortyone courses. which had me waving a white flag at 38 (so close!) while the mister valiantly ploughed on with it and finished my share of 39, 40 and 41. i'm a sucker for bells and whistles and was naturally blown away by the ice cubes (ya, i'm easily impressed!) and the presentation. but with fortyone courses, some are bound to stand out more than others. i felt the azn-inspired dishes weren't as well-executed but that's because i've a spoilt palate when it comes to asian cuisine. 

more than the meal itself, i really enjoyed being able to celebrate turning one with the mister. it's been an amazing year and getting married is hands down the best decision i've ever made. we dated for five years before and i thought that was good, and then we got married and things got even better and now i'm almost evangelical about marriage because it's been such a journey and i'm happier than i've ever been. excited about what lies in store and can't wait to do cool stuff with mister planner supreme. we're driving to belgium this month, and up the coast of norway next month. and like with our wedding, i just need to turn up ;)

el quim

el quim was life-changing. and if you're a regular reader, you know i try my darndest not to name drop. i'm happy to share, albeit privately, so anything you want to know, please do email me at mysterymeatballs[at]gmail[dot]com. just don't believe in free advertising (haha who am i kidding, i swear only two people read this, and one of them is my kaypoh aunty in singers) but also don't want to be hampered if i were to be less than flattering about a certain place. the last thing i want is a libel suit slapped on this little blog. but yes, i do make the occasional exception if the place is truly truly fantabulous and el quim was. the baby squid with egg was out of this world, the foie gras burger almost indescribable and the razor clams fresh like anything. the waiters were easy on the eye and the best part was we got talking to the boss man and he told us he had just been to singers, to c*apella for a food fair and was opening a branch in HK. boo! why not singers?! it's in la boqueria and it's a bit of a squeeze but be patient or go at off-peak time because it was my favourite meal in barca. and seeing how we'd been to fortyone*deg, restaurant*gaig, dos*papi and cal*pep, it had some pretty stiff competition. cal*pep was also amazing and i would do it all over again in a heartbeat. so yes! there you go :) one little barca plug.

restaurant gaig

followed my restauranteur/food journo neighbour's hitlist to this lovely little establishment. what made it even more homely was how chef gaig, the man himself, came out to say hello and spoke to us with one of the waiters playing interpreter. now my in-laws have gifted with pretty discerning palates and this lunch had us all raving. FIL went as far as to say it was one of his best meals in recent times, and he had just flown in from paris where they had been wined and dined!

didn't photograph everything (we ordered off the menu and had a starter, main and dessert each) but did snap the cheeky photo here and there. oh and that plate of 3 slabs of foie gras? mine, all mine :)

barca beaches

barca has a special place in my heart. the last time i was there, i was on my grad-trip and traveling by myself. however, i bumped into so many friends in barca (talk about good timing!) that i'd company when i wanted, and time out when i didn't. was spotted by family friends in the big zara (where else?!) and taken under their wings and fattened up. possibly my first meal in a nice restaurant with tablecloth in two months :) will always remember the kindness shown and i'm grateful for chance meetings in faraway cities. the mister had also been to barca with friends while he was on exchange in 2007. admittedly, we traveled very differently then and while i had read about the big names on the barca scene, my tuition-teacher budget extended to one hot meal a day. so we were really excited to finally eat our way through barca when we went back this summer. mind you, they weren't all big names and what i really enjoyed about barca was how haute cuisine was amazing, but the simpler (but not inexpensive :() stuff was even more amazing. it also helps that my (then) tuition kiddies' father is a prolific journo specialising in food so no prizes for guessing whose list i turned to when we re-visited barca on a slightly longer shoestring. i liked how the list wasn't all about m*stars, neither was it all tapas bars. but as this post is about the beaches, maybe more on the restaurants tomorrow.

so the mister and i moseyed to the beach, contemplated moving out of our apartment and into the W (i kid) and then plopped ourselves down by the water to watch the sun move across the sky as we played real vs fake (boobies). it was a hoot ;) sunny afternoons spent in the shade with my love, with sangria and good conversation is golden.

barca coffee

now the mister is just about the most resourceful person i know, and with his boundless energy, traveling with him is not for the nua. knowing i'm inherently nua and would be a very happy hermit if not for him, the mister has long learnt to manage me. unlike our earlier action papa (because action mama is not the word here) galapagos honeymoon, barca was meant to be a relatively chilled anniversary break, until i realised the mister had no intention of taking the metro. which meant we walked everywhere and from morning till night. probably the only exercise i've gotten in months (shame!) but it's precisely because of the mister's dogged determination to cover as much of the city on foot that we chanced upon this little tucked away gem. coffee collection (?) was down a quiet alley and we were en route to caravelle for the best aussie brekkie since, well, sydney 2010 when the mister's coffee senses went a'tingling. 

now there's granger&*co in londontown and it is our go-to for crack-of-dawn breakfasts. any later and be prepared to queue with the disgruntled notting*hill hipster set! neither the food nor service is amazing but it'll have to do when we want aussie coffee in london. so you can only imagine how thrilled we were to have proper aussie in barca :) even the mister's papa, who so kindly let us crash his holiday, was impressed! this coming from a former kitchen hand then waiter down under back in the day. if nothing else, his aussie palate is pretty well-tuned!