Pane e Salsa: Barcelona

Gaudi's Parc Guell

Ready for a break, I headed to Barcelona to meet some friends for a few days prior to going to Sicily. I had never been to Spain and was excited to see a different city, different art and architecture, and of course different food. Since seven of us had chipped in to rent an apartment instead of a hotel room, we were able to enjoy the benefits of cooking at home as well as eating out. We were staying right near Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia so that was naturally the first thing we saw. We stopped for lunch at a little café nearby to refuel before making our way to parc guel. After a day of Gaudi architecture, we were not really in the mood to go out for dinner so I went to the big market to get supplies for the dinner I had promised to cook for my friends. One of my friends does not eat meat so we were limited to fish. This, however, was not a problem at all. The market was teeming with fresh fish of all kinds. We decided on salmon (since I have yet to cook salmon in Europe) with lemon, dill, and onions. As a side, I bought asparagus and a few avocados for guacamole to have before dinner. In comparison to the markets of Florence, the one in Barcelona seemed a little bit more colorful due to the wide variety and huge selection of fruit it offered. Also, this market was completely outside and was open until 8:00pm whereas the Mercato centrale in Florence closes at 2:00pm. However, when it comes down to it, there really is no difference. All big markets offer the best and often cheapest selection of the freshest produce, dairy, meats, and fish you can find. My salmon turned out well and it was the perfect dinner before a night of Halloween madness.

La Frutta

Molly and Hilary at The
Modern Art Museum

Nothing says good morning like waking up to a homemade breakfast so the next morning, I made a frittata with leftover ingredients we got at the market. That day, we went to the modern art museum of Barcelona and the miro museum. In between the two, we stopped for lunch at a charming café for sandwiches. Our waiter was very funny and disorganized, but we eventually got our lunches and enjoyed them thoroughly before heading to the miro’ museum which is located in a park overlooking the city. The view and the art were both spectacular. However, we were utterly exhausted after what ended up being a hike up to the museum and so we decided to spend our last dinner together at a Tapas restaurant called Bar del Pla in the old section of the city that was highly recommended to my friend, Laura. Although it was a little bit expensive, it was absolutely worth it. We ordered and shared a fine selection of tapas. Amung the best was a divine tuna carpaccio with avocado pepper and jalapeno oil. Another favorite was the most colorful figs I have ever seen covered by a wonderfully salty Spanish ham, walnuts and hazelnuts and drizzled with a balsamic glaze. The meal was satisfying, but not filling to the point of wanting to explode, which is why we were happy to have desert. I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but it was certainly a meal and a city I will not soon forget.