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Our first dinner experience was at the obviously touristic
Placa Rial just off La Rambla. It is a popular square, where over dinner,
one is entertained by wandering entertainers, who depend on your generosity,
as the hat goes a-begging. This evening, there was light Jazz from a group,
a solo Flamenco male dancer & an acrobatic act. Dinner started with
crusty toasted bread with tomato spread, fisherman's soup, Bouliabaise &
the best of the three, vegetable soup. For mains, we ordered paella cooked
in black octopus ink & seafood paella. The food, here, appeared pre-prepared
instead of ala minute. This was a great disappointment after our wonderful
lunch experience. However, such is the luck of the draw when encountering
new establishments. However, another restaurant within the square, had a
long queue for its tables, unfortunately we did not have the patience &
simply lost out.
Tip: Avoid obviously touristic restaurants unless you like to be ripped
off. |
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The next morning saw us panicky. Our room phones did not
allow a connection to our portable PC. The two nearest Cybercafes had limited
facilities. That saw us running madly about 700m down the La Rambla to "e-Exchange"
near Placa de la Catalunya. With some relief, they had the right utilities
for us to upload our precious files & photos to our website & send
out our e-mails after some manipulation. That took out about 2 hours off
our precious touring time. In between, we still managed to catch the famous
street performers of La Rambla.
Tip: Prepare for all eventualities when travelling with your portable
PC. |
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At 5pm, we were at our touristic best. The open-topped
Bus Touristic Barcelona cover two popular routes of Barcelona for the
price of a one-day ticket for Pts 2,200. The tickets are purchased directly
from the bus driver at the main terminal at Placa de Catalunya. Here we
see the tree-lined streets of Barcelona as we headed to the better known
tourist sights. The weather was slightly breezy despite a blazing sun.
The open-topped deck is the favourite seats on these buses.
Tip: The Bus Touristic Barcelona is a quick way to see the city if you
are short of time. |
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This is the world famous Temple la Sagrada Familia. Gaudi
took over construction of this edifice in 1883 until his death in 1926.
Construction is still in progress without an agreed completion date. On
these buses, you are allowed to drop off at various points, see the sights
to your satisfaction & re-board the next bus to continue the tour.
Tip: A must see in Barcelona. |
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This is another good stop along the route - Palau Reial de
Pedraibes. This royal residence was built in 1924. It now holds the Ceramics
Museum & the Museum of Decorative Arts. However, we had to miss this
stop so that we could complete the journey in time for dinner.
Tip: Take full advantage of your booklet of discounts that comes with
your bus ticket. |
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Refreshing beer after an afternoon of city sights & shining
sun. This was at a kiosk near the sea at Port Vell. This area was revived
for the Olympics with modern construction of fine seafood restaurants, chic
shops & modern bars. It is a fairly large area that require the full
utilisation of your motor facilities.
Tip: Besides Cava, beer & good wine should be sampled. |
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This is the marina of luxury boats within the Port Vell area.
There is a Museu d'Historia de Catalunya housed in an old building within
this 'modern' area. The outer facade of the museum houses, perhaps, some
of the best Catalan Seafood restaurants.
Tip: Walking is a must in this area. |
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We decided, of course, to try out these chic restaurants
& selected the Emperador. It was a good choice, as evidenced by Tommy's
delicious serving of seafood & black rice paella. Of course, we started
out with a good cava with an array of seafood starters - bamboo clams, anchovies
on tomato bread, two orders of black mussels in white wine sauce. Two delicious
soups - Sopa Venduria (vegetable puree soup) & Sopa de Pescadores (fisherman's
soup). This was downed with a bottle of fragrant Albarino wine from Rias
Baixas, at the other side of Spain (Atlantic Ocean). Two styles of fish.
Hake baked in salt, which was deboned expertly by the waiter. The fish was
fresh & delicious with just a hint of saltiness of the sea. The second
fish dish was monkfish in saffron-sauce. Tommy slurped up every drop of
this delicious sauce !!!! The finale was two styles of Paella (pan-baked
rice dish with various ingredients). We selected the black octopus ink paella
& a seafood paella. This was enjoyed with a bottle Pesquera Reserva.
The servings left no room for dessert other than fragrant black coffee.
Tip: The setting sun against the background of luxury yatchs is to die
for. |
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This stretch of restaurants along the water reminded us of
our own Boat Quay. However, the space allotted to each restaurant was more
spacious. One particular restaurant caught our eye, as it was unusually
busy in such an early hour - Restaurant Emperador. Toni Marfil, the owner
was busy running around, greeting new guests & ensuring that each table
was well taken care of. The staff was stiffly uniformed in white but were
totally obliging & friendly. Service of impeccable.
Tip: Restaurant Emperador, Edificio Palau de Mar, Pau Vila 1, Barcelona. |
