Food Travel and Culture in Spain - Piccavey Blog

Well known as a cosmopolitan city with its own beach, it´s a great destination for lovers of architecture too. The choice of restaurants and shops is vast. The city is also an important cruise ship destination. It became more popular as a tourist destination after the Olympics in 1992.

If you are lucky enough to head to Barcelona on a business trip or city break, here a few tips for you. I lived in Barcelona for over 7 years and continue to visit the city a few times each year. The mild climate and vibrant atmosphere of the city make it one of my preferred places to spend a weekend.

Restaurants: If you want somewhere with a view, check out Agua o Bestiari which are both practically on beach. (Metro Vila Olympica- yellow line)

If you want to taste typical Catalan food. Then head to El Mussol. (The name is the Catalan word for Owl) They have several restaurants around the city. Good quality food and good price vs. quality.

For more contemporary dining choices head to one of my favourites for originality Semproniana in the Eixample district or try El Pla for its offering of local market food, this is not far from Jaume I metro stop.

For drinks or snacks you can´t beat the emblematic Cervecería Moritz. This Barcelona beer factory smells wonderfully of cereals are you approach it. It has a funky shop on site too, selling everything under the sun with their yellow retro label on it. They have different areas for food, drinks, tapas, shop. You can even tour the factory if you have enough free time.

Another must see although quite touristy is the Bosc de les fades on a side street just off the Ramblas. Please be extra careful around Ramblas area and Plaza Catalunya unfortunately pick pockets are rife in this area. They easily spot people with a map, chunky camera or shiny iphone.

Somewhere glamourous to have tea or coffee is the Café Vienes. This is located in the Hotel Casa Fuster. I adore this place. Sumptuous red velvets chairs in a modernist building in Barcelona´s Gracia neighbourhood

Shopping:

If you have time for Shopping at the top of Avenida Diagonal the Corte Ingles Diagonal is one of Spain’s best. They have an excellent range of designer brands and cosmetics. Also on Avenida Diagonal is L´illa shopping centre. In the basement they have a high end food market and some noodle bars & eateries for casual dining. If you prefer alternative or independent boutiques, then best to head over to the area around Paseo el Born.

Beauty

A very handy beauty contact to have in Barcelona is Masajes a 1000 on Calle Mallorca. They are open 8am til 11pm for waxing, massages, pedicures, hairdressing etc.  The benefit is that they are open every day of the year, as well as being reasonably priced. You don´t need an appointment!

For more Spain posts see my blog updated about life in Spain: www.piccavey.com.

With all the recent Media attention surrounding the Madrid and their failed bid for the 2020 Olympics. I thought I would write something about Spain´s capital city.
 
Since 2006 I have been visiting Madrid, my most recent visit was in September 2013. I usually visit once or twice a year. My trips of 2-3 days are often for business but sometimes I get to stay over a weekend or meet up with friends there.
 
One of the main attractions in Madrid according to that Olympic speech is the Plaza Mayor. The suggestion made was to have a ´relaxing Café con leche´ in that typical square. Personally I recommend having a coffee in ¨Recoletos¨ myself.  This tree lined avenue in Madrid is often the location for books fairs or Sunday strolls. It makes a perfect setting to watch the world go by.

Of course when in Madrid you must see the Plaza Mayor, it is a beautiful porticoed square,  but honestly choose to drink your coffee somewhere else, unless you don´t mind paying inflated prices in that location.Spain´s capital is unfortuntely known for it´s traffic jams and general hustle and bustle. It is not my favourite destination in Spain. I would highly recommend comfy shoes on to tackle the endless corridors in the Metro of Madrid. Saying that the metro is the quickest and most simple way to get around.
 
Inside the Atocha train station, part of the Metro system you can see a unique garden inside. This is one of the more pleasant corners to see while travelling around Madrid. There are hundreds of turtles to see which make it a novelty for passers by to see while changing trains.
 
Even though it´s a busy city, over all these different trips I have discovered things to enjoy in Madrid. Pictured below is the Temple of Debod.

This was sent from Egypt as a gift to Spain in 1968 after Spain helped Egypt. UNESCO requested help for Egypt as a temple had to be saved due to the construction of the Aswan dam. You can see the Temple of Debod not far from Plaza España. This is particularly beautiful as the sun sets.

There are many historic buildings in Madrid. (first photo at the top is the Plaza de la Vila) and here pictured below is the Almudena Cathedral. This beautiful buidling is located in the same area as Palacio Reial which you can visit. This was once the royal residence for the Spanish Royal family.

 In my opinion one of the main reasons to visit Madrid is for the Art. The collections in this city are vast. The Prado Museum is the Spanish National Art Museum and boasts most of the Spanish classics, currently they have over 7000 paintings exhibited. Paintings by Goya, Rubens and Velazquez can be seen here. The temporary exhibitions are usually really popular and queues are generally long. Get here early.
 
Of all the art I saw in Madrid on my weekend there my personal favourite was the Reina Sofia Museum  at the time I visited they had a temporary exhibition of the Waterlilies by Monet. The art here is more comtemporary and I found this more to my own taste.   I didnt get to visit the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza which makes the third art museum in this triangle. This is on the list for next time.

My second reason for visiting Madrid is the shopping! As this is the capital city you can find practically everything you want. My favourites areas are the High End Serrano district with it´s flagstore Corte Ingles store and impeccable boutiques. I also love Chueca. The main streets around Fuencarral and Hortaleza are fun with an ecclectic mix of independent and fashion stores. I´ve heard that the Malasaña district is catching up with Chueca but I haven´t had chance to head that way so far and check it out. (another thing on my to do list…)
 
Madrid has a large expat community due to the amount of large companies and HQ´s offices there. If you are actually moving to Madrid or thinking about it you may find the useful this website Moving to Madrid written by an Expat, you can read about the neighbourhoods of Madrid, getting admin done in the city and other useful details.
 
This post was first published on my blog piccavey.com 26th Sept 2013.  The most recent post published 2nd October contains a perpetual Calendar for the city of Granada, Spain.