Day to Night in Barcelona
Sunday, November 19, 2011, Part 2Barcelona, Spain
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We'd love to hear from you!
Next on the itinerary: New Year's Jazz in Italy
We'll continue the music with a Spanish guitar concert tonight, so explore further in the Barri Gotic to find Santa Maria del Pi church, where the concert will take place. The plaça fronting the church is filled with artisan food stalls - honey, breads, cookies and more.
Across the plaça is a beautifully sgraffito-ed eighteenth century guildhall.
The one area we do remember from our short overnight here about 5 years ago is this charming Barri Gotic, and once again we stop to read a few of the ceramic signs on the narrow lanes - a favorite memory from our previous visit. This one says "From sunrise to sunset, all day the people pass".
Walking towards the Eixample, we see a Quatre Dauphin fountain, similar to the Aixoise beauty we love. This one has a definite Spanish flair, though, topped with a flirting damsel with a fan.
In fifteen minutes or so we're back on Bailen street, and there's our apartment, the one with lots of greenery on the balconies. It's on the first floor, but up 7 short flights of stairs! Fortunately there's an elevator, which we used when we brought our luggage, but we usually climb the stairs. There's the Entresol, then the Principal, and FINALLY the Primero (1st).
The compact studio has everything we need - excellent wifi, a very comfortable bed and sitting area on the other side of a shelf/closet/drawer divider. Raimundo, the owner, met us when we arrived at Lorca, the apartment, and showed us how everything works, and described the neighborhood and how to get to different places we wanted to visit, where the closest metros and train station are, etc.
We recommend this place highly and would be happy to stay here again!
Just around the corner from Santa Maria del Pi is Taller de Tapas, and we enjoy a couple of plates of delicious seafood - razor clams and calamari, and a mound of paper thin artichokes, crisply fried. Accompanied by a flute of cava and some more of that tomato rubbed bread that's a yummy staple of every meal, it's a satisfying pre-concert supper.
In a simple side chapel with rough stone walls, we're seated on the first row of the balcony - a great view, and super acoustics,
the perfect spot to appreciate Manuel Gonzalez' artistry.The intricate melodies of Albeníz, Mozart, and Asturias are a wonderful intro to our Barcelona week.
Remember how we mentioned the changing façade of Casa Battlo? Here's the night- time view of the house on Passeig de Gracia that we passed on the way home - a contrast to the daylight vista of this morning.
Labels: Barcelona, Barri Gotic, Casa Battlo, Gaudi, Spanish Guitar, Tapas
posted by Anne and Kirk @ 6:15 PM
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