Barcelona... the Mediterranean Exotica

Dia Uno - Day One

The first sight of Barcelona from the air…aanh the fun yet to begin. The bus from airport took us to Plaza Catalunya(where our hotel was). Well, the sights enroute would make you rethink if you are still in Europe or one of those middle east countries. Much to our delight, we found the hotel right in the middle of the city and it just got better when we were welcomed by a sexy Spanish guy(*wink*) who was the receptionist. The view from our hotel room gave a whiff of what was in store for us. Through the window, we could see the buildings standing as a testimony to the rich old times. Even though we were up on the fourth floor room, we could sense the laughter of a happy hen party that was going on under an olive tree in the hotel’s resto.

A happy hen party... Hotel Olivia Plaza

Shadows of Las Rambla

 There was no time to waste as the sun was already on the other side, but the evening was still as bright as a sunny afternoon in London. To the left of the hotel, next to the Hard Rock Café, we took a stroll to the famous Las Rambla. Originally a watercourse, this promenade comfortably shadowed under a long line of trees is now flanked with two traffic lanes and gothic style buildings on either side.

Don’t get trampled by a gush of crowd while rambling down Las Rambla, especially if you are lost in the view finder of your camera.. gasping at the beauty of art in the simplest things in life. Walking past a host of hawkers, human statues, kiosks and ‘ocellaires’(bird-keepers), we found the entrance of Mercat De La Boqueria.

Mercat de la Boqueria

 It was one of the most bustling markets that I have ever seen; you name it you’ll find it - ranging from an umpteen variety of Spanish sweets, wild mushrooms, fruits and vegetables to crabs, fishes, lobsters and meat. The sight of so much food made our stomachs grumble and we went out of the market in search of some gastronomic delight. Our eyes followed the crowd and it took us to a beautiful Mediterranean flair square, Plaça Reial; it was a serendipitous discovery, not once but twice(the reason will follow on a later note).

Plaça Reial

The restaurant kiosks there were brimming with people and for one particular restaurant, ‘Les Quinze Nits’, there was even a long queue. Well, we fell in line to discover that this resto was one of those Lonely Planet recommended ones.  Dining there on baked salmon with pumpkin and a bottle of Ermita wine was a fitting ending to the first episode in Barcelona.