Barcelona 1: The Journey Begins

Barcelona, SPAIN

A fascinating country. An engrossing history. And exotic in every sphere. The thrilling story of the Spanish Armada, the chivalric romances of the errant knight Don Quixote, and the daredevilry of the brave matadors in tackling the bulls continue to fascinate me. The Romans, the romantic Moors who ruled for almost 800 years, the swashbuckling Spaniards who demonstrated their prowess as conquerors, explorers, bullfighters, flamenco dancers, and football players all seemed to be beckoning me to unravel the mysteries of this captivating land. Finally, in 2019, we chalked up our visit to Spain. My travelling companion (my wife) is an ardent learner of Spanish, which proved to be a forte during our journey to Spain. Our adventure in Spain started with Barcelona.

We flew into this city from Frankfurt. Surprisingly, Barcelona's El Prat International Airport (also known as BCN) wore an ordinary look, in unexpected contrast to the jazzy name and character of the place. I had booked two tickets in advance on Barcelona’s Aerobus, which takes passengers to the city centre. After alighting at the City Centre Bus Terminus, my wife opened her Google map on her smartphone so as to lead us to our hotel. We traversed a square livened by a handicrafts market, strums of guitar wafting and echoing from the walls of the ancient Roman remains bordering the square at one end, the aura of the cathedral, and the tempting aroma and soft radiance from the popular restaurants we passed by. The most joyous moment was the location of our hotel. The balcony overlooked the busy Via Laietana. Right below in the same building was a huge cafeteria, where we enjoyed our breakfast every morning of our stay. Yes, we were in the city’s downtown area. Impressed by the famous historic neighbourhood ‘Gothic Quarters’.

On the left of the hotel building, the narrow road leads through a busy marketplace. There are quite a few cobbled lanes and by-lanes leading to the famous nineteenth-century porticoed plaza known as Plaza Reial. The fine arcade, palm trees, and lamps in the plaza were all designed by Barcelona’s celebrated architect Antoni Gaudí. With restaurants all around, the place is ideal for relaxation in the evenings. But our prime interest was to locate the famous tapas bar ‘Bodega Biarritz’. The Tapas Bar, since 1881, has been located near the Plaza Reial. They offer an eight-course tapas meal made of ham, sausage, veal, etc., followed by a glass of sangria. A grand experience! The Picasso Museum and the Churreria Laietana for yummy churros are all located across the Via Laietana – all a stone’s throw from the hotel. The Mediterranean Sea and the beaches were also quite near, about five or six stops by public transport. From the Roman era till centuries later, Barcelona earned a seafaring reputation. The beautiful profile of a hotel building seen from a distance enhances the beauty of the beach. More so during sunset, when it looks like a huge cardboard cutout. So prominent that it has possibly become symbolic of Barcelona.

The majestic Arc de Triomphe, the Chocolate Museum, and Gaudí’s Park Güell are some of the other places we visited in Barcelona. The Chocolate Museum (Museo de la Xocolota) is unique in the sense that everything from the entry ticket to various models inside is all made of chocolate. Barcelona was the first European port to get cocoa and chocolates brought by the Spanish conquerors from South America. Although Columbus was aware of the existence of cocoa in South America, he was not aware of its magical power. That’s why chocolates had to wait for about a century or two before the Spaniards got the taste of it. There are audiovisual shows on how chocolates are made, the history of chocolates, the influence of chocolate on art and bakery, etc., inside, along with types of machinery and tools for making chocolates and cocoa powder. There is a nice café at the exit point of the museum where I enjoyed a delicious cup of hot chocolate. My wife bought some chocolates and cocoa powders, especially for our daughter-in-law, Mandakini, who runs an exotic bakery in Delhi. Facing the museum building, on the other side of the road, a building caught our attention. The architecture, as well as the profile, closely resembles the historic nineteenth-century Glass Upasana Mandir (temple) set up in Santiniketan, where our great poet Rabindranath Tagore set up Visva Bharati University.

Another icon of Barcelona is Park Güell. It is accessible by an efficient public transport system. It is located on Mount Carmel Turo and has now earned the status of a World Heritage Site by virtue of unique architectural elements embedded in the park by Antoni Gaudí. The hillsides leading to the park overlook the sea and the city. A lot of vendors, some from Pakistan and some from Haryana, line up the path leading to the park with their wares like souvenirs, caps, jewellery, etc. (a very familiar scene found at important sightseeing places in India). I have seen many famous parks in the world, but this appeared to me to be unique, one of its kind. The architecture seems to blend with the rocky terrains, the palm trees and nature’s green, creating a tranquilly strange image. To me, it appeared to be stepping into Alice’s peculiar Wonderland. Back to the hotel in the evenings and stepping out to the Gothic Quarters below were breezily enjoyable. Frankly speaking, I had Sangria for the first time in Barcelona and instantly got so addicted to it that every evening of my stay in Barcelona, I would go to a small joint and enjoy Sangria with loads of ice. The place was close to the Jaume metro station and facing the ancient Roman wall and moat. What attracted me more was a crowd of locals who gathered there to enjoy their evenings. For our dinner, we mainly tried seafood delicacies at some of the many Spanish restaurants and bars dotting the place.

Continue the journey: [See Part 2: The Wonders of Gaudí here]

Photo credit: Arundhati Sengupta (Ruby)

Narrow alleyway in the historic Gothic Quarter of Barcelona

Chocolate Museum Barcelona

Chocolate Museum Barcelona

Park Guell, another masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí

Park Guell designed and set up by Antoni Gaudi

Park Guell designed and set up by Antoni Gaudi

Upasana Mandir in the night, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan.

Upasana Mandir, or Kanch Mandir, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. The walls are made of Belgian glass, and it is the first building at Santiniketan Griha to be constructed in the second half of the nineteenth century by Rishi Debendranath (Rabindranath's father).

A glasshouse in Barcelona. The architecture has a remarkable semblance to the Upasana Mandir (Prayer hall) in Santiniketan

Narrow cobblestone alleyway in the historic Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. The alleyway leads to the Picasso Museum

A paella meal

A popular restaurant located in Gothic Quarters

Arc de Triomf in Barcelona

Mediterranean Sea in Barcelona

Mediterranean Sea in Barcelona

Plaza Reial was set up by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí

Food Plaza Plaza Reial was designed by Antoni Gaudí

Serving of 8-course Tapas in Bordega Tapas bar

Bodega Tapas Bar in the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona

Bodega Tapas Bar in the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona

Bodega Tapas Bar in the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona

Seafood Paella we enjoyed in Barcelona

Chocolate Museum Barcelona
🥘 Recipe: Authentic Barcelona Seafood Paella From the Kitchen of: ranaruby.in | Yields: 4 Servings | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 30 mins
Ingredients: The Rice: 2 cups Bomba or Calasparra rice (Short-grain is essential)
The Seafood: 8 large shrimp/prawns, 500g mussels (cleaned), 250g squid (rings)
The Base (Sofrito): 1 large onion (finely chopped), 1 red bell pepper (diced), 3 cloves of garlic (minced), 2 large tomatoes (grated)
The Liquid: 4 cups high-quality seafood stock
Spices & Aromatics: 1 tsp saffron threads (soaked in a little warm stock), 1 tsp smoked paprika (pimentón), Salt to taste, Fresh parsley, and Lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions: Sear the Seafood In a wide paella pan, heat olive oil. Sear the shrimp for 1 minute per side until pink. Remove and set aside.
Make the Sofrito: In the same oil, sauté onions and peppers until soft. Add garlic and grated tomato. Cook until the mixture darkens and thickens (this is the secret to deep flavour).
Toast the Rice: Stir in the squid and the rice. Stir for 2 minutes to coat every grain with the sofrito oil. Add the smoked paprika.
The Simmer: Pour in the saffron-infused stock. Stir once to distribute the rice evenly. Do not stir again.
Build the 'Socarrat': Simmer on medium-low for 15–18 minutes. Arrange the mussels and seared shrimp on top during the last 5 minutes.
The Finish: Once the liquid is absorbed and you hear a slight crackling sound (the crispy socarrat forming on the bottom), turn off the heat.
Rest: Cover with a clean cloth for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges and parsley.

A night scene in Barcelona

Barcelona