This summer, we are hiking part of Cami de Ronda (route SR92), the old road from Tarifa in southern Spain to Port Bou in France, now turned into a popular hiking trail. We fly into Barcelona and decide to spend the first 2 days here, before starting the hike. 48 hours in Barcelona, and we pack in a lot. We have a direct flight from SFO to BCN. We land at 1.40pm and take the Aerobus from the airport to Plaza Catalunya. From there it is a short – although hot – walk to hotel Rialto, conveniently located in the Gothic neighborhood. We take a quick shower before heading out. We have things to do and places to see.
The Gothic and El Born
Less than 2 hours after we landed, we are sitting at a restaurant on the Plaza Real, sipping our first cocktail. We skipped breakfast on the plane, so we are hungry and order patatas bravas and croquetas to go with our Sangria and a Tinto Limon,
Fueled by food and drink, we decide to take it easy this afternoon and explore the area around our hotel. Without a plan, we just enjoy walking the narrow streets of the Gothic, avoiding the tourist trap of las Ramblas. We admire the beautiful cathedral of Barcelona before we stumble upon a lovely little art neighborhood in El Born. The area has all kind of local artist shops and we shop our hearts out. We have just enough time left for one more stop at a Desigual store, before heading to dinner.
Bistro sensi
Dinner is in one of my favorite tapas restaurants in Barcelona, Bistro Sensi. I have been coming here for years, after a colleague and I stumbled upon it in 2014 during one of the MWC shows. It’s been 8 years since I came here last, and I hope it is still as good as I remember. Our reservation is early for Spanish norms, at 7.30, but after our red-eye and we want an early night.
Bistro Sensi is exactly the way I remember: small, cozy, unpretentious. But don’t get fooled, they serve some of the best Tapas in Barcelona.
We get a table next to the bar. Rodrigo our waiter, brings the menu and water. He asked us if we have been to Bistro Sensi. Liane tells him she hasn’t, I tell him I have many times. He walks us thru the menu. While we browse the menu, he goes and gets the bottle of Albarino we ordered.
After studying the menu, we have a plan: we order the Iberico ham (of course when in Spain, one has to have Iberico), the pedrone peppers, the pulpo (octopus), rice with seafood and the gambas with melon. It is all delicious, but my favorites are the ham and the gambas. The gambas are refreshingly different, literally. The melon gives it a whole different taste and freshness. Satisfied we walk back the short 10 minutes to our hotel and are asleep by 10pm.
The best coffee
The next morning, our first stop is a coffeeshop just around the corner from the hotel. The sign promotes an iced pistachio latte. Liane is adventurous and orders it, I order a hot black tea. Liane has the best deal. While my hot tea is luke warm and tastes like dish water, her pistachio coffee is delicious. So delicious that we go back the next day, as I have to try it too. With drink in hand, we stroll towards the harbor and docks.
Montjuic
Our first target today is Montjuic, the old castle, towering over Barcelona. We take the funicular and then a cable car to the top. The views are spectacular. After a short stop at the Miro Museum, we walk down through the gardens. We stop for photos on top of the stairs below the Museum National D’art. The views leading down to Plaza Espana are beautiful.
Arenas de Barcelona
Be the time we arrive at Plaza Espana, we are hungry. So, we go to the top of the Arena de Barcelona. Originally a bullfighting arena, it is now converted to a shopping mall with restaurants on the top. We go straight to the top and find a table at restaurant Abrassame. I order the gambas, while Liane has the Fideua, a paella made with small noodles instead of rice.
The Gracia
From Plaza Espana, we take the train to the Gracia neighborhood. We heard that in August they have local street festivals, and we want to check it out. The train drops us in the heart of Gracia. It is a great part of Barcelona, and we wander through several street festivals, before the rain starts. We find shelter in a Belgium beer cafe, where we wait till the rain stops.
Drinks on top of the world
Before dinner, we meet for drinks at one of the many rooftop bars. We picked the 360 bar on top of the Barcelo hotel in the Raval district, because of its location close the restaurant we booked for dinner. There are several others worth trying, including the Skybar, Salts, Tope and the rooftop bar at the Grand Hotel Central.
Casa Batllo
After another great dinner at another one of my favorite restaurants in Barcelona, Casa Guinart, we walk to Casa Batllo, a couple of blocks from the Plaza Catalunya. I have done a tour of the famous Gaudi house before during the day. That is why I booked tickets for the tour at 9pm this time, to see it at night, with all the lights.
It is fantastic, unreal and hard to subscribe. I like Liane’s description: Fred Flintstone meets Alice in Wonderland. I highly recommend booking the 3D tour, that in addition to audio, includes a tablet that when holding up, shows how the house looked when the Batllo family lived in it.
La Boqueria and La Sagrada Familia
On our last morning, we start at la Mercat de Boqueria, Barcelona’s famous food market. Yes, it is touristy, but it is still very much worth a visit. The food is fresh and very good, although expensive. We have empanadas and baguette with Iberico ham. We also buy some of the non-sweetened dried fruits and nuts for our hike. From the Boqueria, we walk over the Ramblas, past the 2 Gaudi houses to the Sagrada Familia. Another one of Gaudi’s master pieces, which cannot be missed when in Barcelona.
48 gave us just enough time to get a good taste of Barcelona. Sample the food, Gaudi architecture and the great boutiques and art stores of El Born and the Gothic. 48 hours is just enough to make you want to go back for another taste.
All photos are credit to Liane Aihara, Bina Motiram and Mariel van Tatenhove
