Barcelona Day 3 - Gothic Quarter

After a good sleep we are up and showered and out the door by just before 9.  

Today we had pre reserved a Gothic Quarter Walking Tour thru Viator at 9:30.

We walk to Las Rambla and then into the Gothic Quarter (only about 15 min walk from our place).

The meeting point is at Placa Sant Jaume which is the stately central square of Barcelona.  It has the two top governmental buildings -- the Palau de la Generalist with houses the government of Catalunya.  And across from it the Barcelona City Hall.

This street was the town's forum or central square and Jose our guide helps to paint a picture of what this area was like back in Roman time.  

Our next stop is the Temple of Agustus which sits on the highest spot in the Barri Gothic at 16.9 meters.  It is here that the ancient Romans founded the town around 15 BC.  They built a fort on the hill top.  

Inside a building are the restored four columns of the imposing Roman temple.  They were part of the ancient town's biggest structure, a temple dedicated to Emperor Augustus.  Today they are on their original site, which later was built on top of - and now a private residence is.

We continue to the Sant Felip Neri square which now serves as a playground for the elementary school.  The Church of Felip Neri is pocketed with bomb damage from the Civil War. You actually can see the damage. 

The Nova Square boast two Roman Towers that once guarded the entrance gate of the ancient Roman city.  At one time the Roman Wall was 25 feet high and a mile around with 74 towers. It enclosed an area of 30 acres and had a population of 4,000.

Right beside is the Cathedral of Barcelona which was started in the 13th century and completed six centuries later.  The facade was built at the end of the 19th century by a single person who wanted the facade to be more elaborate than the original (built simple because they ran out of money) because of the world exposition.

You can go in for free (note the dress code) and it is a lovely church but it pales in comparison to so many other churches we have seen from this time period.  But worth a visit.

We duck into a beautiful serene garden which is the former garden of the royal palace of the Counts of Barcelona.

Jose leads us into what was once the residence of the kings of Catalonia and Aragon from the 11th century and into a stunning - but simple chapel.  The ceiling is breathtaking, unfortunately I could not do it justice with the picture.

The tour wraps up where we started and we thank Jose for a great tour.  Even though we had done a walking tour of the area ourselves a few years ago it really helped revisiting it with Jose and having his expertise to expand our knowledge of the area.

After the tour we decide to visit a part of the Gothic quarter we only saw in passing the other night.  

We find a small cafe that serves the hot chocolate and churros.  The "hot chocolate" is more like chocolate pudding that you dip the churro in to.  Very good but very rich.  In the end neither of us could finish our cup of chocolate and probably should of just have ordered one cup to share.

I really want to head over to the Boqueria (the market) that we visited two years ago.  Of course it is noon and the place is packed with mostly tourist.  

Here you can find almost anything! Lots of places for a quick bite or for a nice meal for later.  Check out the fish, fruit, vegetables, meats etc etc.

We had already decided that we would go back to BioCenter for lunch (which we visited on our food tour).

They have a meal deal for lunch which includes soup or salad, an entree and dessert for under 11 E.  Also they have organic beer and that Bernie loves, and I love the wine too as it has no sulfates.

We ask the staff for advice on a place to buy some port for a friend and they direct us two blocks down to a small family run liqour store that has a decent selection.  The man recommends a bottle called "old friends" port and we think it is appropriately named so we get it.  In chatting with us his Mom comes out and offers us some sweet (sorry not sure of the name and insists we have some).  It was good sort of like a nougat.  They kept trying to give us more but we graciously decline and said goodbye and commented on the way out that this is what travelling is all about, connecting with the locals.

Back at the apartment early -- around 1400 -- as it has been a long day so far and we have an evening tour planned and want to rest up for that.

Barcelona - Day Two Evening

As some of you know Bernie and I recentlly changed our eating habits to a more plant based diet.  We were worried how this would impact our travel.  We are probably 80% vegan and working at improving that.  

When we knew we were going to Barcelona I did a google search to see what tours they had for Vegans.  Vegan Food Tours came up.

We reserved for tonight and we met up with Olga, our tour guide at our first restaurant called BioCenter at 6 pm.  We were the only two on the tour so it was an nice experience where we really got to know Olga.

Here we started with two appetizers and a glass of red wine.

We then walk to our next spot which is about a 10 minute walk away called Vegetalia.  They have three locations in Barcelona.

Here we had the first course of paella, potatoes and bread with crushed tomatoes served with white wine.

Our next stop is Green Spot a very upscale restaurant that is beautifully decorated and an relaxing atmosphere. If you plan to eat here make sure you make reservations as it gets busy. 

Here we are having our entree (but we are already full) Summer nem, rice paper with seasonal vegetables. 

Also an amazing Kale and quinoa sald with cherry tomatoes, hazelnuts and white miso vinaigrette.  Then there is the Green Hemp pizza with cashew cheese.

We had dessert here because the place the usually go to closes early on weekdays.  Here we had Amaranth with coconut milk and mango. OMG that was good.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Olga and sharing our experiences with her and learning about her experiences.

She also really filled us in on the referendum taking place on Sunday for independence.  Now two years ago when we were here there was a referendum on independence from the Country of Spain.  But the Capital did not accept the results of the positive vote.  Now they are holding another referendum; however the Capital already has said they will not accept the outcome.  We are all concerned that a civil war could ensue if things are not settled.  This corner of Spain is truly unique - even have their own language.  So I hope things resolve.  Of course coming from Quebec and their issues with independence I know how difficult this can be.

One thing this tour has taught me is that eating Vegan does not have to be boring, in fact it was truely amazing and we will probably return to one of the restaurants before we leave on Saturday.

Olga recommends a bar we might like that is nearby.  Guzzo is so neat, very eclectic, amazing drinks, great service and the music is outstanding.  

We both order our drinks from Maurizzio and as we sit there we see the sign for Camparri and I say to Maurizzion what dose this taste like.  He says one minute and comes back with three shots of it!  We all have one and he asks what do I think.  I say "yuck not my thing" he responds -- yeah I don't like it either.  

I message our friend Katrina who lives near to us and is in Barcelona on vacation too and they end up joining us.  Katrina, her partner Rob and Amanda and her partner Graeme.  They arrive shortly thereafter and we catch up on their trip.

It is late - after midnight and we have to get up early tomorrow. So we flag down a taxi and head home.  I am surprised at how many people are still out and about at 1 am. People of all ages too, and this is a Wednesday!

It was a great day!