There were two reasons why I decided to pin Barcelona on my travel map. And it's not because of men. It's because on the fifth day, God made living creatures in the sea, and of course a few days before that he created the sea. As simple as it is, yes, it's the beach and the seafood.
For I have lived in Germany for 4 years now and it's not really the best place for sea, beach and seafood, something that I pledge myself to live for. Well we do have snow here, and I'm nearby the Alps and such, but to me nothing beats seafood. So lo and behold, the place that has it in abundance!
On one afternoon, we decided to go to the Boqueria Market. Its a town market in La Rambla (main street). Obviously I am a fan of markets because during most of my travels I will visit a market or a bazaar. Another thing I am really fond of is fresh juices and fruits. This market is one that has it all.
Fresh juices, fresh fruits (at very cheap prices!). And don't buy at the entrace, because it's 1€ more expansive than those sold inside. That day, we had fruits for tea break. From mangoes, strawberries, nectars, raspberries to watermelon, we each had our own share of fresh squeezed juices. We were stuffed. And almost as greedy as I was, I'm glad I didn't buy another cup of juice.
Fresh fruits and vege, we bought nectar for less than 1€. And it's four huge ones. This is what you can call 'terbaik dari ladang'.
Spain is also famous for cured meat, and it differs from each region. The one below is like a tasting platter, and it's 1€. It has prosciutto, some cut up sausages and salami.
More prosciutto and salamis. Some costs up to 400€. Being in the Mediterranean, Spain never misses out on its olives. And it's not one or two kinds, you can choose lots of types.
Below is a feast to the eye. Seafood from octopus to clams, oysters, snails, bamboo clams (which is 3 times the size of what we have back home), fish, lobsters. This place makes me faint. I was so excited, it was beyond words. Everything was fresh and some still alive. In my head was owh.. grilled, masak sambal, wow, masak curry *salivating*
And being a fanatic that I am, I only ate seafood in Spain, apart from a few meat tapas. It was like in Istanbul where I ate lamb for every meal.
This is our Lobster Paella, which was suppose to feed two people. Happy tummy.
This is our seafood platter from Toc de Mar, a restaurant by the beach. Also suppose to feed two people. Glad it fed four. And my plate was with the most shell.
Tapas
On ur last day, we just spent the day on mar Bella beach. There are a few beaches around. One was right by the city, the Barceloneta beach, which was really crowded and dirty. We were glad our appartment host advised us to visit this one. We got our parasol from the appartment.
It was a really hot day, but by the time we had a dip, everything felt good. Jumping the waves, the guys were crashing the waves, laying under the sun, everything felt so right. Now it's getting cold here. With four hours under the sun, I came home red with a really bad sunburn that carrying my backpack was a pain. But it was worth it.
This Tapas Bar/Restaurant, Orio BCN was one that caught our eye. At first we were pulled in by its oysters. We sat for our last dinner in Barcelona and had a really pleasent meal. Some had the best tuna steaks were had tried in our life *shivers*. It's also a Michelin Star restaurant. Maybe that explains the bursting fireworks in our mouth.
In conclusion, it was one of the best holiday I've had. Not a lot of pictures, but the company was the cherry on top (actually it was because we were busy talking, got lost a few times). Treasured memories.
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