MrsPorkChop
Twinning!!
Member since 5/05 9941 total posts
Name:
Missy
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Re: Ever been to Barcelona?
yes!!! i went in january for a vacation solely there
picasso museum and gaudi museum - excellent!!!!
i loved the military museum on the top of the mountaun also
i thought sagrada familia was a waste of time
wonderful time!!!
excellent restuarants/bars:
bubo bubo
el vino del senyor
taller de tapas
tragaluz
7 portes!!!
there was an excellent article in the ny times 2 weeks ago about doing barcelona in 36 hours - ill try ot find it
here it is
36 Hours in Barcelona
Stafano Buonamici for The New York Times
Capitals on display in the Romanesque section of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.
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By ANDREW FERREN
Published: March 4, 2007
CONVENTIONAL thinking holds that Barcelona is Spain's gateway to European culture. Insofar as culture means innovative architecture and modern art, smart urban planning that prizes pedestrian-friendly boulevards and an arm's-length attitude toward deep Spanish traditions like bullfighting, such thinking is right on the money. It was in Barcelona in the 1890s that Picasso found the artistic vanguard that propelled him to Paris and world renown. And this is where Gaudí spun Art Nouveau into his own quirky architectural idiom. Today the term avant-garde still applies: to Barcelona's fusion cuisine, design-accented boutique hotels, fun-loving fashion houses and even a delicious assortment of innovative chocolatiers, all of whom cut their teeth in the Catalan capital before taking on the rest of Spain.
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Where to Stay | Where to Eat | What to Do Friday
4:30 p.m.
1) PICTURING PICASSO
Spain's greatest 20th-century export is the subject at the Picasso Museum (Carrer de Montcada, 15-23; 34-93-256-3000; www.museupicasso.bcn.es; 6 euros, or about $8, at $1.34 to the euro), which has a rich collection of the artist's early works — Blue Period, Rose Period, Cubism — before he permanently settled in Paris. Set in a complex of 12th- and 13th-century Catalan palaces, the museum manages to show how the young Picasso arrived in Barcelona as a teenager in 1896 and literally found the world. One can almost hear the buildings' giant stone blocks bending to his artistic will. Later in life, he cheekily donated his brilliant riffs on perhaps the country's most cherished painting — “Las Meninas” by Velázques — proving that even after years of self-imposed exile, Picasso couldn't get Spain out of his system.
6 p.m.
2) RETAIL THERAPY
Take a leisurely stroll from the upscale Passeig de Gràcia toward the downtown Born district, where trendy boutiques line up with the last of the old mom-and-pop shops. Despite Madrid's efforts to catch up, Barcelona arguably remains the design capital of Spain, and Vinçon (Passeig de Gràcia, 96; 34-93-215-6050; www.vincon.com) is among its most revered shrines for smart and stylish house wares. You'll find everything from a flexible rubber ice tray (8.45 euros) to a sleek sleeper sofa (1,495 euros), both available in a warm shade of terracotta. As you approach sea level in el Born, look for one of the six Barcelona outposts of Xocoa (www.xocoa-bcn.com), the in chocolatier that sells ginseng energy bars with an uplifting 52 percent cacao. Wash away the guilt with a glass of crisp albariño at the cavernous wine bar Vinya del Senyor (Plaça de Santa Maria, 5; 34-93-310-3379) just opposite one of Barcelona's favorite churches and gathering spots, Santa Maria del Mar.
10 p.m.
3) SEARCH FOR YOUR SUPPER
Cal Pep may be the iconic place to eat in Barcelona, but its sibling, Restaurant Passadís del Pep (Plaça del Palau, 2; 34-93-310-1021; www.passadis.com) remains an under-the-radar favorite precisely because it is so hard to find: down an unmarked narrow passage (passadís in Catalan), with a brooding figure standing in its arched portal. Tell the brooding figure you have a reservation, which you should make well in advance, and he will wave you in. Once inside, you don't even have to order. Just say sí when Modesto or one of the other waiters offers a glass of cava and a plate of succulent jamón Serrano. The rest — calamari, the tiniest of fried sardines, a sauté of savory noodles — just starts showing up. Eight courses for two comes to about 100 euros with cava and a bottle of another wine.
Saturday
11 a.m.
4) MEDIEVAL TO MODERN
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, better known as MNAC (Parc de Montjuïc; 34-93-622-0376; www.mnac.es; admission 8.50 euros), appears as a vast palace crowning the Montjuïc park. Not to be missed are the Romanesque paintings — many exhibited in artfully made concave frames to simulate the church apses they came from. They are sculptural masterpieces in their own right. Also worthwhile are the late 19th- and early 20th-century paintings by Rusiñol, Casas and others who had a profound impact on the young Picasso and, thus, the course of modernism. Back down the hill are Mies van der Rohe's 1929 Barcelona Pavilion (Avinguda del Marquès de Comillas, s/n; 34-93-423-4016; www.miesbcn.com) and CaixaForum (Avinguda del Marquès de Comillas, 6-8; 34-93-476-8600; www.fundacio.lacaixa.es), a converted textile factory that houses temporary exhibitions.
2 p.m.
5) CASUAL TAPAS
Bar Mut (Carrer de Pau Claris, 192; 34-93-217-4338) is a bustling joint where local people go to feast on a casual lunch of cañas (small beers) and no-fuss tapas like herb-infused steamed mussels, toast topped with luscious duck liver and caramelized onion, and a hearty four-cheese risotto. The seemingly endless menu is written on the blackboard at the bar, and the easygoing servers never seem to be fazed no matter how many times you call them back to order something else. Lunch for two with drinks is about 40 euros.
4 p.m.
6) MAKE A SPLASH
Given Barcelona's balmy Mediterranean climate, the beach is an option much of the year. And thanks to a recent cleanup, an afternoon dip no longer requires a drive out of town — or a tetanus shot. Among the liveliest city beaches is Platja de Sant Sebastià at the end of la Barceloneta, a wedge of land jutting into the Mediterranean near the Port Vell (Old Harbor). You can moisten your insides as well with the cheap beers (2 euros) at the very chill-out Chiringuito del Mar, a beach shack where the pavement of Plaça del Mar meets the sand of Sant Sebastià.
10 p.m.
7) FOAM PARTY
After years under the tutelage of the nueva cocina star Ferran Adriá, the chef Carles Abellan went solo with Comerç 24 in el Born (Carrer del Comerç, 24; 34-93-319-2102; www.comerc24.com). Traditional tapas and Spanish classics are deconstructed to the essential ingredients then frothed up into foams or consolidated in custards. Signature dishes include a gently poached egg bathed in a fragrant foam of potato and black truffles and served back in its shell. Try set menus like the Festival (includes seven tapas and a dessert sampler for 54 euros) or Super Festival (includes 10 tapas and cheese and dessert samplers, 72 euros).
1:30 a.m.
8) COZY COCKTAILS
Despite the name over the door, everyone seems to drink whiskey sours at Gimlet (Carrer del Rec, 24; 34-93-310-1027), a cozily upholstered bar packed with bohemian writers and art types. It's the perfect place to have what Spaniards call “the first drink” (cocktails, 6 to 8 euros), meaning a sophisticated and civilized cocktail in a respectable setting before heading off to clubs or less refined establishments. For a list of the current hot spots, pick up the weekly Guía del Ocio (www.guiadelocio.com) for 1 euro.
Sunday
11 a.m.
9) OVERPAY FOR THE O.J.
It's touristy, it's overpriced, and it gets away with it because everyone in town meets at Café Zurich (Plaça de Catalunya, 1; 34-93-317-9153), which occupies the busiest corner on the busiest square in the city. Angle for a table outside for people watching or the quieter mezzanine for a tête-à-tête. The coffee (1.75 euros) is excellent, the beers (2.80) are Wagnerian in scale, and the sandwiches, or bocadillos (3.45), are just so-so — unless you ask for a side of tomatoes and olive oil, which makes all the difference.
1 p.m.
10) ABOVE THE FRAY
Forget about shopping or art; much of Barcelona is shut on Sundays. Instead, head to the northern edge of the city and Parc Güell, Gaudí's bulbous and mosaic-carpeted gardens on a hill near Mont Tibidabo. The terraces and promontories offer exquisite views of the city, and Gaudí's eternal work-in-progress, la Sagrada Família, looms in the middle. You can get there by public transit, but any party of more than two should jump in a taxi (about 8 euros from the Plaça de Catalunya). If you're really game, go even higher on the Ferris wheel or the Aeroplane at the Tibidabo Amusement Park (Plaça del Tibidabo, 3-4; 34-93-211-7942; www.tibidabo.es), two old-school rides that still soar above Spain's most mod city.
The Basics
Continental and Delta have flights from New York City airports with fares starting around $600 in mid-May. Beyond a 25-euro cab ride ($33.50 at $1.34 to the euro), the easiest way into the city is the blue and yellow Aerobus (3.75 euros; www.bcn.es), which shuttles every 15 minutes between the airport and the Espanya and Catalunya plazas. Barcelona has a world-class transit system (1.25 euros a ride), but also very reasonable taxis, with crosstown fares usually less than 10 euros.
For top location and amenities, the year-old Hotel Granados 83 (Carrer Enric Granados, 83; 34-93-492-9670; www.derbyhotels.com) offers 77 wenge wood- and leather-clad rooms, including four duplex suites and one standard room that share a private plunge pool on a garden terrace. Others have to make do with the rooftop pool and bar. Doubles start at 270 euros.
Originally built for the 1992 Summer Olympics, the 44-story Hotel Arts (Carrer de la Marina, 19-21; 34-93-221-1000; www.hotelartsbarcelona.com) recently renovated its nearly 500 rooms with chic modular furnishings in dark woods and silvery shades. In addition to its beachfront location, the hotel has a giant Frank Gehry fish sculpture, a luxe spa and an aqua-tinged restaurant by the chef Sergi Arola. Doubles from 488 euros.
Message edited 3/27/2007 1:21:49 PM.
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I really enjoyed that, as well.
