Goodbye Madrid, Hello Barcelona!

Today Mom and I left our beautiful hotel in Madrid and took the train to Barcelona. It was only 2.5 hours by train. We arrived in Barcelona around 7 and checked in our hotel. It´s pretty posh. It´s called Le Meridien Barcelona.

Here´s what Meridien´s website has to say about the area:

Close to all of the city’s most fascinating attractions. Spend an evening meandering about the Gran Teatro del Liceo, an entertainment district encompassing restaurants, theatres, and bars. For history lovers, the Gothic Quarter and the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church) provide stunning examples of lovely architecture.

Take a walk about Montjuic Park, visit the Olympic Stadium, the Greek Theatre, or the Picasso and Miro Museums. The Palau de la Musica Catalan - the Palace of Catalan Music - is a stunning music hall, also close by, and was recently inaugurated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.



For dinner, at the usual 10pm, we went to eat at an outside Terrace called Bar Lobo, (¨Wolf Bar¨ in English). So good! It is next to the Ramblas on Pintor Fortuny street...a really happening area in Barcelona. We learned that the chef, Felipe is from Peru, and makes Ceviche. Mom is going to see if he really is a true Peruvian by tasting his ceviche next time!

This is what the website says about the place.
The Bar Lobo, which opened in 2006, morphs from a chic daytime café to an Asian fusion restaurant in the evening and finally to a laid-back late-night bar. The night crowd at "Wolf Bar" is made up of trendy locals in their 20s and 30s. The DJ spins Spanish top 40 hits and, bizarrely, a lot of U2. A spacious terrace is ideal for alfresco drinking, while inside tipplers perch on stainless-steel bar stools, lounge on low couches, or set up camp at one of the handful of rustic wooden tables.

Mom and I split:
a tomatoto and mozeralla salad (unless you have tried this in Spain, you don´t know what you are missing!)
calamares andaluza (known in the US as calamari, but this is WAY better)
arroz marinera (sort of like paella)
tiramusu
tinto verano

Said hello to Daniela and her friend, who are studying abroad here. Mom works with Daneila´s dad.

We left around 1am...very typical in Spain. The streets are busy at that time. In fact, the peak hour seems to be 3am! That´s really when ¨everything starts picking up¨according to many Spaniards!

I´m beginning to feel like I´m blogging for the food network, more so than traveling in Spain! ;)

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