Gator Girl - Out of the Swamp Posts

It is amazing to me how much I have been eating on this trip to Barcelona. But this is a very different type of eating compared to what happens in the states. In the US portion sizes at restaurants are usually huge. This is not the case in Barcelona. Everywhere I have been so far the food has been served in small bites (like all the tapas) or the portion of food has just been smaller. So here I am again about to get something else to eat, even though I had a few tapas just a few hours before.…

There is an area of Barcelona called Sant Antoni. This is an area where locals hang out and is filled with bars and tapas restaurants. I decided I needed to check this area out. Based on what I was told this area does not get hopping until at least 9:00pm. As I walked up and down the main road, I noticed that every place was packed. These are not big restaurants inside so they fill up quickly. After walking up and down a few times, a small table for two opened up at La Tiza. I knew this was a…

I was walking in between buildings in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. There were restaurants and shops everywhere. All of a sudden I saw a sign for an Italian restaurant called Made in Sicily. It was a cute little place with a few tables to sit at.      Now I was not hungry for pizza, which they sold by the slice.      What caught my attention on the menu they had posted outside were the Arancino (arancini or rice balls). I had not seen these anywhere else at this point in my trip. I figured I could not pass up…

There are dozens of food stands to choose from at Mercat de La Boqueria. I passed by a pretty busy stand that had a long line. That seemed like a place I should check out. It was simply called Catalonian-Food.      There were a few things I wanted to try. The first was the sausage on a stick. These were mini chorizo sausages and grilled onions. The sausage was very flavorful and had just a hint of spice. The onions were very sweet and paired well with the sausage. The Patates Farcides were something unique that I had not seen…

Through my travels around Barcelona I came across this bakery that was not too far from my hotel, Baluard. I actually visited them on two different occasions. The family that owns this bakery is a fourth generation baker. It is in their blood, dating all the way back to 1892. All this history still amazes me. They had a big window that looked into the bakery. I could see them making the different loaves. It smelt wonderful as soon as I walked in, I love the smell of fresh bread. It is comforting and makes me hungry. They had many…

One of the major sights that everyone must see in Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia. This is a Minor Basilica that is the master work of famous architect Antoni Gaudi. This iconic structure is actually still under construction (it was started in 1882). I took the audio tour, which I highly recommend. The audio actually help give me a larger appreciation for every aspect of the basilica because I understood the meaning behind everything Gaudi planned. The outside of the basilica has two parts. The entrance façade (at least it is the entrance of the tour) depicts the Nativity of…

Whenever I travel to a new city one of the first things I make sure to do is check out the fresh markets. Whether it is the Farmers Market in Nashville or Pikes Place in Seattle, fresh markets are a great way to truly experience a city. All the fruits, vegetables, meats and even flowers are the freshest they could possibly be. So in Barcelona I made sure I stopped at Mercat La Boqueria. I got there pretty early in the morning so I could avoid huge crowds. It was still fairly busy. Many of the local chefs shop there to…

I had booked my trip to Barcelona in December and spent months planning things I wanted to do when I got there. However, once I arrived I was so excited to finally be in the city that I did not know what to do first. I started my journey from my hotel to La Rambla, the famous street where all the tourists head to. I just started walking around all the side streets, admiring the architecture of the buildings. As I looked down these alleyways, they kept reminding me of Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter movies. It was the…