going there for nearly a week for work…
need advice on exceptional food and shopping.
other than googling where can i go for research?
fu… styleforum is what i used for seattle and it was excellent.
i don’t trust generic advice, i want it from snotty douchebags or other people i can relate with.
go to ibiza
paging Geehee. IIRC Barcelona is the place with the stock market bar.
Barcelona is awesome! I was only there for a day passing through but my advice is to definitely make sure you have the camera batteries charged and an empty memory card. You’ll need it. The architecture is unreal.
A bus tour is good to see much in a short period and to get some background on what your looking at. There’s the olympic village you can see as well, and a shopping district with many small shops.
Just watch out for the gypsies. They are the real deal there. If they see something they want they will follow you around and strike when you least expect it. So keep your eyes open and wallet/ valuables in a safe place!
La Sagrada Familia was an impressive church, I’d imagine most of the construction is done by now. Montserrat is quite the spectacle, I highly recommend it. Try and find a hotel near La Rambla (like a 24/7 street fair). L’aquarium was nice, as well as the waterfront in the surrounding area. Park Guell and the Antoni Gaudi museums were quite impressive too.
I’ll PM you our photo album.
mmmmmmmmm barcelona.
I would go back a thousand times if I could.
Check out that cathedral like joe said. There is an old military fort on the ocean that is pretty high up, you get some amazing views of the city.
The Gaudi house is awesome. hell, most of the architecture is awesome.
Stock market bar was a good time as well, and its a tourist bar, so they speak english.
Irish pubs felt like home, cause they all spoke english.
Most people in the city speak enough english to get by because of all the tourist, but the main language is actually catalina (not the wine mixer) which is a mish mash of spanish, french, and italian.
and the woman are just fantastic…
The is a good strip of douchey tourist/american clubs along the beach(actually under the boardwalk), awesome time, but be prepared to drop some euros.
Word, I sent him some photos of that too…that was killer…
no need for clubs and women yo… i want douchey food and 2-3 purchases that are uniquely Spanish.
i’m in meetings and business lunches / dinners most of the time. I’ll come back and do the touristy stuff later in life.
Take in a game (football) if you can.
Tapas Tapas Tapas!!! Go to as many tapas bars as you can squeeze in especially if youre into seafood.
Theres a little place called Tossa which is pretty close to Sagrada Church. I highly recommend!
I didnt love the food, but i honestly didnt get much to try. we were visiting an exchange student we had when i was born, and she is one awful cook.
the tappas i did get to try and a few places were good, but nothing i can recommend.
another vote for tripadvisor.
When I went to Madrid last summer I spent most of the time eating and drinking my way around the city, from what I could tell that’s what most of the Spaniards do as well. Even the bocadillos de jamon y queso (ham and cheese sandwiches on a baguette, no condiments) at the kiosks in the parks were pretty amazing. We were hoping to take a day trip to Barcelona, but we wound up going to Toledo instead.
I don’t have any recommendations for restaurants in Barcelona in particular, but if you’re a fan of ham/prosciutto or charcuterie in general, get a jamon plate at a Museo del Jamon, they’re all over the place. Pretty much any place you go will have jamon in some form or another. I’ve heard the seafood in Barcelona is top notch, and that they do some interesting things with squid.
Duuddddeeee… This place was PHENOMENAL but theyre only in Madrid. Im sure theres places like it in Barcelona if thats what you mean though. Definitely listen to this… meat eaters wet dream.
Ahh, I was under the impression they were all over the country. A bit pricey compared to some of the little mom and pop places, but they definitely seemed to have the biggest selection. I only went to the one off of Plaza Mayor, but it seemed like they were everywhere. My favorite restaurant was La Tia Cebolla, the waitstaff spoke English, the service was great, and it’s in a great people watching location. I’m still trying to figure out their Albondigas recipe. I think we ate there 4 or 5 times in the 10 days we were there, it was usually one of the last places we’d stop before walking back to our apartment.
here now.
did La Rambla, it was meh… the gothic quarter adjacent to it is pretty neato though.
the hotel where the conference is is redic… nicest hotel room i’ve ever had and best breakfast buffet the other day.
had some great seafood here too so far and some street vendor stuff. out on the streets it feels not unlike manhattan, or Paris really… better than Milan for sure. much better architecture than back home of course but the Queen / College West vibe is actually superior to the main areas here… mind you i’m sure there are local spots here that smoke it, i just dont have the time to find them.
we did the bus tour yesterday… it was excellent. best money spent here thus far.
i wussed out on the douchey shopping… too cheap to buy the real nice stuff. have to hunt a bit for the wife and kids tomorrow though.
If youre talking hop on/hop offs, yes, by far the best value when traveling to cities on limited time.
Have to post this, since I have a song for almost any situation:
i heard they have really good blow there