Barcelona

Saturday, November 18th – Tuesday, November 21st (3 nights)

Here is our hotel:

It looks quite promising!

The hotel’s website says:

Located in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, next to the cosmopolitan Born district and a few metres from the cathedral, the H10 Montcada is a Boutique Hotel located in a neoclassical building on Via Laietana. The hotel, with a decoration inspired by the trips of yesteryear, offers a carefully selected cuisine and the Sunset Lounge Terrace with spectacular views of the city’s historic centre.

Here’s where it’s located in Barcelona:

Arrival and First Night

We arrive on Saturday, November 18th, check into the hotel, and probably lie down for a while.

Dinner

My recommendation is to go eat dinner at Bar del Pla (here’s their page on TripAdvisor — it gets very good reviews, and a Travelers’ Choice 2023). It was recommended by James Blick, a friend of Geoff’s friend James, in his Tapas 101 Guide. Bar del Pla’s location relative to the hotel is:

3 minutes walk from the hotel! Ideal!

But they say the place is greatly in demand, so we should be sure to book early!

Here’s a quote from a website that reviewed Bar del Pla:

Bar del Pla is located in the heart El Born. It’s a classic place to eat. The highlights for me were the ox tail topped with foie gras and the long braised braised cheek. Yep, two braised dishes that were solid and worth singling out Bar del Pla. These two braised dishes were the best braises the whole trip! Sauces were concentrated and reduced, flavors were bold and warming, classic execution of braised meat.

An Alternative Eating Place

A friend of Geoff added a recommendation for Sensi Tapas: (they actually have three places in Barcelona, Sensi Tapas, Gourmet Sensi, and Le Bistro Sensi, all in the The Gothic Quarter.)

Here is their TripAdvisor review; they give it a Travelers’ Choice 2023.

Here’s a glowing review of Sensi Tapas.

It’s definitely a place to book ahead. It may possibly be a little on the expensive side.

First Full Day (Sunday, November 19th)

This will be a day filled with guided tours.

Morning

First, we are booked on a Gothic Quarter ‘Free’ Walking Tour (Runner Beans). We meet up at 11:am, on the Plaça Reial, by the water fountain (see photo in gallery below, and the map below that).

Here are some sights in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter:

Here’s a map of the major points on this tour:

We end our morning tour with a visit to Santa Maria del Mar, at approximately 1:30pm.

Lunch

We actually start our afternoon tour at the Sagrada Familia. We meet our guide at 3:30pm, in front of the Sagrada Familia gift shop on Marina Street. So here is a map showing where we leave the morning tour, and where we need to be for the start of the afternoon tour:

We can make our way from Santa Maria del Mar, in the direction of Sagrada Familia. I have included some restaurants in the above map, so we can choose one relatively near our meeting place. There appear to be several interesting ones.

Afternoon

Then, we’re booked on the Tours By Locals The Best of Gaudí Half Day Private Tour.

Here’s what it promises:

Here’s where they all are on the map:

After that, we’ll probably need some rest! Probably back to the hotel, for a lie down.

Dinner

I just had to try My Fucking Restaurant for dinner. Just the in-your-face restaurant name was enough to get my attention (so their marketing plan worked!). But not only that, their TripAdvisor reviews are very good!

Add to that the proximity to the hotel:

makes it a slam dunk! Here’s a taste of what it has to offer:

Second Full Day (Monday, November 20)

This day is almost completely taken up by our Montserrat Half-Day Tour with Tapas and Gourmet Wines. As the title suggests it combines Montserrat Monastery with a winery visit for wine tastings. The winery tour includes tastings, tapas, and dessert.

Here’s where Montserrat is, in relation to Barcelona:

Which route we’ll take will be revealed on the day!

Here’s a taste of where we’ll be going:

Dinner

Here’s a suggestion for a change of pace from Tapas: Xiringuito Escribà, a Paella restaurant, right on the beach:

Xiringuito (or chiringuito in Spanish) is a small bar or restaurant which operates casually on the beaches, selling drinks and something to snack on to those enjoying the sea.

Here’s a review of this particular Xiringuito.

Now, I’m starting to salivate for a Paella!

I think that would be a great way to celebrate our last night in Barcelona!