First full day out in Barcelona, and we noticed the streets in front of our apartment are extremely crowded, but we figured that is normal for this neighborhood in this city. After all, we are facing the waterfront in a seaside city.
Lynn’s goal for the day was to visit the Mercat Santa Cristina just up Via Laeitana from our apartment to shop for food to cook at home tonight. We walked up the busy street, found the market and discovered that it was closed. Shut. Fermé. Not to open today, because today is November 1, All Saints Day, which is a big, big holiday in Spain and most of Catholic Europe for that matter.
Lynn hopefully asked the restaurant waiter if perhaps the other market off La Rambla might be open, but he replied no, everything is closed up for the day. (Well, not everything; his restaurant was actively serving customers.) But we figured we might walk across to La Rambla to catch the scene and the Carrefour supermarket before circling back home.
On the way to La Rambla right in front of the Barcelona Cathedral, we encountered a large group of people, all listening to a band perched on the steps to the church and many in the crowd in large and small circles performing some sort of folkloric dance.
The Catalan flag was prominently displayed behind the band, a familiar sight all over Barcelona. Catalonia doesn’t want to be part of Spain. Later on La Rambla we would see a t-shirt that displayed “Catalunya is not Spain.” They want out, and they are not afraid to display their sentiments all over the city.
La Rambla was as crazy as ever, with the holiday crowds milling up and down the street. We found the Carrefour, our grocery destination, since the markets were closed. My Catalan Spanish was barely enough to order one kilo of beef, but there was no way to explain that we wanted the meat cut into chunks. Lynn would later have to hack away at the beautiful cut of beef with knives barely sharp enough to cut through warm butter.
Leaving Carrefour, we made the long walk down La Rambla to the waterside, passing by landmarks we had seen before–the KFC and Burger King that mark the entrance to Calle Ferran; the Museum of Erotica with its narrow one-door entrance; the street vendors plying all sort of trinkets that everyone must have; the hotel where we first stayed in Barcelona and finally at the end of the street the statue of Columbus, supposedly pointing to the New World as he reported to Ferdinand and Isabella upon his return from the first ever Caribbean cruise.
After depositing the groceries back home, we took off for another walk to Barceloneta, the neighborhood where last night’s restaurant is located. By now thirsty, we stopped at a promising establishment named Fastnet that claims to make Bloody Marys.
Inside, we were introduced to Fastnet’s heritage (Irish and sailing), confirmed with the pretty bartendress from Poland who speaks in an Irish accent after eight years in Dublin that yes, indeed they do make a mean Bloody Mary, and yes indeed they open for breakfast on Sunday at the more civilized hour of 10:30. And indeed, we plan to show up Sunday at 10:30 to find out.
Back at the apartment and marveling at the size of the boats in the harbor (one schooner has red lights at the head of all three of its masts, indicating heights in excess of 100 feet each), we congratulated ourselves on a very excellent location so near some of our old and new favorite restaurants in Barcelona.
It’s been a fine first day, and Lynn’s bourgouignon was as delicious as anything we have enjoyed at home the entire trip. She was too modest to let me take a photo, but it ranked with our Christmas dinner in our Paris garret.