Discovering Spain

Spain certainly knows how to make an entrance. Our first impression of the Iberian Peninsula was made as we were flying over a jagged mountain range, which we later realized was Montserrat. More on that stunning location in a bit, but let’s start with Barcelona.

We had long wanted to visit Spain and decided to go for it after watching a television program featuring one of Spain’s most famous native chefs, Jose Andres, visiting different regions. We scheduled our itinerary around a visit to Valencia during its biggest annual event, Las Fallas, which is held each March. Barcelona sits just over 200 miles to the north of Valencia and is easily accessible with flights from major U.



S. cities. We flew from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and then on to Barcelona to start our journey.

Beautiful Barcelona When they say Barcelona is beautiful, they mean really beautiful. And when I say Barcelona is crowded, I mean really crowded – and we went in March, which isn’t even the summer high season. Suddenly, everyone wants to go to Barcelona, and everyone seems to be there at the same time.

As long as you prepare for the throngs of people, you’ll be fine. It’s worth it though; you just have to plan ahead for the big tourist sites. So many people visit Barcelona each year now that the two biggest tourist sites (La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell) don’t even sell day-of, walk-up tickets.

You must buy timed tickets ahead online so they can control the crowds. We stayed at the Hotel Suizo in Plaça de l’Àngel in the Gothic Quarter (you’ll see this labeled the “Barri Gotic” on maps) and is also known as the Old Town. It was the perfect location – right in the middle of everything but tucked away on a smaller side street and very walkable to La Rambla just a few blocks away along with tiny streets full of tapas bars and wine shops.

One evening, we did a tapas crawl at three little spots in a row on the tiny Carrer de Salomó ben Adret, including La Alcobita – a cozy little tapas bar with just a few tables and the most fresh, delicious bites of food. We loved it so much we went back two nights in a row. A few blocks further to the southwest is Placa Reial, a huge square lined with cafes and tapas bars under towering palm trees.

Walk just a few blocks more and reach the famous La Rambla, the most famous street in Barcelona. Here, you can stroll for more than a half-mile along a pedestrian-only wide promenade lined with shops, bars, cafes and clubs. Turn right, and you’ll end up at Plaça de Catalunya (where you can pick up the hop- on/hop-off tourist bus).

Turn left, and you’ll dead-end at the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell by the waterfront. La Rambla was crowded, even in March and even on a day when it didn’t appear many cruise ships were in port. Be prepared for plenty of company along this stretch and especially if you visit one of the “must see” spots along it – the Mercat de la Boqueria, an indoor food market teeming with stalls of vendors offering fresh meat, seafood, Iberian ham, fruits and vegetables.

Hungry yet? It’s a good thing the Mercat also houses a handful of eating spots where you can walk up and stand while noshing on something delicious or grab a seat and enjoy a cappuccino, cava (Spanish sparkling wine) or beer while they whip up a fresh seafood mixed grill, a small plate of fried artichokes or whatever the tapas of the day might be. I highly recommend a hop-on/hop-off bus tour of any major city you visit. It gave us a great overview of Barcelona’s different neighborhoods and helps you to see more than you might otherwise.

The two must-do spots in Barcelona are architect Antoni Gaudi’s masterpieces, La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Again, you must buy a ticket online before the day you plan to visit. For my money, the best deal is a “skip-the-line tour,” offered by Viator or Expedia that includes your entry at a certain time and a tour with an English-speaking guide.

These ran us under $100 per person for both sites and were well worth the money. We showed up 10 minutes before our tours, met the guides and had a terrific tour while learning the complete history of Gaudi’s magnificent creations. La Sagrada Familia is simply awe-inspiring.

The largest unfinished Catholic church in the world is still under construction even though work began in 1882 under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Gaudi took over the next year, devoted the rest of his life to it and is buried in its crypt. Relying solely on private donations, Sagrada Família’s construction progressed slowly and is still underway.

The soaring spires and detailed sculptures give way to nature-inspired stained-glass scenes and columns made of stone from nearby Montjuic and Montserrat. Just up the hill sits Park Güell where Gaudi lived, a unique park dotted with Gaudi’s whimsical sculptures (like a snake entwined in a stairway), mosaic-tiled, ergonomically friendly benches and a caretaker’s cottage that looks like something out of a fairytale. Originally envisioned as a residential community for wealthy Catalan families, Park Güell was later donated to the city and transformed into a public park.

Gaudi’s house along with homes for the Guell family and their attorney’s family were the only ones built on the grounds. Before you leave Barcelona, ride the gondola to the top of Montjuic to overlook the harbor, beachfront and city. The ride is fun, and the scenery is wonderful.

If you’re searching for more high-flying inspiration, take a day trip to Montserrat, about a half-hour’s drive northwest of Barcelona. It’s reachable by train (and a jaw-dropping ride up the mountainside), or you can drive or book a guided tour by motorcoach. Montserrat means “serrated mountain,” and these rugged peaks hide the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat, sitting at nearly 4,000 feet elevation and carved into the mountainside.

The basilica is home of the famous Black Madonna, which draws visits from pilgrims around the world. The scenery is astounding, and nearby wineries offer a nice spot for a tasting or lunch. Vamos a Valencia! The two-hour train ride south to Valencia took us to this beautiful city on the coast for the month-long Las Fallas festival, which began long ago with farmers burning unused wood each spring.

Since then, it has evolved into a religious festival combined with Mardi Gras-style revelry with neighborhood groups building paper mache monuments (the “fallas”), which are burnt on the final night. Each afternoon and evening, they add in thundering fireworks in the middle of town along with neighborhood parades featuring floral offerings to the Virgin Mary by participants in ornate, traditional Valencian costumes. Here, we opted to stay a bit out of the city center since the ongoing festival meant noise and higher prices in the heart of the action.

We rode the city bus a few stops to reach the festival center and during sunny daylight hours, even walked the half-mile or so down and back again on the flat terrain through charming neighborhoods and squares. Valencia is the birthplace of paella, that delicious rice dish that takes its name from the wide, shallow pan used to make it over an open fire. True Valencian paella contains only rice, olive oil, rabbit, chicken, white beans, green beans, salt and water.

Anything else you see labeled as “paella” but containing seafood is technically not true paella but rice with seafood or other ingredients. It’s all delicious! We had a wonderful stroll through Mercat Central (Central Market) in Plaza del Mercado, the largest market with fresh produce in Europe and tried to grab a seat at Central Bar, which is run by chef Ricard Camarena. The line stretched about 20 to 30 people long, and we had a plane to catch later in the afternoon, so we headed outside and found a little café offering a delicious three-course lunch (salad, paella, dessert) for 20 euros.

Afterward, we strolled back toward our apartment through quaint neighborhoods and bustling plazas and stopped for a refreshing Agua de Valencia (translated “Valencian water”), which is juice from fresh-picked Valencia oranges plus splashes of vodka, gin and cava, before grabbing our luggage and a cab for the airport. From there, we were on our way to the island of Ibiza – not far but a world away! The second part of Kristin Emery’s visit to Spain will appear in two weeks..