dominica: The first day in Barcelona, Spain (Dec/9/2013)

"Hello Barcelona!!"
The city must perfectly suit you like a wanderlust, I think. ^---^

We arrived at Prat International Airport in Barcelona early morning, and it took, by Aero bus, only a half an hour to get to the hotel, Jazz, at Plaza Universitat in downtown. Even so, the hotel room for us was immediately available to get in, and Darrin and I were so relieved.

We just left our bags in the room, and headed down to the first destination, Granjaviader.

Cafe Granjaviader

Address: C.d'En Xucla 4-6, Barcelona

Granjaviader is the oldest milk bar in Barcelona, started around 1870 and now the forth generation of the family runs it. It is also renowned for the birth place of Cacaolat, which is sort of milk chocolate drink.

I loved this little cafe so much, as there was such a relaxed vibe with old-age decorations and people who was chatting in mainly Spanish or Catalan. I felt like I was sitting in another world where time stood still.

We had,

Chocolate mousse

Cacaolat

and Cheesecake

"We will come back again~."

at the shoe store in El Raval

After a short break, we spent time in El Raval district, one of the two historical neighborhoods, which is home to diverse restaurants, bars, and night spots.

Mercat Boqueria, very famous outdoor market of Barcelona, located in this district as well. We were absolutely thrilled and excited.

Oh no!..... Pig in Santa hat! (-(oo)-)

Jamon shop in the market

Darrin and I really enjoyed tasting all the different flavors of Jamons.

We moved to Barri Gotic (The Gothic Quarter) across the street from El Laval, which is the centre of the old city in Barcelona.

Barcelona Cathedral

It was built between 1882 and 1913 with a profusion of Gothic style elements.

Chapel of the Cathedral

Fountain in the atrium

Geese and pigeons in the cloister

Buskers in C.del Bisbe (Bisbe Street)

La Basilica Galeria

Perfume Store/Museum in the back alley

There were so many different scents of the perfumes nicely displayed in the shelves, and we had a staff who speaks english

well and passionately explained on the origins, sources, raw materials of some of the perfumes. I was totally struck in this place for a long time, crazily sniffing at them one by one as if by enchantment. Guess what, I soon ended up getting totally numb with a heavy headache from too much fragrance. (#ㅡ_ㅡ) (ㅜ.ㅜ)

Les Quinzenity at Placa Reial

We had Mixed Paella, Deep-fried squid, and some olives for lunch. We were a little disappointed by the foods here; the paella was just okay and the fried squid was too chewy and thickly battered. T.T

After late lunch, we took a good rest from the fatigue of long walk at the hotel, then took a cab to Park Guell, our last destination for the day.

Park Guell is a decent sized garden complex situated on the hill, designed by one of the greatest architects, Antoni Gaudi. It was built between 1900 and 1914 and now designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.