What to do and eat in Barcelona
The last leg of our European holiday was Barcelona. When Gabbie, Paolo, and I arrived there past 5 p.m. from Paris, our Pinoy driver, Johny Deguito, took us to Sonder hotel, our home for the next five nights. Sonder is a boutique hotel conveniently located along Paseo de Gracia, one of the major thoroughfares in Barcelona city. It is just a few steps away from the famous Casa Batllo, which is designed by the famous architect of modernism, Antoni Gaudi.
The hotel is very clean, with spacious bedrooms and bathrooms that I love because of their double sinks! Gabbie and Paolo declared Sonder “a Gen Z hotel,” which means it’s hip and takes pride in everything being “contactless,” though I found the staff to be very friendly and efficient.
After we were done checking-in, we were starving for a traditional Spanish meal. The front desk personnel were very helpful and recommended a restaurant nearby. When we got there, we had to stand and wait a few minutes for a table since the place was packed. Shortly after we ordered and sat down, our food came. And what a perfect meal it was for our first night! We had the delicious jamon, chipirones, patatas bravas, gambas, chorizo and pan con tomate, and a fruity, cold and refreshing pitcher of sangria to go with it.
After dinner, I retreated to my room to shower up and curl in bed while watching television and enjoy the solitude of having my own room. Gabbie and Paolo, on the other hand, wanted to explore the city at night and headed to La Rambla, which is walking distance from our hotel. La Rambla is the most popular street in Barcelona and is definitely a must to visit. It’s a tree-lined pedestrian street filled with vendors selling food, flowers, souvenirs and more! When they came back a few minutes after 10 p.m., both kids were raving about the pulsating night life of Barcelona, and how enjoyable it was for them to just people-watch.
The next day, we walked to La Rambla to look for a nice place for lunch. We went inside Mercado de La Boqueria — the most famous market in Barcelona — where you will find a wide array of food and the freshest produce available. This place is a must-see and a feast for the senses! With endless choices available, it is quite difficult to choose where to eat and what to eat. And because we were in the middle of a very noisy market, we walked out until we reached a restaurant that serves paella. Gabbie and I had the paella Negra which immediately hit the spot!
After lunch, we walked back to the hotel since it was getting hot. Later in the afternoon, we walked around our area to check out the shops. Since it was sale season, my children ended up with quite a few happy purchases.
The following day, Gabbie left early for Madrid to meet friends, prompting Paolo and I to enjoy another mother-son trip, this time to Andorra. Again, it was my adventurous son who prodded me to make a trip to the fifth smallest country in the world. An independent principality landlocked between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains, this tiny country of 80,000 residents reminded me of Lake Tahoe. It is known for its ski resorts, mountain hiking and duty-free shopping. We left Barcelona at 9 a.m. and arrived in Andorra at 12 noon.
As Paolo searched for a restaurant using his phone, what popped up was a Filipino resto, Fiesta Manila 2. I immediately said we should try it, because after being away from home for more than two weeks, I was craving Filipino food. Good thing the restaurant was just a 10-minute walk from the bus terminal. Though the restaurant opens at 12:30 (the usual time restaurants open in Andorra), we were allowed to come in earlier and sit down to study their menu. While deciding what I wanted to eat, I talked to our server, Len Andaya. She proudly shared that the original restaurant, Fiesta Manila, is now seven years old and was so successful that its owners opened another branch. Thus was Fiesta Manila 2 born. I was actually craving for lechon kawali, but unfortunately, it’s not served there. So, I settled for their barbeque pork ribs with java rice, which was tender and truly tasty. My son had the hamburger steak which he said was “so delicious,” and we shared an order of lumpia shanghai.
After lunch, we headed for the shopping area. Who knew that Andorra was where I would end up buying most of the pasalubongs for family and friends back home? When we were exhausted from all the shopping, we sat down in a café to relax and get some refreshments. By 5 p.m., we began walking back to the bus terminal to catch our 5:45 p.m. ride to Barcelona.
By the time we got back at 9 p.m., I was too tired to go out for dinner. So Paolo got me a chicken sandwich from the McDonald’s near our hotel.
The next day, we bought tickets for Park Güell at 11 a.m. One of the largest green spaces in Barcelona, Park Güell also features colorful mosaics and Antoni Gaudi’s nature-inspired architecture and whimsical sculptures. We spent two hours here before we headed to another Gaudi must-see, Sagrada Familia, the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. The Sagrada is truly imposing from the outside, and cavernous and impressive inside. Even with the steep entrance fee of 25 euros charged per visitor, it’s anybody’s guess if the Sagrada Familia will ever be completed.
We headed back to our hotel soon after and waited till 7 p.m. to go to Barceloneta for dinner at Salamanca, a traditional Spanish restaurant that was highly recommended by the staff of the hotel. We ordered the jamon iberico, chipirones and the seafood paella, while Paolo had steak with peppercorn sauce. After dinner, we walked by the beach and spent some time simply people-watching. Barceloneta is the city’s most famous beach, and the best part is that it’s free to the public. Since it was summer, the girls donned their skimpiest bikinis, much to Paolo’s delight. He remarked how much he loves Barcelona and wants to stay behind!
The next day was our last full day in Barcelona, so we took it easy. The first item on our agenda was to go to Primark at 10 a.m. when they opened to avoid the crowds. Primark is my favorite fashion retail store in Europe and I was able to finish my pasalubong shopping there. Afterwards, we had lunch at El Nacional, a beautiful high-ceilinged structure that houses several restaurants.
We chose to have our last Spanish meal at La Taperia. Since it was the peak of summer, I started with the oh-so-good Andalusian Gazpacho (cold soup). We also ordered patatas bravas, cannelloni, tortilla de patata, gambas al ajillo, pulpo ala gallega, pan de coca con tomate and mixed paella with a pitcher of ice-cold sangria… yum yum yum!!! After lunch, the kids still had the energy to walk to La Rambla. I went back to the hotel to rest and start packing for our morning flight back to Manila. For our last night in Barcelona, we walked to El Corte Ingles, the biggest department store in Spain. There, we bought jamon Iberico to take home and Manchego cheese. On our way back to the hotel, the kids wanted to have 5 Guys for the last time, and so we ordered take-out.
Overall, our European holiday was wonderful. Except for the scare we had in Rome when Paolo left his cellphone in the Uber, we were lucky we didn’t have any more unfortunate incidents and just delighted in sightseeing, dining, shopping, walking, and being together. I am so happy and grateful that I went on this trip with my kids, and that we were able to experience a treasure trove of special times together.
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