Jess was awakened by the TV (she'd set the alarm function the night before), and she got up and showered. Jer was a champion sleeper, but after a bit of coaxing we went to breakfast. Although Jess's firm had a private breakfast buffet, a few other hotel guests wandered in and availed themselves of the free food. (We ate with a couple of greenscape designers in town for a gardening expo.) The food was decent, though the serrano ham, fresh fruit and pastries were better than the scrambled eggs, fried mushrooms and other veggies. The fresh juice was delicious, and Jer deemed the coffee not bad either.
Jer went back to the room to shower and pack. After working in the business center for a while, Jess joined him to finish packing. We checked out and headed to the metro (stopping to watch dressage riders in a ring just off the street). We got off at Passeig de Gracia and walked into the Eixample neigborhood, passing some divine Art Nouveau buildings along the way. We located our hostal, Hostal Girona, and dropped off our bags.
Having heard that strolling Las Ramblas on a Sunday afternoon was a time-honored tradition, we headed for the Barri Gotic. Just before we reached the Placa Catalunya, we stopped at Tapas Gaudi for lunch. The gazpacho was pureed with cream, but still quite refreshing. We each had a montadito a baguette slice with toppings (in our case, lettuce, tomato, an anchovy and a big green olive) and a Kas (Fanta-alternative). It was neither as cheap nor as delicious as Jer's dinner the previous night, but it was still good.
When we reached Las Ramblas, there were tons of people out for a stroll, watching the excellent mimes, browsing at the flower sellers and the tourist knick-knack stalls, and admiring the songbirds, bunnies, ferrets, chickens, fish and other animals on sale at the pet stalls. Jer gave a few coins to one mime (in a horse/bird costume) and was rewarded with a little heart charm and a picture with the mime. We managed not to buy a dwarf bunny, even though they were very cute.
At one point we left Las Ramblas for a bit to wander in the narrow side streets. We popped into a Japanese restaurant called Sushi-ya and split an order of tuna sushi. The rice was still warm, but otherwise it was quite decent. We rejoined Las Ramblas, stopping by various artisans' stalls in a fruitless search for souvenirs, but eventually picking up some postcards. By the waterfront, at the end of the street, is the Mirador de Colom, a monument to Columbus. Since the line was short and the day was sunny, we bought tickets and took the miniscule elevator to the top. The views of the city were good, but the viewing area was tiny (everyone has to go single file, and no more than a dozen people fit) and a few loud children made it less fun.
After descending to street level, we wandered around the watefront a bit. We bought a delicious waffle topped with dulce de leche and ate it on the pier, watching fish swarm like piranhas to eat popcorn thrown into the water by amused children. It was very neat to watch. Refreshed, we made our way to the aquarium, only to decide that we didn't want to wait in line and the Ä16 entrance fee was more than we wanted to pay. So we set off for the cable car to Montjuic, stopping to listen to an open-air concert and watch the sailboats leave their berths.
We made it to the cable car in good time, and though there was a bit of a line it moved quickly. Soon, we found ourselves admiring the view of Barcelona, looking out over Barceloneta's sandy Meditteranean beach and then back at the hills that border the city to the west. We could see the spires of the Cathedral and of Sagrada Familia, but we decided that the city is best seen on foot. Nevertheless, we greatly enjoyed the cable-car ride, and surprisingly neither of us was scared, despite the height.
We walked down from Montjuic to the Paral.lel metro station and took the subway back to the Eixample, so we could check in to Hostal Girona. Our room was a small double at the front, with twin beds, original moulded ceilings and tile floors, and a tiny retrofitted bathroom. After considering various dinner options and determining that 7 pm is too early to eat in Barcelona, Jess took a nap and Jer used her blackberry's web browser for a bit.
At 8 pm, Jer roused Jess and we set off for Bilbao-Berria, a pinxo bar in the Barri Gotic. Pinxos are the Basque version of tapas, and the nibbles at this bar were delicious. Jess's favorite was fresh mozzarella, tomato, herbs and a black olive on garlic toast, though the tuna with gherkins, onion and a green olive was also delicious. Jer tried two Brie-topped pinxos: one had tapenade and pine nuts on toast, the other had crushed tomato on a baguette. We both liked the warm pinxos, especially the bacon-wrapped asparagus. The dessert tapas were also tasty: Jer had a mini chocolate cake with cherry filing and a cream topping, and Jess had a cake filled with orange cream and topped with nuts. (The only not-so-great pinxos were the Spanish omelet with fish and the sugar-and-cinnamon dusted fried cheese .) Jer had two glasses of Rioja and Jess had a glass of cava. We left quite stuffed, and while dinner wasn't cheap it was a very good value.
We decided to walk off our dinner by strolling around the Barri Gotic. Jess was excited to show Jer the Cathedral and the Bridge of Sighs, both of which she'd seen on her brief trip into the city during her retreat on Saturday. On a side street, we came upon a group of people singing opera, and we stopped to listen to them finish. Then we marveled at the area's architecture, including the Bridge of Sighs (modelled on the Venetian original), the Palau de la Generalitat and various other old buildings with interesting carvings. Jer spent some time in front of the Cathedral taking beautiful, if ominous, pictures, until Jess dragged him away. We also peered into some shop windows, finding one with a wide variety of Shitter figurines (including world leaders, a bride and groom, a troupe of acrobats and Dali). We were highly amused.
Eventually, we headed back towards our hostal via the scenic route. Along the way we saw one of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona, the Palau de la Musica Catalana. It was an Art Nouveau masterpiece, with a colorfully-tiled exterior and a stained glass and polished wood lobby. Sadly, it was impossible to take pictures that would do it justice, so we just marveled at it. A bit farther on, we saw the Church of St Pere, with lovely stained glass windows and a cute cupola only visible from one angle. Passing that, we walked to the Arc de Triomf, a pink-and-white arch celebrating victory (though we weren't clear on over whom or when).
We headed back to our hostal and fell into bed, glad to be off our aching feet and ready to sleep.