Barcelona - Any Recommendations?

[saeyedoc]

Eat as much Jamon Iberico de Bellota as you can, the stuff is amazing.

[Megabrode]

I don't know if anyone recommended the Picasso museum. Fabulous. To escape the bustle, and you have a car, south to Sitges for the gorgeous beach, north to Costa Brava for Mediterranean vistas.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by Megabrode

I don't know if anyone recommended the Picasso museum. Fabulous. To escape the bustle, and you have a car, south to Sitges for the gorgeous beach, north to Costa Brava for Mediterranean vistas.

This made me laugh. It's an excellent suggestion, it really is. however, my wife and I are kinda famous in our family for avoiding museums. We went to Florence and missed all the museums, only going to the Ducati museum in Bologna. We went to Paris 3 times and never set foot in the Louvre. NYC and no Guggenheim. We did see a Banksy exhibit in Amsterdam which was awesome.

So far on the Barcelona trip we have kind of created our own exhibit of the entire city by walking around and documenting in photos as many of our favorite street artists as we can find. It's like a museum plus scavenger hunt all in one. We've found 3 authentic Space Invader tile mosaics so far. On the hunt for a few more today. Yeah, we are a bit weird.

[DETRoadster]

All you guys saying avoid Las Ramblas: So right on the money!

We popped out of the Gothic last night around midnight and decided to see Las Ramblas since it was less busy that late. We walked exactly one block and in that block encountered an aggressive Gypsy trying to "read our fortune" (I see you losing your wallet in your future!), and two separate dudes both in comically bad track suits trying to sell us drugs. Ok. Done with that street. :

[Chasing Dreams]

I don't know if you have already done so but try crossing Via Laietana from Gottico to go in to the 'El Born' neighbourhood. If you are unsure of how to get there, enter my old home address "Carrer dels Banys Vells, 20" in Gmaps.

It's a maze of alleys with little artizan shops and coffee shops. Adjacent is the Santa Maria Del Mar church, which gives out on the Passeig del Born and the Mercat del Born (market), and is a lovely little square filled with shops, bars and restaurants.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by Chasing Dreams

I don't know if you have already done so but try crossing Via Laietana from Gottico to go in to the 'El Born' neighbourhood. If you are unsure of how to get there, enter my old home address "Carrer dels Banys Vells, 20" in Gmaps.

It's a maze of alleys with little artizan shops and coffee shops. Adjacent is the Santa Maria Del Mar church, which gives out on the Passeig del Born and the Mercat del Born (market), and is a lovely little square filled with shops, bars and restaurants.

We are there right now!

[SunnyD]

Heading to Spain/Portugal in November - would be curious to see what you did/ate in Barcelona.

[DETRoadster]

Back from our trip! Thanks to everyone who contributed with great tips on seeing Barcelona. We had a fantastic time, though the last few days were hampered by a pesky stomach bug I caught. That's the risk of International travel I guess.

Trip highlights in no particular order:

1) La Merce Festival concert on the beach
2) Late night tea at Salterio
3) Tapas at Sensi Mezzanine (Thanks Chasing Dreams )
4) Renting e-bikes and e-scooters and cruising all over the city
5) Gaudi house at Parc Guell
6) Discovering 4 original Space Invader art tiles
7) Meeting street artist Konair, touring his studio, and buying an original piece.
8) Rooftop siestas
9) Sangrias on Bogatell beach at midnight
10) Tour of Sagrada Familia

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

Back from our trip! Thanks to everyone who contributed with great tips on seeing Barcelona. We had a fantastic time, though the last few days were hampered by a pesky stomach bug I caught. That's the risk of International travel I guess.

Trip highlights in no particular order:

1) La Merce Festival concert on the beach
2) Late night tea at Salterio
3) Tapas at Sensi Mezzanine (Thanks Chasing Dreams )
4) Renting e-bikes and e-scooters and cruising all over the city
5) Gaudi house at Parc Guell
6) Discovering 4 original Space Invader art tiles
7) Meeting street artist Konair, touring his studio, and buying an original piece.
8) Rooftop siestas
9) Sangrias on Bogatell beach at midnight
10) Tour of Sagrada Familia

Sounds like you had a great time!

[Chasing Dreams]

Great stuff! I am happy you enjoyed the city. I have a big craving to move back there in a few years.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by Chasing Dreams

Great stuff! I am happy you enjoyed the city. I have a big craving to move back there in a few years.

I don't think I could handle living in Barcelona full time. Too crazy for me for extended periods. But outside the city, like along the Gulf of Roses, hell yes. Sign me up!!!! The wife and I are about 15 years out from retirement and starting to plan on where to live. The coast of Spain, up near the border with France is high on the list.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

I don't think I could handle living in Barcelona full time. Too crazy for me for extended periods. But outside the city, like along the Gulf of Roses, hell yes. Sign me up!!!! The wife and I are about 15 years out from retirement and starting to plan on where to live. The coast of Spain, up near the border with France is high on the list.

The Mediterranean coast of Spain is on my list of potential retirement locations as well.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

The Mediterranean coast of Spain is on my list of potential retirement locations as well.

Read an article on AARP online that said a "comfortable" retirement in Spain for US expats currently takes $25,000 to $30,000 per year. Holy cow! My recently retired folks are paying nearly that much JUST for supplemental medicare health insurance alone.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

Read an article on AARP online that said a "comfortable" retirement in Spain for US expats currently takes $25,000 to $30,000 per year. Holy cow! My recently retired folks are paying nearly that much JUST for supplemental medicare health insurance alone.

Nice! Hopefully it stays an affordable place to retire; I've got a while to go yet.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

Nice! Hopefully it stays an affordable place to retire; I've got a while to go yet.

Same here. 15 years is the goal; retire at 60.

Spanish real estate market has been down 40% since the global downturn in 2008. It never bounced back like our market did. Great deals to be had, but will they still be there in 15 years? Who knows!

[Chasing Dreams]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

Read an article on AARP online that said a "comfortable" retirement in Spain for US expats currently takes $25,000 to $30,000 per year. Holy cow! My recently retired folks are paying nearly that much JUST for supplemental medicare health insurance alone.

I am sure that's true. I was earning about 40K USD while I was there and I was able to live very lavishly.

Medication costs close to nothing and I was on private health care insurance that was around 100 USD/month.

[Redd]

I had fun doing a Segway tour of Barca. Food wise, I had really good tapas at Pinotxo at the Boqueria, and Cal Pep.