Can I tell you…about my trip to Barcelona. Traveling for inspiration is a must in my business. So whenever I have to travel for work, I try to squeeze in an extended weekend to somewhere I’ve never been. This time around, after going to Premiere Vision in Paris, Peter Som and I decided to make a stop in Barcelona. Armed with a list from Yann de Rochefort of Boqueria in New York, we were ready to hit the town—and, more importantly, eat our way through it.
Our first stop was Cerveseria Catalana, a hop and a skip from our hotel. This tapas bar was packed but luckily I spotted the Filipino staff and worked my magic. Within seconds we were seated and gorging on tasty morsels of classic Catalan tapas.Next, we strolled off to Casa Milà, a.k.a. La Pedrera, on the Passeig de Gràcia, Antoni Gaudí’s most controversial apartment building. The views of the city from the roof are spectacular.Down the avenue was Casa Batllo, another famous Gaudi landmark. We worked up quite an appetite after all this sightseeing. Then we had lunch with Juan Mila (son of design legend Miguel Mila) and his wife, Miranda Wilkotz, at Comerc 24, who gave us an insider’s tour of Barcelona. We wandered through the ancient streets and checked out some of Miranda’s favorite haunts.I bought espadrilles at La Manual Alpargatera—it’s never too early to think of spring.Peter splurged on some home made candy at Papabubble. Although I suspect it was the eye candy making the candy that sold him. Then we went to Vinçon, which is Barcelona’s answer to Conran, to check out Miguel Mila’s lamps. We loved this store—it’s an Art Nouveau building totally decked out with contemporary furniture. I adore this kind of mix.That evening, we met up with my friend author Michael Tonello (Bringing Home the Birkin) at chic Cinc Sentits in Eixample, one of his favorite restaurants. We opted for the tasting menu and chef Jordi Artal blew us away. We wished we could have had seconds, the food was that incredible!After dinner we got another tour of the local boy scene, and as they say it was…muy caliente! We ended up in Museum, a really cute bar but unfortunately too smokey for us non-smokers. After a few drinks and a near death experience due to smoke inhalation we called it a night.
Next day we were off to Sagrada Família first thing in the morning to avoid the busloads of tourists. This church will forever be a work in progress!
We had lunch at Cuines Santa Caterina, which is right next door to the Santa-Caterina market, so the produce is fresh everyday. Then we wandered around the Born and Barri Gòtic neighborhoods and went to the Picasso Museum and the Cathedral Santa Maria del Mar.
On Peter’s last night we waited in line for what seemed like forever at a tapas bar called Cal Pep, but it was totally worth it. Everything was amazing, especially the trifásico (coffee with rum and milk), and Senor Pep was on hand to make recommendations to newbies like us.
We were literally eating in his kitchen, the bar is that small. Since I’m staying for a few more days, I plan to come back here—and this time, I won’t mind waiting in line.
So it’s official, I love Barcelona! The city, the people, the food, the architecture, what a package deal!