We had seen an interesting bakery between the Metro and our hotel when we first arrived in Barcelona. We went looking for it and found an even better breakfast place instead. We were looking for El Fornet - which turns out to be like Starbucks in the USA with locations everywhere. What we found was Passtisseria Mauri. This is another local favorite, and we ate there almost every morning.
At Mauri, you order what you want from the display cases then find a table. After ordering drinks and enjoying your meal, you take your meal card to the cashier to pay on your way out the door. It's a great system once you figure out how to do it.
On our first morning there, we had several lorenes (quiches) - formatge (cheese), espinacs (spinach), and xampinyons (mushrooms) - and a sweet pastry with a peach iced tea and a té negro.
There were a lot of summer sales going on.
Martha found a new friend.
Sketchy!
"Motos" seem to be everywhere in Barcelona.
La Boqueria, on the other hand, is a fun place to spend some time. It's a giant market just off La Rambla, and it's been around since 1217!
When we arrived in the afternoon, it was crowded.
There seems to be something for everyone!
We left La Boqueria with good ideas about things to buy, but we wanted to explore the Barri Gòtic first.
The Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) is opposite the La Boqueria on the other side of La Rambla. It's the center of the old city of Barcelona. It is much less hectic than La Boqueria, and it's a great place just to wander around ... and that's what we did!
Many of the buildings in Barri Gòtic were built in the Middle Ages. It has a "labyrinthine street plan" that makes wandering almost mandatory. Most of the quarter is closed to regular traffic. Even though this is the oldest part of the city, it isn't all centuries old. Many building (including the Cathedral) were renovated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to clean up Barcelona's image. The result is an awesome place to visit.
We eventually found ourselves at the Cathedral.
Although I had been outside this church many times, I had never been inside. Martha and I each made the 7€ donation and were very glad we did. Not only was the architecture beautiful, but we were treated to a concert by a youth orchestra from England.
As much as we enjoyed the interior, we enjoyed going up to the roof even more. There were great views of Barcelona there.
Happy travelers!!
Back on the ground, we walked through the cloister area and found some geese. The cathedral's official name is Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia. Eulalia is Barcelona's patron saint who was martyred at age 13. You will always find 13 white geese here in honor of Santa Eulalia.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped to buy a gift at La Boqueria.
Our dinner was nothing special - just some tapas at a random sidewalk cafe not far from our hotel on the Rambla de Catalunya. The evening air was nice, and the atmosphere was fun with people strolling along. But the food was so-so, and the service was bad.
All in all, this was another great day.
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