Last day in Barcelona; Joan Miro and Picasso

Last time I was in Barcelona we did not see the Joan Miro museum.  It is the weirdest thing how memories can come rushing back into your head.  As we drove up to the Joan Miro Foundation this morning I remembered that we had come up to see the museum but it was closed.  Instead we walked down the hill and somehow ended up going to a castle.  Eventually we took the funicular down the hill into the city.  I am so happy we got in this time.  What an incredible gem of a museum.  Miro was an amazing artist.  I loved everything about this place.

You can not take photos inside only outside but if you are interested Fred posted a short film about him.  My blog is a few days delayed to his but important to get in all the details and days.

We walked down the hill and now that there are Google Maps we went the right way vs the way I went last time.  Down a set of stairs that take you down a quaint little street and a huge soccer field where kids were playing in their weekend leagues.  We walked to Quimet y Quimet for some early afternoon tapas.  This place is not only an institution it is a gem.  It is quite small.  As you can see from this picture of walls of wine.  The entire place is like this.  There is a place for everything.

A few woman behind the bar, standing room only and they make the food and serve the drinks.  They make their own beer too.   I recommend going when it opens at noon.  We got in and it wasn’t that crowded but by the time we left it was just starting to fill up.  I can only imagine how insane it must get in there.

This is the front of the place.  So damn cute.  I love those wooden red doors that close the place up at night.  Gives you an idea of how small it is from this photo.

We had only a few tapas as last night did us in.  These are mondaditos.  Essentially small open face sandwiches over half a toasted small bun.  This was insanely delicious.  Cured salmon over yogurt with truffle honey dripped over the top.  Wow.

Roasted pepper with sardines, tapenade and a green olive.  Why I ordered this?  Who knows.

Heavy duty cheese with chopped tomatoes and caviar.   I was a bit of a fluster.  Not sure why I ordered this either.  Should have went with the dried tuna and tomatoes or even the squid with balsamic.   Gives me a reason to return.

Our all time favorite.  Boquerones marinated in vinegar.  When we were on our honeymoon we went to Spain and Portugal.  Our daily hunt was for the best boquerones and sangria. Two things we partook in at every meal except for breakfast.  These were outstanding and the olive took the whole thing to another level.  Not sure why someone hasn’t recreated this place in NYC.

Afterward we went over to the El Born neighborhood.  A bit of a happening area.  Lots of winding streets with little shops.  I wanted to check out these shops called Le Comercial.  A woman opened the first store for women only then opened one for men and I believe she has others.  A great mixture of designers, jewelry and shoes for both men and women.

I also walked into this shop.  What was great was that they carried a bunch of designers I had never heard of before.  The store is called Born to Be Beautiful.

We then walked over to the Mercat le Born.

It was built around the 1870’s and was a public market.  They restored the building in 2013 to show the historical significance of the place.  It is cool to see what they uncovered.

Next stop Picasso museum.  I had gone last time and was happy to return.  A trove of work that you can only see there.  Also a historical walk through Picassos life with pieces that he made as early as 14.  A worthy trip no matter how many times you come to Barcelona.

We decided to talk the rest of the day and just take it easy.  Our dinner was at Coure.  I should have gone back to one of the places we went last time like Ca L’Isidre but we didn’t.  This was the best thing we had and it did come with the tomato bread.  Can’t have a great meal every night can you?  Coure was underwhelming.  If you do go it is all about the bar.  Not blown away.