Ole Spain! - Day 1 Recap

It feels so good to blog again, the past week I have been travelling through Spain! Spain is the best place I have ever visited in Europe...okay it's the only. During my trip I visited Barcelona (3 days), Sevilla (1.5 days) and Madrid (1.5 days). To recap I am going to do a day by day summary because their is so much to see in each city. :)

Day 1 - Arrived in Barcelona around 7:30am and rode the bus from the airport to hotel...okay not completely true. We got dropped off in the square where all protests were going on and then took a short cab ride to our hotel.

Our hotel was the Gran Torre Catalunya and it was great. It was about a 20 minute walk to the beach but close to the train and bus station. As soon as I unpacked my stuff I took about a 3 hour nap...oops. The plan for the day was to just walk and see whatever we ran into. :) The weather was perfect around 75 degrees and not muggy at all. See the map below to see where we walked and how much ground we covered.

1) Plaza Espana - This plaza was huge! The "round-about" was 4 lanes wide and the center of it was a huge statue. I am just not used to seeing this kind of architecture in the middle of the "round about." :)

2) Snack @ Port Vell - This was my first tapas experience in Spain and it didn't disappoint. The food was delish but I was expecting more bold flavors...everything seemed a little bland. The octopus, shrimp couldn't have been fresher. The pan tomate bread and spanish omelete were just okay but the potatoes bravas saved the day...think less greasy mexi-fries!! It was awesome to sit outside and enjoy Sangria, beer and tapas!

3) Barceloneta Beach - The beach was beautiful and BUSY! It was so nice to walk the beach and soak up the vitamin D...oh and enjoy GELADO! Gelado stands are everywhere. Walking the beach we came across numerous pieces of art that were very interesting to say the least.

4) Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral - We were just walking and came across this cathedral and when I walked in I was in complete shock of how beautiful it was. I have never seen a church with this much detail and beauty. We just happened to stumble across it in the middle of the city...no huge signs to signify that it was a big deal. I couldn't wait to see more architecture in Barcelona!!

5) MarisCo in Plaza Real - We just continued to walk the streets and stumbled across another thing of beauty...Plaza Real aka Royal Plaza. This was a square filled with restaurants, a beautiful fountain, tons of shops and even some street vendors and performers. I wasn't super hungry so I just had a tuna salad and glass of wine because I was still stuffed from my earlier snack. :) This square was so beautiful at night that we just sat their and enjoyed the atmosphere.

6) La Ramblas - This is supposed to be the busiest tourist street in Barcelona and it was. Restaurants, shops, markets and tons of people were here. This street was pure excitement for me and I couldn't wait to come back during the day to see all the shops open.

7) Gran Torre Dessert - After walking a ton, I felt as though I deserved dessert before hitting the sack. I ordered an almond hazelnut dessert that was simply the best thing ever! I mean if you look at the picture below and don't start drooling we probably can never share the same passion for desserts. :)

My first day in Spain was so much fun and a good taste of Europe. But I couldn't wait to see all the big tourists spots. :)

Tapas Style Restaurants are Da Bomb

Tonight we are headed into Boston for an early dinner and a Red Sox game. I have never been to Fenway in all my visiting to Boston so I was super excited about it. Kelly selected 5 places to choose from for dinner and I chose another Tapas restaurant because I really love the concept of trying multiple items on the menu. J

94 Mass Ave is located just off Newbury street and really close to Fenway. Our reservation was for 5pm and when we got there our plan was to each order 2-3 dishes, collectively we like to eat a lot. Check out the spread we ordered below:

Bacon Wrapped Figs – The sweet and salty mix was great I enjoyed both of my bites. J  They are very filling so I would order this dish to share.

Tater Tots – These are simply the best tater tots I have ever had in my entire life. They had the perfect crunch and the center was sooooooooooo creamy. J Totally recommend these!

Beet Salad – The beet salad was beautiful. Everything on it was super fresh and quite tasty. If you are looking for a lighter option on the menu this would be an item to consider.

Truffle Oil Fries – Let’s start by saying that anything with truffle oil is delicious so these fries were AMAZING and the presentation was even better. Again the fries weren’t greasy they had just the right crunch and dipping them in the pesto ricotta dip was again simply AMAZING. Let’s just say that these are Kelly & Lindsay APPROVED.

Chicken Tacos – These tacos are so cute…there are four in total. J The meat was so tender and flavorful!

Pork Tacos – Everyone at the table said these were delish but I held out on having one because I was starting to get full and my Tuna Tartar and grilled cheese were still to come.

 

Tuna Tartar – This was super tasty and enjoyable, the tuna was bright and seasoned perfectly. I recommend this dish if you are looking for a light and healthier item on the menu.

Lobster Grilled Cheese – Finally the dish that Kelly & I were looking forward to the entire meal. And let me tell you it even surpassed our expectations. The presentation was awesome, the cheese was super gooey, tons of lobster in every bite and the tomato bisque was the perfect pairing. This was my favorite dish!! PERFECTION.

Dessert Time

Coconut Bread Pudding – The bread pudding was not your typical bread pudding. It was a little dry and lacked the gooeyness I personally love. I wouldn’t order it again but I did end up eating more than one bite. :)

Cream Puff Thingy - I didn't have a bite of this one but it went fast. The caramel sauce, ice cream and cream puff pastry was a perfect 10 to Kelly! She had trouble sharing it with my brother.

94 Mass Ave was a great pre-game spot. The atmosphere, service and food was great. I totally recommend hitting this spot sometime in the near future. Be sure and order a good mix of items because everything is so good. As we walked towards Fenway we all were stuffed…I’m not sure I will have room for a ballpark frank or pretzel. L

When we got to Fenway it was beautiful, our seats were great and the weather was perfect. I love this ballpark!!! I do have to admit I wore a Boston Red Sox had while they were playing the Seattle Mariners...it just felt right. :) The game was so fun and I can finally check Fenway off my Boston Bucket List. :)

We are so hot!

 

I am totally falling in love with the city of Boston...more to come.