An Unofficial and Unauthorized International Writing Assignment

Virtually all, meaning none, of my loyal readers know that my oldest daughter, Hannah, is studying abroad this semester in Barcelona. That’s in Spain. Being the opportunist I am, I approached Eric “Chief” Johnson at ALIVE about the possibility of another all-expenses paid boondoggle to wrap up my travel trilogy chronicling my food and alcohol consumption in another country. 

In the summer of 2017, I convinced my naïve editor that we, meaning I, should be tasked to write a European travel log article to follow up my American beer piece. My International Pub Crawl piece, highlighting suds tasting in the countries of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales was critically acclaimed and garnered numerous awards at the RIMAS – Regional Independent Magazine Awards Show. I’m kind of a big deal there.

The pub crawl piece was followed up by my I am the Last Emperor blockbuster article chronicling my tour of China during the spring of 2018. The beer was pretty bad, however, the travels through such a majestic country were life changing. I walked on the Great Wall, I walked the halls of the Imperial Palace and I walked the pits of the terracotta warriors along with the streets of Shanghai and Beijing. Obviously, I did a lot of walking on that trip, but that article walked me right into another big night at the RIMAs. Imagine Michael Jordon in his prime and you start to get the picture.

That leads us to my editorial staff pitch about a little wine tasting adventure in Barcelona. My pitch angle was that while Californian’s have been conditioned to overpay for mediocre red, white and rose wines, just because they’re from Napa, Sonoma or Pasa Robles, a lot of European wines and more specifically, Espana wines, are very affordable and mucho delicioso. That’s Spanish for “really good.”  When Chief asked to see my corporate credit card, I was assuming it was just to check the expiration date, instead he cut it in half and said, “Ace, your traveling days on the magazine’s nickel are over.”  What a buzzkill! Knowing that I had another RIMA award in me, I decided to renew my passport and fund the trip on my own.

Departing from SFO on American Airlines, I knew that the airline wouldn’t have the best wine selection in the world, but when you’re traveling in the premium economy section, the vino is free flowing. The on-flight sommelier suggested we pair a lovely cab with our tasty bag of pretzels entree. A few more tiny bottles of this demure wine allowed us to drift off to sleep organically on our transatlantic flight. Next stop… Barcelona.

Sunday, our first official day in Hannah’s new country, was a rental car road trip to Cadaques, a delightful seaside town about two hours outside of town. We arrived around noon and immediately sampled a few tapas dishes (tapas is Spanish for a small savory dish). Given that it was a beautiful, sunny day sitting on the beachfront patio of a popular restaurant, we shared a pitcher of sangria while staring at the Mediterranean Sea.  I’m not a big sangria fan, but, “when in Rome,” although by Rome I mean Barcelona. That night, back in Barcelona, we had our first paella meal of the trip, along with a half bottle of both red and white wine, at a nice family eatery that was but a mere Metro ride away from our hotel.  

Monday was all about the hop on/hop off bus tour of the city. We saw every part of Barcelona including Park Guell and C.C Arenas Barcelona, where the professional soccer team FC Barcelona plays. We saw the Olympic Village, the Palau Nacional, the Torry Agbar, Placa Toros Monumental – where they once held actual bull fights before they outlawed bull fighting and turned it into a shopping mall. Shopping can be a lot like a bull fight if there’s a good sale going.  The tour ended as we passed the Christopher Columbus monument near the Waterfront – which included the historic Old Port. We got off the bus at the Plaza Catalunya, which is the prime shopping district. It’s a combination of Union Square (SF) meets Michigan Avenue (Chicago) with a little 5th Avenue (NYC) mixed into Downtown Disney.

That night, after striking out at the first two restaurants we visited, we settled on a Spanish/Greek place and were very pleased with the selection…of wines.  Leaning toward a bold red, we ordered the Marques de Cacares and five straws. I’m only kidding, we only had four straws.

Tuesday we visited the prime landmark in Barcelona, the fabulous Basilica of the Sagrada Familia designed by Antoni Gaudi. This rather large Catholic basilica, because Barcelona already had a cathedral, began construction in 1882 and is expected to be completed by 2026. Like most construction projects, they are slightly behind schedule. After taking a couple photos—a couple hundred, to be precise—we grabbed some lunch before venturing over to our daughter’s apartment in the El Camp de L’Alpa del Clot district. Clot is a quieter part of the city, but it’s a short walk to the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona where my little girl is attending classes. Imagine if Hogwarts were a commuter school and you’ll get a fitting visual. Luckily I was able to find a school t-shirt in a nearby store, which is a “must have” for any collegiate visit.

 

Being a beautiful evening, we took a friend’s suggestion and dined outside at a wonderful restaurant that served, of all things, wine. We stuck with an assortment of tapas dishes and a bottle of Bodegas Vega Sicilia Unico Tinto 2007. I’m only kidding; that wine is $350 a bottle. We stuck with a few pitchers of inexpensive Sangria.

Wednesday was a beach day as we walked the Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta. Talk about a collection of luxury yachts in the harbor. My yacht would seem compact by comparison. From there, we made our way over to the Gothic district (my favorite part of the city). We started at the Cathedral de Barcelona and then strolled the Passeig de Lluis Companys making our way to the Arc de Triomf. My travel party did their share of shopping in and around the Del Mercat de Santa Caterina which is an intriguing mosaic-tiled, wavy rooftop marketplace that does not sale meerkats. Too bad, those little critters crack me up. Mercat translated is market.

For dinner, we chose a cool split-level restaurant, somewhere near our hotel. We entertained one of Hannah’s friends from school by sharing a crisp bottle of white—Martin Codax Arbarino, and a spicy bottle of red—Oro Bailen Reserva.  Dinner was muchas tapas and paella, and dessert was gelato. I was very full walking back to the hotel. Thankfully I brought along my after-dinner lounging pants with an elastic waistband.

Thursday started with a short Metro ride and about an hour train ride to get us to Parc Natural de la Muntana and the Santa Maria de Montserra Abby and Basilica de Montserrat. This is a monastery and basilica built high, high, high up in the mountain with a hairy gondola ride to get to our destination. Luckily the monks served a Marques de Caceres Rioja to calm the nerves of all gondola riders. The grounds are truly amazing, especially given what it must have taken to build a town in the side of a rock mountain. Sadly, I’m guessing that many donkeys lost their lives hauling building materials 4,055 feet above the valley floor. Apparently, donkeys don’t like to ride in gondolas.  

That night, for a change of pace, we ate at a lively Mexican restaurant that was filled with college students from all over the United States. I can’t say for sure that their margaritas were made of Spanish wine, but after the 5th or 6th it really didn’t matter. The meal was delicious, and it was enjoyable watching all the kids having so much fun. That place will be crazy on Cinco de Mayo.

Friday started with a visit to the public market called Mercat St. Josep La Boqueria. We followed our un-Safeway like grocery shopping expedition with a cooking class led by the renowned chef, Carlos Aviles. The culinary excursion was enchanting, however the Paella de Marisco (sea food paella) was a little too fishy for my In-N-Out burger-munching pallet. As instructed, because we were in a classroom setting, we washed down our comida (food) creations with a few glasses of Gran Feudo, a tangy white wine. We finished the day with a ramble down Las Ramblas, the popular retail promenade. Needless to say, after a decadent afternoon of eating and drinking our self-created Michelin star meal, we opted for a simple dinner of flat bread pizza and a splash of Campo Viejo Tempranillo.

It was wonderful seeing our daughter in her 3rd home surroundings and Barcelona is a truly amazing city worthy of a visit. While we were expecting rain during our visit, because, well you know…. the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, we were treated with beautiful weather throughout our weeklong visit.

I’m wrapping this piece up as I peruse the isles of BevMo looking for a couple of Spanish wines to add to our tapas-size wine collection. While I won’t be craving paella for a while, I will enjoy a sassy glass of La Riojo Alta Grand Reserva as I download my photos from a wonderful trip to Barca. That’s how the locals refer to the town and Hannah is a local now.