This is the second time I have been to Barcelona, Spain. The first time I visited here, I was with nine of my family members. I remember thinking then, that I would love to bring back my fellow foodie friends to dive a little deeper into the wonderful food, drink and architecture that this beautiful city has to offer.
A milestone birthday was approaching for most of us and what better way to mark this occasion than to jet set off to Barcelona. Whether we are trying to forget how many candles are on that birthday cake or a great excuse for all of us to get away and drink good wine and eat remarkable food; I don’t know. I guess it’s a little bit of both.
Last night our adventurous group booked a walking, Drinking and Food Tour.
Our research led us to Aborigens, a food and wine tour, headed by Alex, our guide. We met up with Alex in a fairly well known town square. Alex is a local of Barcelona and spoke English. He informed us that we would visit 4 to 5 bars/ bodegas and all would be in walking distance of each other. As we walked the streets of Barcelona, he asked if anyone had any food allergies or aversion to any particular type of food or drink. With all of us good to go, we headed to our first stop, The Moritz Brewery. I had read about this brewery while still in California and thought it would be fun to visit it, so I was pleasantly surprised when we got there. After touring the beautiful brewery, we were seated at a long communal table and plates of tapas started showing up. We tasted/guzzled, the beer that was brewed at this location. The tapas were chosen to compliment the taste of the beer, fried and heavy so as the beer could cut through the food.
Next we visited a bodega which was a place locals would go to for inexpensive tapas
and local wine. There are actually wine barrels mounted up on the walls with spigots. Locals will stop by and fill up their own jugs of wine to take home. We were sat on small stools surrounding a huge wine barrel. All of us were offered a glass of local chilled sweet vermouth with a slice of lime and an olive. It came and we drank! After that we were offered samples of the different local wines from the barrels, that weren’t bad. While drinking wine they brought us out tapas. The tapas were simplistic, bread with a tomato sauce and olive oil soaked into the top. Sardines, pickled vegetables, jamon and many others I cannot seem to recall. (Maybe because of all the local libations I had!)
We visited three other local bars, all a bit different from one another, in food and drink. The proprietors of these establishments were contacted by Alex ahead of time, so by the time we got there the wine and tapas were waiting for us. Each Bodega had their own specialty of drinks and food that paired nicely with them. These bodegas were local bodegas, not a tourist in sight, except for us, which appealed to us. We felt that we got to eat and drink like locals!
Alex was a great guide. He made sure we had plenty to eat and drink. The tour lasted about four hours. Could have gone longer, but just could not eat or drink anymore.
Our whole party raved about how much fun they had and how they got to try all the different foods and drinks they normally wouldn’t have. We felt that we learn
ed so much about Barcelonian culture by drinking and eating their local cuisine and interacting with the local patrons.
Isn’t this, what traveling is supposed to be about?
I highly recommend, as do the others in our group, to try a food and wine tour. Be adventurous and step out of your comfort zone. I promise, you won’t regret it.
Oh by the way… Your Hangover is complimentary!
Websites:
http://www.aborigensbarcelona.com/
