It’s been nearly one year since David and I moved back to San Francisco after a two-year stint in Barcelona, Spain.

Every single day for the last 342 days, I have day-dreamed of our time in Barcelona. “Exactly a year ago today, we were watching the sunset from atop Tibidabo mountain” or “On this day, one year ago, we were heading to a kalimotxo night on the steps on Montjuic with friends” – every day was memorable and every day I miss our unique experiences.

Granted the experiences were exciting and memorable because they were new….I am writing to share with you some of the things that made Barcelona more than just a ‘grass is always greener on the other side’ kind of reality…..and I hope to inspire you all to travel to Barcelona, to explore and to create your own memories and stories.

A favorite quote of mine is that “traveling leaves you speechless, then it turns you in a storyteller”…..and do I have stories – and I hope to hear yours in return!…..and truth be told, I hope to hear your stories in person…over a bottle of Rioja…as we dine ‘al fresco’ on a narrow cobbled street corner in the Gotico quarter……aye, I am day-dreaming as I write!

So here’s the start of story-time……and my tips for visiting the dream city of Barcelona, Spain (BCN) – just in time for Summer get-aways – take me back with you! (Enjoy a great 2 minute video of this dream city, below)

Barcelona is a city of architecture, art, walking, DANCING and huge copas of gin and tonic!

It was a bit of deja-vu when I landed in September 2013. I had visited and stayed with dear friends in Barcelona just 4 years before – my first introduction to Barcelona. But this time was different – I was here not just to sight-see, but to make this international city my home – new friends, new grocery stores, new language – aye carrumba!

David found a beautiful classic one-bedroom apartment in the Sarria area of BCN – big heavy wood beams crossing the ceiling, large window doors opening onto a sweet balcony overlooking the vibrant street below and the new-to-me closepin lines outside the window for laundry drying. The apartment was quaint, Spanish, perfect (for a four-story walk-up).

The Sarria neighborhood is a bit removed from the main hub of the city (about 4 stops out on the express metro train from the city center, Plaza Cataluña), but is rich in it’s own livelihood – fabulous and famous bakeries, eateries and a church about every 5 blocks that could rival anything within a stones throw here in the ‘New World’.  The area was close to David’s school, so he would walk daily or on those ‘more relaxed’ days, scoot in on his electric moto. As he went off to school, my daytime explorations began.

After morning Spanish language classes, I would make my way to a favorite area bakery: L’Obrador – fresh pastries, fresh squeezed orange juice and a great setting to grab a table, study and watch the fashionable locals come and go. I picked up weekly ‘HOLA’ magazines to try and test myself with the language, but also familiarize myself with Spanish gossip and study the current fashion – truly, the photos in European magazines are so excellent – nearly full-page images with great color and detail!  David and I have now subscribed to the HOLA magazine subscription here in the States – Spanish practice, of course 🙂

For true indulgence, I could not resist the city-wide famous bakery: Foix de Sarria – running since 1886 and serving the most traditional pastries and cakes – the window displays alone will get you to stop in and take a look. Sarria is residential – an area of young families with some wealth. Great private schools, including a top international school and high-end boutiques to whet the whistle as I strolled along. Shakira lives not too far from the main drag of Carrer de Sarria – never saw her 😦  An area and street to visit for a taste of true local living!

TIP most pastry stores in BCN serve the same pre-frozen pastries distributed from a company one-hour outside of BCN called Euro-Pastry. The bakeries heat them up on site, so items smell fresh and tempting, but they have most likely been frozen for months. Though, of course, they are still delicious.

Generally, stores shut down between 1-4pm or 2-5pm in Barcelona/Spain for the traditional afternoon siesta and the thing to do when you cannot shop is……eat…or keep walking until you are hungry! Hora de comer!….and no better local place in Sarria than Bar Tomas – famed throughout all of BCN for their patatas bravas, Bar Tomas is the place where you will relish in grabbing a metal chair, crinkle through tons of little white paper napkins, watch multi-generational Spaniards converge and enjoy the best piping hot diced potatoes drenched in a tomato garlic aioli sauce….at first I didn’t understand the fuss over ordering this messy dish – then it became my mainstay and any visitors who stayed with us, quickly became converts to this uniquely Catalan dish!

A great idea for those moving to or spending extended time in BCN, is to check out the department store El Corte Ingles. This brand is actually the biggest department store group in all of Europe (I had never heard of it) – open nearly around the clock, this is a Macys-meets-Harrods – appliances, grocery store and high-end clothing brands abound over many floors. Key to note, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein are all marked up – ha didn’t realize Tommy was still so popular!

There are fantastic little squares at nearly every bend in BCN and Sarria has it’s own wonderful Plaza Artos. Benches line the dirt corner opening dotted with little cafes and a small children’s play area. I would mostly see men and women in their 60s, 70s and for sure even 80s meet here daily with other friends – even when there was a cold chill in the air, these friends would not miss a day, but their fur coats would come out of the closet. They have perfected the art of friendship and animated conversation. They sit and talk and laugh and feed the parrots – local bright green squawky parrots – just like the famed parrots of telegraph hill in S.F. – how terrific it felt to have a touch of home.

It was a daily ‘chore’ at first to navigate the grocery stores…..always with my cell phone in hand and the free ‘spanish dict’ app downloaded, I punched in word after word to figure out what meat I was looking at (made the interesting mistake of thinking I was buying chicken, but it was rooster – not a fan)…definitely no buttermilk for pancakes, no sour cream, strange jars of peanut butter….oh and don’t forget to weigh your own fruits and veggies and print out the price sticker and slap it on your bag in the produce section – the checkers don’t weigh at check-out…

…..but a most memorable story was while waiting in line to check out.  When my turn came, the checker walked away and without saying anything, stepped outside, lit up a cigarette and chatted with passerbys….not a care in the world…aye!….a whole line of people waiting behind me, I thought for sure someone would start to groan, would call for additional help, would throw around some gestures, but strangely – everyone was calm, no one appeared in a hurry, people waited. Wow, my patience was tested and several minutes later, the checker returned and went right to ringing up my purchases with the one standard line: “Quieres una bolsa?” – “Do you want a bag?” – BCN, like SF, charges for bags at stores (at grocery stores). I would respond, “No gracias, tengo una bolsa” – and proceed fill up my oversized purse which came to double as my shopping bag throughout my time in the city.

Nothing beats the experience, though, of filling up your grocery bag with the freshest of ingredients from the city’s plentiful fresh markets!! Every neighborhood in BCN has their own ‘boquerias‘. The colors are extraordinary, but more-so the selection is out of this world. Rows and rows of fish pilled on mounds of ice, chicken with a few feathers still remaining, reminding you he was a fresh catch off a farm, eggs of every color and size, fruits, candies – and, of course, the market’s own coffee stand to sit, take a break and enjoy a little cortado shot.

TIP: sign up for a cooking class while you are in town – Catalan food has such unique touches, flavors (often using saffron and paprika in dishes) and food is the center of so much of their culture. I took a bread-making class during my first weeks in Barcelona from a cooking school in Sarria. Since I was in an area with virtually no tourists, the class was not offered in English and though I barely understood words beyond ‘agua’ and ‘pan’, I got through it, had a wonderful time, met nice locals and surprisingly, met a family who had just moved to BCN with their two children to experience life in the city for a year. Later during the year, David and I took a paella class and it was phenomenal and we enjoy cooking it back in San Francisco for friends.

TIP: In addition to signing up for cooking classes, a fantastic way to meet people and socialize is to sign up on MEETUP.com – register for free to join any groups which may be of interest to you based on the city you are in. I signed up for dance classes, English-Spanish exchange, a ‘gastronomic’ group, live music outings…..the choices are endless and you will be notified of weekly meet-ups and locations and you will connect with many visitors and experience fun and memorable occasions – often for free in very casual settings!

After a few weeks of basic Spanish in a school group-class setting (I studied French and Latin in Elementary School and High School), I was introduced to and started taking private Spanish lessons from an amazing woman, Cristina Orejas, and our bi-weekly meetings quickly turned into great conversations about Spanish culture, particular Catalan traditions and expressions.  My favorite stand-out line came to be “el semaforo estaba en verde oscuro” – a popular idiom given to local police when pulled over for running a traffic light:…..but officer, “the traffic light was dark green”…..I finally felt well prepared for venturing out with David out on his scooter!