12 Dunworth Mews

Hola de Barcelona,

Apologies for my pathetic Spanish but I am trying. We have had a fabulous first week in Barcelona! We managed to find a good mix of relaxing, exploring and doing practical things. And of course, there has been plenty of eating and drinking.

Our flat is perfectly situated. We are on the edge of the Barri Gotic, across from Barceloneta. It’s just a few minutes walk to the beach. We get a nice evening sea breeze to cool off the flat but Sean has negotiated for one air conditioned night per week. When at the flat, we spend most of the time on the balcony, looking out over our placa – Placa Antonio Lopez. We have no idea who he is/was, but the main Post & Telegraph office is also on the square so it’s usually bustling with activity. below is the view from our terrace.

We have been going to the beach every few days, reading books and working on our tans. There’s also a long beach path that we’ve been running almost everyday. Have to be up and out early – by 10am – before it gets too warm to run.

We’ve found the fromagerie that we will be buying all our cheese from. Oddly, it’s run by a Scotswoman and I tried speaking my kindergarten Spanish with her. We haven’t found a regular market stall for our fruit & veg yet but will likely do our shopping at the less touristy Santa Caterina Mercat. Fruit and veg are definitely cheaper here than in the States. As is the wine Cooking on our two-burner electric range has been interesting; I think the range was meant for a small-ish boat. Our fridge is also small – dorm-room size, so we have had to be economical in what we purchase.

As always, our holidays revolve around food and wine and we’ve been scouting out restaurants and tapas bars. We’re working on booking dinners at a few Michelin-starred restaurants. But we have cooked in several times and have enjoyed our meals on the balcony. Interestingly, Irish bars seem to be a trend here and we’ve enjoyed a few pints at one – Guinness is a perfect pre-dinner bevvie.

I had hoped to send along some pictures but we forgot the card reader for my computer. You’ll just have to trust me that Barca is beautiful and we are enjoying every minute of our stay.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying summer.

Adios,
Stef and Sean