Dining with Locals, Barcelona

We were really lucky when we made our plans for Barcelona. Our really good friend PP studied in Barcelona not too long ago, and had a friend of his provide us with a local's perspective on things to do, places to eat, etc. (thanks James!). We followed many of his friend's suggestions this past week and it paid off; despite the weather, Barcelona has been a blast. Yesterday, we were walking near our apartment and decided we wanted to test the limits, push the envelope... we were going to find out on our own where the locals eat and join them!

We walked down the street and saw a small crowd of 22-28 year olds huddled up in front of a place that looked like a restaurant, while a bunch of their friends headed in ahead of them. The place had thumping beats and the crowd seemed trendy, cool and young. We turned to one another and said in unison "Let's go there"! We rushed up the block, turned into the restaurant, and realized in horror that we had just walked into a McDonald's. The crowd was indeed local, young, and cool... so we joined them! Yum... McNuggets!

On a serious note, the food in Barcelona has been great. We've gorged ourselves on chorizos, paella, oxtail, etc. Here's some pics...

Oxtail in red wine sauce, a Catalonian favorite...


Seafood ravioli, with some local beer!


Fisherman's paella...


Pan con tomatoes y Spanish jamon... yum.


The only negative coming out of this week in Barcelona is the enormous cost of eating out. It doesn't help that the USD is at an all-time low vs. the Euro, but the prices don't help either. We saved two receipts to share with you what an average evening on the town looks like:

Meal #1:
- Cover charge: 2 Euro
- Tapas 1: 10 Euro
- Tapas 2: 12 Euro
- Tapas 3: 16 Euro
- Tapas 4: 16 Euro
- Tapas 5: 12 Euro
- A big 1.5 L Agua: 6 Euro
- 2 Cervezas: 3 Euro
- 2 Cafe con Leches: 5 Euro

Add in tax, multiple by 1.4 (the current exchange rate), and voila, you've just dropped almost $140 USD on dinner for two without wine. Yikes.

Meal #2:
- Cover charge: 3.40 Euro
- 1 Plate of Friend Calamari: 15 Euro
- 1 Fisherman's Paella: 18 Euro
- 1 Noodle Paella: 20 Euro
- 1 Large Agua: 2 Euro
- 2 Cervezas: 5 Euro
- 2 Cafe con Leches: 4 Euro

Add in tax, multiple by 1.4, and you've just dropped over $100 USD on another dinner in Barcelona for two, sans vino. Yikes.

And just to make things as bad as they can be for turistas from the Americas, at some of the more touristy spots (we stopped for cappuccinos), they charge extra for the people watching! See below...


After this week, we may have to revisit this "Go Big or Go Home" idea... and Go Home Early!