First night in Barcelona, we’d just finished filing a report at the police substation under the fountains in Plaza Catalunya. The heavens had opened while we were underground and it was raining and wet, but that didn’t slow down the energy of the Plaza one bit. Folks were still hurrying hither and yon in this very popular and busy square, which sits about a half of a kilometer from our apartment.
Time to shake off the bad juju that kicked off our trip by ducking in out of the rain at the Cafe Catalunya across the street. In dry weather, we’d have selected one of their tables on the plaza itself. After all, sitting out on a public plaza with a bottle of wine and watching the world go by is one of those quintessential European experiences I wish we could pull off in the U.S., but our archaic liquor laws generally don’t allow for such nonsense.
Anyway, because of the rain we ended up inside at the bar instead. Lined up the entire length of the bar were glass cases showing off the various tapas and pintxos that were on the menu. Felt a lot like a sushi bar.
Ordered a half bottle of wine and began sampling plates. All in all a very nice experience, though I suspect a bit homogenized for the tourist trade, being directly on the plaza. Looking forward to continuing to explore the genre.
