Excerpts from Barcelona - 06
A weekly glimpse into my Catalan adventures
This week felt like a bit of a whirlwind and I feel like I didn’t get the chance to accomplish nearly as much as I had hoped. There were definitely a few trends in my outings this week: social runs, traditional pastries, coffee shops. I’ll let the images do the talking and make this week’s post a little more of a visual diary.
Social runs
I joined two different group runs this week. First the DAR & Running Club Barcelona Community Run 5K on Saturday, which ended up being less than 4 km. However, it was by far one of the most organized runs I’ve been to since being in Barcelona. Pacers and organizers would place themselves at intersections to ensure all the runners crossed properly and made sure that no one was left behind. Quite a change from the run clubs with 200+ attendees where no one safeguards the crossings and the “social pace” is not explained or just becomes a race to the finish.
On Sunday, I joined Good Soles Run Club x LeMURia for an absolutely beautiful run along the beach. The weather was amazing, the sun was out, it got hot but yet another super enjoyable social run with a friendly group and conversational pace. Not to mention, a smaller amount of attendees makes it easier to chat and get to know people!
Picasso Museum
I managed to get free entry to the Picasso Museum, which you can only get on the first Sunday of every month. The online ticket booth opens four days before and sells out very quickly.
While the museum was very nice, I’m really happy that I managed to get free entry because the whole museum only took me about an hour to visit. And, yes, I read every plaque and text and watched every video from start to finish.
That said, it was very interesting to see a lot of his earlier works, which are very different from the abstract and cubist work he is known for. I was particularly fond of his attempts at pointillism and depictions of daily life in Barcelona. The majority of the works in the collection (over 900 of them) were actually donated by Picasso as a way to express his gratitude for the impact that life in Barcelona had on his career.
sin amor, no - morning bar
After Sunday’s solo and group run I passed by sin amor, no on my way to the metro and had to stop in since it was on my list, and very much out of my way from the neighbourhoods I usually frequent. This was so. good. Not only was the coffee excellent (I got my usual cortado, regular milk) but the pastry as well and the ambiance was very relaxed as well. I can’t wait to go back (ideally, when I’m less sweaty) and maybe try something from their food menu! The coffee shop was nice and calm with a few small tables so I could see this being a great place to sit and read for a while.
Traditional pastries
Encasada
Torrija
Though an array of croissants and chocolate buns do look delicious, I like to try traditional or local sweets if I get the chance. This week I got to try two! I had an Encasada (pictured left) from La Colmena, a sweet cheese-filled pastry with a flaky dough. The cheese filling resembles the sweet doughy texture of a Rugelach. And on a much sweeter note, I tried a Torrija (pictured right) from the bakery chain MacxiPa. Essentially Spanish-style French toast, Torrija’s are widely available around the time of Semana Santa, a week commemorating the seven days leading up to Easter. Fried in oil, the pastry has a very crispy outer shell, a super soft and almost gooey interior, and is dusted with a generous amount of sugar.
This week’s highlights
A walk in Ciutadella Park
I had the chance to meet up with friends I made on the Inca Trail in 2022! We grabbed a coffee and took a walk around Ciutadella Park, which I hadn’t been to yet. Not only was the park beautiful, but we had such a nice chat and caught up on all our adventures, past and future.
The meet-up served as a reminder as to one of the reasons why I love travelling as much as I do. I feel like people often overlook the connections you make along the way in favour of historical landmarks, Instagram photos, and ticking off their bucket list. But how truly special is it that you can make friends from across the world and meet up a few years later to share a coffee in an entirely different country. It makes me eager for all the connections I’ve made so far in my six weeks in Barcelona and all the ones to come.
A glimpse at next week…
Next week will be Semana Santa in Spain, meaning the girl I’m au pairing is on holidays. Therefore, it will be a week of Easter activities, trips to the park, arts and crafts, and not so much alone time. That said, I do have something exciting planned…
I will be participating in the 2025 edition of the Salomon Run Barcelona: An exciting 10km run around Montjuïc. I have no intention of setting any records and really just want to take in the fact that I get to run around the beautiful grounds of the Palau Nacional.
Next week’s post may be a little different seeing as I’ll most likely be working for the majority of the day so who knows what I’ll have the chance to get up to. I’ll definitely try to cram as much in on the weekend as I can but maybe I’ll share how I go about planning arts and crafts, educational activities, and other outings!