Dinner in Barceloneta- May 16. 2009

Chris and I had planned even before we came to Barcelona to have a nice dinner in Barceloneta, the old port part of Barcelona by the sea. We could see the Marina and the Mediterranean sea from our little table outside at the Siempreviva Restaurant. We had sort of planned on trying a different restaurant, but a very convincing cute little old man talked us into trying this place. We wanted a dinner with fresh seafood from the Mediterranean... and we got it!



We each ordered the "Menu del Dia" which is almost always your best bet at saving money in Europe, because it often includes multiple courses with just more limited choices. We each got to choose an appetizer, entree and dessert from some limited selections from the menu. Chris was determined to have some fresh clams, but it wasn't one of his choices so he ordered both mussels and clams for his appetizer. As it turns out, the clams were pretty good but the mussels were too chewy for my taste but Chris was happy as a clam (sorry, couldn't help myslef ;)



For my appetizer, one of the choices was "Pescada Frita" which I knew in Spanish was fried fish. I envisioned a plate with a sampling of various pieces of fish and shrimp all battered and deep fried, and that sounded pretty good, so I ordered that. What I got was completely unexpected... I probably should have known better but it surprised me nonetheless! It was nothing other than a whole plate of fried sardines!



As I've told the story of the plate of sardines, people always immediately ask if I tried ONE, and promptly make a questioningly twisted face! This picture is the answer to that question!



I determined that before our trip, if I had an opportunity to try any local food, even if I had preconceived notions about it, I wanted to try and experience everything I could... so when this opportunity presented itself, I had some apprehensions, but my original resignation overruled! In other words, I was bound and determined to try this disgusting looking fried little fish even though I was sure it was going to at least make me gag...



So the answer to whether or not I ate ONE is... yes, and not only that I tried very hard to work my way through that rather large plate. I am happy to report that I successfully finished about two thirds of the plate. The answer to the other popular question is that they actually don't taste that bad, I mean, they are salty and fried, they can't be that bad!? The hardest part is psychological, when you are staring at a plate of fish heads with bulging eyeballs, that's hard! And they have a distinct crunch from the bones, another hard part is seeing the spines hanging out of the sides of broken ones... hmmmm?? I will say that Chris and I probably laughed harder at that dinner than during any other time of our entire trip... he was laughing at all my little pep talks to keep eating, and that I would frequently burst into singing "Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Roly Poly Fish Heads, Eat Them Up, YUM!" I can thank my Mom for bringing us up on Dr. Demento for that... and that song will never, ever be the same to me. But I was proud of myself despite the fact that the waiter gave me a disapproving look when I returned the plate not licked clean.



My entree was much more tame and expected, Salmon Steak with French Fries, and was really good, but was a little tainted from my stomach already full of fish, but I still finished every last bite.




It escaped me what kind of fish Chris ordered right now, but it was cooked in a tasty sauce. And he liked it, so that's all that mattered. And we finished our meal with the traditional Crema Catalana, which is similar to a Creme Brulee. Oh, and one funny side note, every single table around us had ordered the Seafood Paella, and so we sort of thought maybe we missed out on something, so if you happen to go to Barcelona... and eat in Barceloneta- I might recommend the Seafood Paella. But we were happy to have had a very memorable and fun meal on the coast of the Mediterranean.





Admittedly, we were completely stuffed and looking forward to walking some of it off on the way back to the Hotel. And this was our only night where we had enough energy to be out at night, so it was fun to see the city at night. So much of it was alive and lit up and beautiful. We walked back through the Gothic Quarter and along some of La Rambla and through Plaza Catalunya on the way back to our Hotel. What a beautiful way to enjoy the city at night.




This was our little hotel, Hotel Advance, in the Eixample district, very close to all the historical parts of the city. It was sort of a boutique hotel tucked right in the middle of a nondescript street, but it looked especially lovely at night. It was close to our favorite little bakery, and with an internet spot around the corner and helpful staff, what more could we want?