Thank you to all the love from Barcelona part one. Well friends, the joy continues and this one is more about the snacks and is mostly me smiling at snacks captured by my friend Camilla who couldn’t stop giggling at how often I grin at what I eat. Snacks do bring so much joy after all! Here is a giant olive oil crisp I found in the castle cafe.
Bakeries
Being gluten free you find yourself scoping out gluten free bakeries wherever you go without thinking about whether you really want a baked good. It feels rude to not seek them out when they are so rare and special.
It becomes a sport, back in my gluten eating days I was obsessed with going to the latest bakeries, trying everything and comparing it to other bakeries and what I could make. This obsession has not left me but transferred to gluten free goods which often do not bring joy or excitement.
We went to two bakeries and I loved one so much that we didn’t venture much beyond that as the counter had so much choice that there was no need to venture far and wide for another bakery. That is the thing about gluten free bakeries, they are often off the beaten track, so much so that you end up walking friends forty minutes into suburbia on a gluten free quest.
Jana Sana
This bakery was by far my favourite, we went here at least three times and ate so many gluten free things that we were uncomfortably full.
The first time we went for breakfast, I was overwhelmed by choice which is not something I am used to nowadays. The window was bursting at the seams with pastries, elephants ears, apple tarts, custard filled scrolls, doughnuts, choux pastry puffs, cinnamon buns and pain aux chocolat.
There was then a whole savoury section, skinny sesame seed covered baguettes with slices of jambon poking out. The girl serving us suggested that we have a cheese croissant filled with ham which I can confirm tasted amazing, as did the sesame baguette, it reminded me of the french sticks my mum used to buy at the supermarket which I would nibble in the car on the way home, getting crumbs everywhere.
I selected a cinnamon swirl because it reminded me of ones I used to eat in the gluten eating days. Well readers, it was just as disappointing as a supermarket one. It was a comforting disappointment though, a memory from the past, a vehicle in which to dip into a cappuccino.
The choux puffs with lemon creme anglaise were the most delightful bite, we overlooked them whilst ordering but the girl suggested we have one each with our coffees to start the breakfast off. Also a special mention to the perfect apple tart which was exactly what you want out of an apple pastry, refreshing whilst also being crisp and buttery.
The next time we went I was dreaming of the seeded baguette and ordered one immediately followed by what looked like a fried hollow doughnut with creme anglaise piped in. A beige lunch but a satisfying one.
La Conscient Obrador Gluten free & Vegà
The second bakery we went to was more of a sweet treats and coffee kind of place. And yes we only went to two as I was enamoured with jana sana and they were both fairly local to us. The man there was a comedian, he was chatting us through the products thoroughly when he ran out of the shop to talk to someone and then explained that he was the man he needed to talk to about a big fat rat that lives outside the shop. It had us suppressing our laughter that he was openly talking about rats whilst standing in his bakery.
This oddly did not put us off ordering, they had a gluten free version of the shortbread like biscuit that is a delicacy called polvorón. They are incredibly dense and light at the same time, you bite into them and they melt in your mouth. I think a box of these would be a very dangerous thing. If anyone knows anywhere in London that does gluten free versions, please, please let me know.
Chocolate and shops
Walking around the gothic quarter we came across so many beautiful old shops with wood panelling, glass cases, symmetrical apothecary staircases and gorgeous tiled floors. We were stopping every few shops to gawk through the windows.
One shop that will stay in my memory was a candle shop, which looked like an old apothecary, pastel dinner candles hanging in the window, twisted candles, luxuriously clad scented candles, the window was a sculptural spectacular. Shortly after this we found a confectionary shop with shortbread biscuits and nougat in the window, it looked like something from the early 20th century. Before we knew it we were through the door asking what they had that was gluten free.
We were led to a counter full of tiny delicately wrapped bars of chocolates with different nuts wrapped in them. My eyes were immediately drawn to the dark chocolate and hazelnut bars, one of my favourite flavour combinations. Tucked into our coat pockets we started our journey to Park Güell.
There we found the perfect spot to devour them sat on the mosaic benches being entertained by families spending way too long on photoshoots. Could it get much better than culture, sun and chocolate?
Vermouth
I love it when a tradition begins, before you know it every day at a certain time you fancy a vermouth and a plate of brined olives. The need could be likened to an afternoon cup of tea and a biscuit. This is my slightly more sophisticated version of a holiday bag of salted crisps and a lemon fanta.
Our airbnb recommended a vermouth bar just round the corner and had we not had such a busy dinner schedule we would have gone here more often. It felt very local, the menu was in Catalan and we just asked for whatever they suggested for a nice red vermouth. Writing this now I am salivating and wishing I could have a glass of vermouth with a slice of citrus even though England has gone beyond cold this week.
I went to Nunhead at the weekend and saw there was a vermouth bar there, which is now firmly on the bucket list.
Empanadas in the park
A perfect post Picasso lunch was a visit to an entirely gluten free Empanada place called Empanadas argentinas La fábrica. Again, we were overwhelmed with choice, a counter full of delicious pockets. To top off the excellent experience they even had lemon fanta in the fridge.
We walked in the sunshine to find a park to eat in, which felt like such a treat to do in January. It takes me back to when I worked in a deli and would go and eat lunch on a bench outside most days no matter how cold it was. I found it so therapeutic to be outside.
These empanadas have given me an idea to try making them at home, they are essentially a pasty, the pastry was so light which is not often a texture I experience with gluten free baked goods.
I had an aubergine one and a spicy chicken one, you could get really creative with the fillings. Maybe this could be a March project.
My regret was not buying the eye catching boxes of biscuits that they had here, which saw in the airport and still did not purchase as I could not have carried another thing home with me. I already had to wear two coats to board the plane as I had found a coat in Barcelona that I couldn’t have possibly left behind. It was the last one in the shop in my size and gingham, it would have been rude to leave it behind.
Gaudi
Where to begin? My first memories of Gaudi are in a primary school art class with one of my favourite teachers, she is still one of my favourite teachers out of all the teachers I have had in my life. I remember her classes being so creative and informing, plus she got to cover all the fun topics and lots of history projects. Even at a young age I like any excuse to dress up and enter a different world.
I remember we did lots of drawings of Gaudi’s Park Güell, well it was magical to see it in real life. He was truly ahead of his time. The park was beautifully landscaped and bejewelled with his buildings, we first came to the top of the mosaic bench which undulated around the view, looking over Barcelona, the sky with whisps of pink running through it. The bench was fascinating, colour coordinated mosaics made from floral and geometric tiles, they even had a drainage system at the back of the bench. It felt so serene to be there even with the crowd of people, a little girl was busy picking up handfuls of gravel to take to her grandmother, two women next to us were doing a full photoshoot for their socials and there were groups of loud Italians (Camilla’s words).
We managed to pull ourselves away and went underneath where there are giant columns that I had the impulse to run into it, it felt maze like and magical. Such a surreal location and dark. The floor was black and white tiles which added to the surreal. Something familiar and normal amongst something of epic proportions.
The most inspiring moment however has to go to the Sagrada Familia, the outside is looming and gothic, the gates are made from green metal to look like wrapped ivy, it felt like a fortress in a fairy tale. The outside also resembled the inside of a cave with stalagmites and stalactites, something about the natural drawing you in after spending enough time in awe of the outside.
I feel like I have dreamt it, even looking back at photos it doesn’t seem real, the light from the stained glass windows that were warm colours on one side for the day time and cool colours for the afternoon. It felt hazy in there despite the 172m ceilings, my head was too busy staring at what was above us.
There was so much to take in that I can’t wait to go again in the future to see what has changed. They are still building it, it has currently been 140 years in the making and once you are inside you can see why. They had rooms showing some of the building processes and how the stained glass windows came into being.
The structure looked like trees from below, the branches holding up the space and intertwining with each other at the same time like they do in forests. It was so mesmerising that the benches were full of everyone looking up and having a spiritual experience.
On our last day we went to Casa Vicens, which was Gaudi’s first house design, a summer house. He designed it when he was 31 which as a 31 year old seems absolutely crazy. He had such vision, luckily there was a well placed cafe where you could sit down and take in the outside of it, covered in tiles with green shutters.
The connection to nature was everywhere, the floral tiles, the tropical plants surrounding it, the greens and oranges. The ceilings in a lot of the rooms were filled with tiles of vines, fruit and plants, it made it look like the house was being taken back by nature or working harmoniously with it.
The lighting was low and atmospheric so you could see the textures in the tiles and building. Some of the rooms had outdoor spaces that were caged in by wooden geometric panels, a relief from the sun in summer.
Living vicariously through you, Nicole! Thank you for taking us on your wonderful adventures.❣️