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Barcelona Boqueria

On our second day in Barcelona, we made a beeline to the famous Boqueria. We were in town in shoulder season, so crowds weren't immense, but nevertheless, there were lots of tourists. I suppose locals must shop there because otherwise how do the place stay in business, but it mostly seemed full of tourists. We wandered around, and had a bite to eat at Bar Boqueria, one of the small tapas places inside. It was very disappointing. We hoped all Barcelona food wasn't going to be like this (and of course, it wasn't; it was mostly much better). Other things to get: chocolate, ham (must try the Iberian ham; it's fantastic), and the fruit, which was very fresh and perfectly ripe. On a return trip the next day, we passed by some of the shops that sell innards, e.g. tripe, and the like. And also goat heads (like, whole heads) and other things one will never see in US markets. On this return trip, we ate at El Quim, which is regarded as the best tapas at the Boqueria. It was definitely better, but for my money, not the best I had in Barcelona. Nearby the Boqueria are many small streets and alleys, and it's wonderful to stroll around. Supposedly, potentially dicey after dark, but lively during the day. We did run into the peculiar Spanish opening times. There is a well known place called Granja Viader on Carrer Xucia, which serves hot chocolate, which we wanted to try. It was 1:15pm (i.e. 13:15, which we had to get used to using), and we went in, and they indicated that they were going to close at 13:30. Imagine that, closing at lunchtime. Well, for Spain, that's more like very late breakfast. Lunch would be at 16, then dinner would be at 21. Anyway, they did serve us some to-go cups, and this style of hot chocolate is very, very thick. So thick that your spoon will stand up in it. It was good and not too sweet.

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