Out and About in Barcelona, Spain

Let’s take time to look at some of the streets in Barcelona……. starting and ending in the Gothic area…..some streets are narrow…….

and lead to a food shop on my list of places I wanted to see….. Casa Gispert.

Gispert, is a family owned grocery, since 1851, that is truly one of a kind. One of the oldest food stores in Barcelona, the store is located just in Barcelona centre, on the left side of Santa Maria del Mar Church, the best gothic art in town. Their specialty is the nuts roasted in a wood-fire oven. Inside the oven, fire is separated from the nuts, so that the flames never touch them and allows them to smoke as well. This process takes longer, but the end results are well worth the trade off. They use only evergreen oak wood to roast almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, peanuts, macadamia nuts, and cashews. In addition to the roasted nuts, you will find dried fruits, coffee, tea, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, saffron……all inside a small shop that has been kept like a museum. If you want to bring something special home with you, Casa Gispert also sells a large assortment of organic products, extra virgin olive oils, vinegars, chocolates, nougats, honeys, jams, sweet wines, gift baskets, and all are high quality products. The shop is a treasure trove of goods…… let’s take a look!

We also passed by a shop selling fries…….fresh fries and beer…….

And one selling gelato…..choices, choices………..hmmmmm…..

And there were many shops selling jambon……..

and sausages ……..

and in case you need a large bit……..

There was a restaurant that had hanging flowers and polka dot pots……

and All You Knit is Love is for the knitters among us……………

On this street was fancy lighting….. more on that church in another post……

and there was some fancy architecture and railings here too.

and a sign that took up most of the front of the building…….

and if we go this way…….what will we find?

This looks interesting! What’s in here?

Well, if it is the best kept secret I must find out for myself…… I’m all in for “Cakes and Savory Temptations.”

The intro read like this……

In the end, all the cakes and wines have a sacred air and every soul is collected in a chamber which Paracelsus called the ‘olfactory chamber’. Meanwhile the monasteries are producing high quality wines with healing spirits made by wise monks that pray silently and keep their secret recipes inside the walls. And with three salves, one Father and the grace of a hand, a miracle which is dreamed by the Mother Superior is taken to the kitchen. Sweet pumpkin gives you blessed glory. Grapefruit cakes. Chocolate truffles. Donuts. Cupcakes. Moonlets. Cortadillos de hojaldre. Pestiños. Buds of Santa Teresa. Apple dumplings. Glories of apricot. Cinnamon biscuits. Torta de la Sierra. Eucaliptine liquor. Orange wine. Melon jam, cinnamon and lemon. Jams and jellies of roses and jasmine. Miel de milflores. San Expidito bones. Fried milk. Mantle nun. Bishops. Bread of charity. Panellets of all saints. Polvorones. Rose of Santa Catalina. Supplications. Sighs of a nun. Tocinillo de cielo. Turrones. Yolks of San Leandro. Bienmesabe. Cherry flan Ascension. Figs in syrup. Cabello de ángel. Who could resist this? I’d like to know what it all is!

Down into the Monk’s cellar……..

to see all the temptations……..yes I had one!

and right after my desert and across from Caelum, was my favorite………..The Barcelona Duck Shop….. the small fountain was outside the entrance……you have to be able to float your duck!

This was one window……..so many ducks……..for every occasion…..

and this was inside…… anyone need a duck? I am sure they have what you are looking for!

This is what makes traveling so worthwhile and fun! Exploring ……walking along this way and that! You never know what you are going to find! More from Barcelona to come! See you soon!