I'm excited to be heading to Barcelona for work - attending ISE, a major tech show for the systems integration and audio visual industry. I'll get to see some global colleagues that I don't see often in person.
It starts with an early morning departure.
Two connections before arriving in Barcelona, only to be greeted by massive lines to get through immigration & customs. Eventually I'm able to work my way out of the airport and to the hotel, and thankfully my room was ready so I was able to get in a nap and a shower before meeting up with colleagues.
With most of my waking moments spent at ISE at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via and a few team dinners, I only have snippets of Barcelona as a tourist, but this post series focuses on the personal exploration aspects of my trip.
One evening, Mike and I wander around the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic) for a bit.
We are supposed to take a food tour in the Gothic Quarter, but poor communications lead us to cancel this tour - but not before finding out where the first location is. Cleverly, Mike decides we should check out the place to get a sense for what we cancelled on: Bar de Pi (Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol, 1, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona). It turns out to be a very uninspiring place, confirming that we made the right choice to cancel the food tour.
We enjoy exploring the area and decide that the Gothic Quarter is charming at night.
As we walk around, I begin noticing the prominence of graffiti-like artwork on doorways.
After wandering the Gothic Quarter, we remember that the hotel (Grand Hyatt Barcelona, Pl. de Pius XII, 4, Les Corts, 08028 Barcelona) we are staying at has a rooftop bar, so we decide to check out the scenery there.
For the next night's dinner, Mike has discovered and made reservations at a fantastic place called Maleducat (Carrer de Manso, 54, L'Eixample, 08015 Barcelona) in the Sant Antoni neighborhood, led by an up-and-coming chef (Victor Ródenas, if you believe this review in Conde Nast Traveler).
Such an enjoyable dinner - we went with the Chef's choice, which included 3 snacks, 3 dishes, and 2 desserts for 49 Euros per person.
Here come the photos of this AMAZING meal - but do you know how hard it is to try to photography every dish before diving in? Mike hates eating out with me because he always has to wait for me to get the photograph..
Thierry’s “Fine de Claire nº2” oyster: · au natural with lemon and pepper 4,9 · with piparra gazpacho and herbs 
100% Acorn-fed Iberian ham croquette 
Little toast of white prawn tartare, emulsion of its heads, salicornia and Tosazu vinegar 
Warm leeks with hazelnut vinaigrette, mató, sun-dried tomatoes and lemon 
Thornback ray with smoked Iberian sauce, parsnip and black garlic 
Rice, prawn tartare from Palamós, emulsion of its heads and pig’s trotters carpaccio (tribute to Els Tinars) 
“Cal Tomàs” eco beef steak tartare, Chipotle chilli and smoked egg yolk 
Pluma of iberian pork, fine garlic crème, roasted red pepper, watercress and mustards 
Passionfruit, coconut and basil
Finally: Chocolate, savoury caramel, coffee and Baileys (not pictured - oops)
I'd go back to Maleducat in a heartbeat!!
Tomorrow, onward to Paris!
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