Barcelona Food Tour at LA BOQUERIA and Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain, Travel Guide!

– Yolk and squid.

And I don't know if anythingcould get better right now, in the world.

This is an absolute dreamcome true on a plate.

(bright music) Good morning everyone, it's Mark Wiens withmigrationology.

com in Barcelona, Spain.

That bed is just insane, it's like a giant pillow.

I slept so comfortably.

We're gonna go to breakfast, have a quick breakfast, and then we have a full dayahead of us in Barcelona.

– Would you like to go here or there? (bright guitar music) – We just came down to breakfast, and I didn't have a chance toexplore this area downstairs yesterday, but this isa really nice place, and there's even a library.

It is a very heritage historical building.

I was reading about it.

But we have come tobreakfast this morning, and I'm trying to hold myself back, I'm going easy, justgot some pieces of jamon and some vegetables, because very soon, we are going to La Boqueria, which is a gourmet market.

But how could I resist that jamon, the different cuts of jamon.

Okay, this is just some ofthe finest ham in the world.

Yeah.

It's just amazing.

And this one is like a much leaner one.

That was some seriously good jamon.

Oh, I love it so much.

And now just walking around.

They actually have a library, and old library within this hotel, and I'm really impressed.

Everything is just soincredibly well-decorated and designed, and yeah, theinterior design in here is.

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We made it to La Rambla, which is a street rightin central Barcelona, and it's one of the mostfamous streets in the city.

A very wide walking pedestrian street, lined with trees, there arecafes and restaurants and stores and souvenir shops on this street.

And at the moment, inthe morning at 8:30 AM, it's nice and quiet and relaxing, but I know later in the day this street will get extremely busy.

If we keep following the La Rambla street, we will get to La Boqueria, which is one of thedestinations in Barcelona that I am lookingforward to visiting most.

We have just arrived toMercat de la Boqueria.

And for any food loversuch as myself and you, this is a dream come true.

This is a pilgrimage destination.

(speaking in Spanish) As I saw, a couple of seats are open at a place called Pinoxto.

We decided to immediately sitdown to have something to eat before exploring the market more, because I know this place will pick up and it will get reallybusy throughout the day.

This is a tapas bar, so they offer a lot ofdifferent combinations of many different things.

But the main thing I wanted totre here for breakfast today is garbanzo beans with blood sausage.

I didn't know how it would come actually, but the garbanzo beansand then the morcilla, which is the bloodsausage, is all mixed up and kind of blendedin, and then there are, you can see little bitsof chiles in there, you can see the, oh, that oil! And you can see maybesome cilantro as well.

Wow.

That is awesome.

Those garbanzo beans are so, they're starchy, but so smooth.

And then pretty salty.

You can taste an herb, something like rosemary within there as well.

It's definitely a littlebit on the greasy side, but it is delicious.

That is, that is extraordinary.

Oh yeah.

And also what I love about it is the quality of salt that they use.

It's salty, but at the sametime you can taste that that salt is such good quality, that it just, that it'sokay to be that salty.

Oh, this cup of coffee is hard to hold because it doesn't havea full finger holding.

Okay.

Well what a combination.

And also they had a number ofdifferent types of omelettes up on the counter, so wegot an eggplant omelette.

Look at that glisten.

Nice slices of eggplant within the egg.

The eggplant flavor is so well-pronounced.

It tastes like, yeah, like slices of really smokey eggplant.

The texture of the egg isalmost a little bit rubbery, but in a very good kind of way.

That is delicious.

Wow.

What a breakfast.

And then also the coffeehere is really good as well.

I'm on my last sip of coffee.

My friend Chris English, he recommended this dish for breakfast right here, he said it was the breakfastof champions in Barcelona.

And I feel like a championafter eating that.

Oh, that was good.

This is an incredible, extraordinary market.

So many beautiful colorsof fruit, fresh vegetables.

There are stores selling allsorts of jamon and sausages, and preserved meats, and also fresh meats.

And then there are just restaurants where you can sit down to eat, like that bar where we just ate, mixed throughout the entire market.

Wow, this is like all things good under a single roof.

And just look at the amountof fruit, and the displays.

Oh, oh.

And look what I'm coming up on right now.

There's another tapas barthat I wanted to sit at before it gets too busy.

And so we walked around for a little bit, and we just sat down.

They give you a checklist menu.

The one thing though I have to eat here, I think it's this one here.

The fried eggs with the baby squid.

That is an absolute must.

This place is calledEl Quim de la Boqueria, and this is a legendarybar, counter tapas place in the market.

I'm having a little bit of a food mental breakdown right now.

This place is absolutely incredible.

This entire market.

Oh, here comes our, gracias.

Oh yes.

Our first dish has arrived.

This is the main dish that I came for.

Oh, that aroma.

Oh, I just wanna bathe in that steam.

The main dish that I came here for is the fried eggs withthe baby squid on top.

And I saw them cooking it in the back.

When they were cooking up that squid and also frying up the eggs, you could just see a flame of fire shooting up into the stall.

The duo, or maybe even a trioof fried eggs at the bottom, and you can see the crispy edges.

And then it's just piledwith all of those baby squid.

The black ink has seeped out.

There are some very finelyshaved green onions on top.

Okay, are we, oh, oh, the yolk, are with ready for this yolk? Oh, I am about the unleash the yolk.

(laughing) Okay, yolk and squid and, I don't know if anythingcould get better right now, in the world.

I'm gonna attempt to get alittle bit of everything, and mix the squid in with that yolk.

Okay, bite number one.

Oh, come back, squid.

The creaminess of that egg yolk, but with that crispy, completelycaramelized egg layer.

And then those squid, I know I say this a lotagain, are so tender.

This is an absolute dreamcome true on a plate.

Or, within a skillet.

Wow, it's just so simple, but so beautiful.

And look at all the squid heads, these are my favorite parts.

Oh, so they sort of put it, oh, here's a, here's an entire baby squid.

Just eat it on its own.

It's so tender.

And then it has just a littlebit of a seafood-your flavor.

And I saw the fresh green chiles, and I could not resist.

Oh wow.

I love the fried green chiles.

They're so good, so perfectly cooked.

And they're like, blistered on the outside, but then the inside of those chiles are just soft, it'salmost like chile puree.

And then that salt, again thesalt is of such good quality, that although it's salty, it's not salty in a bad way.

It's so good.

I could pop these chiles allday long, they're so good.

And I also go another espresso.

And I noticed there are acouple of these little chiles, and I just had one.

They're actually quite nice and spicy.

I'm gonna add it, and I think they might have sauteed the squidalong with those chiles, and just a few light spices.

I'm gonna get that chileon there with some squid.

Oh, there's another chile, oh good.

And making sure all that ink, making sure to scoop on some more of that sauce.

This is just an extraordinary dish.

And wait a few secondsfor that chile to kick in.

Oh, that chile is fantastic.

I think it's a dried chile.

It has a kick to it.

And I can't get over these green chiles.

Wow.

There must have been at least, like, six or seven chefs in the kitchen there.

Just such a tiny, tight space, but they were all working together, cooking up incredibly deliciousfood and fresh ingredients.

Oh man.

I'm in a little bit of a food shock.

Overwhelming sense of delicious right now.

Some of the fruit and vegetable stores within this market are just insane.

Look at the beauty and the variety of the different fruitsavailable at this shop.

That is literally an entire farm worth of a variety of different fruits.

After that food I am ready for a juice, so I'm moving in on this stall here.

Just stacks and stacks and cups of fruit.

You can either buy fruit, which is cut up into bite-sized pieces, or over here they have allsorts of different juices.

After that salty food in the morning, a juice sounds incredible.

And I chose, it actually took me a while just to look at all thedifferent signs here, there's such a variety.

Almost every fruit thatis sold within this market at the fruit stalls, theyhave made into a juice, or a fruit salad.

I ended up going with one ofmy favorite types of juice, passion juice.

And that's almost like a passion smoothie.

It's kind of thick, and it almost has likea pureed taste to it.

I see these little cones of jamon, I just have to.

(speaking in Spanish) I could not leave this market without trying some iberico jamon.

This is just a beautiful thing.

Yeah.

Oh it's so good.

Despite the white fat within it, it just melts in yourmouth, and then the meat, it's almost like slightlyjerky in texture, and then just with every chew, it just releases more andmore porky oils and flavors.

Oh.

And there's nothing betterthan eating jamon like this with a background of jamon.

The Monument a Colom, which is the ChristopherColumbus monument.

It is right at the beginning of La Rambla.

And also right along the sea.

And it was built in 1888 to honor Christopher Columbus' firstvoyage to the Americas.

We are off now to walkaround the Gothic Quarter, and kind of make our way through the lanes to the Cathedral of Barcelona.

(thoughtful guitar music) And this is the old area of Barcelona that dates back to themedieval and Roman times.

And some of the alleyswithin the Gothic Quarter are literally like slot canyon size, they are so narrow.

And there are restaurants and cafes, there are boutiques and shops.

But I really think the beauty of walking and discovering the GothicQuarter of Barcelona are just the architecture, the buildings and these narrow lanes thatyou can just get lost in.

We were just kind ofaimlessly waking around but meandering our way through the lanes in the Gothic Quarter, and we have come to theBarcelona Cathedral, which I'm standing right next to, but I haven't evengotten a far view of it.

So we are close, we're gonna take a look, and then probably afterwe take a look inside, maybe I'll try to go further for a view.

Oh, here.

Maybe I've just come to the plaza where you can get a viewof the cathedral from far.

And it's right in the Gothic Quarter, but we got here right asthey closed for lunch.

So I think maybe we'll sit down somewhere for a little while, and then be able to go inside once they reopen.

Since the cathedral isclosed for a little while, we've decided to go back intothe Gothic Quarter lanes.

And there's a place I wanna check out for a quick bite to eat.

(speaking in Spanish) Cheers, thank you.

We just stopped into thislittle family-run place, it's called La Pineda.

And they are doing someconstruction outside, so they have a temporarysign on the outside, but then you come inside, it's still fully open.

This is a beautiful little gem of a place that Chris English recommended me.

Thank you Chris againfor the recommendation.

But it's right here in the Gothic Quarter.

They have legs of jamon.

It's hanging all around the shop.

There are jars of pickled items.

There are beverages all over.

And I have just come inhere for a quick snack.

I got a type of sausage, and also some vermouth.

I just got a cup, or a glass, a little glass, of vermouth.

And this is an aromatic beverage with lots and lots of herbs in it.

Wow.

That's delicious.

Oh, it's sweet, but not overly sweet.

It's very smooth, and you can taste like, a depth of different herbs and aromatic ingredients within it.

It's almost like an herbaltea, but with a kick to it.

And then I also got aplate of botifarra blanca, which is a type of sausage, and then also some little pieces of toast, I think with a little bit ofa tomato spread topping on it.

This first.

Mmm.

Oh I think, oh yeah, can definitely taste alot of pepper in that.

Put on some of the sausage.

You can taste the tomato, it's kind of like rubbed on.

So it's crispy, but then ithas a little bit of a gooeyness from that fresh tomato.

That gives it a nice flavor.

And follow that.

That is a fantastic combination.

It's like being in a pantry of jamon and pickled and canned items, and there are cheeses.

And antiques, there are bottles in here, there are different typesof chorizo and sausage and hams and all sorts of things.

Then there are packaged things.

(bright guitar music) I am within the Barcelona Cathedral, which is known as theCathedral del Barcelona.

It is a Gothic cathedral which was built in the early, or completedin the early 1400s, but certain sections of the cathedral have since been added in previous years.

And this is the cathedral that is the seat of the archbishop of Barcelona.

I didn't know this at first, but in the morning it's free entrance, but if you come in the afternoon from one to five I think, there is an entrance fee to get in, but I don't know when I'll havea chance to come back again, so I decided to just come in.

And now I'm walking around.

I pre-bought some tickets toSagrada Familia in Barcelona, so we are just jumping on the metro.

Oh, here it is right now.

And we are gonna get there by metro, because we are in a littlebit of a tight time.

It's pretty busy now.

And in just a couple stops we will arrive to Sagrada Familia, but weneed to make one transfer.

And immediately upon exiting the station, you turn around and there it is.

Sagrada Familia, which wasdesigned by Antoni Gaudi.

It is one of the icons of Barcelona, and it's an impressive, it's huge, it's impressive to see in person.

And last night I booked by ticket online, so I have the tickets on my smart phone.

And we're waiting in line to enter.

Luckily with that online ticket, it just took about 10 minutes to get in, and I also got an audio guide.

So I'm gonna pick up the audio guide.

Hello.

– [Employee] You canget a audio guides here.

But we ask only oneperson to collect them.

– Oh okay, I will collect it.

I'm gonna start this audio guide, and I will give you allsome details as they come.

How are you enjoying the audio guide? Gaudi designed the Sagrada Familia with lots and lots of windows, and within the arches and the domes, there are little windows, and he wanted the entire basilica to be covered by natural light.

So even though from the outside it looks like such adark, Gothic structure, inside you come in and it's really bright and naturally lit inside.

And this is possiblythe most stunning modern stained-glass window that I have seen.

It just covers the entire wall.

And I think right now the afternoon sun is coming straight for it, and it is just illuminatingthis entire area with colorful light of redand orange and green and blue.

Also on the ticket I boughtonline, I got entrance to, there are two differenttowers that you can access, and I got entrance to the Nativity Tower.

To go up to the tower, you gotta put your backpack in a locker.

It says that from the top, youwill discover a new dimension of la Sagrada Familia and alsoa superb view of Barcelona, so we are waiting on theelevator to go up now.

(laughing) And now climbing a flight of stairs, a narrow flight of stairs.

There are towers all around.

And this is amazing, I'm walking through thislittle walkway bridge, and you can see amazing views of Barcelona to the left side here.

You can see the constructionthat they are doing to the right side.

And you can just see thecreative Gaudi architecture and design, as well asthe entire Barcelona.

You can see the MediterraneanSea in the distance.

The way that the sun is shining, you can see down below, theshadow of the Sagrada Familia, and it looks like a crown.

What is over the ledge? Whoa.

It feels kind of like I'm in a dungeon, but at the same time, like a castle, and like a church or basilica cathedral all at the same time.

We have come to the mostinsane spiral staircase.

And there's a hand ledge on one side.

But then there is just aspiral that looks like a snake that just goes down.

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You'll be okay, don't look down.

Just hold on to the handrail.

I was debating whether I shouldbuy the ticket for the tower or just, they also have a ticket that's just for the basilica, but that tower was well worth it.

That was the best part.

Ying felt a little dizzy coming down.

– Yeah.

– We are recovering.

It's one thing to be so creative, and have an incredible imagination, which undoubtedly Gaudi did, but it's another thing tocome up with such a design that is actually functional, or that's actually architecturally or engineeringly possible, and Gaudi has designed anabsolute wonder of a construction, and it's marble from theinside and the outside.

It's about 8:30 PM, we arewalking on our way to dinner now.

This restaurant is calledrestaurant Portoles, and this is a real classic, old style traditional restaurant.

They have the menuwritten just on the wall, they look like chalkboards, and most people just walk up there to look at the menu onthe wall, but for us, they gave us a very nice picturemenu which is in English.

This restaurant opensfor dinner at 9:00 PM, and we got here about fiveminutes early and grabbed a seat, and there were only a few tables occupied, people waiting already to eat here.

And now, it's like 9:05, yeah, 9:05 exactly, and it's full.

(speaking in Spanish) I just was flipping through the menu and just pointing to different dishes, and then he said, that was enough.

This is sort of like a salad, but it's potatoes at the bottom and then it's strips of red chiles, and I think it's sardines on top, and then some kind of a sauce, and then with some olives.

Let me try to, I'll takea little bit of everything in one bite.

And get some, a lot of that sauce, kind of an oil sauce.

Mmm.

You've got the starchy potato, the really creamy soft red chile, and then the salty, like, fishy sardine.

Also got some roasted asparagus, and then he served it with this sauce.

Maybe try it on a couple first.

Oh yeah.

I love asparagus.

And that's like a vinegar-y, kind of sour and peppery sauce.

This one, I think you pronounce it fideua.

And this is similar to paella, but it is made with noodles.

And there is some seafood in here.

This looks fantastic.

Oh, there's even squid below there.

Let me just taste some of this.

Oh, and I got a littlepiece of squid in this bite.

It's a little bit tomato-y and a little bit garlic-y, nice seafood in there, good seafood flavor as well.

And then also got some fried sardines.

And I will go ahead andsqueeze the lemon on.

Good generous dose of lemon.

Those are hot and fresh and crispy, and you just can chewright through those bones.

Little fish like this, like sardines or anchovies, they are just like pure nuggets of protein and omega fatty acids.

On the menu, this iscalled rollito de pollo.

And it's some kind of a chicken roll, but I'm not sure what's within the roll.

But it's a little roll.

It looks like some kind of jamon or some kind of bacon-y meatwithin this sauce on the side.

And then are these mushrooms, or dates? Oh, those looks like dates.

And then yeah, okay.

I guess I will cut into the chicken roll.

Let me cut it in the middle, then we can find out what's on the inside.

Cool! Is it stuffed with jamon? That looks like ham in the middle.

I couldn't have evenguessed a better filling.

Slice off an appropriate bite.

Let me get some of that sauce.

That sauce does look alittle oily, but wow! Put that on top.

Is that a, I think that's a seed.

Wow.

That tastes like it's filled with bacon! That is just awesomely good.

Wow.

Yeah, it tastes like maybeham or bacon in the middle, wrapped with chicken, and then, kind of like sauteedprobably in lots of oil.

And that sauce has a littlebit of a sour touch to it, and then you can tastejust that cured meat within the sauce as well.

That is insane.

Wow that's good.

Oh, and is there like, I think there might be some cream in here.

Can make things even better.

Look at that.

Or is it cheese? I can't even tell if it's cream or cheese.

Oh wow.

That is just a stunner.

At first I thought it was a date, but the sauce is not very sweet.

Let me taste a piece.

Oh look at that, like fleshy, it looks like, almost jam, on seed.

It's not that sweet.

Yeah, it does taste like jam.

But is it some kind of a plum or a prune? Oh, maybe it's a prune.

That's like perfectly sweet, and just really silky smooth.

That was a fantastic, well-rounded, family, tasted like home cooked meal, and this is a family-run restaurant.

I love the ambiance here.

Delicious food.

That was another fantastic wayto end this day in Barcelona.

I am very happy and verysleepy after eating this meal.

I'm gonna head back to the hotel and I'm gonna call it a day, so I'm gonna end the video for today now.

Thank you all very much for watching.

Please remember to givethis video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it, and if youwant to leave a comment below I would love to hear from you.

Make sure you subscribe for lots more food and travel videos, and goodnight from Barcelona.

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