Episode 54: Adventures in Barcelona, Spain with Matt Ford

Angie Orth:

Picture yourself in a pair of comfy worn-in flip flops, wandering through narrow picturesque alleyways. It's late afternoon, the streets are quiet, and the relaxed vibe lets it all sink in: You’re on vacation. The architecture goes from Gothic to modern, from Baroque to Art Nouveau. The scents of garlic and paprika fill the air, a gentle reminder that it's time for tapas and a cool glass of vermouth. When you're looking for culture, architecture, and a healthy dose of downtime, Barcelona really does have it all.

Here to tell us what makes this coastal city such a desirable destination is journalist and filmmaker Matt Ford. With a lifetime of travel experience and over 20 years in the storytelling business, he decided to call Barcelona home. Welcome to the show, Matt.

Matt Ford:

Thank you. A pleasure to be here.

Angie:

You are currently based in Barcelona, which ranked eighth on a list of the world's best cities to live, work, research, and visit in 2021. How long have you lived there and how did you end up there?

Matt:

My wife and I have been expats for a long time, and we were looking for a move that would be suitable for starting a family, but would still be well-connected and have a rich, cosmopolitan culture. And we're like, “All right, let's try Barcelona.” We happened to move in January of 2020, a couple of months after that we found out we were pregnant, so it was a bit of a rocky landing in Barcelona, but the more that we've been able to get to know the city, get to know the community, we've just fallen in love with it with each passing year.

Angie:

Tell us a little bit about the history of Barcelona. What makes it special among all the other Spanish cities?

Matt:

It's on the coast, so it's going to have an important maritime history. It's also just right at the foothills of the Pyrenees. You have the Gothic Quarter that's near the beach, and that's sort of like the reflection of the medieval ages. This was the part of the city that used to have walls around it, was where people would come from all over to trade, has very narrow streets. It still has the stone markers on the corners to block horse carts from wearing down the corners of the stone buildings. It's very, very, very old and much of it has been maintained and restored, but if you look out past those old medieval walls, it gets into this super grid system. That sort of came in in the early part of the 20th century and that grid system was meant to be an egalitarian idea of how to set this city up.

You would have commercial places on the ground floor, the more affluent people would be on the next floor up so that they didn't have to walk all the way to the top of a building, and then the higher you end up in a building, sort of the poor and more worker status you became. The idea was everybody would be in the same place, so everybody had the same access to parks, stores, common spaces. It was a way to bring all classes together in an egalitarian way. All these different villages became one larger city.

Angie:

If you're a visitor, is it pretty easy to get around if you're just cruising around? Is it easy to get to these neighborhoods?

Matt:

It is very easy to get around. You don't really need to take a taxi to get around the city. In fact, a lot of times it's going to take you longer to get across the city by taxi than it would by mass transit, and that's sort of by design. The best thing I can recommend is to get into a subway station and get yourself a pass. It's a very easy system to use. Everything is in English or whatever your language is, and you will usually be able to get to just about any corner of the city within 20 to 30 minutes by using mass transit here. And it's very clean and efficient, and the trains come like every 3 minutes.

Angie:

If you've never been to Europe before, this is a pretty good starter city even if you don't speak the language.

Matt:

A lot of residents in Barcelona are quite multilingual, usually speaking at least 3 languages, often more than that. So, whatever your background or language, you're probably going to be in pretty good hands in Barcelona.

Angie:

Barcelona is part of Catalonia, so most locals speak Catalan. Can you tell us a bit about the history behind that?

Matt:

Catalonia was independent until Queen Isabella married Ferdinand and that is what United Catalonia was Spain. The Republic of Spain was formed in the early 20th century, shortly after there was a civil war. The Catalans lost. Franco basically tried to script the culture so that everybody was Spanish. In the ‘70s after Franco died, Catalonia reclaimed some of its independent status, and then really wanted to reclaim its culture too, and started teaching its language in the school and finding ways to reclaim some of the things that had been lost over the years and rebuild that culture.

Angie:

Let's take a turn toward architecture because Barcelona has some of the most magical, unique architecture I've seen anywhere. What are the highlights and what's the best way to experience them?

Matt:

We have to start this conversation with Gaudí.

Angie:

We do. We do, yeah.

Matt:

He's the most famous of the architects from this early 20th century era. Some of the most notable buildings that you'll see in Barcelona are done by him. So, Sagrada Família, which is down to its last tower.

Angie:

Is that thing done yet? Can we talk about this? Is that guy done?

Matt:

I think 2025 was when they were going to finish, and then the pandemic hit and they were like, “Oh, we're off schedule again.” Now, I think it's like 2032 or something like that. What's interesting is just this past year, they finished the last of the smaller towers. It's just the final big tower in the middle that'll make the tallest cathedral in the world.

Angie:

La Sagrada Família is a cathedral and has been under construction since 1882. So, this one has been in the works for ages and ages and ages, and hopefully will be finished in my lifetime so I can go see the completed works.

Matt:

It's amazing to visit. You go inside and it feels like you're staring up into a forest. It's designed so that if you're there in the morning, the sunlight comes in and gives you cool morning light and if you come in the evening—the way the sun hits the stained glass—it gives you this warm sunset experience. The whole thing is just beautifully designed to feel very in one with nature, and that's sort of a theme across all of Gaudí's architecture, bringing in elements of nature, and everything feels very organic and flowing in the way that natural elements do.

And the architect is buried underneath it. It's an interesting story about him. He was hit by a tram in the street and that's what killed him, and people didn't realize it was Gaudí for quite some time before they removed him from the street.

Angie:

Oh, wow.

Matt:

Sort of a sad end to an innovative architect.

Angie:

Are there other Gaudí buildings that people absolutely must see when they visit?

Matt:

Whether you decide to go inside them or not, you can see a lot of other Gaudí influences and buildings on Passeig de Gràcia. Going back to the village discussion, before like Passeig de Gràcia was the connection between the old gothic quarter and the village of Gràcia, so it was just constant movement between those 2 villages. When the expansion period happened, this was the hot property, so every affluent family in the city was like, “I'm getting my house on this street and I'm going to get the best architect to just make the most flamboyant, impressive, ‘everybody's going to talk about it’ house.” It was like a “Keeping up with the Joneses” competition that went up and down this street, and Gaudí was the main man in the city, so he was really involved in building a lot of these.

You have Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Casa Amatller, you had all these different affluent families that were building these fancy houses. And now they all have really interesting museum presentations, some are on Gaudí's history, his approach to architecture, and how that comes through. Others are these 3D presentations, but they're very, very interesting. On the website, you can get a sense of what you're going to see in the different buildings.

Angie:

Presumably, Gaudí's not the only architect that has ever built anything in Barcelona. What are some other buildings people could see or some other interesting architecture?

Matt:

One of my favorite places in Barcelona, and I think ends up too low on the list for a lot of people, is Montjuïc. It's this giant mountain that's near the southern end of the city and it's one of the best pieces of green space in the city. It's not for the faint of heart if you’re afraid of stairs, but if you're up for some stairs, you have the main art museum in the city, you’ve got the castle on the top, you go out and look across Barcelona and see the mountains on the other side. It's one of my favorite places to go on the weekend to just get some fresh air and see some amazing views, and maybe pop in and see some art or just spend the day outside.

Angie:

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Angie:

Barcelona is as busy as any city in Europe, especially in the summer. I imagine it gets pretty crowded. How is the city dealing with that and are they taking any steps to prevent over-tourism?

Matt:

They've done that in a few ways. There's a big crackdown on vacation rentals. There are very few places that can get permits to be an Airbnb or something like that, you will probably find you'll get a much better deal coming to Barcelona and just getting a hotel than you will for an Airbnb. I think Barcelona has probably handled it better than a lot of other cities, but it's not a problem that has been fully resolved yet. They've been considering expanding the airport and it's like, do they do that to help business? But does it also then expand tourism and aggravate the problems they've dealt with before? It’s a topic of conversation on almost every major new initiative. How to strike that balance.

Angie:

Yeah, that's probably the hardest thing for any popular destination, right? Because you want to be able to support the culture and tell everybody about how special your destination is, but you also don't want everybody to come all at once, right?

Matt:

You have to find that balance of what is too much? Just understand that people are really struggling to maintain their communities and find ways to do it and have some warranted frustrations. But there's a lot of the city that still needs and depends on tourism and so you can have a great experience coming and visiting here.

Angie:

What's a good time for people to visit and get the best of the weather and the least people?

Matt:

The city is busy with tourists in the summer, the locals all leave in the summer. It is very, very hot in July and August in Barcelona. So, if you come here, then you're not going to get as much of a local experience as you might other times of year and you're probably going to be very, very, very, very hot.

A lot of people start coming back for the neighborhood festivals at the end of August, and that is where you can get a true local Barcelona experience.

My favorite time is Christmas to Kings Day, and that's just my absolute favorite time in Barcelona. Across the U.S., the Christmas season sort of ends on Christmas—in Barcelona, it's just getting started. The kids here don't open their presents on Christmas, they open them on Kings Day. They take out their sticks and beat a little log called Caga Tió which translates to “Uncle Poop.” They've been feeding him leaves and sticks for a month, and then when they beat him with the stick, he poops out all the presents for them and then they unwrap them.

Angie:

Well, that is a unique cultural story.

Matt:

It is. There's a lot of sort of scatological interest in the holidays here. They also have these things called Caganers. They're really into making nativity scenes. The Christmas markets have all of these things to create your own nativity scenes, and there are these stores where you can buy these little guys who are pooping and you always try to hide it somewhere in the nativity scene, like he's dropping a deuce behind the nativity scene. It sounds insane when I tell people about this, but it is a big part of it.

Angie:

So, it's like Where's Waldo? But…

Matt:

Yeah, but of a little guy pooping.

Angie:

… but a little bit different. Hey, I'm glad you mentioned that because that could be surprising to people when they come across this when they visit.

Matt:

It sounds insane, but it's part of why Christmas is so fun because it's very, very whimsical.

They have a Kings Day parade on January 5 that is just massive. It's when the three kings come to Barcelona, and the kids want to see the three kings arrive and parade around the city more than Santa. They throw candy, people have hot chocolate and churros, there are parties and festivals and everybody's welcome.

If you're into the beach and those aspects of Barcelona, the shoulder season is better for you like April, May, September, October, November. Those are still going to be fairly busy times, but that's when you're going to get some of the best weather. It doesn't rain—we're in the middle of a drought crisis here because it almost never rains nowadays, so you don't really need to worry about the weather except for the extreme heat of July and August.

Angie:

The opening hours for most shops in Barcelona are Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and then from 5-8 p.m. Why is that?

Matt:

This idea of taking a break in the middle of the day is very important culturally. Some places will be closed from 2-4, other places will be closed from 1-3 or sometimes even later if they have a lot of night business. Part of what I love about Barcelona is there's a really strong emphasis on just having a good work-life balance.

Angie:

Another amazing thing about Spain is the food. Who influenced Spanish food and brought it to a wider audience?

Matt:

Catalonia has not really won many conflicts. They tend to be conquered a lot, and when you're conquered—whether it be the Romans or the Visigoths or the Arabs—they bring their food in, they bring their spices. They bring all these things into it and it evolves over time, and especially when it was a trading port, that brought lots and lots of different things. So, I think it's been an evolution over time.

Barcelona has become this hub for some of the best chefs in the world. The amount of Michelin star places in the city that is this small is just insane, and that level of talent here really spills over into a lot of mid-range restaurants and it just raises the bar for restaurants in general. That paired with just traditional Catalan cuisine has just really made it a very rich culinary scene that chefs are able to exploit all these interesting things that come from very close to the city.

Angie:

Do you have a favorite Michelin star restaurant that you recommend? Is there one that just blew your mind?

Matt:

If you're going to spend your savings on one really big Michelin star restaurant, I think Disfrutar has to be at the top of the list. These guys own 3 or 4 restaurants across the city as well as Compartir.

I went there a few months ago and during the dessert, Tim Cook was standing at the end of my table. When people are coming from all over, this is considered one of the best restaurants in the world. It’s just really hard to believe what they're even doing. It's science and innovation mixed with food. It's very, very expensive though. So, this is something to do if you’re really, really willing to put down for a big experience.

But there are lots of other Michelin star restaurants that aren't quite as expensive as that. I had an amazing birthday at Koy Shunka, which is a Japanese sushi-style restaurant and that's in the Gothic Quarter that's very good.

A place I like to take visitors when they come here is Bar Cañete. They have all the traditional dishes. You can sit there and just keep ordering things to take a tour of Catalan cuisine. That's a place I like to take visitors when they're there for the first time just so I can show them everything, know it's all going to be executed really well, and have a nice basis to start from.

Igueldo does great Basque food. There's a street in Sant Antoni that has these pintxos, which is a lot of food on top of little cuts of French bread. You can just walk up and down the street and pick the window like, “Give me that one, that one, that one. And I'll take a beer and then you can just try all these different foods.”

This is where getting out to the different neighborhoods really makes a difference because you're going to get some more touristy-focused restaurants. There are some really brilliant restaurants in the Gothic Quarter and in that area, but you're just going to see some really amazing places in each neighborhood, and sometimes just wandering and seeing the thing that appeals to you, you'll find some special hidden gems.

Angie:

So, people should plan to have at least 1 splashy Michelin star meal.

Matt:

A nice tip if you're here on a student budget or something like that is during the day, a lot of the restaurants do a daily menu. So, like I said, everybody takes this break in the middle of the day and the daily menu usually includes a first course, a second course of dessert, and a drink. You can have what feels like a luxurious hour and a half or 2-hour meal with a glass of wine, and you basically have spent $15. It's a great way to just get a sense of the food here and you'll probably really eat well in those daily menus.

Angie:

It also gives you the opportunity to do some slow dining, which, when you're traveling from the U.S. you're like, “Go, go, go” and you have this crazy itinerary. But a big part of eating in Spain—maybe also like in Turkey and Greece—is sitting down for a long time and sipping your wine and thinking about the food you're eating, tasting it, having a conversation, and not rushing through it. That's a cultural thing that I think we miss out on in the U.S., especially when we're planning a trip and just trying to fit in a whole beautiful, amazing city and all its sites.

Matt:

That's an important thing to note because a lot of Americans get really frustrated. They'll show up to some restaurant that's really highly reviewed and they'll be like, “Oh, there's not a single person sitting in here. Amazing!” And then they'll go to the person and be like, “Oh, can I have a table?”

And the person will be like, “We're fully booked, sorry.”

And they’ll be like, “But it's empty! There's nobody in here!”

The way they do it here is they're not just turning over tables. If you book a reservation for lunch, you have that table for the whole lunch service. They do 1 sitting and they've booked out the tables for the sitting and that's it.

Sometimes, if you come at the end of the lunch service and some people have left and there's enough time for the kitchen, they'll be like, “All right, you got like 40 minutes if you want to have some stuff. We still have these 5 things if that's enough for you.”

And if you guys are like “OK,” then you can sort of squeeze in a tail-end second sitting. But for the most part, if you show up at the start of a service and they've already booked the tables, even if it's empty, they're not going to sit you.

Angie:

Say you did forget to book at one of these places that you really wanted to go, and you just missed out on the seating, and they can't squeeze you in. Is La Boqueria a good option for eating on the go?

Matt:

La Boqueria—the main market down the gothic corridor—it's actually 1 of 39 markets. And this is a big part of how Barcelona functions. Each neighborhood community has its own market and in there, you'll have the fishmongers, the guys selling meat or chicken, all these produce sellers, specialists in cheese and other stuff. There are always a couple of bars and eating areas where the people who work in the market will go and eat, and also anybody can just pull up a stool and order whatever they have. So, in a lot of these markets, you can just be like, “Can you cook up that fish for me?”

And they'll be like, “All right, yep. We'll get it, prepare it, salt it, put it with a little something,” and you can just eat like fresh stuff right there.

La Boqueria is great because that one is catered to all these people coming in and out. There are a lot of places where you can pull up a stool, or some places that already have these fries or fruit cups or whatever that you can just grab something and go.

If you get out into the more neighborhood ones, there's not as much of those “to-go packs,” but there are still going to be places where you can sit down and have something to eat. There are usually a lot of really nice restaurants around the market as well. The market is meant as this core meeting spot for people to do their weekly shopping, where they can get some fresh produce for the day, so all these other little bars and places where people in the neighborhood meet and congregate tend to pop up in the immediate circumference of the market. Flagging where those are in a neighborhood you want to visit on the map is a good idea because you'll usually find some interesting spots to check out right around the market.

Angie:

This is making me very hungry.

Matt:

I guess we should probably talk a little bit about wine as well. A lot of people when they think about Spanish wine, they think about Rioja, Tempranillo, these big bold reds. There's another wine region that has the same high-level classification as Rioja, and that's Priorat in Catalonia. Priorat is definitely one you should try if you're into wine.

Craft beers also starting to boom here. Most people you'll see on the street—if they're having a beer in the middle of the day—they're drinking Estrella, that's the main brand. But the craft beer market is starting to really pop up.

Vermut is sort of like a young wine that has herbs in it over ice, usually with an olive or orange in it. That's definitely worth trying, especially if it's a hot summer day. It's quite refreshing.

Angie:

Matt Ford, thank you for joining us, and thank you to our listeners for being with us.

If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA Travel Advisor, check out AAA.com/travel, or visit your local branch.

This podcast is a production of Auto Club Enterprises. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe, and leave us a review. I'm Angie Orth, thank you for traveling with AAA.