Barcelona Day #2 - Tapas & Wine Tour

We definitely slept like the dead last night! After returning to our room, we put on Netflix in an attempt to stay awake as long as possible. Well, that tactic worked until around 9:00 p.m., when we caught each other nodding off. We turned off the TV and instantly fell into the depths of REM sleep. I was the first to awaken from our sleep-deprived stupor at 7:30 a.m.—10.5 hours of pure bliss! Debbie arose shortly thereafter.

We enjoyed a hearty breakfast downstairs in our hotel restaurant, complimentary with our Amex booking. Debbie had avocado toast with poached eggs, 

while I indulged in one of my favorites: Lebanese shakshuka (eggs poached in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce, onions, garlic, and eggplant).

I have a feeling our time in Barcelona is turning into more of a food blog than a travel one! Tonight, we’re joining a tapas walking tour with Devour Tours—can’t wait.

We logged a little over eight miles today, mostly exploring the Barceloneta area along the beach. At one point, we accidentally wandered onto the nude beach—imagine that 🤓—which was surprisingly busy for a Wednesday morning. Sorry, my perv friends, Debbie wouldn’t let me take any photos! Here are a few from our day...

For lunch, we stopped at a familiar Italian restaurant where we’ve eaten several times in the past (note for Dar, Yvonne, and Danny: it’s the place where we all had dinner a few years ago). We shared a small pizza and enjoyed some well-deserved adult beverages.

Here are a few more photos from today. Our hotel is a couple of blocks east of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. 

When we returned to our room this afternoon, we found a lovely note (and some chocolate!) from Lucia, the Front Office Manager who checked us in yesterday. 

We had spent quite a bit of time with her while waiting for our room, and she turned out to be an absolute delight. Lucia is a lovely young woman who spent a year working at a hotel in Nashville a few years ago.

Encounters like this are one of the things we love most about traveling—meeting warm, interesting people from around the world. It’s also one of the perks of staying in a boutique hotel, where the service often feels more personal and genuine.

We met our Devour Tour guide, Alexandra, at 5:15, and she was absolutely lovely. There were nine other guests in our group, all from the U.S. We really hit it off with two couples traveling together from Minnesota—I have a feeling we may have made a friendship that could last well beyond this trip.

The tour took us to three different locations, each in a different district of Barcelona. I won’t describe every tapa and wine we tried, but let’s just say there was no shortage of either—they were plentiful and delicious!

Here are the photos in chronological order.

Alexandra has been a private tour guide in Barcelona for over 14 years and is exceptionally knowledgeable—not just about the city’s rich history, but about all of Spain. We’ll definitely book a private tour with her the next time we’re here. If you’d like to contact her directly, you can reach her at alexandraferreiro84@gmail.com.

After the tour, we had planned to visit the rooftop lounge at our hotel, but we were simply too full to manage anything more!