Tapas tour with the Karno!

The Karno booked me through Viator, one of the online listings where I advertize, and last night we had our tapas tour. It was great taking them to my favorite tapas bars in the Old Town!

They had forgotten to bring their camera, so I offered to take a few pics of them, and with their permission, here is the video I just made:

The next day, Jacob posted a review on my Viator profile:

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Lots of food and drinks this week!

This week has been one of my most epicurean weeks EVER!

It actually started the Friday before with a Tapas Tour for the Swaby, a family composed by the parents and two adult children with the girlfriend of one of them. They had just arrived to Barcelona and thought a Tapas Tour would be a fun way to get introduced to the city on their first evening in town. They were lots of fun to be with, and we laughed a lot! By the way, I picked them up at the Port where they were staying, and as we were leaving it we saw a rainbow over the city!

Then I saw them again on Monday, this time  this time we went on a daytrip to the Penedès Wine Country. We visited 2 cellars there: one organic winery in the middle of the vineyards and then a family-owned traditional cava cellar where we could see them degorging the bottles by hand (now everyone uses machines for that, so it was very unique!). After our 6h daytrip, we had tried 10 different wines and cavas!

With the Swabys t the cava maker's, where one of the underground cellars is called "Marta"! 

(not after me, of course, but after one of their family members...)

Then on Tuesday and Wednesday I went back to my usual sightseeing tours, although funnily enough I kept crossing the Swabys everywhere! Haha, I love this kind of coincidences!

Then I had Mr. Cassidy, that was visiting Barcelona on his own. We first had a Gaudi tour that also included 2 stops somewhere to get a drink (you guessed right: more wine!) and then the next day I took him on a Tapas Tour that we ended with a nice stroll along the Barceloneta waterfront to walk off the food.



And actually, that tour was the second Epicurean Tour of the day! In the morning I showed around Merrill O'Ryan and her friends, and after exploring the Boqueria Market we went to the tapas bars. They were actually more interested in drinking than eating, so we had lots of bier, wine, cava and sangria!

And now... I'm ready for some dieting, if you allow me to!   ; )

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"Saints and Sins" is born!

Well, as I promised, "Saints and Sins" has become a real tour now!
(if you don't know what I'm talking about, check this post)

I felt creative this afternoon, and as a result "Saints and Sins" is born!
As I trial for the moment, I created the tour in one of the tourguide websites where I advertize, and we'll see how it works! If it was successful, I might be adding it to my own Tapas Tours in my website.

You can of course book it there, or you can contact me directly if you don't wish to open an account there.

The Girard loved touring with me and Míriam

With me, at the Boqueria Market.

Last month the Girard family was in Barcelona. I meet them a their hotel and we had a fabulous city tour together. Then the next day, Míriam took them on a tapas tour.
Here is the letter they have sent us, as well as a couple of pictures:

Our family and I wish to express our thanks; you are truly special guides with a rich knowledge of Barcelona’s culture and history. We had wonderful two days with you I'm really happy to have found you. Your wonderful energy and gift for bringing the city to life, and the generosity you give every traveler to Barcelona an unforgettable experience. My personal highlight was the tapas tour, the best experience I had on our vacation. You definitely have my highest recommendation! -- John Girard

With Míriam, before starting the Tapas Tour.

Eating vetegarian tapas is possible too!

Although most people have a quite "carnivorous" concept of tapas, it is perfectly possible to have authentic tapas in a totally vegetarian style!

A couple of weeks ago I had Brian and Bev Bennett, who are really vegetarian foodies. Appart from having a great city tour specially designed to include some of their favorite contemporary architecture, we also enjoyed walking around the Boqueria Market (although we avoided the fish and meat sections as much as possible), stopped at a little great cheese store, and for lunchtime we had some wonderful veggie tapas in one of my favorite bars of the Eixample district.

Here are some of the delicacies we tried:
- Grilled green asparagus.
- Thinly sliced fried artichokes.
- "Bravas" potatoes with spicy sauce.
- A plate of Spanish cheese.
- Melted 4-cheeses "pintxos" (Basque toasts)
- Season vegetables mil-feuilles.
- "Calçots" green onions with Romesco sauce.

And I might still be missing something out.
They were so happy with our choices, and there were still other specialties we didn't try. They were amazed they had eaten so much and still there were other vegetarian options in the menu left!

It's not the first time I take vegetarian eating tapas, and it's usually easy to have a nice varied lunch in a couple of wonderful restaurants I know.
I haven't given a complete 4h veggie tapas tour hoping from bar to bar, but I imagine that could work aswell. I'd even daring enough to try with a non-dairy / vegan tapas tour, although I imagine our choices would be much reduced... But as long as there was willingness and good humor, it should also be a successful foody evening!

Lots of fun with the Baird

Ann and Morton Baird contacted me to help them organizing their time in Barcelona. They booked 2 city tours (one for the Old Town and the Picasso Museum, one for the Gaudí works), plus a shopping tour for Ann and a Tapas tour one evening.

Unfortunately, Ann broke her foot a few days before their trip, so she would have to be on a wheelchair during the tours so her foot could have some rest.

No problem! At home they rented a very light wheelchair that was so easy to move around, so on our first day together Morton would be pushing it. The Old Town is pretty flat and there aren't cobblestone streets nor many steps, so we could see as much as we could have seen if Ann had been able to walk. Whenever we met crowds (like in the Boqueria Market, for instance), I'd walk in front of them to open the way and protect them. And in the Cathedral and the Picasso Museum the staff facilitated us access to ramps and elevators... and Ann got in for free!

The next day Ann and I went shopping. This time I volunteered to push the chair, so Morton didn't have to come shopping (that's why most husbands are glad I offer shopping tours!). We visited beautiful stores that fitted Ann's style, and in one of them I even got her a 30% discount!! She was trying on some clothes and I heard the shop assistants talking about their new client card, so I asked and they said that if I applied for it I'd get a 30% welcome discount that Ann could use aswell. That was 70 euro less on her new dress!

Shopping tours

And that same evening we went on a Tapas Tour. It usually includes 5-6 different bars, but after the third place they were already so full. I almost had to drag them to the 4rt venue, because I really wanted them to see its ambiance. And after that they asked me to take them somewhere with live music. I remembered in one of the medieval mansions in Montcada Street they hold opera concerts on Thursdays, so I took them there. They loved it! The bar is beautifully decorated with antiques, and the singers were good and passionate about their music and interpretation. I left the Baird there at midnight during the show break, but they stayed until the end.

Tapas Tour

And the next day we had our last tour together! After Ann broke her foot we decided we rather go on private minivan with driver, instead of walking and taxi as we had originally planned. It was a good idea, as this way we saved time and got to see many places. We did the Hill of Montjuic (that we wouldn't have visited if we had walked), the appartment buildings Casa Batlló and Casa Milà/Pedrera (surprisingly, here it was Morton who got in for free because in the staff words "because she needs him to visit"), the entrance of the Park Güell (too many stairs there to see the whole site, but at least I wanted them to see the most exciting part of it) and the Sagrada Familia Church.

The driver Jose Luís and I left them back at the hotel and headed for our afternoon tour with some other clients. That was the end of three great days with the Baird!

Marta on Jamie's Magazine!

As I had announced last February in this blog, I gave a few tapas tours to two journalists from the Jamie Magazine, by the famous British chef Jamie Oliver.

The number with their story has just been released, and they mention me. I'm even in one of the pics!

Congratulations to Paul Dring, journalist, and William Meppem, photographer, for their beautiful story!

Special Tapas Tours for the Jamie Magazine journalists

Paul Dring, journalist, and William Meppem, photographer, came to Barcelona to prepare a story for the brand new Jamie Magazine, by the famous British chef Jamie Oliver.

I gave them 4 different Tapas Tours where we discovered all kind of venues and specialties in different areas:

On our first tour we explored the Tapas Bars of the Eixample district (around Passeig de Gràcia and Rambla Catalunya). The next day during lunch time we did the areas of Poblesec, Raval and Barceloneta, and for dinner we went to my favorite area: the Born section. Finally, on the morning of the last day we did the bars of the Boqueria Market and some other places in the Gothic Quarter.

By the end of their stay we were so full we couldn't eat anything else! And Paul and William had plenty of material for a great story. But we still felt we would had needed at least another 4 extra hours to cover a few more places (less centric, more out-of-the-beaten-track) that we couldn't fit in our itineraries...

Can't wait to see the next issue of the Magazine, where their story will be published. That'll be by the end of April or beggining of May. I'll keep you posted!

Tapas Tour with Mona and Lee!

Hi!

Mona and Lee from Seattle were visiting Barcelona and wanted to do something special one evening. Since they are foodies, my Tapas Tour was their choice!
We had a great time hopping from bar to bar in the Born section, and I also gave them lots of good tips for the rest of their stay in town!



See the rest of their pics here!

Tapas tours are a favorite!

This year my Tapas Tours are becoming everyone's favorite!

Tapas are these famous way to eat in Spain: small portions (appetizer-like) to share with friends and family and have fun!

In my tapas tours I take you around the Old Town jumping from bar to bar discovering the food of different regions of Spain (basque, galician, catalan...), different products (sausages, egg, vegetables, fish and seafood, wine, bread...) and different styles (from the shabby taberns to fancy design tapas bars). A yummy way to discover the local lifestyle!

Here is a picture of the Tapas Tour with the Gleit family!


Or go here to see their complete photo album:

The Gleit Family Tours

Foody tours with http://wishyouwereheretours.com !

Wine tasting at Gramona Cellar / At Cal Pep, Jose and Jordan offered us their best Tapas

Lori, one of the owners of http://wishyouwereheretours.com/ was in Barcelona this week with Ed and Linda, her clients. They spent a whole week enjoying the tastes and flavours of Barcelona, and of course I was there to show them the best foody spots!

Amongst other activities, we had a yummy tapas tour, we visited 2 cellars in the Penedès county, and strolled around the Old Town discovering great Gourmet stores (the savory products tour included a cheese tasting, and the sweet products tour started with super-rich thick hot chocolate with churros!).



In the Gramona cellar, we were lucky to visit the Gramona cava cellar on the week when skilled workers degorge more than 200.000 bottles manually.

Fun tours for the Levine family!

The Levine family were coming to town for the Easter Holidays and wanted to have some different fun tours.

The day they arrived to Barcelona I took them to a Tapas tour. We hopped from one bar to another in the Born and Gothic Quarter, and I made a special selection of places for them that included from dirty looking taberns to fancy bars, as well as typical tapas from Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia... And we finished at a great desert place!

Another day, after a morning discovering the Gaudi sites, I took Karen on a shopping tour. Since she is a shoe lover we focused in the Rambla Catalunya area. She got a few pairs of shoes, but we also found a nice bag and cute clothes! She was so glad with her treat: 4hours of girls time!

And the last day we had 6yo Ben favorite: the Sweet Barcelona tour! We started with a rich breakfast at the most typical place in town for hot chocolate and churros. And after that we got little Ben what I had promissed him: a huge giant lollypop! I also took them to specialised stores where you can find all kind of cakes, cookies, turron, chocolate, ice cream, candies... And finished the tour at the Chocolate Museum. What a yummy morning!

Gourmet tours