Today – our last full day in Barcelona, and indeed our whole trip, we went in a different direction. I like to take the backstreets. It gets you away from the crowded tourist spots and you always find hidden treasures… and today was no exception. We went out in search for shoes. Spain produces some lovely shoes and Me Jenny had been holding out until we got here so we didn’t have to carry extra things in our suitcase…. also because in all the shoe shops we’d seen so far – they all had winter stock in and we were after something a little lighter.

We finally found a shop that had exactly what Me Jenny had been after, however, we experienced what can only be described as the rudest shoe salesperson we have ever encounted, who couldn’t even take her finger off the trigger on the Dyson she was pushing around our feet for the two seconds it took for us to ask to try a size…. she just rolled her eyes and kept on vaccing… so with that, we spun on the comfy shoes we were already wearing and sighed deeply knowing that our shoe journey was probably over….. then we took a spontaneous back street…

And we found these!!!! I love them. Handmade right here in Barcelona. Mine are on the left and Me Jenny went for a more sedate pretty pair…

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Each morning for the whole trip we have had a sizeable brekky to set us up for the day, and then each day we’ve come across something delicious looking, but we couldn’t try it, because we weren’t hungry…. each morning we said, ‘shall we just have a light brekky today?’ and each day we had a similar amount….. not like ‘big breakfast’ size, but enough to make you not hungry for a few hours….

Anyway, today we said it and we meant it. Just a little light something and then as soon as we found our shoes, we turned a corner and there was an empanada shop! We’ve seen these all over Spain and wanted to try one, but never did because… breakfast!

Not today…. we shared a little ham and cheese number and it was delicious.

There is a sign on the wall that says: “As they can be eaten with the hands, it is unforgivable to use a knife and fork.” I agree.

And some amazing art – is there no end to the use of a coat hanger? We sat here and admired this artwork while we ate our empanada.

There has been a lot of talk about Christopher Columbus on this trip. Each guide we spoke to told us that he had done something or other in the building we were in. He met with Queen Isabella in this palace…. He sat with the priests in this room…. etc… And here he at the end of Las Ramblas pointing to something else he did – The Americas.

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We found ourselves a lovely spot for lunch overlooking the marina and had glasses of Rose that were nearly as big as our heads…

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And Jenny picked out which boat she would like for her birthday…

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Tonight I had booked a special birthday dinner for Me Jenny at a Michelin Star tapas restaurant Called Bodega 1900. The reviews were fab and it looked like it would be a great experience.

So I donned my new ruby slippers for the occasion and Me Jenny popped on her new top…

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And here was what we tried…

• special liquid olives
• razor clams
• tuna with a tomato and onion sauce (this one tasted way better than it looked, therefore no photo)
• 3 day cured, thinly sliced beef
• tomato bread (a staple in Spain)
• calamari sandwich with aioli and ‘special sauce’
• calamari with squid ink
• meatballs

Then we had cheesecake, but that was gone before I could get a photo!

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From the street, you walk through the front part, which has a couple of small tables and a bar along the wall where you can sit and on the right hand side, they are preparing the cold dishes…

Then through the doorway, you go through to the bar on the right and the table area before the kitchen where they prepare the hot dishes.

You can choose to have the ‘surprise’ menu where the waitperson/chef choose 10 dishes for you or you can just choose from the menu…. We were a bit concerned that we’d get something we didn’t like, but if you choose for yourself and you don’t like it, you’ve only got yourself to blame, so that’s what we did.

Everything was delicious. Happy Birthday me Jenny.