What to Take Home
You’ll want a little something to remind you of the city.
Icon number one, espardenyes, which you will know as espadrilles (or alpargatas in Spanish) have been worn here for centuries. Incredibly hard-wearing, they are the official shoe of the Sardana dancers. I love their timeless quality, and their smell (is it just me, or does everyone have to give them a sniff?...).
The place to find them is La Manual Alpargatera, an 80-year-old institution in the Gothic Quarter. The back room is a hive of activity where a Pride-worthy rainbow of shoes is created. They work to order to minimise waste and use only vegan leather alternatives.
They’re a symbol of the Catalan working class, and I’m working up to a feature on their history…
La Marquina oil cruet is another local design classic. Designed by Rafael Marquina in 1961, it’s a pleasingly stylish non-drip dispenser which my teenage son refers to as “the bong”. Available in the omnipresent (and fabulous) ferreterias - hardware shops - where doubtless you’ll find other treasures, including Paella pans.
And if you know a teenager who strangely may not consider kitchenware an exciting gift, drop into Top Manta in the Raval where manteros make and sell some distinctive t-shirts for their social enterprise fashion company.
Alternatively, stop for coffee in beautiful vintage cafe Granja Viander near the Boqueria market. On the counter there is an enticing selection of local Simón Coll chocolate, including bars to make hot chocolate - a la tassa. Always a winner. I always regret it if I don’t take some food home. L’Escala Anchovies are available by the jar from most grocery stores, aren’t easy to get outside Spain and are arguably the best in the world. A packet of jamón comes vacuum packed, is super-easy to transport, but rarely makes it all the way home. So maybe buy a few….
And if you need another reason not to fly, the best purchase of all is a bottle of Vermut. The essential Catalan aperitif has become a way of life. It can be white, but here it should be red. For the real artisan stuff, go to vermut-geek bar Morro Fi in L’Esquerra de LEixample, or to Casa Mariol near Sagrada Familia. How and where to drink it needs a page of a it’s own, and so it shall, mañana.
Casa Mariol
Roselló, 442
+ 34 93 436 76 28
Top Manta
Carrer d’en Roig, 13
Granja Viander
Carrer d’en Xuclá, 4