Spanish Seafood From Barcelona
My father once traveled with me to Spain for business and pleasure. It was wonderful being with him but more eventful than I had expected. We drove from Madrid to a small village south of Barcelona that a friend had recommended to us. The trip held few surprises until I discovered my dad did not feel limited by the language barrier. Upon returning from parking our car near the café where we stopped for lunch, I found my dad trying to speak in sign language with the café owner. The owner didn’t speak a spot of English but told me (in Spanish, because I speak it) that he found my father totally charming.
An hour later we arrived at our hotel south of Barcelona, where we leased an inexpensive room on the bay. Our breakfast was included and consisted of cheeses, eggs, olives, Greek yogurt and coffee. After getting settled in our room we decided to stroll down the avenue along the beach where we discovered several cafes that specialized in a dish called paella with chicken and shellfish and another called fideos with seafood. My dad loved paella and I had heard that one particular café specialized in seafood with fideos Andalucian style that I enjoyed. We took pleasure in a bottle of Rioja and our entrees while watching the local fishing boats return to their moorings with the day’s catch as the sun set over the water. Eating alfresco is sublime and enjoyable.