All The Stuff I Miss From Living In Barcelona
julien
Playa del Bogatell Barcelona
Go for a swim in the sea! There is a Meet Up group for Open Water Swimming with an event almost every day. Check out the group, they are super friendly and they wait for you if you're tired :). There are even free lockers on the beach (look for the building with a red cross). The water is shark free and pretty warm from mid May on.
http://www.meetup.com/Sea-swimming-in-Barcelona-all-seasons/
Horchatería Sirvent de Barcelona
Ever heard the song "Horchata" by Vampire Weekend?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58g9PJkqW94
Horchata is what people drink in Barcelona when the weather is too hot. It is a sweet juice extracted from some kind of small potato. The first sip is kinda weird but you may end up loving it like everyone there. Add an ice cream ball in it if you're shy! You'll have the absolute best horchata at Sirvent, don't be afraid of the line, it goes fast. :)
Mercat de Santa Caterina
All my visitors in Barcelona wanted to have tapas.
But after eating deep fried stuff for a week your body and your self esteem may collapse. If it happens, go to the Mercat de Santa Caterina for dinner, check the dishes that are being cooked on the digital screen and pick some good, healthy, catalan stuff.
If you have never tried a gazpacho or a salmorejo (some kind of cold tomato soup), you should. I hated my first one but now I could drink it every day.
Bodega Els Sortidors del Parlament
You can go to any bar in the small street called Parlament and have a great homemade vermouth.
When people in Barcelona meet to drink something before lunch or before dinner, they call it "doing a vermouth". It means they drink vermouth and have something small to eat (remember they have dinner very late).
Vermouth is similar to red Martini. Some of my visitors didn't like it at all though... :)