I read reviews of this bakery on the traveling site, Trip Advisor, and everyone said it was by far the best bakery in Barcelona. I went first thing in the morning and it just took about 10 minutes to get there by metro, plus a little walking. It definitely lived up to its reputation!
The primary language of Barcelona, Catalan, is derived from Latin, and isn't a Spanish dialect like I originally thought. Portuguese is more similar to Castilian Spanish than Catalan.
You can see some Catalan in the bread signs. Pa, not pan, for bread, and biològica, not orgánico, for organic. The word for whole wheat, integral, is the same in Catalan and Castilian.
A magdalena is a special Spanish cake with a hint of lemon. The name comes from a young girl named Magdalena who gave small cakes to pilgrims making the long trek to Santiago de Compstela in Galicia.
My culture teacher, Ivan, raved about magdalenas, but I never got around to trying one. I bought a croissant and a small whole wheat seeded loaf instead while at Baluard.
croissant integral
I've never seen whole wheat croissants for sale and was so excited to try this one. Even though it was whole wheat, it was still buttery, flaky, and delicate. I loved the addition of the seeds; however, my French friend, Jean, thought it was sacrilege to put seeds on a croissant. When I asked him if he'd go back again to Baluard, he said, "No, because they sell croissants with seeds!"
My croissant was toasted, which made it extra special, since warm baked goods are far superior to cool ones.
I made it back just in time for my 10:00 Casa Mila reservation. Casa Mila, aka La Pedrera, is a Gaudí creation and took 6 years to build, from 1906-1912. This roof-top structure reminded me of soft serve ice cream.
Comments
Post a Comment