A Return to Travel: To Barcelona on Singapore Airlines SQ378/377 SIN-BCN-SIN (Y)

[yflyer]

That evening, before dinner, I headed to Arenas de Barcelona, a shopping mall and entertainment centre rebuilt and reconstructed from a former bullfighting ring, where the last bullfight took place in 1977.



There were striking views on the top floor of this structure. The pic was taken after I left, but I was also there earlier in the evening, and took in some of the wonderful views...



I headed to Quinto Quinta, a cocktail bar on the rooftop of Arenas for a G&T...







G&T's are serious affairs in Barcelona, and there are many varieties, typically served in large goblets, and garnished with fruit...



There was an endless variety of G&T's, which each tasted quite distinctive...

[yflyer]

After evening drinks, I headed to the Gothic Quarter for dinner with my colleagues at Los Caracoles, a place reknown for their signature dish of snails.

We began with a wonderful jamon iberico de belotta...



...but one of the highlights of the meal was their signatured dish of "Los Caracoles" snails, which you prised out of their shells with a toothpick...



These were deliciously addictive, before long my plate was full of empty snail shells...



The paella here was really delicious as well...



...and finally whole sole, beautifully prepared and very skillfully deboned before serving...



This was a wonderful dinner in a very rustic and traditional environment.

[yflyer]

The next day, Mobile World Congress 2022 (MWC22) opened to great fanfare...



The event was cancelled in 2020, and a limited event took place in 2021. This event in 2022 recaptured some of the buzz of previous years, with very good attendance and a wide range of exhibitors and conference speakers.



There were many health and safety measures in place, including compulsory FFP2 masks for attendees, and a digital entry badge on your mobile phone, which only gave you an entry QR code after you completed a mandatory digital health declaration on the app.

Although not mandatory, I also did an ART each day before heading to the trade show, as recommended by my company.

Apart from the more technical and specialised telecom products and services, MWC showcased a lot of new technology, including many of consumer interest, such as VR and metaverse exhibits from the likes of SKTelecom. In the words of CNBC, The metaverse stole the show at Mobile World Congress.

[yflyer]

In the evening, after Day 1 at MWC, I headed to Boadas Cocktails, the oldest cocktail bar in Barcelona...



This intimate place had a wonderful vibe...



The decor was old school...



...and so were the cocktails...

This place was the opposite of the trendy hipster cocktail / mixology places that are sprouting up all over these days.

The menu comprised Boadas' signature cocktails and creations...



...as well as their versions of the classics...



The bartenders here were amazing...



They could teach our Singapore teh-tarik sellers a thing or two about how to "pull" a drink..

And many of the drinks here were poured from the mixing glass straight into the glass placed at your seat...



... and filled right to the brim...



The drinks here were sublime and really packed a punch. A couple of cocktails here were all I could handle...



My head began to spin afterwards...

Thankfully Boadas was also located along La Rambla, I could just stagger back to the hotel a couple of hundred meters away afterwards...

I liked this place so much I returned again with a friend later in the week...



...to sample more of what they had to offer...

[yflyer]

Later in the week, I headed to Restaurant 2254, just off Rambla de Catalunya, a major thoroughfare chock full of shops and restaurants...



There was indoor seating...



...as well as outdoor tables where one could dine while enjoying the lively street atmosphere...



We browsed their menu before ordering a selection of sharing plates...





Everything was delicious, just delicious...

Acorn-fed Jamon Iberico (Of course)...



...eaten with the traditional accompaniment of bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil...



Anchovies on crisp bread sprinkled with cured sheep cheese...



Croquettes with red prawn...



Razor clams...

[yflyer]

Beef tartar on a brioche bun...



Crispy suckling pig...



Chicharron, or slow roasted pork jowl...



Dumplings, stuffed with oxtail and gorgonzola cheese sauce...



Potato Mochi and truffle...



A wonderful meal at a great location!

[yflyer]

The day before heading home to Singapore, I headed to La Boqueria market for breakfast with my colleague...



While we did not eat at Pinotxo Bar this time round, it was great to see the ever-cheerful owner Mr Juanito Bayen still behind the counter. Now in his late 80's, Mr Bayen is a legend, and true to form, was kind enough to lower his mask and give me a big smile and a thumbs up when I came up to take a photo!



For breakfast, my colleague brought me to Quim...



..whose breakfast speciality was fried eggs with a range of toppings...



They were also very proud of their Josper BBQ, with many items on their menu cooked on the Josper charcoal oven/grill...



Josper ovens are quite unique in that rather than using gas or electricity, they use charcoal, and are a uniquely Spanish invention. There is at least one restaurant in Singapore that uses a Josper, and that is Pura Brasa at Guoco Tower at Wallich Street. Worth a visit if you have a craving for Spanish cuisine in Singapore.



As this was the 2nd last day of our trip, I indulged in a glass of Cava at breakfast...



A great way to begin!



The red prawns in the counter looked amazing, so I decided on eggs topped with prawns in cava...

[yflyer]

My eggs were cooked to order...



...and simply tasted spectacular!



I used the accompanying bread to soak up the delicious gravy mixed with runny egg yolk...



...and mopped up every last bit of it...



The blood sausage also looked irresistable...



I just had to have one too...



What a find! I would definitely want to eat here again if I was back in Barcelona...

[yflyer]

After breakfast, I took a quick stroll around La Boqueria Market...



The array of seafood and other product here was still as mindboggling as before...



There was sea urchin...



...chickens still with feathers on their heads...



Meat counters displayed what we, in Singapore, would refer to as "spare parts"...

[yflyer]

I always make it a point to bring Jamon Iberico back to Singapore...while you can get this in Singapore, it costs way more, and the range and quality you get here is simply incredible...



Over here, it is accepted practice to try before you buy...



Pandemic or no pandemic, slivers of Iberico were expertly sliced and offered to me to pick up with my bare fingers, to taste...



Mmmmm...delicious...

The Jamon Iberico was conveniently packed into 100g vacuum-sealed flat packs, each about the size of a thick A4 sheet...very convenient to take home. I picked up pack after pack...

[yflyer]

I also checked out the butchers, at La Boqueria, which offered Spanish Txuleton / Chuleton steak, where the beef comes from more mature cattle...



These cuts of steak had so much more depth flavour than beef from, say, Australia or the USA, because those are typically from much younger animals.

[yflyer]

My last dinner of the trip was at Suculent, a restaurant I had dined at on a previous trip. This was one of my favourite restaurants in Barcelona.

As this was a business dinner, I only took one photo, but needless to say, the restaurant did not disappoint -- it was a wonderful meal, where our party was very well taken care of, and had an amazing tasting menu, paired with delicious wines.

All the dishes there were great...one highlight was the beef tartar on bone marrow, with the added indulgence of generous shavings of white truffle...

[yflyer]

The next morning, it was time to head home...

My flight was SQ377 BCN-MXP-SIN, a 10.10am departure.

The previous day, I had taken a pre-departure PCR test, conveniently arranged by my company a nearby hotel. My friend who departed BCN the day before told me that ART tests within 48 hours of departure were now acceptable as well, and that he had no difficulty doing a walk-in ART in Barcelona, but as I had previously arranged for a PCR, I went ahead with that. Thankfully the test was negative, and I headed to the airport armed with a printed copy of my negative test result.

Barcelona's El Prat Terminal 1 was busy that morning, but not overly so.



There was a snaking queue for SQ's economy check-in counters...



Premium/KF Gold and Business Counters had far shorter queues...



SQ's ground staff were very careful to ask pax's nationality and final destination, as the rules for each permutation were quite complex. As a Singaporean whose final destination was Singapore, things were fairly straightforward. At the counter, I produced my negative PCR test result, which was examined by the check-in counter staff before my boarding pass was issued.

The next step was to clear security. The main security queue in T1 was very busy indeed...



Thankfully, one of the perks of KF Elite Gold / Star Gold, was eligibility to use the fast lane...



I was very happy to be informed of this by the check-in staff, who directed me to the far left end of the terminal to use the fast lane, which had minimal queues...



I was through to the airside shopping area in minutes...



There was still an outbound passport control step before one got to the international boarding gates, and the queues there took a while to clear...



There is still an airside outdoor area for pax to chill before their flights...



Rather than go there, I headed straight for the designated SQ lounge, the Miro Lounge...

[yflyer]

The Miro Lounge at Barcelona El Prat Terminal 1 seems to serve many, if not all, of the international airlines that operate out of BCN.



It is quite a large lounge...



...with modern, minimalist styling...



It wasn't too crowded that morning...



There were views of the airside shopping area from within the lounge...



Sofa seating...



...as well as more intimate spaces for privacy.



Work desks...



Table seating...



...and a large dining area...

[yflyer]

A buffet spread was laid out in the dining area...



At that time of day, mid morning, selections mainly comprised of cheese and cold cuts...



Sandwiches and buns...





...and pastries...



Soft beverages were self service...





Whereas wine and liquor were served at a manned counter...





I requested a glass of Cava...



The friendly lady manning the counter suggested a Rosé Cava, which really hit the spot...



Overall, I thought this was a decent lounge to spend time before a late morning flight.



I'm not sure what kind of catering they have in the lounge at lunch or dinner time, but if one needed to eat at the airport, there were many airside restaurants where one could dine before heading for passport control.