We started off the next day by getting tickets for a sightseeing speed boat journey. The ticket kiosk and boat boarding area were both in Port Vell, in front of the Port Authority Building.
Before we got on, we got ourselves lunch from a food stall right beside the boat docking area. This stall sold hot dogs and crêpes. Lunch that day was a hot dog garnished with ketchup, mayonnaise and fried onions. It was a perfectly average hot dog, truth be told. However we like it very much and we actually got the same hot dog several times over the course of the few days we were there.
The passenger speed boat we boarded was not terribly big, which enabled it to reach high speeds. We were excited at the prospect of a fast, exciting journey along Barcelona’s coastline. Each boat ride was 50 minutes long, but not all of that time was at high speed. The boat had to follow a speed limit until it cleared pass the Port of Barcelona which took about 10 minutes. Nevertheless, it was indeed fun when it sped up and we were able to catch some remarkable sights along the coastline.
The boat brought us far from the coastline. The numerous people on Barcelona’s crowded beach were just specks on the beach from where we were. The giant golden whale sculpture was visible and it glistened in the sunlight, making for an impressive sight.
It gave us a view of Port Vell that could not be obtained any other way.
The boat brought us around Port Vell itself and a brief explanation of the harbour was provided by the crew. Pictured here is the clock tower of Port Vell, which used to be a lighthouse.
After the boat ride we headed towards the beach (yes, again). We wanted to spend some time there during the afternoon with the rest of the crowd as opposed to the previous time when we were there in the evening. The atmosphere in the afternoon was totally different from what it was the other evening. It was lively, energetic and fun as opposed to the more relaxing and romantic evening atmosphere. It was great how one place can provide two different experiences, both of which were absolutely brilliant!
Dinner on our last night in Barcelona was at Can Ramonet, another Lonely Planet suggestion.
There was a choice of indoor and outdoor seating, we chose the latter as it was a nice evening that day.
Even so, the interior of the restaurant looked very nice and pleasant. It had a traditional style décor with wooden furnishings.
To start things off, we had the Fried Baby Squid (Calamar a la Romana) for €14.90. This was an appetising way to start dinner off. The squid was nice and salty, though even better after squeezing the lemon over it!
One of our mains was the Vermicelli Noodle Paella (Fideos Banda) priced at €16.60 per person. All paella dishes must be ordered for a minimum of 2 people, therefore the total for ours was €33.20. We thought it was totally worth it. The portion was HUGE and it was absolutely delectable! The noodles had a hint of spice in it and the burnt edges were surprisingly really good!
When ordering, we thought the portion of paella wasn’t going to be enough for us (but it was huge, definitely enough to make two people full). So we got ourselves the Gilthead Bream Packed in Salt and Baked (Dorada a la Sal) for €23.05. The fish was very fresh and as its name suggests, the method of cooking it was simply to bake it with a lot of salt. This enabled us to taste the true flavour of the fish without much influence from outside flavours. Such a dish can only be good if the fish was fresh and Can Ramonet provided us with exactly that.
Dessert was a slice of St John’s Cake (Coca de Sant Juan) for €6.40. This cake is not a regular item on the menu, but we were lucky to be there around St John’s Day. In conjunction with the festival, these cakes were commonplace and we decided to try one after a recommendation from our friendly waiter. The cake was not so much like a cake, but more like fruit bread. Nevertheless it tasted great and we were glad that we were able to try something totally new to us.
Speaking of St John’s Day, we stumbled upon this celebration on the way back from the restaurant. It was a lively event, with lots of people dancing and playing with fire! Very exciting indeed!
Well, that’s the end of our last night in Barcelona. Our last dinner did not disappoint and if anybody wants to check the restaurant out, a website is available here. But wait! That’s not the end of Barcelona! We still have the next day’s lunch to share with all of you, watch this space!
Restaurant Information
Maquinista, 17
08003 Barcelona
Spain.
Tel: +34 93 319 3064
