Elsa May: Barcelona discoveries...

Hello - how was your weekend? I hope you had fun. Thanks for visiting these past few weeks, and for all your sweet comments. I've finally sorted all my photos + various bits and pieces, etc from our Spanish trip. I've popped some pics up here, and here, plus posted some of our adventures on Turtle & Mu. And I thought I'd share a few of my Barcelona discoveries with you. Well, actually, there's more than a few - it was kinda hard choosing from all the incredible things.....I hope you enjoy them.

El Born - sandwiched between via Laietana & Barceloneta this district is filled with chic boutiques, galleries, cafes, and museums. Lots of 'old-town' architecture, wonderful streets for exploring, and fab new designers - what's not to like...

B Huno Barbara Oliveras - so small it doesn't have a website! This lovely boutique stocks modern clothing & accessories, including Beck Sonder Gaard's beautiful wallets and bags. Just in case you feel like a visit, their address is Elisabets 18 Barcelona 08001...

Francisco Godia Foundation - set up to honour the collector Francisco Godia, this private museum is housed in ornate historic building in the Eixample neighbourhood, and has over 1000 pieces on display. An extraordinary collection including paintings, sculpture, glasswork and pottery from the middle ages through to present day, plus it is nicely off the beaten-track, and well worth a visit...

LA Central - one of the best bookshops ever! They have several locations around Barcelona, and as far as art and design books go LA Central is hard to beat. Head along to their La Central del Raval location on carrer d'Elisabets, and you'll happily spend hours browsing...

Àngels Barcelona - an interesting gallery featuring installation art, video, and photography from artists around the world. Hop on to their website to see the huge number of artists they've shown, and to get a peek of what's coming up. (Image from Joan Fontcuberta's Hemogramas series)...

Suspect no concept store - tucked at the end of a quiet little avenue off the bustling carrer de Ferran is this great space dedicated to art, clothing, homewares, decorative objects, and jewellery. We came out laden with goodies, including some nifty Frederik Garcia tees...

Bubo - scrumdiddlyumptious pastries and wonderful tapas...yum! Plus their El Born location, right across from the 14th century Santa Maria del Mar, has perfect outdoor seating to watch the world go by...

Alea Galerie - a uber-modern space devoted to contemporary jewellery and artists. Well worth a visit to view the intricate works on display (and for sale)...

Beatriz Furest - hidden away on carrer del Camp, is Bea Furest's tiny store full of her utterly lovely leather goods. Pretty much everything in there is covetable...

Hotel Regina - located smack in the middle of everything, Hotel Regina elegantly melds old with new, and makes a great base for exploring. If you're travelling with kids book one of their 'family' rooms - they're super spacious and reasonably priced. Oh and their bar/library/lounge area is fab + they do delicious tapas...

Folclore - a lovely boutique selling unique pieces from Portugese designers, including Krv Kurva's La Ga bag made from Tyvek - very clever...

Restaurant En Ville - located near the Museu d'art Contemporani this is a perfect little bistro - great food and great ambience. I can't recommend it enough...

Helena Rohner - I have long (and I mean long) had an obsession with Spanish designer Helena Rohner's beautiful pieces. Her boutique in El Born is uber-lovely, and full of fluid pieces made from silver, porcelain, and wood...

All in all we had the most wonderful time, with the ideal amount of time in each place. I fell in love with Barcelona - such a city of contrasts - and I would dearly love to go back someday...

I hope your week is off to a good start, I'll be back tomorrow with some of this'n that.