Labor Day in Spain (Dos Palillos forgot to tell me they were closed)

So, I was all excited about my first day as a stage at Dos Palillos. I arrived a 1/2 hour early, at 1:30 p.m. The gate was down over the employee entrance and there were no lights on in the restaurant. I thought, “Well, maybe, just maybe everyone shows up at 2?” Nope. It’s labor day and they forgot to tell me they were closed today. No matter, I had a wonderful afternoon walking around town for 3 hours. And, I have a bit of a cold so I wasn’t looking forward to trying to keep my nose from running everywhere in the kitchen.

Yep, I indeed went back to one of my new favorite chocolate/pastry shops – Bubo. The picture at top is the chocolate and salted macadamia nut bar I bought as a treat. I ate about half of the bar and drank some fresh ginger iced tea I made for myself. I’m really into the fresh ginger tea these days, as it helps my stomach and is good for colds, as well.

Ahhhhh, that chocolate was a delicious 6:00 p.m. snack! I love that Bubo doesn’t tell you on the box just how many ounces are in the entire bar, or the fat or calorie count. My philosophy on food indulgences is if it’s high quality, then just go for it and remember to balance it out in other ways. My balance? I did eat something healthier for me before that. I made myself a big salad with some tuna and a side of pan con tomate with a fresh baguette I picked up along my journeys today. I love that you can buy a really good, fresh made-that-day baguette for 1 Euro.

I walked through the Born neighborhood, which I love, and found a few more little restaurants I need to try. Here are a few pics I took. As you can tell, it is the most gorgeous day here.

A government building that I think is just beautiful:

And, another building in El Born with some cool art and vines up the side:

Now, it’s time to throw my feet up as my dogs are barking. Stay tuned for news on my first day at Dos Palillos.