Twenty four years ago, Spanish artist and animator Javier Mariscal discovered an abandoned leather factory on Barcelona's rundown east side. The cavernous complex had crumbling buildings, a smokestack, and an inauspicious location down the block from the local Hell's Angels clubhouse. Mariscal, whose drawing of a friendly sheepdog became the official mascot of the Barcelona Olympics, has what you might describe as a whimsical sense of humor (perhaps you've seen his New Yorker covers or his Oscar-nominated film, Chico & Rita). He decided on the spot to move his studio into the ruins.

The site was "absolutely destroyed," remembers his brother Pedrín Mariscal, who arrived in the early 1990s to manage the complex. He found a rather bleak scene: The grounds were parched and paved with a powdery gravel more suited to the surface of the moon. No more.

Nowadays, it's the lushest, greenest, and most imaginative garden in Barcelona, thanks to garden designer José Farriol. The sprawling compound known as Palo Alto—named, with a wink to Silicon Valley, for the tall spire of the factory's smokestack—is a creative enclave with nearly two dozen art studios and offices for architects, animators, sculptors, photographers and, of course, Estudio Mariscal. There's a staff cantina on site (open to the public for lunch), shady open-air meeting rooms, a fish pond, a kitchen garden. And the old factory walls are cloaked in a green wall of flowering vines four stories high.

Photographs by Pancho Tolchinsky except where noted.

Above: During office hours when Palo Alto's metal gate is open, visitors are welcome. To visit, take the metro to the Selva de Mar station about six blocks away (see map below).

Above: The garden is the work of designer José Farriol (above), a friend who had collaborated with Javier Mariscal on comic books in the 1970s. When Farriol arrived at Palo Alto in 1993, the Mariscal brothers gave him one directive: "We need something green, something alive," remembers Pedrín Mariscal.

Above: "This was my first experience as a gardener," says Farriol. "I started small, by spending a lot of time studying how the light moves through the leaves."

Above: Old friends José Farriol and Javier Mariscal (R), who recently collaborated with another old friend—filmmaker Fernando Trueba—on last year's Oscar-nominated animated film Chico & Rita.

The first thing Farriol brought to the site was an orange tree.

Says Javier Mariscal, "Every time I saw him, he was standing like this with his arms crossed, looking at the sky. I said, 'When are you going to plant the garden?'"

Next came vines. Then a row of palm trees.

"Javier doesn't like things growing in a neat row," Farriol says. "But it was a driveway. You couldn't put a tree in the middle."

Above: The complex, built in the late 1800s, is laid out sort of like a letter "E." A main driveway is the spine. Side streets lead to vaulted-ceiling studios and offices tucked into various buildings. At the end of one long allée is La Cantina restaurant, open to the public for lunch on weekdays. For hours and more information, see Palo Alto.

Above: Under a pergola covered in grape vines is an outdoor meeting room. Photograph by Josh Quittner.

Above: In a shaded spot in the center of the garden is a pond filled with lily pads and goldfish. In the mornings, croaking frogs sun themselves on the banks. Photograph by Josh Quittner.

Above: The Palo Alto gardens have served as a backdrop for films, including Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona ("The scene was about half a minute long," says Pedrín Mariscal).

Above: A network of iron cables screwed into the walls to form a trellis supports many varieties of vines, including bougainvillea, jasmine, quinquefolia, grapes, and creeping ficus.

Above: The old smokestack looms in the background.

Above: Pedrín Mariscal (R) and Farriol in an orchard and kitchen garden—or huerto—that Farriol planted in a narrow strip behind one of the complex's buildings. "It's for the birds," says Farriol. 

Above: Rows of fruits and vegetables, including eggplants, grow in the garden.

Above: Farriol recycles old materials such as metal rods and bamboo stalks and fashions them into tuteurs and trellises in the garden.

Above: A fence and gate made of recycled materials keeps out the local predators—neighborhood dogs, mostly.

Above: The sun sets behind the palo alto at Palo Alto. Photograph via Palo Alto.

Above: It takes about seven minutes to walk from Barcelona's Selva de Mar metro station to the entrance of Palo Alto at 30-38 Carrer dels Pellaires.

Planning a trip? As part of our new Travels with an Editor series, all week long we'll be posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona.

In 1929, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe changed the way architects thought about buildings with his pavilion for the International Exposition in Barcelona. With a modernist nod to classicism, it became an instant modernist icon. And now? Meet the bird feeder version.

Dutch designer Monique Engelund created the sculptural Barcelona Bird Feeder out of durable acacia wood sustainably harvested from European forests; reflecting pool included.

Above: The Barcelona Birdhouse is $200 from Fitsu in Los Angeles.

Above: The Barcelona Bird Feeder is €170 from the Finnish Design Shop or $199.95 from Scandinavian Grace in the US.

Above: A small feeding table is located just under the roof with a birdbath that sits out in the open.

Interesting in learning more about Barcelona design? All week long we'll be posting about our favorite Shops, Restaurants, Hotels, and Gardens in Barcelona.

N.B.: This is an update of a post originally published September 27, 2012. 

Barcelona is the seventh most popular destination in Europe, a fact that filled me with trepidation before I flew there for an eight-day stay last month. I don't like crowds (I have three children, live in California, and have never been to Disneyland), and I certainly wasn't going to Barcelona to see the other 7.3 million tourists who descend on the city in a year.

Easy to say, but tricky to pull off. It's an irony of modern life that the more we travel to exotic destinations, the more generic those places become. If you covered my eyes, spun me in a circle five times, and then pulled off the blindfold in the middle of a random tourist-infested street, I'd be hard pressed to say if I'd arrived on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice...or the ferry landing in Sausalito, California.

To avoid confusing Barcelona with Sausalito, I asked travel expert Teresa Parker of Spanish Journeys, who lived in Barcelona for nearly a decade and arranges culinary tours to Catalonia, to reveal her secrets for seeing the city but not the crowds. And—good news. It turns out her common sense advice will work just as well if you travel to a popular destination other than Barcelona. So if you're headed to one of Europe's six even more visited cities, take note:

Photographs by Michelle Slatalla except where noted.

• Visit landmarks and popular tourist destinations before 9 am (or, in the case of museums, at the moment the doors open). "You want to go, see it, and then leave before the tour buses start queuing up," she says. 
• Get out of town. Take a day trip to a town or small city an hour or so away. "Very few tourists venture off the beaten path," says Parker.
• Walk. And walk. And walk. The best way to see a city is on foot. And it's amazing how fast you can get away from the crowds if you start walking in the opposite direction.
• Take a break somewhere cool and quiet. "It's hard to get a break in Barcelona, which is not a very green-park-like city, but there are lots of churches, and inside of the churches is always cool and peaceful," says Parker.
• Head to a neighborhood you've never heard of. In Barcelona, you can walk north from La Rambla, the city's tourist-clogged central artery, and reach the Gracia neighborhood in about 15 minutes. "It's a real neighborhood, a place where you can feel the rhythm of the city, and poke around in little shops, and just be in a place," says Parker.
• Rent an apartment on a side street instead of staying in a hotel on a main street. 
• Avoid the tourist-y waterfront and beachside restaurants. "Never had a great meal in one," says Parker.
• Realize that the best beaches may be out of town. "North of the city is where the beaches are more beautiful and pristine," says Parker. 
• Ask people who've been there recently for recommendations. Or read local newspapers (Google Translate can make this painless) for tips, so you don't have to rely on less up-to-date magazine or guide book articles. "Usually they just tell you to go to the same places, over and over," says Parker. "Once a restaurant gets written about, it gets ruined and the locals don't go."
• Take a cooking class. "Barcelona is all about the food," says Parker.

Parker writes frequently about Barcelona; for more of her travel tips see Spanish Journeys.

Above: One of the most overcrowded spots in Barcelona is Park Güell, where the fanciful work of Antonio Gaudi (the city's most famous architect) lures so many tour buses that at peak times of day more than 1,200 visitors arrive in a 15-minute period. But you can avoid most of them; see our upcoming Park Güell post (tomorrow) to learn how.

Above: Barcelona's beaches are so overrun with crowds that we couldn't even see sand when we walked down there one recent July afternoon. Don't despair: See our upcoming post (Friday) about where to go to find pristine beaches less than an hour away.

Above: Keep from getting cranky by finding a shady outdoor cafe on a side street—walk a block or two west of the main shopping street Passeig de Gràcia into the Eixample neighborhood to find one—and order a coffee. Or glass of wine. 

"The Eixample is a very beautiful 19th century neighborhood, very pretty and with wider streets than the crowded Gothic quarter," says Parker.

Above: La Boqueria is the biggest and most famous—and most crowded—of Barcelona's 40 open air food markets. It's such a fantastic market that you should visit it anyway (along with one or more of the other quieter neighborhood markets), but there's no reason you have to arrive at the same time tour buses are disgorging passengers at the entrance. We tagged along with one of Barcelona's best chefs on her daily marketing trip to La Boqueria; see our upcoming post (on Wednesday) for her tips about how to shop there like a local. Photograph by Pancho Tolchinsky.

Planning a trip? As part of our new Travels with an Editor series, all week long we'll be posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona.

For those of us not lucky enough to live in Barcelona, there's a network of rental apartments that will allow us to indulge in a Catalonian fantasy.

For availability and prices, go to Destination BCN.

Above: Located in and around Barcelona's central neighborhoods, Destination BCN's apartments range in size from one-bedroom to three-bedroom units. The larger apartments sleep six.

Above: The Principal apartment has two bedrooms, a kitchen, laundry room, and three bathrooms.

Above: Bathrooms are stocked with towels and hair dryers.

Above: The two-bedroom Walden apartment has one bathroom and sleeps four; it's a few blocks west of La Rambla, Barcelona's most popular tourist thoroughfare.

Above: The apartments have kitchens and are stocked with cooking equipment, dishes, and pantry staples including herbs, spices, oil, and vinegar.

Above: The two-bedroom Paso Doble apartment is in a doorman building with an elevator.

Above: The apartments have WiFi, air conditioning, and TVs.

Above: A bay window in the Paso Doble apartment.

Planning a trip? As part of our new Travels with an Editor series, all week long we'll be posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona.

Barely three blocks away from Barcelona's tourist-infested main thoroughfare, on a quiet side street in another world entirely is Caravelle—with fantastic coffee and a menu that faithfully follows the arc of artichoke season. And I'm still thinking about the Moroccan egg breakfast, two weeks later.

I wandered into Caravelle on a recent Saturday morning while walking around in the Raval neighborhood. The sunny year-old restaurant belongs to chef Zim Sutton. Sutton moved to Barcelona with his wife and daughter in 2011 after selling his restaurant in London with a plan to open a new one within six months. This turned out to be overly optimistic. A year later many potential deals had gone sour, and the Australian expat was documenting his increasingly frustrated search on his blog The Unemployable Chef. "And then we found it," he wrote. "It was small, there were robots on the walls for decoration, it was painted dark purple, but it was in a good area. It had potential."

Yes, it did. And speaking as someone who recently ate breakfast there, I think Caravelle was worth the wait.

Above: If you walk just a few blocks west of the tourist carnival that overwhelms the center of Barcelona, the bustle of La Rambla suddenly feels a world away. El Raval is a quieter neighborhood, where the sidewalks still belong to residents riding bikes or walking dogs. Photograph via Caravelle.

Above: Typical menu selections include risotto with artichokes, tomato, and parmesan; bruschetta with ricotta, endive, and bacon; and a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw. "One of the main reasons that I wanted to come to Barcelona was for the artichokes," Sutton wrote on his blog. Good call. 

Photograph via Moonraker Morsels; see this site for a full review of the restaurant and its eclectic Mediterranean-influenced menu.

Above: The walls are no longer painted dark purple. And the robots are gone. Photograph by Brobb565 via Trip Advisor.

Above: Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner—and cocktail hour. Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

Above: Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

Above: Sunday night is taco night. Or at least, most Sunday nights. Posted yesterday on Caravelle's Facebook page: "Tonight is the last Taco Sunday until September. Come on down for Micheladas, Palomas, and homemade tacos. Our new BBQ pulpo taco is killer!" Translation: Galician octopus tacos will be served. Photograph via Caravelle.

Above: Photograph via Caravelle.

Above: Caravelle is at Carrer Pintor Fortuny, 31 in El Raval, a short walk from La Rambla, the city's most popular thoroughfare.

Planning a trip? Check out our new Travels with an Editor series; this week we'll be posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona.

If you are traveling to Mallorca, head for the Tramuntana mountains in the north. A 40-minute drive from the clamor of Palma, the higher ground is punctuated with medieval buildings which seem to have grown out of the mountains themselves. You could stay at the Finca Es Castell, a cluster of stone buildings as much a part of the local countryside as the olive, citrus, and almond groves which it surveys.

Above: The hotel buildings are at the center of a 750-acre working estate, with the mountains rising up behind. An old olive press in the yard is testament to the activities which have traditionally taken place at Es Castell and, thanks to the concept of agrotourism, still do. Tourism and agriculture combine and the old estates survive.

Above: Mallorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands in Spain and the only one with a mountain range. The Tramuntana range was awarded World Heritage site status two years ago, giving protection to endangered flora and fauna. Photograph by Boably1 via Flickr.

Above: Finca Es Castell has 11th century origins and has been owned by the same family since the 15th century. It is managed by a British couple, James Hiscock and Paola Cassini, who have restored and renovated, without sweeping away.

They are proud that agrotourismos such as this are a way of sustaining a traditional way of life. They use salvaged materials and try to keep life very local. Their food, for instance, comes from the estate or from within a 6-mile radius.

Above: The swimming pool at Es Castell has a self-service bar. Modern life is here.

Above: Olive trees pressed into service for hammocks.

Above: The northwest coast of Mallorca is typically made up of mountains dipping straight down into the sea. Swimming is a rocky experience, perfect for diving and snorkeling. Sandy beaches are more typical in the south. Photograph by Boably1 via Flickr.

Above: The terrace, perfect for dining while watching the sun set over the mountains. The estate has a reputation for serving good food with an Italian influence, thanks to innkeeper Paola Cassini. Weekly excursions are offered to accompany the chef to S'Olivar, the fish market in Palma. Balearic fish markets are part of the heart and soul of the islands, best enjoyed in the company of a Catalan-speaking cook.

Above: Part of the appeal of an agrotourismo is the quiet, if you don't count the high-decibel cicadas. This is a genuine rural retreat. Of course there is hiking and cycling nearby, as well as a tennis court on the premises. But the ethos is: Slow down. The innkeepers try to minimize consumption at the hotel and urge guests to stay put instead of tearing around the island. "Don't travel so much," says Cassini. "Our dinners and lunches are great; why not just stay here?"

Headed to Spain? Check out our new Travels with an Editor series; this week we'll be posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona and Beyond.

Treat yourself to a time-out in a hanging chair. Here's a roundup of our rattan-inspired favorites (with a few fabric options for hammock lovers).

Take note that natural rattan is best in a dry location, perfect for hanging on a covered porch or indoors (bring that summer swing feeling inside) from a ceiling beam. Want to hang a chair from a branch in the garden? Synthetic rattan to the rescue. Several of our selections are made with weather-resistant synthetic fibers.

If you prefer something more horizontal, see our favorite Nap-Worthy Hammocks. 

Above: Made in Indonesia of hand-bent rattan, Serena and Lily's Hanging Rattan Chair is suspended by a heavy-duty loop and rope (included) and is $450.

Above: Spotted in the Montauk Surf Lodge and the Jonathan Adler-designed Parker Palm Springs, the Single Hanging Swing from Fran's Wicker is handcrafted from a natural finish rattan and comes with a hanging chain; $325.

Above: The Ikea PS Svinga Hanging Seat is available in white or blue woven polyethylene and features a black hanging rope with shock-absorbing rubber springs; $69.99 at Ikea.

Above: A small option is the Two's Company Hanging Rattan Chair made of natural rattan; $359.81 at Amazon.

Above: The spacious Swingason Chair is made of weatherproof synthetic rattan and includes convenient side pockets for your reading material; $249.99 at Pier One.

Above: The Knotted Melati Hanging Chair offers a macrame-like weave of weatherproof polyester. Available in neutral (as shown) or blue color combinations; $498 at Anthropologie.

Above: From Spanish design team MUT, the Nautica Swing Chair looks like bentwood and features a fabric seat. The indoor version is crafted of peeled and tinted rattan ($3,395), while the outdoor version is made of aluminum tubing ($3,480). Available through Property Furniture in New York.

Above: The Scandinavian classic designed by Nanna Ditzel in 1959, the Egg Chair is available in natural or synthetic wicker (for outdoor use); $3,960 and $4,174 respectively at Unica Home.

Above: Another midcentury design, the Eureka Hanging Chair by Giovanni Travasa with a leather hanging strap is available by order through Unica Home. Contact for pricing and ordering information. 

Above: From Seattle-based Ladies & Gentleman Studio, the Ovis Hanging Chair pairs a felted Navajo wool sling with a wood and metal frame of either brass or copper; $1,795.

Above: Byers of Maine Single Mocha Brazil Hammock Chair is made of recycled cotton with an ash wood spreader that prevents the ropes from sliding inwards; $74.99 at Amazon. 

Explore more posts about Outdoor Furniture. 

I'd like to think I would have noticed sangria's sudden surge in summer popularity even if I hadn't just spent eight thirsty days in Barcelona in the height of the heat. Do you like yours fizzy? I'm a convert after spotting this easy recipe for Sangria Soda via Luxirare:

Photographs via Luxirare.

Above: What kind of wine should you use to make Sangria Soda? "Anything over $10 a bottle for this and you're just being excessive," says Luxirare.

Above: Ah, the fruit. Oranges, apples, pomegranate, lime, and lemon. For step-by-step instructions, see Luxirare.

Above: Carbonated water gives Sangria Soda its fizz.

Headed to Barcelona (or just throwing a theme cocktail party)? Check out our new Travels with an Editor series; this week we'll be posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona.

Even if you are not a fan of the Silly Sand buildings that sprang from the fevered imagination of architect Antoni Gaudí, you should visit his Park Güell next time you are in Barcelona. The skyline view is magnificent and, come October when the city puts a cap on visitors and starts to charge admission, you may actually have a clear sightline through the crowd. For now? Go at sunset when the throngs thin:

Photographs by Michelle Slatalla.

Above: Climb the sinuous, mosaic-tiled stairway at the park's entrance to reach a covered courtyard filled with a forest of 86 massive columns. Here is where you can see the entire city of Barcelona splayed out to the sea.

I went late in the day in July—peak tourist season—and even at 8:45 pm the park was crowded. But it was nothing like mid-day: An average of 25,000 people visit the park every day, and at peak times 1,200 tourists arrive in a 15-minute period. This is too many.

Blaming the crowds for "a constant degradation of this architectural heritage," city officials have decided to start charging admission (€8 for non-residents, €7 for advance purchases) starting October 25. Barcelona residents may visit for free (and at any time of day), but capacity will be limited to 800 tourists per hour.

Above: Intricate mosaic tiles cover the sweep of the staircase, a fountain, and a statue of a dragon at the park's entrance. Whether you admire Gaudí's bizarrely exuberant vision or, like George Orwell consider his work "hideous," you have to admit he was an original.

Born in 1852 into a long line of metalsmiths, Gaudí made models with his hands rather than drawing his designs. "His mature work cannot even be imagined adequately from flat drawings," the art critic Robert Hughes wrote in Barcelona the Great Enchantress ($10.26 from Amazon). "Its surfaces twist and wiggle. The space flares, solemnly inflates, then collapses again."

Above: Gaudí first used broken-tile mosaics at Park Güell, where the curving shapes of his designs precluded the use of standard size tiles. 

Above: A second stairway leads to the upper level plaza, originally conceived as an outdoor market area. Gaudí's intent was to build a planned residential community with 60 houses. But only two were built. After the project failed, the site became a city park. 

The land on which the 60 houses were meant to sit is still open acreage. Paths wind through the park, yet the crowds are concentrated near the park's entrance, known as the Monument Area.

Above: A border of mosaic-tiled benches snakes around the perimeter of the upper plaza.

Above: A detail of the back side of the upper plaza benches.

Above: To the south lays the city and the Mediterranean.

Above: An ornately detailed fence, courtesy of Gaudí, who died in 1926 after being hit by a streetcar. "He was an old codger in a rusty black suit. His pockets were empty (except, by one account, for some orange peel)," wrote critic Hughes. "He carried neither identification nor money, and he was taken at first for one of the thousands of seedy old pensioners with whom the city abounded. Only later, as he lay dying in the public hospital, was it found that he was the 74-year-old Antoni Gaudí."

Above: For tickets and more information, see Park Güell.

Planning a trip? As part of our new Travels with an Editor series, all week long we'll be posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona. 

Yield Design Co. is a San Francisco-based design studio co-founded by Rachel Gant and Andrew Deming. The young duo, both graduates of California College of the Arts in San Francisco, believe in designing simple quality goods that provide better living. We particularly like their US-made Planter Boxes. For more information, visit Yield Design Co.

Above: The Yield Planter Boxes are handmade in the San Francisco Bay Area from raw birch plywood. The exterior of each planter is stained in a different hue; the planters come with 3.5-inch-deep liner pots and trays. 

.

Above: A top view of the planter boxes showing their layered birch edges.

Above: The Grey Planter Box is $48. 

Above: The White Planter Box is $48.

Above: The Salmon Planter Box; also $48.

Looking for more planters? See our Five Favorite Black Planters. 

Located on the island of Mallorca, not far from the ancient town of Arta, Finca Son Gener is a small inn and spa. A few years ago, architect and designer Toni Esteva bought the decaying rustic farmhouse and olive oil mill dating to the 18th century and renovated the property; preserving the essential qualities of the structures but refurbishing the interiors and the grounds. 

Above: Cool limestone floors, white stucco walls, antiques, and a few modern artworks comprise the decor.

Headed to Mallorca? If you head to the Tramuntana mountains in the north, you can stay Off the Grid at Finca Es Castell.

See more of our new Travels with an Editor series; this week we're posting stories about our favorite Gardens, Shops, Lodging, and Restaurants in Barcelona and beyond.

Summer's not over yet; here are five lounge chairs that will give your outdoor space a bohemian vibe (and when the weather turns, they'll be equally at home indoors).

Above: The Acapulco chair reimagined by Roost; the Ellipse Chair features a tonal dyed cotton cord seat and an iron frame; $375 from Modish Store.

Above: The folding Panamericana Deck Chair from Culver City-based Industries of All Nations is $257 for the small size and $338 for the large size at A+R Store in Los Angeles.

Above: The Estancia Chair from Roost features a rugged linen cover and an iron frame; $675 from Modish Store.

Above: For horizontal lounging, the Studio One Indigo Cot from Lost & Found in LA is $850.

Above: The Brommo Chaise from Ikea is made from acacia with a polypropylene rope seat; $59.99 at Ikea.

Headed to the beach? Take along one of our 10 Favorite Folding Deck Chairs. 

It was my intent to warn you away from La Boqueria, the biggest and most famous and most fully touristed of Barcelona's public food markets. I had planned to point out that there were 40 neighborhood markets dotting the city, and to recommend you visit one of the 39 that rarely see a tourist bus or an out-of-towner jonesing for a passion fruit smoothie. I was going to dismissively wave a weary hand at the hype. And then, I set foot inside.

"Oh my God," I whispered.

The ceiling lights shimmered down on 20,000 square feet of food—on the silvery scales of clear-eyed fish on ice; on cured legs of pork hanging like a thick fringe from vendors' stalls; on game birds waiting to be plucked; on mountains of strange musky mushrooms; on gigantic jars of candied fruit peel; on emu eggs, and on a kiosk where Legumes Ladies in white aprons were cooking white beans to a precise state of doneness in water tested for its level of alkalinity every day.

"Here, try one of Juanito's xuxos," said Meritxell Sabate, a Barcelona native who also happens to be one of the city's best cooks—and my tour guide for the day. 

A xuxo, by the way, is a flaky pastry with a custard filling, kind of a cross between a croissant and an eclair, and is sold all over the city. But Juanito's xuxos, I learned after I climbed onto a stool at his Pinotxo Bar, are the best in town. (I had been planning to sail past Pinotxo Bar, by the way, because it's one of those landmarks that has been faithfully recommended as "authentic" by so many guidebooks that owner Juanito Bayén's Pavlovian response to seeing a camera is to stretch his arms wide and to shoot a double thumbs up.)

"Ask him for a coffee too," Sabate advised.

Sabate, a classically trained chef who apprenticed at two-star Michelin restaurants in France before returning home to Barcelona, teaches classes at Cook and Taste cooking school in the nearby Gothic quarter. A few blocks from the market, Cook and Taste's kitchens are on a narrow, twisty side street near some crumbling temple columns the Romans left behind when their empire collapsed. 

In a city where everything is about the food, the chefs from Cook and Taste often take clients on insider's tours of La Boqueria. But today, as she wandered the aisles, Sabate had in mind a simple mission: to find ingredients worthy of becoming lunch. 

Photographs by Pancho Tolchinsky except where noted.

Above: We arrived at La Boqueria around 9 am—early enough to avoid the tour buses.

In the front of the market are the most expensive vendors' stalls. "They pay higher rent, so they want higher prices," says Sabate. "I come in, see what I want, and then try to find it somewhere else—in the back or on the sides."

Above: Juanito Bayén's family's breakfast-and-lunch counter once was in the very back of the market. "His mother used to be here, and at 4 am she would start cooking proper food for the workers who showed up to set up the market, and her food was very popular," says Sabate. Now Pinotxo Bar is the first thing you see when you step inside the market's main entrance.

A secret revealed: Pinotxo's xuxos come from Lis Bakery a few blocks away in the Raval. In the interests of accuracy (and breakfast), I went to Lis Bakery a couple of days later to confirm this fact.

Above: Sabate bought green Italian frying peppers.

Above: Sweet red peppers were for sale from a farmers' market stall on the outer edge of the market.

Above: Mushrooms are sold by weight.

The profusion of beautiful, fresh food is overwhelming—and that's why you have to brave the crowds to visit La Boqueria. Built in the 1800s on the site of a demolished church, it was the city's first central food market and remains its most ambitious by offering an astonishing variety of the foods emblematic of Catalan cuisine: octopus, inkfish, anchovies, rabbit, head cheese, olives from Aragó, almonds and chocolate and eggplants and peppers.

But make it a first stop. Advises food expert Teresa Parker of Spanish Journeys, who arranges food tours of Barcelona, "It's important to go beyond the Boqueria to get a real sense of the city's markets and their role in neighborhood life."

Parker also loves the Mercat de la Concepció in the nearby Eixample neighborhood; if you go, eat tapas at the bar at Cuines Santa Caterina on the market's perimeter.

Above: At Ous, Sabate's favorite egg stand, she can buy turkey, duck, chicken, quail, or emu eggs. When in season, swans' eggs sell for €32 apiece. Photograph by Kathryn Greenhill via Flickr.

Above: Sabate's preferred olive seller is Olives El Pinyol Conserves. "When you buy olive oil, the ones from the north are milder and from the south, bitter and peppery," she said.

Above: A ring of fish stalls is in the center of the market. "It's to keep it separate, to avoid cross contamination," says Sabate. 

Above: We entered the Ring of Fish to buy bacalao (salt cod) for a salad. Many cuts of salt cod are sold including loin, tail, and sin espina (without spine). 

Sabate buys her bacalao from the Goma family stall, operated under a proud sign: "Bacalla d'Importacio."

Above: You can tell you're buying Iberian ham if the hoof is black, says Sabate. "The first quality pork is fed on acorns, and the animals are smaller. You pay a lot more for it." 

Above: Fruit smoothies. "They make those for the tourists," Sabate said. "They're in hotels. They don't have kitchens to cook in. But they want to buy something to eat." Photograph by Fred T via Flickr.

Above: Photograph by Irene Grassi via Flickr.

After an hour at La Boqueria, we were weighed down by many bags—olives, basil sprouts, quail eggs, ripe tomatoes and peppers, Sant Pau white beans cooked perfectly, salt cod, and green onions.

"Now, back to the kitchen to cook lunch," Sabate said.

Want to see what she made? Later today we'll be posting her recipe for Empedrat Summer Salad.

Above: La Boqueria is at Rambla, 91 in Barcelona. For hours and more information, see La Boqueria.
View Larger Map

"I'm very classic and I like traditional food—nothing too fussy or complicated," chef Meritxell Sabate explained the other morning as she wandered the aisles in Barcelona's biggest open air food market, trying to decide what to make for lunch.

Sabate teaches at Cook and Taste cooking school in Barcelona's Gothic quarter and often takes her students on a tour of La Boqueria food market before returning with them to her kitchen a few blocks away. Today, though, her only mission was to find the freshest, most delicious ingredients to make a simple lunch.

She picked up some bright red peppers, weighing them in her hands like the Scales of Justice, and said, "I know. A salad." But not just any salad. Sabate bought ingredients to make the classic Barcelona cold summer salad known as empedrat (which translates literally to "stoned" for some reason). Every Barcelona cook makes a version; our favorite is Sabate's.

For an ingredients list and step-by-step instructions, see below.

Photographs by Pancho Tolchinsky.

Above: "In summer, it smells like peppers in the streets of Barcelona, and like aubergines roasted," says chef Sabate, who studied at a "very French" culinary school in Barcelona before training for two years at two Michelin two-star restaurants in Bordeaux.

Above: Ingredients include cooked white beans, olives, cherry tomatoes, salt cod, and quail eggs (you can substitute a chicken egg).

Above: Sabate slices the salt cod she bought at the market. Note: If you buy dried salt cod, before slicing you must rinse and soak it. For instructions on reconstituting dried salt cod, see Saveur.

Above: She mixes diced peppers and onions into the white beans. She adds black pepper to the salad but relies on the cod to provide the salt.

Above: Using a square ring mold, she packs the bean mixture tightly to make a base for the cod.

Above: A 12-centimeter metal Square Ring Mold is $19.95 from Williams-Sonoma.

Above: She gently lifts off the mold, garnishes the salad and...we dug in immediately. Couldn't resist.

Eager to get out of heat of the city? A mere hour's drive from Manhattan lies a magical sanctuary with sprawling gardens full of Spanish flair. Its primary offering, however, is music—jazz, folk, classical—thanks to the generosity of its music-loving benefactors, Walter and Lucie Rosen. 

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, located in Katonah in Westchester County, is the perfect antidote for the grime and sweat of urban summer living. Go for the music, but take a picnic and linger in the gardens. Recent concerts include Metropolitan Opera stars singing Verdi and Emmylou Harris crooning folk. For more information on tickets and schedules, visit Caramoor.  

Above: The owners of the estate, Walter and Lucie Rosen, bought Caramoor in 1928 as a country retreat. Walter Rosen spent ten years designing and building a sprawling house on the property, and the Rosen House is now a museum open for tours.

The house and its outbuildings have many features of Spanish architecture. The house is built around a central courtyard edged in an arcade supported by 12th-century Byzantine columns. Photo courtesy of Gabe Palacio Photography.

Above: The Rosens were avid collectors, and their house is filled with the art and furnishings they acquired on their many trips abroad, including 15 whole rooms imported piece-by-piece from European palaces and villas. Photograph by Caramoor via Flickr.

Above: Unfortunately, this bucolic setting has a sad provenance. When the Rosens' only son was killed serving as a pilot in World War II, they decided to transform the property into an arts center for the public as a memorial to him. Photograph by Nevik77 via Flickr.

Above: It is no accident that Caramoor has become a preminent concert setting; both Rosens were musicians and treated their friends to concerts in their home featuring well-known artists of the day. Before Walter Rosen became a banker, he considered a career as a concert pianist. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing.  

Above: Lucie Rosen became fascinated with an instrument know as the theremin, named for its inventor, Leon Theremin, who was a friend. This bizarre instrument makes a distinctive eerie sound and is played by waving your hands through an electromagnetic field. Lucie Rosen eventually gave theremin concerts in the US and Europe and commissioned a number of compositions for it. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing.

Above: There are several beautifully maintained gardens to explore, including a shady woodland area with hosta (Shown) and a more formal sunken garden. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing.

Above: Acres of trails welcome hikers. Rolling lawns are a signature of the Caramoor experience; concertgoers are encouraged to spread out a blanket and enjoy a picnic. Photograph by Caramoor via Flickr.

Above: Lucie Rosen is said to have wanted visitors to Caramoor to feel that they had gone to another country in another time. Caramoor seems to have become everything she hoped for, and thousands of people enjoy its gardens, educational programs, and concerts each year. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing.

For an even more Spanish garden—this one in Spain—see The Best Secret Garden in Barcelona.

When Bettie Webster first came to Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands close to Barcelona in Spain, there were just a few houses and automobiles, and all were of the ancient variety. The farmer would go past with his mother, driving a horse and buggy.

That was in 1972. The road beside her house is still unpaved, rare in Menorca now, but the atmosphere in this house and garden retains something of what it was, 40 years ago and beyond. It was certainly lived in by 1760, as indicated by a scratched date indoors, but probably comprised a group of houses centuries earlier.

Photographs by Kendra Wilson, except where noted.

Above: The shutters and doors of most of the farmhouses and townhouses on Menorca are a variation of dark green. It is Bettie's genius to have mixed a color which is different but not wrong. After years of hand-mixing, Bettie's color Gris Oscuro Bettie (Bettie's Dark Gray) is available to buy locally (at Bernat Petrus) and across Spain.

Above: The houses and walls of Menorca rise out of rock. The courtyard, planted with bougainvillea and wisteria as seen from the garden. Holes like this in the walls of Menorca are for water drainage.

Above: Low dry stone walls, with wooden gates made from olive, are the beginning of all the iconography of Menorca. Photograph by Jim Powell.

Above: An unusually shaped perimeter wall divides the courtyard from the unpaved area next to it, which houses a large outdoor bread oven, or forno, plus some small animal dwellings.

Above: Cobbles meet rock plus an oversized stone basin brought over by the local farmer. Vines decorate the entrance from the street. Photograph by Jim Powell.

Above: The outdoor eating area. Flower beds are edged with mares, a local limestone. It is naturally white and blends in with old building stone, which is white-washed. The table is made of pine, with curved legs of olive wood which follow the natural shape of the branches (see gate below). Photograph by Jim Powell.

Above: A restored arch leads from the cobbled yard to the gravel garden. A gardener who worked for the large farm down the road lived here at one time and it is clear that this garden has been cared for over the years. More usual are fields cleared of underbrush with a few olive or almond trees remaining.

Above: A palm tree dominates this cool area by the east side of the house. An old flower bed delineated with stone is now the home for potted plants.

Above: The sitting room from the outside, framed with palm. Photograph by Jim Powell.

Above: The double doors, like all the windows, are shuttered to keep the house cool. Originally the house had a terracotta floor, which had become very rough and uneven after years of wear. Somebody got fed up with it in the 20th century and covered the ground floor with smooth, sweepable Spanish tile. Not without its own charm.

Above: A contrast of grays. Mini Max the cat shimmers against Bettie's front doors.

Continue exploring Spain with our series Travels with an Editor: Barcelona. 

Before traveling to a new city or any destination, the inner shopper in me does a quick mental scan through the list of purchasable items (call them souvenirs) that are endemic to said location. I know I'm not alone in this, and earlier this week Gardenista editor Michelle, having come back from Barcelona with that enviable post-vacation glow, mentioned she had picked up a few olive oil cruets on her trip. The cruet is definitely at the top of the list of must-haves from Barcelona, but if you can't wait until your next visit, we've discovered one of the best, and it's available online.

Designed in 1961 by Catalan architect and designer Rafael Marquina, this olive oil cruet is revolutionary for its non-drip and sanitary features. And according to Olive Oil Times (my new favorite news source), the European Union has been working to ban the use of tabletop cruets in public restaurants. One reason for this is a very French style, AOC-like approach that prevents serving olive oil that has been cut with cheaper varieties; the other reason is for sanitary purposes—if only every restaurant served authentic oils in Marquina's cruet.

Above: The Marquina Olive Oil Cruet is made from glass with a detachable spout and measures 4.7 inches high; $30 from Ancient Industries.

Michelle's enthusiasm for beautiful glass storage containers knows no bounds. Another favorite is A Glass Bedside Water Bottle.

Most of the fancy florists and plant shops in Barcelona are in the fashionable Eixample neighborhood in the center of the city. Guess where they go to buy their plants? Hivernacle.

More than 300 varieties of plants—plus another 200 kinds of cacti—are for sale in a soaring greenhouse that was once home to a plastics factory. The 17-year-old Hivernacle shop and nursery has the city's best selection of house plants, succulents, and (in case you're in the market) 30-foot-tall Giant White Bird of Paradise trees. Thirty feet might be a world record, by the way:

Photographs by Michelle Slatalla except where noted.

Above: "It didn't have an ambiance like this when we found the place," says owner Ignasi Rossinés Bayó. 

Above: The 100-year-old factory was an empty shell when Bayó first saw it. Photograph by Josh Quittner.

Above: You know them as succulents. Plantas crassa thrive in Barcelona's sunny, dry climate.

Above: A cactus, ferns, and more succulents.

Above: The factory's structure and layout were preserved during renovation. Photograph via Hivernacle.

Above: Owner Ignasi Rossinés Bayó waters a Senecio 'Blue Finger.'

Above: Peyote, the cactus.

Above: Hivernacle sells custom raised beds, sized for Barcelona's narrow balcony and terrace gardens.

Above: Coleus likes it sunny (or shady: not picky).

Above: Near the store's front entrance, a 30-year-old White Bird of Paradise tree has grown taller than anyone believed possible.

Above: Same tree, exterior view.

While in Barcelona the other day, we also visited the city's lushest, greenest, and most imaginative garden. See The Best Secret Garden in Barcelona.

After growing up in Basque country, Aran Goyoaga moved to the United States. Fifteen years later, the cookbook author's recipes still reflect her childhood memories. Says Goyoaga, "When people ask me what Basque cooking is all about, I say, 'taking what is available and fresh, and preparing it as simply as possible.' No big fuss. Knowing how to smell the fish and looking into its eyes to see how old it is."

Are you wondering how Goyoaga puts that philosophy into practice when she's trying to decide, on any given morning, what to cook for lunch and dinner? Let's tag along with her on a typical day, as described on her blog Cannelle et Vanille:

Photographs by Aran Goyoaga.

Morning: "It has been hot in South Florida this past few days, reminding us that the cool weather that I love so much is leaving us soon," says Goyoaga. 

In the garden: "This is the peak of the growing season," she says. Visiting a local farm to get her weekly eggs ("and to say hello to the baby goats and chickens"), Goyoaga notices ripe tomatoes, squash ready to harvest, and flowering herbs.

The conversation: "What do you want to have for lunch?" her mother asks after breakfast.

"Let's stop at Whole Foods, after the farmers' market and see what kind of fish they have today," Goyoaga says.

The verdict: At Whole Foods, the yellow-eyed snapper looks "fresh as can be." So it will be fish soup for lunch.

The mid-morning snack: A bowl of cherry tomatoes with sea salt and olive oil.

The prep work: Fish stock, chopped vegetables, local clams, mussels, and Key West shrimp. 

Back to the garden: "There is one ripe strawberry at the moment," says Goyoaga.

Inspired, her mother whips up a batch of arroz con leche.

Dessert: "I did manage to make a quick galette with leftover dough from the book shoot," says Goyoaga. "I tossed together strawberries, rhubarb, apple, sugar, and chamomile leaves to make a super simple filling."

Hungry yet? Check back tomorrow morning, when we'll show you how to make Goyoaga's recipe for watermelon gazpacho.

Published last year, Goyoaga's first cookbook, Small Plates and Sweet Treats, is $19.98 from Amazon.

Looking for more seasonal recipes? See all of our favorite Garden-to-Table Recipes.

After growing up in Basque country, cookbook writer Aran Goyoaga's approach means "taking what is available and fresh, and preparing it as simply as possible. No big fuss." For more, see Basque Cooking Demystified...or try her recipe for a (practically) instant no-cook watermelon gazpacho.

"This recipe is a variation on the classic tomato gazpacho, using watermelon and almonds. It it what I call a 'blender soup.' Place all the ingredients in the blender and it is ready in seconds. Serve it in chilled shot glasses as an amuse-bouche or in bowls as a first course," she says in Small Plates and Sweet Treats ($19.98 from Amazon). "If you are not a fan of raw garlic, you could omit it, but I find that it adds a bit of spice to the soup, which I like."

Would you like us to send you a new recipe every Friday? Subscribe to our Gardenista Daily email.

Photograph courtesy of Small Plates and Sweet Treats.

Chilled watermelon, tomato & almond soup

(Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced seedless watermelon
• 2 medium very ripe tomatoes, peeled (optional) and diced
• 1/4 small red onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons almond flour
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated garlic (optional)
• 1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled, for garnish
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, for garnish
• Fresh herbs of your choice, for garnish

Instructions:

Puree the first eight ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate the soup for one hour. The soup may be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days. Stir before serving, as it tends to separate.

Serve the chilled soup with crumbled feta cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh herbs.

Another summer lunch we're partial to involves Catalonian White Bean Salad.

Would you like us to send you a new recipe every Friday? Subscribe to our Gardenista Daily email.