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00:00Come with me on a voyage through Spain.
00:08Buenos dias, mi capitán.
00:10As I reveal the secrets.
00:12What an amazing building.
00:14That is magnificent.
00:15Of places you think you know.
00:17Look at the size of this.
00:21And the little known regions.
00:23That is spectacular.
00:25Just waiting to be discovered.
00:27This is very nostalgic for me.
00:29Smell the money.
00:30Ooh.
00:31Suddenly we're on the Riviera.
00:33But I'm inside the barrel.
00:35Together we'll go beyond the hot spot.
00:38Absolutely spectacular.
00:39It's so remote.
00:40Arriba!
00:41Fuerte!
00:42To the places where the magic is made.
00:44You have to love heat and smoke and flame.
00:47Yay!
00:50I can't wait to show you.
00:52Today I reveal secrets from Barcelona.
01:01Where we discover a neglected GaudÃ.
01:04What an amazing building.
01:06And a tipple to kickstart the day.
01:08Wow.
01:09That's a big vermous.
01:10Cheers.
01:11I go shoulder to shoulder with the locals.
01:14Putting in.
01:15My legs are trembling.
01:17And search out the best food.
01:19This pan is full of generations of history.
01:22It's emotional for me.
01:23In a city of style and sophistication.
01:26Our journey through Spain begins in what many would consider its worst kept secret.
01:43Welcome to Barcelona.
01:50Nestled between the Montserrat Mountain and the Mediterranean Sea,
01:54Barcelona is the capital of Spain's Catalonia region.
01:59Around 15 million visitors crowd its tourist hotspots every year.
02:05Queuing for a glimpse of the astounding Sagrada Familia Basilica.
02:09And jostling for space along its most famous street, Las Ramblas.
02:17But that's not for us.
02:19I'm going to show you a face of Barcelona rarely visited.
02:23Away from the souvenir shops and tour guides.
02:27Where locals celebrate with Catalan pride and passion.
02:36What a magnificent view.
02:37I first set eyes on Barcelona when I was 10 years old.
02:41And maybe you know it too.
02:43Or do you?
02:44In a city whose centre has begun to groan under the weight of tourism with some local ructions.
02:51From here you can see that there are so many neighbourhoods where we will feel like pioneers.
02:59Viewed from above, Barcelona's symmetrical layout and grand architecture are plain to see.
03:05Built on the back of a booming 19th century textile industry.
03:10When the city was known as the Catalan Manchester.
03:14Dominating the skyline is the extraordinary Sagrada Familia Basilica.
03:19Designed at the height of that industrial age.
03:24The Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi created extraordinary buildings that project to the world a powerful image of Barcelona.
03:34Like the Casa Mila and the Casa Barriol.
03:39Yet one of his creations remains something of a secret.
03:44140 years after it was built.
03:48I've come to the neighbourhood of Gracia, which is uphill and inland from the city centre.
03:53Indeed it was only incorporated into Barcelona at the end of the 19th century.
03:58In the years before that, as industrialisation spread, they built steam textile factories out in the nearby villages such as this one.
04:06And that brought a population of bourgeoisie, the owners and the managers, and a proletariat of machine operatives.
04:16Hidden up one of Gracia's back streets is something totally unexpected and quite exceptional.
04:24A breathtaking example of Gaudi's earlier work that very few people visit, which I can't wait to show you.
04:32Hello, Macarena.
04:35Hola.
04:36Hola.
04:37Buong dia.
04:39Commissioned by a wealthy stockbroker of the day, Casavicens was the very first family home designed by Gaudi.
04:47And a proving ground for his originality.
04:50What an amazing building.
04:53It's extraordinary, isn't it?
04:55Architectural historian Macarena will show me around.
04:59It was like his first important work.
05:03And he was like less than 30 years old.
05:0730! I mean, he was very, very young.
05:09I think he maybe wanted to show how much he was able to make and do.
05:15Looking at the exterior, I see lots of flowers on the tiles.
05:18I see palm leaves in the gates.
05:19Yes, of course.
05:21You know, Gaudi's nature was always his source of inspiration.
05:24And when he came here at first, he was just walking around the area.
05:29He saw a lot of yellow flowers, you know, the palm trees.
05:34Today, Gracia is a built-up neighbourhood.
05:37A couple of metro stops from the city centre.
05:40In Gaudi's day, it was a distinct rural village.
05:44Casavicens was designed as an opulent country manor
05:49with extensive gardens surrounded by countryside.
05:52And he carried those themes into the interior.
06:00So much detail everywhere, isn't there?
06:03And the vegetation continues inside.
06:06The ceiling is full of vegetation, the walls.
06:09Yes.
06:10Amazing.
06:12Now, I'm going to show you this balcony
06:14because it connects the outside with the inside.
06:17And can you imagine?
06:19Another place much more better than this for relax and sit.
06:23So many inspirations here.
06:25This is Japanese.
06:26We've got the inspiration of nature again in the ceiling.
06:29And this thing, I suppose you would say, is Islamic-inspired?
06:31Yes, completely.
06:33Again, Gaudi was very young.
06:34He was learning.
06:36He's going to use nature, all the styles,
06:39as a source of inspiration for the structures of the buildings.
06:43Like this alcove inspired by the Alhambra in Granada.
06:48Oh!
06:50This is where you say, wow.
06:53You do say, wow.
06:55This is completely over the top.
06:56You can see how he was using a lot of different techniques for this decoration.
07:00And something very original.
07:02If you look at the wall, you never guess what it is.
07:05He was able to make something extraordinary from something so simple as paper.
07:10This is papier-mâché.
07:12And here, actually, you can see that the tiles are curving around the wall.
07:15Yes.
07:17Which a normal ceramic tile simply doesn't do.
07:22Every inch of this extraordinary house features the meticulous attention to detail that is a hallmark of Gaudi.
07:33It led to Catalan modernism, a movement similar to Art Nouveau.
07:37It's a house full of surprises.
07:41Then this leads through.
07:43Yes.
07:44Gaudi, instead of making a long corridor, he designed this space where, you know, the doors can be open and closed for privacy.
07:53So I'm going to lock doors because of...
07:57I see.
07:59And then these doors also close.
08:02And these doors close, too.
08:09Leaving me in the dark.
08:12Hello?
08:14Hello?
08:18It might seem a bit frivolous to build fantastical rooms for rich clients,
08:23but actually, Gaudi was a serious and deeply religious man who once wrote,
08:27Imagine a house neither small nor big.
08:31And by enhancing and enriching it, it becomes a palace.
08:35Well, you certainly achieved that here.
08:38Next.
08:40I understand you have a custom of drinking vermouth in the middle of the day.
08:44I enjoy a morning tipple.
08:46Cheers.
08:48And step into a fantasy.
08:49I find myself in a magical fairy glade, beckoned by the sound of dance music.
09:04I'm showing you the secret side of Barcelona.
09:08Well off the tourist trail, where Catalan culture is proudly celebrated.
09:14A ten-minute stroll from our first stop at Gaudi's Casa Vicente,
09:20situated in an unremarkable back street, is a very traditional bar.
09:25It's known for serving an aperitif, which is a big part of local culture,
09:31even though most of us wouldn't associate it with Spain.
09:33Hola.
09:35Hola.
09:37What's up, Michael?
09:38David.
09:40David.
09:41Un placer, Michael.
09:42Carlos.
09:43Carlos, encantado.
09:45What a lovely place you have here.
09:48This has so much atmosphere.
09:49Yeah.
09:50This is from the beginning of the 50s, but in 2010.
09:53We do a conservation of this place.
09:56David and Carlos' bar is celebrated for its vermouth,
09:59a fortified wine flavoured with herbs and botanicals
10:04that became popular in Italy and France in the 18th century.
10:08It was introduced to Barcelona in 1876.
10:12The city embraced and absorbed it,
10:15enthusiastically creating its own vermouth culture.
10:19Now, I understand you have a custom of drinking vermouth
10:23in the middle of the day.
10:24Yeah.
10:25Correct?
10:26During the morning, before your lunch,
10:29you do the vermouth.
10:30You can do the vermouth every day,
10:32but we used to do during Saturday or Sunday.
10:36Time to drink like a local.
10:39Carlos, may I have a vermouth, please?
10:41OK.
10:45You didn't ask me what brand.
10:48Because I only have one type of vermouth, OK?
10:52It's a house vermouth.
10:54It comes from here, from the barrels.
10:56Each bar crafts its own vermouth,
10:58faithful to a secret recipe of herbs and botanicals.
11:02Wow.
11:04That's a big vermouth.
11:06Red vermouth is usually sweeter than white.
11:09The boys tell me that theirs is slightly more bitter, too.
11:13And it's the same recipe from the 15th when the place is open.
11:18If you feel like a really strong vermouth,
11:21you can put a little bit of soda water.
11:23I like this. This is a really old-fashioned soda siphon.
11:27It's all part of the atmosphere here.
11:29But I'm enjoying this straight.
11:31Gracias.
11:33Carlos, why is it such a thing for Catalonia?
11:36Why is it such a thing for Barcelona to have the vermouth?
11:38Well, the vermouth for us is not only a drink,
11:42but it's a moment to share, OK?
11:44You can say that you can go to make a vermouth, OK,
11:47without taking the vermouth.
11:49The vermouth is much more than not only a drink,
11:51but it's also just to share that moment of the food.
11:55It's the social moment, opening up your appetite before lunch.
12:01In Barcelona, vermouth is often served with a plate of pickles and preserves,
12:05offering a salty contrast to the sweet drink.
12:09My mixed snack of the house, Kivet,
12:13turns out to have anchovies, razor clams, olives,
12:18a few cobbles with a little tuna.
12:25Está muy bueno. Very good.
12:28Muchas gracias.
12:30I love places like this, and I think probably most cities have them.
12:34Somewhere that you can go that has been unchanged in maybe 60, 70 years,
12:39for which you feel a nostalgia.
12:42I don't know, life was simpler there.
12:44And it's about the simple things.
12:46It's about good food, decent wine, pleasant company.
12:50So now, when I travel, I always hope to find a place exactly like this
12:56that somebody has saved for all of us.
13:00Felicidadis, congratulations, boys.
13:02Whoo!
13:04Always happen.
13:06Cheers!
13:10Skirting the main tourist area,
13:13our next stop is about a mile and a half away,
13:15north-west of the city centre.
13:18The neighbourhood of Sants is home to Barcelona's main railway station.
13:23Most visitors pass through it en route to their hotels.
13:27But we're stopping to explore.
13:35Sants was just a small settlement with a church going back to 1100,
13:39until the Industrial Revolution brought it this steam-powered textile factory
13:43complete with towering chimney.
13:46It's now thoroughly absorbed in Barcelona,
13:49but it still has the feel of a village.
13:52And for the last 100 years or more, they have celebrated an annual party.
13:57And by luck and design, I'm here on the right day.
14:03The Festa Major began as a 19th-century religious festival
14:08celebrating Saint Bartholomew.
14:09And it's one of hundreds of local fiestas that punctuate the calendar throughout Spain.
14:15I recommend searching them out for a glimpse into the heart of a community
14:21and to feel its spirit.
14:25The beer is flowing.
14:27The table football competition is underway.
14:30The sound systems are being tested.
14:32Over eight days every August, the traffic is shut out.
14:36And the locals come together to decorate the streets.
14:40I find myself in a magical fairy glade, beckoned by the sound of dance music.
14:45And this is the traditional dance of the Catalans.
14:52The Sardana.
14:57It's a dance that's spread through Catalonia over the last couple of centuries.
15:03It's quite simple.
15:05It's danced in circles.
15:10It's very Catalan.
15:12It's said to represent the harmony and unity and democracy of Catalonia.
15:22Might it even be simple enough for me?
15:24Although this fiesta is generally local, the galumphing stranger is warmly welcomed into the ring.
15:36Hey!
15:40I simply step from time to time and bounce from time to time, and it all seemed to work out quite well.
15:46Having joined the Sardana, where else can I throw my weight about?
15:51A few streets away, a distinctively Catalan tradition is taking shape.
15:56It's believed to have originated from a 17th-century dance in which one cavorter swayed on another's shoulders.
16:04These human towers are known as Castells and are constructed throughout Catalonia.
16:09I'm meeting enthusiastic members of the Sants group, Rouget and Maria.
16:17So as I understand it, you build towers of people.
16:21You have lots of people at the bottom, then you have layers of people on top of each other like this, going up into the sky.
16:28And so the only question is, why?
16:31That's a very good question.
16:34It's tradition and brings the whole neighbourhoods together.
16:38And why not try to climb one on top of the other one and let's see how far we can get?
16:44Why not? Why not indeed?
16:46The Castells rely on trust, since all must reliably play their part.
16:52At the base, the older, bigger members of the community bind together to form a solid foundation.
16:58The tower grows as lighter and more agile climbers scramble upwards, with the small children occupying the top spots.
17:07Now, Roger, you would never send a child of yours to the top, would you?
17:14Of course I would. My daughter is doing it.
17:16Your daughter is doing it.
17:18How old is she?
17:20Seven years old.
17:22Is it your heart in your mouth?
17:23I love it, because climbing to the top of the tower, that's quite a privilege.
17:30Tonight, I'm joining the rehearsal.
17:34First, I need to be bound tight.
17:37Nice!
17:38Yeah, it's going well.
17:39You believe it?
17:40It's going great.
17:42Lovely.
17:43Like this, you have your back protected.
17:45That's fabulous.
17:46And also, I noticed that the climbers use this.
17:50They put their feet in here.
17:51Yeah, that's it.
17:52Their feet, yeah.
17:53And they use this bit as well, don't they?
17:54Yeah, that's it.
17:55Knee and then the shoulder.
17:57There's a technique that is going with the rehearsal.
18:00They can make it finer and finer.
18:02You just saw your little daughter, Etna, going up the top of the tower.
18:06Yeah, she's there.
18:07Like a little frog, we say.
18:09She's like a little frog, yes.
18:10And making the aleta, or little wave.
18:13So to say that the castel, the human tower, is finished.
18:17Whoa!
18:18It's all right.
18:19She slipped, but she was caught.
18:21She slipped.
18:22But everything is OK.
18:23Just fine.
18:24That's why we rehearse.
18:27As evening turns to night, the towers become steadily taller.
18:31More packed the base, directly supporting three or four,
18:36who in turn hold aloft the multiple upper tiers
18:39of this human wedding cake.
18:41So now we're going to try with the base,
18:43but probably without the kids on top.
18:46And it's my turn to join in.
18:49So what you will have to do is you will need to hold his wrists.
18:53Like that?
18:54And push forward.
18:57No, a bit.
18:58Maintain the tension.
19:01Feet coming over us.
19:02We're not allowed to look up.
19:03Just maintain the pressure.
19:06You can feel the base sway as people go past on their way up.
19:08Occasionally, the glimpse of a foot.
19:11Pressure is rising.
19:12I'm kind of being crushed between the man in front of me and the man behind.
19:18Yeah.
19:19Base moves under the pressure.
19:25It was like people are coming down again.
19:36being the man behind base moves under the pressure
19:51it was like people are coming down again
19:55I can feel the bass relaxing a bit and we are good at this
20:04oh no a lot of pressure being crushed by the man in front of the man behind a lot
20:14of pressure on the leg muscles and I didn't see what was happening
20:20how was it it's good it's tense my legs are trembling you need quite a lot of
20:28strength don't you yeah you need strength and you need mentality not getting lost
20:32in your mind no no no be focused on what you're doing I assure you my mind didn't
20:36wander for a moment you don't really have to ask whether the Catalans have a
20:44clear regional identity they certainly do and building human towers is one of the
20:49things that sets them apart this requires teamwork discipline and trust
20:54and it makes it a formidable activity coming up as the ribbons through the
21:04holes I get a taste of Barcelona style it's getting complicated and I'm
21:11sized up are you measuring my bottom you have to measure my bottom for a shirt
21:16yeah I'm showing you the Barcelona that the tour guides don't behind me is the
21:30medieval city and down below the famous church of the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi and
21:36then the canyons those avenues that were created in the 19th and 20th century but
21:42I'm not going to focus on any of those we're headed for the hidden communities in between where
21:51the flag claiming Catalan independence hangs defiantly from balconies and buildings in a
21:57city whose official languages are both Spanish and Catalan however throughout the years of Spain's
22:04dictatorship under general Franco Catalonia's proud identity was suppressed and its language banned
22:12on Franco's death in 1975 they came roaring back on my first visit to Barcelona after general
22:22Franco died I arrived here with my little map and became very confused where the map told me I was
22:30traveling on general Francisco Franco Avenue the street sign said Diagonal when I turned into Primo de Rivera
22:40Avenue the street sign said Gran Via with the restoration of autonomy to Catalonia the names had reverted
22:50from those of the dictators of the 20th century to names that were popular and Catalan and traditional
23:00our next stop is in the busy gothic water visited by most tourists reach through the warren of medieval
23:08streets and alleyways is a shop where Catalan culture and tradition are clearly afoot
23:18I see little dear what a pleasure hi Michael welcome to Le Manolo Alpargatira it's great to be here
23:23at the shop is like a museum it's wonderful you've got all the original shop fittings I think yes we have
23:30it all from the 40s yeah a silda shop which inherited from her husband's family specializes in espadrilles
23:41simple shoes made with canvas uppers and soles woven from natural fibers like jute that were
23:48traditionally worn by peasants working in the fields they symbolize Catalan identity worn at festivals
23:56and dances like the sardana that I took part in and here they're still made in the time-honored way by hand
24:04hola hola by Nargis and Jordi Jordi lo primero que noto es que llevas como el dedo de un guante solo un dedo
24:16en cuero si esto sirve de protección cuando tengo que tirar de la aguja y esto que le llamamos palmete
24:24metálico sirve para empujar la aguja y sin embargo tienes alguna herida en la mano en el dedo
24:33tengo aquà pinchazo otro pinchazo
24:40pero jordi eres incipiente empiezas ahora a hacer 43
24:46no he's been at it for 43 years and even so he gets injured y tú eres capaz de hacer cuantos
24:52en un dÃa normalmente para este tipo de alpargatas tardo una hora yo una vez terminado pasamos a la
25:00compañera que está poniendo las cintas muy bien muy bien asilda shop opened just after the spanish
25:08civil war republican soldiers in that conflict had worn espadrilles as part of their uniform
25:15function then gave way to fashion during the 1940s and 50s led by one of catalonia's most eccentric
25:22sons the artist salvador dali he used to come here to buy the espadrilles he was a young man
25:31but my mother-in-law doesn't want to help him because he was grumpy grumpy right he was a grumpy
25:40customer yes wow but when he started to make famous in the television all the women's that used to work
25:47here said ah you know the guy that used to come here now he's famous fantastic your your mother-in-law
25:55must have felt better about him after that yeah who else what other celebrities jack nicholson used to
26:01come here the pope the pope yes jump out the second what which one did he wear uh this model oh of
26:11course white yes of course we made this special model for for him you took care of the pope's soul yes
26:22they also make a great memento just choose your favorite style and color we begin with a
26:30plain espadrille but we can now decorate this with ribbons yes yes for me it's the salvador dali
26:38with red ribbons well it was never going to be the pope's the things we will do is just to put the
26:45ribbon inside the needle under asyl there's watchful eye i'm a willing pupil look for the pole
26:53in the middle one two three four five six seven and yeah and then go to the back
27:01okay pass the ribbon through the holes then the third hole to the second hole it's getting
27:11complicated with all these ribbons and then now to the other side i had a feeling
27:16you're doing quite nice it's a warm day it's quite a physical activity isn't it i'm sweating with
27:28attention here we go that's nice do you know this is looking so pretty perfect good
27:35asylia we have made a thing of beauty yeah you have made it well
27:44oh i think that is the sexiest and most elegant shoe that i've ever worn
28:05i've ever worn out at the time that barcelona's fabulous footwear was finding favor with the
28:101950s and 1960s jet set i first visited the city completely by accident
28:20when i was 10 years old i traveled to spain unaccompanied to stay with a lady in her 60s
28:26who was a family friend who had recently been widowed
28:29on my return my flight to madrid where i was to take a jet to london was cancelled
28:37and so they sent instead to barcelona two other people shared my predicament
28:43they were miles burkett who was an archaeologist at cambridge university born in the 19th century
28:50and his wife and the three of us were brought here to the ritz hotel this was the sort of experience
28:58i had never had i had a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom i had my own telephone we dined in the hotel
29:07restaurant and the next day they flew us home leaving me with an anecdote and also a taste for the high life
29:20my hotel tonight is just a stone's throw away built in 1879 as a palatial home
29:27for a family made wealthy by the city's textile industry
29:31i chose it both for the decor and features from that illustrious past and because of the vista from
29:40its terrace
29:43why jostle with the crowds and queues to see gaudi's best known act of architectural devotion
29:50when without craning your neck you can appreciate its magnificence from the comfort of the hotel's rooftop bar
29:58fantastic you may have seen the holy family church by gaudi before but are you up to date
30:07because after more than a century of construction it is now racing towards completion i can't believe
30:14how much it has changed since i last saw it gaudi accepted the commission of designing barcelona's new
30:21basilica in 1883 as ever inspired by nature he conceived 18 towers each emblematizing a biblical figure
30:32but in place of columns and buttresses the spires appear organic like stalagmites and the saints
30:39proximity to christ is represented by the height of their pedestal there are 12 towers for the apostles well
30:47and truly complete now four taller towers representing the winged evangelists have been completed
30:55so we've got mark matthew luke and john then also the virgin mary tower that's denoted by a star
31:05and now most excitingly of all the central christ tower is heading towards completion they're going
31:11to put a giant cross on the top at that point it will be 566 feet high the tallest church in the world
31:21the ambition is to have it completed in time for the centenary of gaudi's death in june 2026
31:28another reason to choose this hotel is for a discreet service offered to its guests
31:49david works with one of the city's oldest tailors established in 1843 at the height of the cotton
31:55trade i've presented myself for a made-to-measure shirt perhaps you could begin by giving me your
32:02opinion of my shirt a bit long in the sleeve what would you say how much is that this is four centimeters
32:12four centimeters should come off then what about uh the rest of the shirt yes casual shirt worn quite
32:21quite broadly i could have it more slim yes yes the skill of a tailor can be compared to that of a
32:30doctor he sometimes delivers news you don't want to hear maybe because when you see the measurements
32:39need a little cover to fortify you well let's begin the painful part what do you say to a client
32:56who is bigger than he was last year is it very important to flatter your client
33:07see
33:11are you measuring my bottom are you measuring my bottom you have to measure my bottom for a shirt
33:15yeah my goodness all right i'm afraid my shirt is going to be shaped like this
33:22how long until i get my shirt we need four weeks and where will it be made
33:27how absolutely charming the shirts are made in their own workshop in the place of the gracia
33:40and it will take four weeks
33:41the perfect excuse for a return trip
33:52next inside this pan it's full of traditions it's it's emotional for me
33:57i savor the heartiest catalan cuisine
34:00strong flavors and strong textures that is a good dish
34:15our final morning in barcelona dawns
34:18and there's still so much to show you away from its crowded center
34:25barcelona acquired its modern layout towards the end of the 19th century
34:30when workers flocked to the city to toil in the textile industry
34:36the city was then confined inside its medieval walls
34:40where tourists crowd today
34:42the cramped living conditions were amongst the worst in spain
34:46the poorest had a life expectancy of just 24 years
34:52with the city's expansion came new neighborhoods with impressive avenues
34:58residential blocks built around a central garden
35:02and cafes spilling onto the broad pavements
35:13this area of barcelona is called a chample and it was planned in the 19th century on a strict grid
35:20layout and wherever two streets meet the corners of the building are champered cut off
35:27so that each junction effectively is a little square
35:31a more modern movement has been to divide the city into rectangles that consist of nine city blocks
35:39and true traffic is allowed only around the exterior of the rectangle inside it's restricted to
35:46pedestrians and bicycles and gardens like everything in barcelona it was controversial but for the visitor
35:56it provides an environment which is safe and breezy and quiet
36:05barcelona's city expansion also brought another benefit food markets
36:12today the city has 39 neighborhood markets and they're a staple of daily life
36:18well worth visiting to eat fine catalan cuisine for a few euros
36:23local food writer mark is meeting me at his favorite mercat del ninot here in a champla
36:29and cantabla lovely to see you thank you oh and what a beautiful market ninot market
36:37how long have you known it my grandma and my grandmother had a stall outside the market just
36:43here around here and my childhood every weekend spend time here ninot market opened in 1893
36:53just outside barcelona's overcrowded city center and was the first in the area
37:01ninot means doll and derives from a ship's figurehead that was displayed at a nearby tavern
37:07that connection to the sea can also be found in heritage catalan foods such as salt cod
37:13we have a strong culture of caught fish but we don't have caught in our sea it's a tradition here
37:21in catalonia because during the war for soldiers it's most easy to carry cut than meat than meat
37:28salted salted of course salted because it's it's easy to just just to put water and then you can eat it
37:34very interesting what what are your best animals uh pigs or beef or what big the the culture of
37:41pig is super strong and we i think we are the one of the top producers in in europe right now
37:48one of the region's most traditional dishes is capipota
37:57cheap cuts including pig's trotters slow cooked in a rich gravy
38:02i just hope it tastes better than it looks
38:06now we've got tripe and we've got chorizo yeah uh but capi pota what does that mean
38:12capi pota cap is head and pota is leg yeah it's different parts of the animal
38:21strong flavors and strong textures the tripe is of course very very chewy and of course it's not
38:27beautiful as a you know as a japanese or mexican food but we love it and it's it's perfect
38:36another dish contains a sausage known as a botifarra thought to have originated in roman
38:42times it's got carne picada de cerdo con pimienta y alguna especie aromatica or tomillo romero
38:52served with beans this was a staple of working-class families we better leave room because i'm
38:58interested in fish as well and fish as well to finish we're visiting one of the market's oldest stalls
39:06that dates to 1898 where another style of food called mar y montaña is served
39:14mar y montaña is like the translation is sea and mountain of course some cultures when they cook
39:21they decide okay that's time to cook fish or to cook meat catalans no catalan we prefer like to put
39:26everything inside the same the same plate for example the most popular dish is lobster with chicken
39:32we love we love we really love this this this mar y montaña uh especially in christmas time but
39:39there's a lot of more possibilities bueno a ver gabriel es cabeza de ternera cocida y tripa de bacalao
39:48y garbanzos estoy super de acuerdo es la cocina tradicional de las abuelas precisamente de la tuya
39:54so we need to preserve this inside this pan it's it's full of traditions of generations of history
40:02it's emotional for me like that and then when you test it it's it's incredible
40:11okay so here's your perfect example of mar y montaña
40:16yeah that is the pride of a cod yeah please taste it
40:25it's absorbed so many flavors hasn't it yeah wow that is a good dish
40:31mark do you think that uh the cuisine is also an important part of catalan culture super important
40:37yeah yeah the food culture is important to preserve for example our language yeah yeah for
40:43example catalan is disappearing from streets but when you are you using all recipes when you are
40:48using all ingredients you are using a catalan that is not in the streets so these is less common
40:54words these sometimes quite obscure words that describe a fish or a meat or a sauce parts of cat
41:00parts of animals recipes it's full of works in catalan so these go together catalan region
41:07catalan history catalan flag catalan language catalan gastronomy yeah yeah that's uh that's a an
41:13important part cheers cheers
41:21i've run out of time to show you more of this wonderful city hidden within its little known
41:27neighborhoods but i hope i've shown you that if you leave the tourist trail behind
41:32and come with an open mind you'll experience the essence of the place and meet the people who make
41:40it so special tall towers of people and of stone have been a theme of this excursion and perhaps
41:48appropriately because barcelona is determined not to be overshadowed by the spanish capital madrid
41:55certainly the visitors have become a problem but any very large city can deal with tourists provided that
42:01they don't all just go to the same few places so look at the sagrada familia through your binoculars
42:09and head for the neighborhoods where catalan culture is so proudly on display and if you do that
42:17the sky is the limit
42:18next time i'll show you asturias smell the money
42:34one of the largest buildings i have ever seen
42:37through perc embuco that i'm inside the barrel i may have to stay here until i've lost some weight
42:46more more
42:46yes discover spain's celtic coast next thursday at eight who better to absorb the serene beauty of lake
42:58como than tom reed wilson join his magnificent journey new tomorrow at eight and brand new next
43:04star witnesses shocking revelations and a world gripped by the trial of michael jackson
43:10you've never seen court room drama like it stay with us
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