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00:00and the little-known regions that is spectacular just waiting to be
00:07discovered this is very nostalgic for me smell the money suddenly we're on the
00:12Riviera but I'm inside the barrel together we'll go beyond the hotspot
00:17absolutely spectacular it's so remote to the places where the magic is made you
00:24have to love heat and smoke and flame I can't wait to show you today I reveal
00:39secrets from Barcelona where we discover a neglected Gaudí what an amazing building
00:45and a tipple to kick-start the day wow that's a big vermouth yes I go shoulder
00:52to shoulder with the locals put me in my legs are trembling and search out the
00:58best food this pen is full of generations of history it's emotional for me in a
01:04city of style and sophistication
01:14our journey through Spain begins in what many would consider its worst-kept secret
01:22welcome to Barcelona
01:29nestled between the Montserrat mountain and the Mediterranean Sea Barcelona is the capital of
01:36Spain's Catalunya region around 15 million visitors crowd its tourist hotspots every year queuing for a
01:46glimpse of the astounding Sagrada Familia Basilica and jostling for space along its most famous street
01:53Las Ramblas
01:57but that's not for us I'm going to show you a face of Barcelona rarely visited away from the souvenir shops and tour guides
02:07where locals celebrate with Catalan pride and passion
02:14what a magnificent view I first set eyes on Barcelona when I was 10 years old and maybe you know it too
02:22or do you in a city whose center has begun to groan under the weight of tourism with some local ructions from here you can see that there are so many neighborhoods where we will feel like pioneers
02:34viewed from above Barcelona's symmetrical layout and grand architecture are plain to see built on the back of a booming 19th century textile industry when the city was known as the Catalan Manchester
02:49Dominating the skyline is the extraordinary Sagrada Familia Basilica is the extraordinary Sagrada Familia Basilica designed at the height of that industrial age the Catalan architect Antony Gaudi created extraordinary buildings that project to the world a powerful image of Barcelona like the Casa Mila and the Casa Batlló
03:04yet one of his creations remains something of a secret 140 years after it was built
03:11I've come to the neighborhood of Gracia which is uphill and inland from the city center
03:19indeed it was only incorporated into Barcelona at the end of the 19th century in the years before that as industrialization spread they built steam textile factories out in the nearby villages such as this one
03:34and that brought a population of bourgeoisie the owners and the owners and the owners and the managers and a proletariat of machine operatives
03:55hidden up one of Gracia's back streets is something totally unexpected and quite exceptional a breathtaking example of Gaudi's earlier work that very few people visit which I can't wait to show you
04:14Hello Macarena
04:15Hola
04:16Hola
04:17funciona
04:18ooh
04:19Commissioned by wealthy stockbroker of the day Casa Vicens was the very first family home designed by Gaudi and a proving ground for his originality
04:29What an amazing building it's extraordinary isn't it
04:35Architectural historian Macarena will show me around
04:38It was like his first important walk
04:42And he was, like, less than 30 years old.
04:4630! I mean, he was very, very young.
04:48I think he maybe wanted to show
04:50how much he was able to make and do.
04:54Looking at the exterior, I see lots of flowers on the tiles.
04:57I see palm leaves in the gates.
04:59Yes, of course.
05:01You know, Gaudí nature was always his source of inspiration,
05:04and when he came here at first,
05:06he was just walking around the area,
05:08he saw a lot of yellow flowers, you know, the palm tree,
05:11you know, the palm trees.
05:13Today, Gracia is a built-up neighbourhood,
05:16a couple of metro stops from the city centre.
05:19In Gaudí's day, it was a distinct rural village.
05:23Casavicens was designed as an opulent country manor,
05:28with extensive gardens surrounded by countryside.
05:31And he carried those themes into the interior.
05:35Oh!
05:36So much detail everywhere, isn't there?
05:42And the vegetation continues inside.
05:45The ceiling is full of vegetation, the walls.
05:48Yes.
05:49Amazing.
05:50Now, I'm going to show you this balcony,
05:53because it connects the outside with the inside.
05:56And can you imagine?
05:58Another place much more better than this for relax and sit.
06:02So many inspirations here.
06:04This is Japanese.
06:05We've got the inspiration of nature again in the ceiling.
06:08And this thing, I suppose you would say, is Islamic-inspired?
06:11Yes, completely.
06:12Again, Gaudí was very young.
06:14He was learning.
06:15He's going to use nature, all the styles,
06:18as a source of inspiration for the structures of the buildings.
06:22Like this alcove, inspired by the Alhambra in Granada.
06:28Oh!
06:30This is where you say, wow.
06:32You do say, wow.
06:34This is completely over the top.
06:40You can see how he was using a lot of different techniques
06:42for this decoration, and something very original.
06:45If you look at the wall, you never guess what it is.
06:48He was able to make something extraordinary
06:51from something so simple as paper.
06:53This is papier-mâché.
06:55And here, actually, you can see
06:57that the tiles are curving around the wall.
06:59Yes.
07:00Which a normal ceramic tile simply doesn't do.
07:05Every inch of this extraordinary house
07:07features the meticulous attention to detail
07:10that is a hallmark of Gaudí.
07:13It led to Catalan modernism,
07:15a movement similar to Art Nouveau.
07:18It's a house full of surprises.
07:21Then this leads through.
07:22Yes.
07:23Gaudí, instead of making a long corridor,
07:26he designed this space where, you know,
07:29the doors can be open and closed for privacy.
07:32So I'm going to lock the doors because of...
07:36This is Lennini's room.
07:37I see.
07:38And then these doors also close.
07:43And these doors close too.
07:49Leaving me in the dark.
07:51Hello?
07:53Hello?
07:54Hello?
07:57It might seem a bit frivolous
07:59to build fantastical rooms for rich clients,
08:02but actually Gaudí was a serious and deeply religious man
08:06who once wrote,
08:07imagine a house neither small nor big,
08:10and by enhancing and enriching it,
08:12it becomes a palace.
08:14Well, he certainly achieved that here.
08:16Next, I understand you have a custom of drinking vermouth
08:22in the middle of the day.
08:23I enjoy a morning tipple.
08:25Cheers.
08:26And step into a fantasy.
08:28I find myself in a magical fairy glade,
08:31beckoned by the sound of dance music.
08:34I'm showing you the secret side of Barcelona,
08:47well off the tourist trail,
08:49where Catalan culture is proudly celebrated.
08:55A ten-minute stroll from our first stop
08:57at Gaudí's Casa Vicente,
08:59situated in an unremarkable back street,
09:02is a very traditional bar.
09:05It's known for serving an aperitif,
09:07which is a big part of local culture,
09:10even though most of us wouldn't associate it with Spain.
09:14Hola.
09:15Hola.
09:16What's up, Michael?
09:17David.
09:18David.
09:19Un placer.
09:20Michael.
09:21Carlos.
09:22Carlos, encantado.
09:23What a lovely place you have here.
09:26This has so much atmosphere.
09:27Yeah.
09:28This is from the beginning of the 50s,
09:30but in 2010,
09:32we do a conservation of this place.
09:35David and Carlos' bar is celebrated for its vermouth,
09:39a fortified wine flavoured with herbs and botanicals
09:43that became popular in Italy and France in the 18th century.
09:47It was introduced to Barcelona in 1876.
09:51The city embraced and absorbed it,
09:54enthusiastically creating its own vermouth culture.
09:58Now, I understand you have a custom of drinking vermouth
10:02in the middle of the day.
10:03Is that correct?
10:04Yeah.
10:05During the morning,
10:06before your lunch,
10:08you do the vermouth.
10:10You can do the vermouth every day,
10:12but we used to do during Saturday or Sunday.
10:15Time to drink like a local.
10:18Carlos, may I have a vermouth, please?
10:20Okay.
10:21You didn't ask me what brand.
10:26Because I only have one type of vermouth, okay?
10:31It's a house vermouth.
10:32It comes from here, from the barrels.
10:34Each bar crafts its own vermouth,
10:37faithful to a secret recipe of herbs and botanicals.
10:41Wow, that's a big vermouth.
10:45Red vermouth is usually sweeter than white.
10:48The boys tell me that theirs is slightly more bitter, too.
10:51And it's the same recipe from the 15th,
10:55when the place is open.
10:57If you feel like a really strong vermouth,
11:00you can put a little bit of soda water.
11:02I like this.
11:03This is a really old-fashioned soda siphon.
11:05It's all part of the atmosphere here.
11:07But I'm enjoying this trade.
11:09Gracias.
11:10Carlos, why is it such a thing for Catalonia?
11:14Why is it such a thing for Barcelona to have the vermouth?
11:17Bueno, el vermouth para nosotros no es solamente una bebida,
11:20sino es un momento para compartir, okay?
11:22Puedes decir que puedes ir a hacer un vermouth, okay,
11:25sin tomar el vermouth, okay?
11:27El vermouth es mucho más que no es solamente una bebida,
11:30sino es simplemente también el compartir ese momento del aperitivo.
11:34It's the social moment,
11:36opening up your appetite before lunch.
11:40In Barcelona, vermouth is often served
11:42with a plate of pickles and preserves,
11:45offering a salty contrast to the sweet drink.
11:49My mixed snack of the house,
11:52quimet, turns out to have anchovies,
11:55razor clams, olives,
11:57a few cobbles with a little tuna.
12:04Está muy bueno.
12:06Very good.
12:07Muchas gracias.
12:08I love places like this.
12:11And I think probably most cities have them.
12:13Somewhere that you can go that has been unchanged
12:16in maybe 60, 70 years,
12:19for which you feel a nostalgia.
12:21I don't know, life was simpler there.
12:23And it's about the simple things.
12:25It's about good food,
12:26decent wine,
12:27pleasant company.
12:29So now, when I travel,
12:31I always hope to find a place exactly like this
12:35that somebody has saved for all of us.
12:39Felicidades.
12:40Congratulations, boys.
12:41Woo!
12:43Always happen.
12:44Cheers.
12:49Skirting the main tourist area,
12:52our next stop is about a mile and a half away,
12:55northwest of the city centre.
12:57The neighbourhood of Sants
12:59is home to Barcelona's main railway station.
13:02Most visitors pass through it en route to their hotels.
13:06But we're stopping to explore.
13:15Sants was just a small settlement
13:17with a church going back to 1100
13:19until the Industrial Revolution
13:20brought it this steam-powered textile factory
13:23complete with towering chimney.
13:25It's now thoroughly absorbed in Barcelona,
13:28but it still has the feel of a village.
13:31And for the last 100 years or more,
13:33they have celebrated an annual party.
13:36And by luck and design,
13:39I'm here on the right day.
13:42The Festa Major began
13:44as a 19th-century religious festival
13:47celebrating Saint Bartholomew.
13:49And it's one of hundreds of local fiestas
13:51that punctuate the calendar throughout Spain.
13:56I recommend searching them out
13:58for a glimpse into the heart of a community
14:00and to feel its spirit.
14:05The beer is flowing.
14:06The table football competition is underway.
14:09The sound systems are being tested.
14:12Over eight days every August,
14:14the traffic is shut out.
14:16And the locals come together to decorate the streets.
14:19I find myself in a magical fairy glade,
14:22beckoned by the sound of dance music.
14:25And this is the traditional dance of the Catalans.
14:35The Sardana.
14:37It's a dance that spread through Catalonia
14:40over the last couple of centuries.
14:42It's quite simple.
14:45It's danced in circles.
14:49It's very Catalan.
14:51It's said to represent the harmony and unity
14:55and democracy of Catalonia.
15:01Might it even be simple enough for me?
15:04Although this fiesta is generally local,
15:07the galumphing stranger is warmly welcomed into the ring.
15:15Hey!
15:19I simply step from time to time and bounce from time to time
15:22and it all seemed to work out quite well.
15:25Having joined the Sardana,
15:27where else can I throw my weight about?
15:30A few streets away,
15:31a distinctively Catalan tradition is taking shape.
15:35It's believed to have originated from a 17th-century dance
15:39in which one cavorter swayed on another's shoulders.
15:43These human towers are known as Castells
15:47and are constructed throughout Catalonia.
15:49I'm meeting enthusiastic members of the Sants group,
15:55Rougert and Maria.
15:58So as I understand it, you build towers of people.
16:01You have lots of people at the bottom,
16:02then you have layers of people on top of each other like this,
16:06going up into the sky.
16:08And so the only question is, why?
16:11That's a very good question.
16:14It's tradition and brings the whole neighbourhoods together.
16:18And why not try to climb one on top of the other one
16:22and let's see how far we can get?
16:24Why not? Why not indeed?
16:26The Castells rely on trust,
16:29since all must reliably play their part.
16:32At the base, the older, bigger members of the community
16:35bind together to form a solid foundation.
16:39The tower grows as lighter and more agile climbers
16:43scramble upwards,
16:45with the small children occupying the top spots.
16:49Now, Roger, you would never send a child of yours to the top, would you?
16:54Of course I would. My daughter is doing it.
16:56Your daughter is doing it.
16:58How old is she?
17:00Seven years old.
17:02Is it your heart in your mouth?
17:04I love it,
17:06because climbing to the top of the tower,
17:08that's quite a privilege.
17:10Tonight, I'm joining the rehearsal.
17:12But first, I need to be bound tight.
17:16Nice!
17:17Yeah, it's going well.
17:19You're feeling?
17:21It's going great.
17:22Lovely.
17:24Like this, you have your back protected.
17:25That's fabulous.
17:27And also, I noticed that the climbers use this.
17:30They put their feet in here.
17:31Yeah, that's it.
17:32Their feet, yeah.
17:33And they use this bit as well, don't they?
17:34Yeah, that's it.
17:35Knee, and then the shoulder.
17:37There's a technique that is going with the rehearsal,
17:40they can make it finer and finer.
17:43You just saw your little daughter, Etna,
17:45going up the top of the tower.
17:46Yeah, she's there, like a little frog, we say.
17:49She's like a little frog, yes.
17:50And making the aleta, or little wave,
17:53so to say that the castel, the human tower is finished.
17:57Whoa!
17:58It's all right.
17:59She slipped, but she was coarse.
18:01She slipped, but everything is OK.
18:04That's why we rehearse.
18:07As evening turns to night, the towers become steadily taller.
18:11More pack the base, directly supporting three or four,
18:15who in turn hold aloft the multiple upper tiers
18:19of this human wedding cake.
18:21So now we're going to try with the base,
18:24but probably without the kit on top.
18:26And it's my turn to join in.
18:29So what you will have to do is you will need to hold his wrists.
18:33Like that?
18:34And push forward.
18:36No, a bit.
18:38Maintain the tension.
18:39Feet climbing over us.
18:41We're not allowed to look up.
18:42Just maintain the pressure.
18:45You can feel the base sway as people go past on their way up.
18:48I'll occasionally get a glimpse of a foot.
18:49Pressure is rising.
18:50I'm kind of being crushed between the man and front of me and the man behind.
18:52Yeah.
18:53I'm not allowed to look up.
18:54I'm not allowed to look up.
18:55Just maintain the pressure.
18:57You can feel the base sway as people go past on their way up.
19:01I'll occasionally get a glimpse of a foot.
19:04Pressure is rising.
19:10I'm kind of being crushed between the man and front of me and the man behind.
19:15Yeah.
19:17The base moves under the pressure.
19:19Feels like people are coming down again.
19:21I can feel the base relaxing a bit.
19:24And we are.
19:26Good athletes.
19:27Ooh.
19:28Oof.
19:30Oof.
19:31Feels like people are coming down again.
19:37I can feel the base relaxing a bit.
19:41And we are.
19:43Good athletes.
19:44Ooh.
19:47Ooh.
19:48A lot of pressure.
19:50Being crushed by the man in front of the man behind.
19:54A lot of pressure on the leg muscles.
19:57and I didn't see what was happening how was it it's good it's tense it was
20:03tense my legs are trembling you need quite a lot of strength yeah you need
20:10strength and you need mentality not getting lost in your mind no no no be
20:14focused on what you're doing I assure you my mind didn't wander for a moment
20:21you don't really have to ask whether the Catalans have a clear regional
20:25identity they certainly do and building human towers is one of the things that
20:30sets them apart this requires teamwork discipline and trust and it makes it a
20:36formidable activity coming up as the ribbon through the holes I get a taste of
20:46Barcelona style it's getting complicated and I'm sized up are you measuring my
20:53bottom so you have to measure my bottom for a shirt yeah I'm showing you the
21:04Barcelona that the tour guides don't behind me is the medieval city and down
21:12below the famous church of the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi and then the canyons
21:18those avenues that were created in the 19th and 20th century but I'm not going
21:23to focus on any of those we're headed for the hidden communities in between where
21:31the flag claiming Catalan independence hangs defiantly from balconies and
21:36buildings in a city whose official languages are both Spanish and Catalan
21:42however throughout the years of Spain's dictatorship under general Franco
21:47Catalonia's proud identity was suppressed and its language banned on Franco's death in 1975 they came
21:57roaring back on my first visit to Barcelona after general Franco died I arrived here with my
22:05my little map and became very confused where the map told me I was traveling on general Francisco Franco
22:13Avenue the street sign said Diagonal when I turned into Primo de Rivera Avenue the street sign said Gran
22:23Via with the restoration of autonomy to Catalonia the names had reverted from those of the dictators of the
22:3220th century to names that were popular and Catalan and tradition our next stop is in the busy Gothic
22:42quarter visited by most tourists reach through the Warren of medieval streets and alleyways is a shop
22:50where Catalan culture and tradition are clearly afoot
22:54I see a little day what a pleasure hi Michael welcome to Le Manolo Alpargatira it's great to be
23:03here at the shop is like a museum it's wonderful you've got all the original shop fittings I think
23:08yes we have it all from the 40s yeah a silda's shop which inherited from her husband's family
23:17specializes in espadrilles simple shoes made with canvas uppers and soles woven from natural fibers
23:26like jute that were traditionally worn by peasants working in the fields they symbolize Catalan identity
23:34worn at festivals and dances like the sardana that I took part in and here they're still made in the
23:42time on the way by hand hola hola by Nargis and Jordi Jordi lo primero que noto es que llevas como el dedo
23:55de un guante solo un dedo en cuero si esto sirve de protección cuando tengo que tirar de la aguja y esto
24:03que le llamamos palmete metálico sirve para empujar la aguja y sin embargo tienes alguna herida
24:12en la mano en el dedo tengo aquí pinchazo otro pinchazo pero Jordi eres incipiente empiezas ahora
24:23a hacer 43 now he's been at it for 43 years and even so he gets injured y tú eres capaz de hacer
24:32cuantos en un día normalmente para este tipo de alpargatas tardo una hora yo una vez terminado
24:39pasamos a la compañera que está poniendo las cintas muy bien muy bien asil de shop opened just after
24:47the spanish civil war republican soldiers in that conflict had worn espadrilles as part of their
24:54uniform function then gave way to fashion during the 1940s and 50s led by one of catalonia's most
25:01eccentric sons the artist salvador dali he used to come here to buy the espadrilles he was a young
25:11man but my mother-in-law doesn't want to help him because he was grumpy grumpy right he was a grumpy
25:20customer yes wow but when he started to make famous in the television all the women's that used to work
25:28here said ah you know the guy that used to come here now is famous fantastic your mother-in-law must
25:35have felt better about him after that yeah who else what other celebrities jack nicholson used to come
25:41here the pope the pope yes jump out the second what which one did he wear uh this uh model oh of course
25:51white yes of course we made this special model for for him you took care of the pope's soul yes
26:02they also make a great memento just choose your favorite style and color we begin with a
26:10plain espadrille but we can now decorate this with ribbons yes yes for me it's the salvador dali
26:18with red ribbons well it was never going to be the pope's the things we will do is just to put the
26:25ribbon inside the needle under asyl there's watchful eye i'm a willing pupil look for the pole
26:34in the middle one two three four five six seven and yeah yeah and then go to the back
26:41okay pass the ribbon through the holes then the third hole to the second hole it's getting
26:51complicated with all these ribbons and then now to the other side i had a feeling
26:56you're doing quite nice it's a warm day it's quite a physical activity isn't it i'm sweating with
27:09attention here we go that's nice do you know this is looking so pretty perfect good i see lit we have
27:17made a thing of beauty yeah you have made it well oh i think that is the sexiest and most elegant shoe
27:29that i've ever worn
27:39at the time that barcelona's fabulous footwear was finding favor with the 1950s and 1960s jet set
27:54i first visited the city completely by accident
28:00when i was 10 years old i traveled to spain unaccompanied to stay with a lady in her 60s
28:06who was a family friend who had recently been widowed on my return my flight to madrid where i was to
28:13take a jet to london was cancelled and so they sent me instead to barcelona two other people shared my
28:22predicament they were miles burkett who was an archaeologist at cambridge university born in the
28:2919th century and his wife and the three of us were brought here to the ritz hotel this was the sort of
28:37experience i had never had i had a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom i had my own telephone we dined in
28:46the hotel restaurant and the next day they flew us home leaving me with an anecdote and also a taste
28:57for the high life
29:00my hotel tonight is just a stone's throw away built in 1879 as a palatial home for a family made wealthy
29:09by the city's textile industry i chose it both for the decor and features from that illustrious past
29:19and because of the vista from its terrace
29:23why jostle with the crowds and queues to see gaudi's best-known act of architectural devotion
29:30when without craning your neck you can appreciate its magnificence
29:35from the comfort of the hotel's rooftop bar fantastic you may have seen the holy family church
29:43by gaudi before but are you up to date because after more than a century of construction it is now
29:51racing towards completion i can't believe how much it has changed since i last saw it
29:58gaudi accepted the commission of designing barcelona's new basilica in 1883
30:04as ever inspired by nature he conceived 18 towers each emblematizing a biblical figure
30:12but in place of columns and buttresses the spires appear organic like stalagmites and the saints
30:19proximity to christ is represented by the height of their pedestal there are 12 towers for the apostles
30:27well and truly complete now four taller towers representing the winged vangers have been completed
30:35so we've got mark matthew luke and john then also the virgin mary tower that's denoted by a star
30:45and now most excitingly of all the central christ tower is heading towards completion they're going to put a
30:52giant cross on the top at that point it will be 566 feet high the tallest church in the world
31:01the ambition is to have it completed in time for the centenary of gaudi's death in june 2026
31:08another reason to choose this hotel is for a discreet service offered to its guests
31:25david
31:25david works with one of the city's oldest tailors established in 1843 at the height of the cotton
31:35trade i've presented myself for a made-to-measure shirt perhaps you could begin by giving me your
31:42opinion of my shirt a bit long in the sleeve how much is that this is four centimeters four centimeters
31:53should come off there what about the rest of the shirt yes casual shirt worn quite quite broadly
32:02so i could have it more slimline yes yes the skill of a tailor can be compared to that of a doctor
32:11ah hello he sometimes delivers news you don't want to hear maybe because when you see the measurements
32:19need a little cover to fortify you um well let's begin the painful part
32:25what do you say to a client who is bigger than he was last year is it very important
32:45to flatter your client
32:47see
32:51are you measuring my bottom so you have to measure my bottom for a shirt yeah my goodness all right
32:58i'm afraid my shirt is going to be shaped like this how long until i get my shirt we need four
33:05weeks and where will it be made hacemos en nuestra sastrería en paseo de gracia nosotros somos una
33:13una tienda centenaria how absolutely charming the shirts are made in their own workshop in the
33:19paisa de gracia and it will take four weeks the perfect excuse for a return trip
33:32next inside this pan it's full of traditions it's it's emotional for me i savor the heartiest catalan
33:39cuisine strong flavors and strong textures that is a good dish
33:55our final morning in barcelona dawns and there's still so much to show you away from its crowded center
34:02barcelona acquired its modern layout towards the end of the 19th century when workers flocked to the
34:12city to toil in the textile industry the city was then confined inside its medieval walls
34:20where tourists crowd today the cramped living conditions were amongst the worst in spain
34:27the poorest had a life expectancy of just 24 years with the city's expansion came new neighborhoods with
34:36impressive avenues residential blocks built around a central garden and cafes spilling onto the broad pavements
34:45this area of barcelona is called es champler and it was planned in the 19th century on a strict grid layout
35:02and wherever two streets meet the corners of the building are chamfered cut off so that each junction
35:08effectively is effectively is a little square a more modern movement has been to divide the city into
35:15rectangles that consist of nine city blocks and true traffic is allowed only around the exterior of the
35:23rectangle inside it's restricted to pedestrians and bicycles and gardens like everything in barcelona
35:33it was controversial but for the visitor it provides an environment which is safe and breezy and quiet
35:45barcelona's city expansion also brought another benefit food markets today the city has 39 neighborhood
35:54markets and they're a staple of daily life well worth visiting to eat fine catalan cuisine for a few euros
36:03local food writer mark is meeting me at his favorite mercat del ninot here in a champla
36:11lovely to see you thank you oh and what a beautiful market ninot market you're not market
36:17how long have you known it my grandma and my grandma had a stall outside the market just here around here
36:24and my childhood every weekend spend time here ninot market opened in 1893 just outside barcelona's
36:34overcrowded city center and was the first in the area
36:41ninot means doll and derives from a ship's figurehead that was displayed at a nearby tavern that connection to
36:48the sea can also be found in heritage catalan foods such as salt cod we have a strong culture of
36:57cod fish but we don't have cuts in our sea it's a tradition here in catalonia because during the war
37:04for soldiers it's most easy to carry cut than meat than meat salted salted of course salted because it's
37:11easy to just just to put water and then you can eat it very interesting what what are your best
37:16animals pigs or beef or what big the the culture of pig is super strong and we i think we are the
37:25one of the top producers in in europe right now one of the region's most traditional dishes
37:31is capipota cheap cuts including pigs trotters slow cooked in a rich gravy i just hope it tastes better
37:44than it looks now we've got tripe and we've got chorizo yeah uh but capipota what does that mean
37:52capipota cap is head and pota is leg yeah it's different parts of the animal
38:02strong flavors and strong textures the tripe is of course very very chewy and of course it's not
38:07beautiful as a you know as a japanese or or mexican food but we love it and it's it's perfect
38:14for the reason why we're in the right place another dish contains a sausage known as a botifarra
38:21thought to have originated in roman times it's carne picada de cerdo con pimienta
38:27y alguna especie aromatica o tomillo romero served with beans this was a staple of working-class
38:36families we better leave room because i'm interested in fish as well and fish as well
38:40to finish we're visiting one of the market's oldest stalls that dates to 1898 where another style of
38:50food called mar y montaña is served mar y montaña is like the translation is sea and mountain of course
38:59some cultures when they cook they decide okay that's time to cook fish or to cook meat catalans
39:05no catalan we prefer like to put everything inside the same the same plate for example the most popular
39:09dish is lobster with chicken we love we love we really love this this this mar y montaña uh especially
39:17in christmas time but there's a lot of more possibilities bueno a ver gabriel es cabeza de
39:26ternera cocida y tripa de bacalao y garbanzos estoy super de acuerdo es la cocina tradicional de las
39:32abuelas precisamente de la tuya we need to preserve this inside this pan it's it's full of traditions of
39:40generations of history it's emotional for me like that and then when you test it it's it's incredible
39:46thank you okay so here's your perfect example of mar y montaña that is the tripe of a cod yeah please
40:00taste it
40:05it's absorbed so many flavors hasn't it yeah wow that is a good dish
40:09so these is less common words these sometimes quite obscure words that describe a fish or a meat
40:39or a sauce parts of cat parts of animals recipes it's full of works in catalan so these go together
40:46catalan region catalan history catalan flag catalan language catalan gastronomy yeah yeah that's a
40:52that's a an important part cheers cheers
41:01i've run out of time to show you more of this wonderful city hidden within its little known
41:07neighborhoods but i hope i've shown you that if you leave the tourist trail behind
41:13and come with an open mind you'll experience the essence of the place and meet the people
41:19who make it so special tall towers of people and of stone have been a theme of this execution
41:28and perhaps appropriately because barcelona is determined not to be overshadowed by the spanish
41:33capital madrid certainly the visitors have become a problem but any very large city can deal with
41:40tourists provided that they don't all just go to the same few places so look at the sagrada familia
41:48through your binoculars and head for the neighborhoods where catalan culture is so proudly on display and if
41:55you do that the sky is the limit
42:06next time i'll show you asturias smell the money
42:14one of the largest buildings i have ever seen
42:17through perc embuco that i'm inside the barrel i may have to stay here until i've lost some weight
42:26more more
42:32yes discover spain's celtic coast next thursday at eight who better to absorb the serene beauty of lake
42:38como than tom reed wilson join his magnificent journey new tomorrow at eight and brand new next star witnesses
42:45shocking revelations and a world gripped by the trial of michael jackson you've never seen courtroom drama
42:51like it stay with us
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