No final de Fevereiro, foi-me oferecida uma escapadinha a Barcelona, cidade que adoro e que não me canso de visitar, cidade onde descobrimos sempre algo de novo. Desta vez, a descoberta foram os cycle cafés.
Não precisamos de ser amantes das bicicletas para ficarmos completamente fascinados por este conceito de café. Se queremos frequentar espaços agradáveis e sempre originais, onde a qualidade do café e da comida são por demais evidentes, onde a simpatia no atendimento é uma premissa, estes são os locais a procurar.
Que Barcelona, capital da Catalunha, é uma cidade culturalmente rica, todos nós sabemos. Quem não conhece a mundialmente famosa arquitectura de Antoni Gaudí? Mas provavelmente, nem todos sabem que é uma cidade pensada para a mobilidade dos seus habitantes, uma cidade que foi capaz de criar condições para a deslocação, em segurança, de bicicletas e outros meios de transporte semelhantes.
Ao percorrermos esta cidade, ficamos com a sensação de que existem ciclovias em todas as ruas e todas elas amplamente frequentadas. Ora numa cidade que soube aproveitar e criar condições para que isto se tornasse possível, não é de estranhar que existam cycle cafés, tornando estes no espaço por excelência, para os amantes da cultura do café e da bicicleta se encontrarem e trocarem ideias.
A nossa primeira visita foi o Hidden Café BCN, um espaço acolhedor, de decoração minimalista, onde os aromas do café e dos bolos caseiros se misturam no ar. Assim que entramos somos recebidos com calorosos sorrisos por quem se encontra do outro lado do balcão. Deixam que nos ambientemos e logo que possível atendem o nosso pedido… não é preciso muito para perceberem que não somos catalães e perguntam de onde vimos. Quando respondemos que vimos de Portugal, o mais engraçado é que há sempre pelo menos uma pessoa que já visitou e adorou o nosso País.
Depois de alguma conversa, pedimos os cafés, o Matcha Latte é espectacular e umas fatias de bolo caseiro… tudo maravilhoso. Apesar do espaço interior ser bastante agradável, a nossa escolha recaiu no exterior e fomos aproveitar a esplanada e o sol catalão.
O Hidden Café, fica afastado do centro da cidade e da confusão do turismo, numa zona residencial tranquila, numa transversal à Diagonal. Suficientemente afastado da azáfama turística mas relativamente perto de qualquer ponto de interesse.
Estivemos mais de uma hora a conversar, a beber, a comer e simplesmente a estar. Foi a muito custo que nos levantámos, mas outros cycle cafés aguardavam pela nos visita…
At the end of February, I was offered a short break to Barcelona, a city I love and that I’m never tired of visiting, a city where we always discover something new. This time the discovery was the cycle cafés.
We do not need to be bicycle lovers to be completely fascinated by this concept of café. If we want to go to pleasant and always original spaces, where the quality of the coffee and the food are obvious, where the friendliness in the service is a premise, these are the places to look for.
That Barcelona, capital of Catalonia, is a culturally rich city, we all know. Who does not know the world famous architecture of Antoni Gaudí? But probably not everyone knows that it is a city designed for the mobility of its inhabitants, a city that was able to create conditions for the safe travel of bicycles and other similar means of transport.
As we walk through this city, we get the feeling that there are cycle paths on every street and all of them are widely frequented. Now in a city that has been able to enjoy and create the conditions for this to become possible, it is not surprising that there are cycle cafes, making these in a space of excellence, for lovers of coffee and bicycle culture, to meet and exchange ideas.
Our first visit was the Hidden Café BCN, a cozy, minimalist decor where the smells of coffee and homemade cakes mix in the air. As soon as we enter we are greeted with warm smiles by those on the other side of the balcony. They let us get in and as soon as possible they attend our request … it does not take much to realize that we are not Catalans and ask where we came from. When we respond that we came from Portugal, the funniest thing is that there is always at least one person who has visited and loved our country.
After some conversation, we ordered the coffees, the Matcha Latte is awesome and a slice of homemade cake … all wonderful. Although the interior space is quite pleasant, our choice fell on the outside and we decided to enjoy the terrace and the Catalan sun.
The Hidden Café, is away from the city center and the confusion of tourism, in a quiet residential area, across from Diagonal. Sufficiently away from the tourist bustle but relatively close to any point of interest.
We spent more than an hour talking, drinking, eating and just being. It was with grate cost that we got up, but other cycle cafes were waiting for us…
Estivemos mais de uma hora a conversar, a beber, a comer e simplesmente a estar. Foi a muito custo que nos levantámos, mas outros cycle cafés aguardavam pela nos visita…
At the end of February, I was offered a short break to Barcelona, a city I love and that I’m never tired of visiting, a city where we always discover something new. This time the discovery was the cycle cafés.
We do not need to be bicycle lovers to be completely fascinated by this concept of café. If we want to go to pleasant and always original spaces, where the quality of the coffee and the food are obvious, where the friendliness in the service is a premise, these are the places to look for.
That Barcelona, capital of Catalonia, is a culturally rich city, we all know. Who does not know the world famous architecture of Antoni Gaudí? But probably not everyone knows that it is a city designed for the mobility of its inhabitants, a city that was able to create conditions for the safe travel of bicycles and other similar means of transport.
As we walk through this city, we get the feeling that there are cycle paths on every street and all of them are widely frequented. Now in a city that has been able to enjoy and create the conditions for this to become possible, it is not surprising that there are cycle cafes, making these in a space of excellence, for lovers of coffee and bicycle culture, to meet and exchange ideas.
Our first visit was the Hidden Café BCN, a cozy, minimalist decor where the smells of coffee and homemade cakes mix in the air. As soon as we enter we are greeted with warm smiles by those on the other side of the balcony. They let us get in and as soon as possible they attend our request … it does not take much to realize that we are not Catalans and ask where we came from. When we respond that we came from Portugal, the funniest thing is that there is always at least one person who has visited and loved our country.
After some conversation, we ordered the coffees, the Matcha Latte is awesome and a slice of homemade cake … all wonderful. Although the interior space is quite pleasant, our choice fell on the outside and we decided to enjoy the terrace and the Catalan sun.
The Hidden Café, is away from the city center and the confusion of tourism, in a quiet residential area, across from Diagonal. Sufficiently away from the tourist bustle but relatively close to any point of interest.
We spent more than an hour talking, drinking, eating and just being. It was with grate cost that we got up, but other cycle cafes were waiting for us…
