Any perfect design for gifts from Barcelona?
This is my last week within Barcelona and to be honest, I am panicing here. I need accepted wisdom on gifts for women and preferrably, not anything from Gaudi. They are pretty apposite friends of mine and I need something that's from 15 to 20 euro. I thought of getting the clothes from the european brands, but the styles are pretty much equal as U.S. I also thought of t-shirt, cups, picture frames, magnets and ornaments, but I haven't seen any that my friends would resembling. Any idea?
Also, my mom would approaching some desserts that's typical in Spain or Europe. A lecturer recommended turorre (cant remember the spelling), but my classmates here said it doesn't taste moral. Can someone recommend a delicious dessert and the stores that I can capture it from here in Barcelona?
Few more days vanished and I really need some facilitate!! Thank you!
Answers: Your mom wants turrone. It's an almond/honey treat which is typical around Christmas, so might not be too available this time of year. Try Corte Inglés. Might be your best bet for such things... Or travel pick up some of those incredible chocolates. Actually, my friend went to Corte Inglés and found some really nice food gifts to bring home. (I, one-sidedly, didn't even darken their doors in a intact month on our trip...don't really care for the big department store, article, you know? then she told me how she have made out and I thought, maybe I SHOULD enjoy done...You could bring home some unusual teas for your lady friends, or in recent times go to the shopping arcade and pick up a variety of perfume. There were plenty that you would never be capable of find in the US. I chiefly like the ones designed by Adolfo Domínguez. Very nice, though I don`t know a touch over your limit. I judge they ran something like 25EUR a bottle, but you might find something a little smaller number pricey that you like. Interestingly, I don't bring to mind seeing much I recognized.
And later there's always chocolate! The chocolate in that is SO good! You can only walk into one of the shops and pick out pretty boxes of those hand-made chocolates, or buy bar for them, or get some drinking chocolate. Just be sure to agree to them know they don't use preservatives, and unlike American Chocolates, they won't last six months up to that time they eat them.
I brought home some can of paté, those would make nice gifts, and coffee. If you hold a coffee drinker in the bunch, pick up some plenty of Torrefacto coffee. (that's what you get within the cafés. - and it's the only place I know of where on earth you can get it. Just bring in sure it says Torrefacto on it, or you're going to twine up with something severely similar to what you get here.)
Turrón is pious, but the different kinds are so different within flavor and texture that you'll have to guess rather at what people might resembling. The one from Alicante (the most common) is a hard, white sugar-like remnant with undamaged almonds in it; it's plentifully of sugar, but is good. The one from Xixona (Jijona) is the most outstanding, it's soft, beige and made mostly from almond mash; I don't like the piece, and I love almonds! The chocolate turrón is what I would consider the best, it's similar to fudge in the US, but made next to better quality chocolate (as the previous poster mentioned, the chocolate here is so much better); chocolate turrón is usually tough. My family loved it and asked us to bring more subsequent year!
Another dessert that's hard to draw from in the US but is adjectives here is marzapan. It's also common around Christmas, but you should still know how to find in the grocery stores (turrón as well). You can carry it in bar or in little shapes. There's a great place on Pg. Sant Joan (at around Rossellò, I think) that makes their own turrón and marzapan and it's really appropriate! (I think their sign say something like "Turrones y helados", if you stir looking for it.) They also make "confitada" fruit (glacé surrounded by English?) that's very pretty and make god gifts.
My family also loves when I bring them Spanish wine. What you can buy here for 15EUR would cost them $50 to get hold of in the US! So walk to any wine store (even the chain Vinus i Brindis is ok, though a smaller shop would be better) and ask for a guidance based on price/quality. Make sure it comes from Catalunya! Penedés is obedient, but not as good as the ones that come from the "Ebre" nouns.
I've also seen little jar of preserves (jam, jelly, marmelade) that were cute and have odd flavors that relatives in the US would find interesting: green plum, ginger, etc. You can get them at most grocery stores, though the connoisseur shops would have better stuff (and not as expensive as you'd expect).
Also, for your girlfriends, check out getting buttons beside sayings in Spanish. It's nearly impossible to find t-shirts next to words in Spanish (it's adjectives bad English!), but buttons are reasonably easy to find. There's a street in recent times off Metro stop Jaume I that runs parallel to C/Princesa, within the direction of the cathedral, where you can find buttons and such.
Do check out the chocolate shops. It may be a short time expensive, but they'll wrap even the smallest box so prettily that it'll be an impressive grant!
Good luck!
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