Following what seemed like more than a half-hour, a group stood up, freeing three seats at the bar. We took two of them. The third was taken by a fresh-faced young Spaniard who walked in the door just at the right moment, sauntered over next to us, sat down and started flirting with the female bartender.
Obviously he'd had his nap.
Juan Bayen welcomes customers at Bar Pinotxo.
(Robert V. Camuto)
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As the evening developed and we moved on, the chair situation became dire.
We went to La Vinya del Senyor, a renowned wine bar with a list of hundreds of Spanish wines, precious tapas of foie gras and local cheeses, and black-clad waiters with attitude. What makes up for the bar's faults is the pretty setting -- particularly the six tables outside on the intimate Plaça Santa Maria. Of course, those were filled, and the people who'd snagged them weren't going anywhere soon.
I went inside to hunt some places at the bar. After about 10 minutes, I had two, and waved my wife over. But at just that same moment, a guy with a lot of open buttons on his shirt started to make for one of the stools. I grabbed it, blurting out something in Spanglish that could have sounded like I was going to marry the barstool.
He turned away and muttered something in Catalan Spanish that sounded like he would perform the ceremony on the spot.
It was long past our dinner time and the night was still young.
Robert V. Camuto, a writer living in the South of France, is a frequent contributor to The Post's Travel section.
Details: Tapas Trail
GETTING THERE: Barcelona's international airport is accessible from European cities and New York's JFK. Delta Airlines recently quoted a 30-day-advance round-trip fare from Reagan Airport though JFK to Barcelona for $489. KLM quoted a $492 fare from Dulles with a connection in Amsterdam.
GETTING AROUND: Barcelona is a compact pedestrian city in which you can walk almost anywhere. The city also has buses, a subway and affordable taxis. A taxi ride from the airport to the center city cost us about $25; from the center city to the waterfront, about $5.
