Bar Marsella

A crowded Bar Marsella

Glass of Absinthe

One of my favorite nightlife spots is a very old bar in El Raval called Bar Marsella.  El Raval is not the nicest place in Barcelona and it can be a little bit seedy at night – there was a group of pimps and prostitutes hanging outside the first time that we went.  When we got there it was very crowded and we barely found a table.  It is an old wooden bar with shelves that run along the ceiling with bottles of liquor from 19^th century.  They are all discolored and covered in cob webs which give the bar a historical feel.  Bar Marsella is popular for its absinthe.  Absinthe is a highly alcoholic beverage from France that was popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.  A glass of absinthe was about eight Euros.  They give you a glass of absinthe, a sugar cube, a small fork and a bottle of water because there is a process to drinking absinthe.  First, you dip the sugar cube in the absinthe and place it on the fork that is laying flat across the rim of the glass.  Next, you light the sugar cube on fire but I am still not sure why you are supposed to do this.  Next, you squirt the sugar cube with war until it dissipates completely into the glass of absinthe and then you stir until the absinthe is a cloudy green-yellow color.  The absinthe is very strong and tastes a little bit like black licorice.  Absinthe is also known because it is said to have hallucinogenic properties.  While I did not hallucinate, after two glasses the absinthe gives a sensation similar to being high.  Two glasses was enough for me, but it was rumored that Bar Marsella was frequented by Ernest Hemmingway, Salvador Dali and Antoni Gaudi who would sit and have five or more glasses in a night.