Papabubble could have been an apothecary, plucked right out of some turn of the old novel

When we spent a summer in Barcelona one of the things we enjoyed most was getting lost in the winding streets of the city´s old section, El Barri Gòtic (Ghotic Quarter), and one of the most intriguing shops we found was a candy store called Papabubble. This little shop is tucked away on a street parallel to the port and we almost missed it, as the store is quite small, but luckily, we pushed open the door to this sweet store that turns out hard candies made on the premises.

Papabubble was a ruskommendation from one of my old college friends. She had spent her vacation in Barcelona and had stumbled upon Papabubble by chance. This place, she told me, has THE best hard candies you will find, hands down. I am personally more of a chocolate and caramel person when it comes to sweets, but Anne Marie had piqued my interest, so off we went one day at dusk, braving the sticky humidity inherent in a Barcelona summer.

When we approached the store, what struck me most was the fact that outside, Papabubble could have been an apothecary, plucked right out of some turn of the century (well, turn of the 20th century) novel. The windows were filled with creatively designed candies- signs made all out of sugar. This was a child´s dream! The little bell jangled as we stepped back in time. The dimly lit store was empty apart from the two people working with liquefied candy on a large counter. The brightly colored sugar was being molded and pulled into various shapes. I couldn´t help being reminded of the salt water taffy places at the beach of USA where you can see them make the sticky, gooey treat.

The workers allowed us to take some photos, and then we explored the store. The actual shop is quite small, only big enough to display a handful of products, all home made. What struck me most where the ingenious little glass jars used to package the candies. Each one had a black and white label, and as the candies where so brightly colored and shiny with sweetness it reminded me of little jewels. Treasures to be sure! These candies were small little bite size bits of flavor and we couldn´t resist buying a small jar of yellow and red striped candies to take home. Also available were oversized lollipops, rings and other special forms. Papabubble is a sweet shop that is worth stopping by when you are in Barcelona. We ruskommend Papabubble a visit with 5 boquerones. Have a delicious time!