Barcelona

So, we have spent the last 3.5 days in Barcelona, and we have really been enjoying it. Our first day we walked around the city and saw all of the beautiful buildings and architecture. We especially loved the Gaudi buildings and were able to go inside them on tours the following day. The Sagrada Familia was incredible and had such intricate details. We went up to the very top with an awesome view of the city and then made our way back down a narrow spiral staircase to the ground level..it was really cool, kinda scary and fun to experience.

We have been enjoying a lot of tapas here for our dinners, it is always a fun social experience usually with very tasty small plates of food. Our first night we went to this cool place, recommended by Jordan, called Sagardi. It was basque style tapas, which were served in a buffet style on a bar. You stand at the bar, order a drink (we drank this traditional drink called txakoli) and then are able to grab whatever you want on your plate. Everything was served on bread, such as a croquette of ham and cheese held together by a toothpick on a small piece of bread. When you are finished they count your toothpick and you pay per item.

Our second day we had lunch at La Boqueria: a huge outdoor marketplace with a variety of food stands and tapas places. We saw lots of beautiful produce, really yummy looking fresh seafood, and lovely carcasses of cows, chickens, and pig´s feet. Needless to say, I had to close my eyes and hold on to Ethan´s arm in passing of the meat places. We ate some small plates and had a beer at this really cute little stand with bar seats. By the way, people drink at every single meal in Spain, including breakfast, so literally everywhere you go you are able to get a drink, although we usually only have wine with dinner. The rest of the day we spent looking at Gaudi and eventually out for more tapas, including arroz negro (paella style rice with squid ink), which turned out mouths black. Yum.

Yesterday we hiked up to a mountain, where the olympics were held in 1992, and visited yet another castle. We saw a beautiful ocean view and got a good workout. On our way up the mountain we saw these people making giant sized pans of paella, I mean seiously like the size of a small crater. Apparently, we learned later that this was due to the fact that a ton of Scottish people were in town for the football match and in order to keep them in one area, the government decided to make tons of paella to entice them to stay out of the main part of the city. Scots are crazy. They spent the entire day and previous night drinking beer and singing some chant allll over the city. They were super excited for the game, although they knew they had no chance to beat Barcelona, the best team in the world, but their spirits were high and they were drunk. Later we watched the Barcelona-Celtic football (soccer) match, had a couple beers and then headed to a late dinner at an amazingly delicious restaurant. We got to eat razor clams, which we absolutely divine, as well as some incredibly tender calmimari sauteed with white beans in olive oil and other spices.

All in all, we have really enjoyed our time here. This city is extremely touristy, so it´s very clean and caters very well to travellers. We are atteming to spend the rest of our time today in doors, as it is actually cold today for the first time. We may check out the Picasso Museum, though we were able to see Paris´s exhibit already in Madrid. We depart to Rome this evening! Pictures to follow as soon as we can upload them! Love, Ethan and Jenny.