JOEY, CHRISTINA, BARCELONA

Our first visit to Catalonia

By Joey Pasco

Day 1

Friday, 5 October 2012 - Slept nearly 13 hours after arriving here yesterday evening. Woke up at 10am (local time). Missed breakfast. Wandered a bit (in the wrong direction—south when I thought we were going north) looking for a Starbucks.Strolled the infamous La Ramblas (crowded, as we’d expected) and the Gothic Quarter, had a little siesta back at the hotel, and then had dinner (tapas & sangria) at a small restaurant in the Gothic Quarter called Tarantino, whose decor had all of Quentin Tarantino’s films represented.

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Day 2

Saturday, 6 October 2012 - Walking around Barcelona, Day 2. Had lunch/dinner at a place called Tapa Apat on the Passage de Gracia, where the menu wasn’t in English so we had to guess & then just cross our fingers. I ended up with spinach pie and grouper; Tina had pasta with bleu cheese and a braized chicken thigh.

Afterwards, we walked up to Parc Güell, which was really great, but suffered from too many people/tourists obscuring the view of what would have been an even more impressive setting. (Then again, like the crowds on La Ramblas, I suppose that’s to be expected.)

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Day 3

Sunday, 7 October 2012 - Sunday morning. Apparently a pretty big game happening here tonight, Barcelona vs Madrid. Not sure we’ll catch any of it, but the flags are out.

Took a bunch of shots outside of the cathedral (whose name I can’t recall) of people dancing. A band playing traditional Catalan. All the music sounds like video game music to me (RPG-style, i.e. Zelda, Final Fantasy). I love it.

Day 4

Monday, 8 October 2012 - Kinda drunk, or pushing it. Sitting at a restaurant on Carrer d’ Enric Granados after drinking too much sangria. Saw the Sagrada Familia today. I think Gaudi’s artwork is a bit too cartoony for me, although it certainly gives a unique feel to the city.

Walked L’Eixample, we think. Maps in books keep rotating so it’s confusing.

Sometimes in Barcelona you try to take a photograph after you've had way too much Sangria.

Day 5

Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - Last day in Barcelona. Went to the famous market in El Raval. Pretty amazing place, lots of stalls selling fruits, meat, and candies. Snacked on some jamon Iberico (ham), which is probably our favorite food that we discovered here. Very much like prosciutto, but better. We strolled El Raval for a bit, but decided to enjoy the Barri Gotic some more. Bought some souvenirs to take home to everyone. Ate at the same restaurant, Trobador, that we enjoyed so much last night.

It’s too early to say for sure, but Barcelona may be our favorite place to have visited.

“We crossed spacious streets, with buildings resembling palaces, in La Rambla promenade; the shops were well illuminated and there was movement and life… I did not decide to go to sleep, even though I wished to, so I could rise early and contemplate, in daylight, this city, unknown to me: Barcelona, capital of Catalonia.” – Hans Christian Andersen