I did it! I traveled to Barcelona, Spain for 10 days, with a sweet friend and we had an absolutely amazing time.
I also brought back a 10+ day flu that knocked me flat on my back and is still shaking me like a German Shepherd puppy with an old rag.
Yes, I have a bajillion pictures. No, they aren't here because they're on the other computer and being shaken like a rag in a German Shepherd puppy's mouth means I'm too addled to put them up just yet. You'll have to trust me, it's a beautiful city. Absolutely unequivocably (dang it I've tried 4 times and still can't spell that right) gorgeous. The people are kind and friendly, the food is glorious, and the graffiti is, mostly, limited to the metal roll up doors covering the shop entrances.
The food. Oh my word. We dined. I knew when planning the trip that I intended to eat and did we ever. Tapas are a glorious way to enjoy a meal. Small plates of delicious goodnesses meant to be shared while enjoying wine. Ham croquettes, pan de tomate (tomato bread, a food that is greater than the sum of it's parts), grilled vegetables with romesco sauce, delicious delicious olives, Iberico ham, manchego cheese marinated with herbs and olive oil, and breads. The breads. I had croissants for breakfast, snacks, and whenever. Basque cheesecake made with gorgonzola, parmesan, and marscapone cheeses...sounds weird as heck but oh my goodness. Gelato...
Ok here's a gelato story. There was a little store just down from the hotel. In the evenings we would get a cup of gelato. I saw what was labeled as "Pesca" so asked for that..."Pesca (PESS-ka), please" and the girl working there looked confused and slightly horrified. My friend, who's far better at Spanish than I, started laughing at me. "You just asked for fish!" But...I was confused. She said to the worker "she means Pesca (PESH-ah)...PEACH". oh...ok well, I didn't know but now it makes sense. The worker laughed, I laughed, and now I have my language butchering story to tell.
We walked everywhere. 5-6 miles a day, in a gentle amble, in and out of stores, museums, cathedrals. The first day we found ourselves wandering into the chapel of the nearby hospital, drawn in by the sound of this ethereal singing. We found ourselves in a tiny sanctuary, with a circle of blue-clad nuns singing beautifully in this acoustically glorious room. We stood quietly and listened, and yes, I felt like God was there with them, this worshipful angelic singing.
We walked to the Mediterranean sea. It was like a lake, very calm. The beach was rocky with pebbles and we picked up bits of sea glass, all sorts of colored pebbles and some very coarse sand. We sat and watched young children hurl rocks into the water, and I gave a mental "Hello! I'm here!" to The Capt. That day was capped with a 60-day dry aged Galician beef steak and red wine. OH my goodness.
We took a cooking class one night, and learned how to break down a cuttlefish for seafood paella, make a strawberry-tomato gazpacho, and Catalan creme- which is like creme brulee but much lighter. There were 4 of us, my friend and I, and a mother-daughter duo from New Orleans, and our Chef teacher. The paella was amazing, as was everything else. Also, wine was involved because it's Spain.
We visited the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona's iconic Gaudi Basilica, always under construction. It. Is. Stunning. There's so much to take in with it, small details everywhere and it's simply enormous. I can't even begin to describe it other than to say it's mind bogglingly complex and beautiful inside. The windows, soaring ceilings, absolutely amazing.
I probably have events out of order, but those are bits of what we did. There were street musicians everywhere, all the time. New Orleans jazz, classical Spanish guitar, soulful saxophone, a Catalan 10-person band, some guy beat-boxing the Bee Gees (ok yes that was as strange as it sounds). Our room overlooked a big plaza with the Barcelona Cathedral on the other side. At night, the windows were left open and we could hear a woman playing guitar and singing, as we went to sleep. (5th floor, no one was going to sneak in)
The hotel breakfast was delicious. Every morning I had Iberico ham and croissants, strong coffee, fresh fruit. Yes. I love Iberico ham. acorn fed, dry aged, dense and sweet, and sliced paper thin.
This was the first of the Capt ordered trips. I couldn't have asked for a better traveling companion. She and I shared the same easy-going, no real plans sort of philosophy. Other than the cooking class and tickets to the Sagrada Familia, we did nothing by a plan. "Where to today?" "I don't know, let's see what happens if we wander this direction..." We found tiny shops, beautiful alleys, little bits of beauty tucked away from the crowds. We found crowds, musicians, parks, and you know, I felt completely safe the whole time.
There's this thing going around on the internet about how gorgeous the Barcelona policemen are. I saw that and though "Ok so they found a couple of pretty ones but the rest are normal." Nope. The Barcelona policemen are, to a man (and the 2 women I saw in uniform), absolutely stunningly handsome. I have never seen such. In fact, most of the people I saw were attractive. I thought that was interesting. But, it's a walking city so everyone, young and old, was pretty fit. But those policemen. Holy cow.
So I have a lot more to say, and many many pictures to post, but I am still a bit dizzy and recovering from the flu I caught while there. Fortunately I didn't start feeling weird until the evening of the very last day, which made the trip home SUPER fun. I'll talk about that another time.
