Barcelona | November 11-15, 2018
Barcelona was my last stop, and I flew there on Sunday, November 11. I found it very difficult to navigate Barcelona, but by the end of my stay I felt relatively comfortable there. It definitely doesn’t have the charm that I would say Seville has, but I would definitely go back to visit.
My first night there, I had the meal you can see in the third photo below—Serrano ham with rosemary bread, and patatas bravas. I walked around quite a lot, and that night I went to an informal flamenco show in a bar with a group of people staying at the same place I was. The next day, I went with three others to La Boquería, a huge market with produce, candy, fresh meats and cheeses, smoothies - you name it. We stopped for tea, visited the Gothic cathedral, and walked around the Gothic Quarter.
I had the chance to spend time with Montse, who I actually met on the plane flying home from my study abroad in Seville three years ago. We have stayed in touch off and on, and I let her know I would be in Barcelona! She took me to a Catalonian restaurant that serves traditional Catalonian food, and we spent two hours there eating and having the best time! She gave me a tour of her Barcelona, and we stopped for “un Suizo” and “crema catalana,” two traditional desserts, along the way. In one of the pictures, you see me standing next to a fancy drinking fountain; the legend is that if you drink from it, it means you will return to Barcelona again someday—so I did!
I was also able to spend time with my online Spanish teacher, Míriam, who also lives in Barcelona! She invited me to spend a day with her and her family; I helped take her adorable children to school, and she and I had a quick breakfast together before visiting Mount Tibidabo, from which you can essentially see all of Barcelona, if the air is not too bad. I had a late lunch with her and her husband.
The next day, upon recommendation from Montse, I went to what I might call a tapas buffet restaurant called Sagardi. They make limitless supplies of tapas, ranging from cheesecake tapas, to tapas with anchovies and cream sauce! It was amazing!
At the end of my trip, I walked along the water and went to the top terrace of the Museo Historico de Catalunya. I had a dinner of pan con tomate (bread with tomato, olive oil, and salt), croquetas, and boquerones (fried anchovies) before walking all the way back via the Arco de Triunfo to where I was staying.
I left the next day, and it was an unforgettable trip.
