RTW Adventures of J&M

Even though J and I would love to be able to bring home souvenirs for our friends and family, we have succumbed to the realization that it would be impossible. After navigating our way to Barcelona with 4 checked luggage pieces, we decided to shed at least 33% of our stuff in Boston while we're at my parents' home for Christmas. Possible items include half of our wardrobe (mostly winter things since we will be in summer/spring weather for the remainder of the trip), a tripod and my dying laptop. The list grows daily. Adding souvenirs at every stop would defeat the purpose.

However, we'd still like everyone to have a bit of something. My solution: souvenir blog posts. These entries will probably come towards the end of our stay at each destination. It will consist of images or videos with each item dedicated to an individual or group. These items are for you because we were either thinking of you when we took the image/video, or we thought you would appreciate the subject matter of the image/video the most.

With that said, here comes the first batch of souvenirs for our friends and family.

1. To Edmund
2. To Irene
3. To Minhua
4. To the Seattle Dim Sum Crew (former and current)
5. To Kelly
6. To the Tibbitts
7. To Jerry

Cerveceria Catalana
Mallorca, 236
Barcelona, Spain

Dining at Cerveceria Catalana has been the most enjoyable food experience for me in the two weeks I've been in Barcelona. In any city we travel to I will be on the prowl for a restaurant that serves great local food in a lively, down-to-earth atmosphere for a reasonable price. Cerveceria Catalana is that restaurant for Barcelona.

When we got there around 8:15 PM, the place was PACKED with no less than 20 or so people waiting for a table. All of them were chatting happily at the entrance, on the sidewalk or around the corner with glasses of wine in hand. We didn't want to wait 30 minutes for an indoor seat so we snagged an open table outside underneath a cafe umbrella and a heat lamp. 

Their "tapas" are more like small plates of appetizers consisting of several bites for two people. Non-seafood tapas cost 3 to 7 Euros, while seafood tapas cost around 7 to 15 Euros. What other restaurants sell by the toothpick (a slice of baguette bread with a salad, seafood or meat topping) is 2-3 euros here. We got both a Spanish and an English menu, but their "Tapas of the Day" is exclusively in Spanish. After a 15-minute consultation with our phrase book, we ordered the following dishes.

1. Spanish omelette (tortilla) - J's been wanting to try this for 2 weeks now and it did not disappoint

2. Deep fried anchovies - These anchovies were so large that they were filleted in half before going into the fryer. I thought Cal Pep's batter was tastier, but consider that this dish is 1/3 the price and only SLIGHTLY less tasty.

3. Potatas Bravas - fried potato chunks with mayonaise and spicy sauce. Another typical Catalan appetizer/tapas. This tapa has grown to become one of our favorites. The potatoes always comes out scalding hot - just the way I like my food.

4 Fried hot green peppers (foreground) - I saw a lot of people eating this dish at the bar so I had to try it. Surprisingly, it was not spicy at all. It had a concentrated green pepper taste.

4. Grilled cuttlefish (background) - ordered from the "Tapas of the Day" menu. This dish was J's favorite of the night. He wanted cuttlefish and I suggested grilled. It turned out to be our most expensive tapa at 8 Euros, but OH SO GOOD!

5. Grilled razor clams - another dish from the "Tapas of the Day" menu. This dish was definitely my favorite of the night. I love any kind of clams. It has motivated me to go razor clamming in WA when I get back.

We currently have a 'no repeating restaurant' rule in effect (McDonalds has been the only exception), but for this entire week I will be petitioning J to go back to this restaurant on Saturday night for our last meal in Barcelona.

Item: 5 liters of store-brand bottled mineral water
Location: Barcelona, Spain

Please submit your estimates in USD.

Jonathan, Sarah, Jamee & Adam - that was for you.

Antoni Gaudi is a Catalan architect who lived from the mid-19th century to the early-20th century. I did not even know this man existed before coming to Barcelona. However, since many of Barcelona's most popular attractions centers around Gaudi, we decided to visit his two more famous works - Casa Batllo and La Sagrada Familia.

Neither J nor I know anything about architecture so I will spare you any Wikipedia para-phrasings. Instead, I'll just share with you some pictures and a Haiku I wrote to express the feelings I had as I walked through La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo.

I walk through the room.
My mouth wide open in awe.
A bug flies in. Gulp.

Casa Batllo
1. The outside of Casa Batllo - a clear indication of the amazing things you will see inside.
2. The open-air atrium/courtyard that runs down the middle of the house (think of a rectangular donut). Gaudi designed this so that all rooms inside get natural light.
3. The loft - the parabolic arches is prominent in many of his works.

La Sagrada Familia
It is a working progress and the estimated completion date is 2026. Construction is solely funded by donations, which includes the price of admission.
4. Nativity façade - one side of the church
5. Passion façade - another side of the church. I can't imagine what the front will look like when it's complete!
6. Inside the church - it's suppose to feel like we're under a canopy of trees with light peaking through the leaves.

Miscellaneous
7. This has nothing to do with either buildings, but Gaudi also designed these tiles which actually  all have the same pattern, but placed in different orientation. These tiles make up the entire sidewalk up and down Passeig de Gracia, the Newbury St. of Barcelona.

Cal Pep
Placa de les Olles, 8
Barcelona, Spain
www.calpep.com

I have been hesitant to write about any particular eating establishment in Barcelona. I haven't eaten anything bad, but I also haven't had anything that has blown me away. Honestly, I was getting a bit concerned. Am I going to the wrong places? Or, do I not like Catalonian food? Finally, I found what I was looking for in Cal Pep.

Don't let the fact that this restaurant is talked about in every guide book, city map and internet review site deter you from going. I was skeptical at first, but  believe me… it's really good. Here are some tell tale signs:

- Their business card says, "Closed: Easter Week, monday lunch, saturday night, festive days and August"
- On the day we went for lunch, the restaurant didn't open until 1:15 PM lunch and prime lunch time is around 2:30 PM. Yet, by the time the restaurant opened its doors there was a line of 20+ people consisting of both tourists and locals.  In fact, 2 parties at the end of the line did not make the cut for the 1st lunch seating.
- "More fish, or more meat?" is the only decision you have to make for your meal. They'll take care of the rest. Do not say "more meat" because it is obvious that seafood is their specialty.
- They will unapologetically ask already-eating patrons to shift over seats in order to get a clump of free seats together.

The restaurant is basically one large U-shaped bar surrounding the kitchen (Pictures 1 & 2). I counted 3 main chefs and 5 bar men/waiters. Here's what we had and accompanying pictures where applicable:

- The usual toasted bread rubbed with a super ripe tomato - a typical Catalonian appetizer
3. Clams sauteed with wine, olive oil and parsley (best dish of the meal)
4. An assortment of lightly battered, deep fried seafood, including calamari, shrimp and whole fish! We ate everything, if you know what I mean.
5. Sauteed mushrooms in olive oil and parsley- simply yet delicious. I was super excited about this one because I've been seeing this particular mushroom all over town in supermarkets and open-air markets. It's obvious that it's in season now.
- A dish of small squid and chickpeas. I don't know how it was seasoned but it was Yuuu-MMY (I got too excited and forgot to take a picture of this one)
6. Grilled fish - one of J's favorites, but I thought it was a bit overcooked and bland. At first, I was excited because I thought those potato slices were pear slices (they're also in season now - so good). After tasting it I thought it could've use some acid or something else extra.

We also had dessert, but that's not worth mentioning in detail. In the end, we left the restaurant extremely full, very happy and for me, on the verge of being slightly buzzed (It was so good, I had two beers for lunch). However, our wallets left significantly lighter - 96 Euros lighter to be exact. It turned out not to be a pre-fix meal, and we were billed for each individual dish. But, whatever… as far as I could tell everyone else there were treated the same way. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

Was it over-priced? Yes. Was it worth it? Definitely. I can now leave Barcelona saying I ate something amazing. But for now, we must conserve - we already had Mickey D's for lunch and tonight - frozen dumplings!

I can post pictures again! Apparently, the attachment problem is computer-specific. Weird.

1. Our apartment in Barcelona.
2. The sunroom off the apartment, or otherwise known as J's office.
3. The view from our deck.
4. Our clothes drying the old fashion way.
5. The supermarket that we've chosen to frequent because we like its name - Consum
6. The communal garbage and recycling center located at nearly every intersection in Barcelona.
7. Our 'home' metro station - Urgell

For those of you who know J, all know he's a very meticulous man. The example I always like to use is the 6 months of research it took him to find his perfect TV. For this trip, he spent hours and hours on the internet looking for the most compact power adapter, the best reviewed point-and-shoot camera and the most practical/economical luggage piece. I must admit his power solution is working quite well right now and his camera is also very nice. However, despite all that planning and researching on luggage, he got a little green-eyed as he watched me pack my Eagle Creek ORV SuperTrunk (a graduation gift from J's mom) and decided to get himself a SuperTrunk from REI  the next morning - 6 hours before we left for the airport.

At REI, meticulous J showed his face again as he compared the two floor models of the SuperTrunks side-by-side:  trying all the zippers and looking over every square inch for defects, etc. Unhappy with the floor models, he asks REI for an unopened one from the backroom. After careful inspection of the unopened product, he paid for it and left the store.

4:30 PM - IL comes home to take us to the airport. We gather all of our luggage and take a picture together to post on this blog.

4:40 PM - J goes to put on his socks and realizes he packed the ones he originally set aside for today so he goes to the dresser to find himself another pair. This conversation occurs:

J: uhh….. I forgot to pack my underwear
Me: Huh? Some of it or all of it?
J: ummmm… all of it..
Me: Are you serious?!  You're not serious are you??

4:41 PM - J rips open his meticulously packed luggage (weighed multiple times to be certain it's under 23 kgs) and stuffs all of his boxers into the bag  in under 20 seconds. He refused to pose for a picture of shame so this is all I got (Picture 1).

At the airport, he weighs his luggage - 25 kgs.  Some re-packing occurs and we're off.

When we collected our luggage at London, I noticed that  one of the corner bumpers on J's SuperTrunk was dangling by a thread. That night and the next morning we searched wherever we could for duct tape so that we can secure the bumper before our next flight to Barcelona, but to no avail. Finally, we found an alterative solution at London-Heathrow: saran wrap (Picture 2)

What a way to start the trip! You can't make this stuff up.

I'd like to play a game with you called "This costs HOW MUCH?"

Item: Toast with scrambled eggs
Location: London-Heathrow Airport

Please submit your estimates in USD.

 

I was just outside Barcelona hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo. I was at the end of this path and I came to a clearing and there was a lake, very secluded. And there were tall trees all around. It was dead silent. Gorgeous. And across the lake I saw…a beautiful woman…bathing herself…but she was crying…