Barcelona

Güell.  GaudÍ.  Tapas.

We just returned from a fantastic trip to Barcelona, and were able to visit with Matt’s sister and her husband (Julie and Arnau).   They picked us up from the airport, and without skipping a beat, took us straight to Sitges, a cute beach town outside of Barcelona.   After a quick change of clothing (in the car) we wandered around the town and Matt had his first taste of clara (beer with carbonated lemon water), which is actually quite refreshing.   It was ridiculously hot/humid, but the clara, and breeze from the water helped!

Julie and Arnau then took us on a 6 km hike from Sitges to the next town up, Villanova.  Matt and I were literally dying by the end, it was so hot, which we’re not used to!  The hike went along the ocean so the views were absolutely gorgeous though.  We also passed a few nude beaches, which had slightly different views….ha ha.  We grabbed a drink in town, cooled off and took the train back to Sitges.  Phew, I don’t think Matt or I would’ve made it if we had to hike back!

Later than night, Julie and Arnau threw an “American BBQ” to celebrate the 4th of July and to partake in the festival their town, Sant Cugat, was having.   The BBQ was complete with vast quantities of meat, beer, white wine spritzers (don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it), potato salad, watermelon and even s’mores.   It was totally authentic and they had a big turnout of both Spanish and American friends.  We later walked into town for the big concert, which started at 1:00 a.m. (yes, 1:00 in the morning, which is way past our bedtime!).  Matt and I made it into town, but only lasted for a short bit as the pre-concert show consisted of 2 men in devil masks telling complaint-like jokes in Catalan – we had no idea what was going on and didn’t know when it was going to end as the 1:00 a.m. concert start time was a “soft” start time.  Our first day in Barcelona was jam-packed, that’s for sure!

We woke up on Sunday to rain and much, much cooler weather – the exact opposite of Saturday.   Arnau recommended heading to a bar in Barcelona that was having a small concert.  The singer was a Janis-Joplin type who splits her time between San Francisco and Barcelona.  And the little bar was very cool – non-assuming on the outside, but funky and cozy with kitschy art on the inside.  And the band was really good; she covered some songs and had some originals.  We watched the first half, then headed to find lunch.  We definitely didn’t starve on this trip!  We ended up at an Asian tapas restaurant in the Born (Mosquito), which was very tasty and filling.  With full bellies, we still managed to find room and hit the ever popular Gelaaati! for some yummy gelato in a festive atmosphere.  The Italians running the joint were extra-amped b/c the final game of the Euro Cup was later that night.

 Dancing behind the counter at Gelaati!

We returned to Sant Cugat to watch the tournament of the “castell” or “human tower”.  The participants first wrap themselves in what looks like a big, stretchy black pashmina (to help stabilize their backs).  Per Wiki “A castell is considered a success when stages of its assembling and disassembling, can be done in complete succession. The assembly is complete once all castellers have climbed into their designated places, and the enxaneta climbs into place at the top and raises one hand with four fingers erect, in a gesture said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag. The enxaneta then climbs down the other side of the castell, after which the remaining levels of castellers descend in highest-to-lowest order until all have reached safety.”  On the first team’s attempt, the little girl at the top fell off and our hearts dropped – the towers are very high!  She was completely fine (the kids at the top wear helmets) and all of the other towers we watched went up without a hitch.  It was completely nerve-wracking just to watch as a spectator, yet very impressive!

 

We then returned to Julie and Arnau’s house to watch the Euro Cup, where Spain totally stomped Italy!  The commentators were very excited the entire time.  We couldn't understand anything as it was in Spanish, but they were talking extra fast and extra animatedly.  And Arnau won the betting pool he entered at the beginning of the tournament, congrats!

On Monday we headed to the hotel (W), which is on the beach in an area (Barceloneta) we hadn’t ever explored on any of our prior trips.  Matt went to work and I went out on my own.  The views from the hotel were excellent and the promenade along the beach was really nice – I was a bit surprised to come across nude sun-bathers in the city, but to each his own, I guess. 

This was literally about 2 feet away from the boardwalk, which startled me!  He was ummm, very thorough:

View from our room:

Night views from hotel/having drinks:

I walked up the Rambla, through the shopping area and ended up at the beautiful Ciutadella Park and Arc de Triomf, neither of which seemed familiar to me (I guess we didn’t go here either before?)   I also squeezed in some spa time at the hotel's fabulous Bliss spa, which was so relaxing!

 

Matt finished up with work and we met back up with Julie for more tapas at a cute, beachy restaurant underneath the hotel (El Gallito).  It was a mix of straw, wood, tiles and vines with great sea views and laid back atmosphere.  It was a true gem!  Julie recommended the Padrón Peppers, where some are hot, and some are not.  Apparently, there is supposed to be at least one “hot” pepper in each batch and the person who is “lucky” enough to get a hot one is usually surprised by the heat.  Well, none of ours were “hot”, because we either had a bad batch, or the restaurant doesn’t want to scare the tourists.  And we *finally* had paella (the next day as well - making up for lost time).  So good !!

 

  

 

Hot pepper, "lucky" hot pepper?  Nope, just regular peppers, and lots of other food.

 

 And here we are with the waiter:

Julie took me on a scooter ride the last day.  I was a bit hesitant, not because I don’t trust her driving skills, but I was afraid of the crazy traffic.  I thought I might get startled and somehow shift the weight on the bike and cause an accident.  It was totally fine, and Julie is a very safe and good driver!  Helmets on, ready to go!

We had more delicious tapas for our final dinner, accompanied by local wine from the region where Julie and Arnau got married (Priorat).  We then had a night-cap on a rooftop terrace hotel....and then had to say our good-bye’s.