Thursday work went by quickly since I was only there for 2 hours. I wrote up a contract, editted another and headed home. I stopped by a really cute store on the way home to get a few things I've wanted for a while. (Thanks mom!)
We left for the airport at about 2:30 and got on a flight around 5:40. Our gate wasn't announced until 5:05 so we found a pub and had a drink.. what other way do you start off a vacation?
We got to Barcelona, gathered our stuff and got on a train then metro to our hotel. We met up with my dad and sean and had dinner at a restaurant off of La Rambla (the main street of Barcelona). We had tapas for dinner - potatoes with this spicy cream sauce, paella with chicken and shrimp (rice in a tomato sauce with veggies and meat that's REALLY good), garlic shrimp, a half rotissery chicken with fries, and olives for the two weird people at the table that like them. We also had 2 pitchers for the table of Sangria De Cava which is my new favorite drink but unfornatuely is only found in Spain. It consists of all of the normal fruit of Sangria but it's made with champagne instead of red wine and it is to die for! After that we walked around and eventually went back to our hotel for the night.
Friday we got up early and went straight to the beach. We spent a few hours in the sun and got hungry so we went to a restaurant right on the beach. Kay and I both had pizza - mine didn't have tomato sauce on it, just Gruyère cheese and prosciutto, it was great! Dad had chicken that was flattened so much it looked like a piece of pita bread and sean had an excellent lamb something or other. We had fresh mango sorbet and a bitter chocolate cake with some kind of cream on top for dessert. Great lunch! Then it was back to the beach but we sat under the shade of a palm tree since we were all pretty burnt already.
For dinner that night, I met up with my dad and sean for dinner at Citrus - pretty good place with even better prices. We split a bottle of Chablis wine that I really liked. After dinner Sean was tired so we took him back to the hotel, walked around to see a Gaudi building that was really cool - I think the guy was on drugs when he designed all of these places though, they are so different and complex but overwhelmingly beautiful. Then we went to the rooftop bar/pool area of dad's hotel that overlooked the city and sat and talked for a while about life.
Saturday we got up and went to the beach for a little but soon grew tired of that since we were all crammed under one small umbrella and we were burnt and wanted to be out of the sun. We went to the market, got lunch, and walked around La Rambla by my hotel and looked at some shops. Then we split up, took naps, showered and met up for dinner. We went to Can Majo, an incredible seafood recommended to me by several people located right on the beach. We split a bottle of the best wine I've ever had - Grano or something like that - I wrote it down. It's a Savignon Blanc and soooo good. Dad and I split a shellfish and grilled fish platter. We started with muscles and clams and a few shrimp. I tried both the muscles and the clams - they tasted like stronger seafood but I'm not sure I'd order them at a restaurant. Not bad, but not my fav. Then we got a huge plate of shrimp, two types of grilled fish that we think one might've been Monkfish and we had no idea what the other was and didn't care because it was so good. Then we had crawfish I think - cracked in half and grilled and grilled calamari rings.. SOO good! Sean got the seafood soup that was broth with while shrimps, calamari rings, muscles still in the shell and other things. I got to eat the calamari rings and they were great! Then we had desert - dad had tiramisu, Sean had wild strawberries with ice cream and they were warm which was very interesting. I tasted them and they slightly reminded me of cough syrup and after mentioning that none of us could eat any more of them.. oops! I had a crepe filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with warm chocolate sauce and white chocolate shavings. DELICIOUS MEAL!! I give Can Majo 5 stars - best seafood of my life!
After dinner we meandered our way back and dad and Sean went to sleep early since they had to wake up early for their flight =(.
Sunday we got up and went to the beach a little later in the day. We layed on the beach for most of the day, Kay and I broke for lunch and split the best Paella we had all weekend with seafood in it. It wasn't the traditional rice they use but more like a vermacelli. After going back to the beach for another couple hours the girls went back to the hotel while I went to the Sagrada Familia. It's a building the Gaudi designed and after 190 years is still in the process of being built. It has another 70-80 years to go but is very intricate and interesting. I didn't go inside, seeing the outside was enough for me but Kay and Megan said the inside was great too. After a short nap and shower Megan wasn't feeling well so Kay and I went out for our final dinner in Barcelona. We got off the tube in a good area but walked down some side streets to find a cafe with outside seating. I got calamari rings and grilled cuttlefish tapas dishes and we split french green beans fried with ham, it was all really good. We didn't end up eating until after 10, so after a 2 hour meal we were exhausted and ready for bed.
Monday we got up early and went to the Boqueria market right around the corner from our hotel. It's the oldest and best market in Barcelona and we got fresh fruit for breakfast and just walked around. Then we went back to our hotel, packed, checked out and left. It started raining just as we were leaving the hotel so I guess we picked a good day to leave! We had our last Paella at the airport and headed home.
It was a great trip to a great city and the best part was getting to see my fam! Sean had jet lag the whole time so he wasn't in the best mood which is understandable when you're exhausted but I think he had fun anyway.. I even managed to get a little bit of color! Now I just need to get to parks on the weekends and keep it up.
The next three weekends I'm spending in London. I'll be all alone this weekend in my flat since 4 of the girls are going to Paris and Kay is going to Sweden or somewhere odd with Stew and two other people from our program. I'll be spending time with flat 1 and a good book! It should be relaxing and quiet. The next thing to look forward to is the big trip at the end!!
I got a new camera card and for some reason when I plugged it in last night my computer wouldn't recognize it. So, minor problem I need to work out before I post pics but I'm a little behind so multiple albums will hopefully be going up soon!
Thanks again Dad and Sean for coming!!
I miss all of you! 1 more month of life in London and then my final semester of college life begins... exciting but very stressful!
<3
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