A Day in Barcelona

A group of co-workers met for a day in Barcelona and invited me along, so I was able to experience the city with qualified tour guides (as well as friends who could translate menus and help me order lunch!).  Before making it to the city, though, we stopped at what I'd characterize as a MEGA Dick's Sporting Goods called Decathlon.  The store was at least twice as large as sporting store I've ever seen, and had two floors packed with every single imaginable item you could need for ANY sport invented.  It was very interesting to see and extremely crowded, but certainly a good resource to have for anything I may need (except fro Pro V1 golf balls, which were 54 euro, which is something like $70!).

After our quick stop at Decathlon, we headed into Barcelona.  For the first time on my trip, I saw the beach and the sea... it was gorgeous.  It appears that beach volleyball is quite popular, as are running, roller blading, and biking at the shoreline on paved paths.  Because it was such a nice day, there were people everywhere!  We spent a few minutes walking along the shore before heading into the city for lunch in an area called "Born", which has been described to me as trendy and a good place to go out at night.

Our lunch starters were typical Spanish food (that I've come to love while here)... octopus with potatoes, high-quality ham, bread with tomato spread, and croquettes.  All were delicious although the octopus needed more salt for my taste, and that of most at the table.  For lunch, I tried my first paella (excluding the version I had in the cafeteria at work).  There are pictures on my Instagram showing all of the different seafood in the dish, including whole shrimp, mussels, clams, and calamari.  I thought the rice was good although also a bit under seasoned, and the shrimp were GREAT. 

Because it is common in Spain, I decided to try my first shrimp head as well.  For those that watch food shows, they know that you basically suck out whatever is in the head of the shrimp.  The verdict... DELICIOUS although a bit odd to obtain.  The flavor reminded me most of lobster and was definitely stronger than what I'd say is your typical mild shrimp-y taste.  A few people had the squid ink rice (rice cooked in black squid ink) which I also tried and liked.  I couldn't tell a lot of difference between it and my rice, except maybe it was a bit saltier.  I'd recommend people try both shrimp heads and black rice as the flavors are good; both though, are a bit visually tough!

After lunch, we went through Santa Maria del Mar (pictured above).  It is a huge cathedral that best shows Catalan architecture from what I was told.  There are beautiful stained glass windows and the whole building is an imposing presence because of its size.  I will be taking Jessica here when she comes to visit and I know she'll love it!  We spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the streets near the cathedral.  Barcelona is a beautiful city with so many little streets, shops, and restaurants to see.  It was an enjoyable afternoon with perfect weather.

To cap the day, I watched "El Clasico" back here in Granollers.  After searching for a bar with seats open, I ended up at a bar / deli almost empty and took my seat.  Not ten minutes later, the whole place was PACKED but I had my seat and was ready to watch my first big match!  Unfortunately for the home crowd, Barcelona lost 2-1 (with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the decisive goal), a shocking result with the recent dominance by Barcelona over Real Madrid.  Overall, I think the fans in the bar, and on the street on my walk home, took everything pretty well.  Now, Barcelona must focus on their match against Chelsea this week to at least have a chance at the Champions League trophy!

This morning, I tested my ankle with a 25 minute jog and everything felt reasonable so I plan to suit up for our first work basketball game tomorrow night.  I will let you know how it goes!