After spending my first month in Spain living in Granollers, a small city ~ 25 kilometers from downtown Barcelona, I moved into the city for a few days this past week / weekend as my hotel had a prior booking. My boss helped get me a room in the center of the city and I was able to experience so many great things that Barcelona has to offer and, most importantly, learn more about the city so that when Jessica arrives in SIX DAYS I can show her the best time!!!
The first night in Barcelona, I tried Cerveceria Catalana, a true tapas bar in downtown, with my boss and another co-worker. We went during what would be happy hour here (people eat dinner around 9:30 PM or so and we went at 7:45 PM) and the place was PACKED. It had many tables in the back of the restaurant, but the front basically had two sushi-type bars, one on each wall. In the "display" glass, there were countless different tapas, all of which looked great. The tapas "bar tenders" would then take orders, either by name or by people pointing and shouting, and it created quite a unique, awesome, and chaotic experience in the restaurant! With people jam packed inside, I'm not quite sure how the server figured out who ordered and ate what, but they did and everything was fantastic.
All of the items were served on top of a small piece of bread... I believe this style of tapas has a specific name that escapes me though. We tried the following: ham, salmon crudo (which was AMAZING), sliders, veal, grilled shrimp, and croquettes. My favorite were the grilled shrimp; they were cooked so perfectly that they remained tender and juicy without seeming to be undercooked. After trying these shrimp, I feel like I've never had another effort that wasn't slightly overcooked! Even the burger, which I wasn't too sure would be good, was excellent. They topped it with very sweet caramelized onions and cheese and in one bite, I was in heaven.
Of note the next two days...
- My hotel had an inexplicable open bar on Thursday night, offering free beer, wine, and gin and tonics. This led to a rougher Friday morning than I had planned but all for good!
- I completed my first 60 minute run ever I think. I continue to "train" for a half marathon in November in Raleigh with Jessica and the 60 minute run (I cannot gauge distances here but I used this for my 6 miler) wasn't too bad (except for ruining my legs the rest of the day).
On Saturday morning, after my run, I toured Camp Nou, the soccer stadium here in Barcelona that houses the world power. The stadium is located on the outskirts of Barcelona proper and seems similar to my image of Lambeau Field in Green Bay; a HUGE stadium in the middle of a neighborhood. On one block, I saw nothing, and on the next, I saw a building larger than most used in the NFL! Pictures are on my Instagram (DKMiller327).
The tour was excellent... I was able to see their museum (amazing history and a ridiculous list of former players, awards, and league trophies) as well as their superstore (which sold EVERYTHING you could imagine... more than any Steelers store I've ever see) before entering the stadium.
The tour went through the visitor's locker room (modest), down the tunnel to the pitch (with sounds like you were entering the field to play which gave me goosebumps), and onto the edge of the field to see the 98,000+ seats surrounding you. It was my first time ever in a soccer stadium and I was beyond impressed. For any soccer fans, I'd highly recommend this tour (or any that may be available across Europe for the big clubs).
Saturday night, I met with a co-worker and his wife for dinner. Beforehand, we went to a little local beer pub and had some excellent beers in a place that felt like part of a secret club. This obviously helped start up our appetites and my co-worker knew of a GREAT fondue place (La Carabba) to try. Anytime I am given a plate of raw meat that I can cook to my own taste, I am thrilled, and this place more than provided. It was a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the old part of the city and our dinner consisted of a salad (actually good) and then a plate full of beef, pork, sausage, and chicken. The fondue cooking liquid was very hot oil and then there were dipping sauces surrounding to add after cooking (herbs, mushroom, soy, whiskey, etc.). I've been to other fondue places but this was a few steps above in meat quality and sauce flavor, as well as not costing much more. I could NEVER find this place again, but it is very much worth finding and trying.
After dinner, we watched the second half of the last Barcelona game this season (they scored in extra time to tie 2-2) before going to another "hidden" gem in the city... a whiskey bar! My co-worker is Catalan but spent time in Scotland so he is a bit of an aficionado. I had a very good whiskey from somewhere (who knows, things got hazy FAST!) but we called it a night after one, which was a good thing for me. It was very cool to experience the city with residents; they definitely knew the right places to go and the right times to go for the best crowds.
To finish the weekend, I went mountain biking with some co-workers today. It is amazing how close the beach and mountains are here near Barcelona, so the terrain was quite tough (at least for me). My friend promised a beginner trail but I hope, both for my pride and my general sense of physical effort, that this was tougher than that because I STRUGGLED. It was fun though, and had many great views during the ride. The best part, though, was the after-ride barbecue. My friend grilled chicken, chorizo, butifarra (Catalan sausage), small bites of lamb shoulder (very good, especially the fat), and pork ribs that were delicious. It reminded me very much of a typical American cookout... while some of the meats changed, it was basically the same and brought back some good memories of summer in the United States!
This is the biggest week of my time here in Spain... Jessica and I have finally reached her first visit!!! She will arrive on Saturday morning and I have the weekend and week planned before she has to depart on Wednesday. Our anniversary is Monday so hopefully I have one or two surprises for her, but regardless, I am so looking forward to this time to see her, to know that we've made it through our longest stretch apart, and to celebrate our first year as a married couple!
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