Por Barcelona!

I just had one of the most amazing meals in my life. A great night. I know that I'm missing a couple of days, but I want to tell you about tonight before I forget the details.

Today we spent doing tourist-y stuff around Barcelona. We started off the day a little late (we were out late having tapas and walking around the oldest part of Barcelona last night) and went to the Parc Guell and the Sagrada Familia. Both were absolutely amazing. Gaudi was such a genius, it's hard to understand. In the lower level of the Sagrada Familia, there was a museum about Gaudi and the cathedral. Among other things, it showed how similar his work is to nature, and how it was inspired by it. I think it's amazing that one of the most celebrated works of architecture in the world is based on the most simple things we see around us, like a tree or the leaves on a branch. I was a little frustrated because the church is not finished. I wonder if I will even be around when/if it is finished. Shouldn't 140 years be enough time? I read that the reason that it is still being built, rather than just stopped and opened as a museum, is because the act of building it is an act of penance, and that the entire cathedral is an offering to God. Maybe this is true.

After we got done with all the tourist things, we came back to Cedic's apartment. Cedric has been a most generous host to us. The past few days he has shown us amazing parts of the city that we never would have seen on our own. What an experience... one I won't forget soon. Anyways, after a little relaxing at the apartment, we went to a little wine store. I don't remember the word for the type of place that we went to. This store has barrels of wine lining the ceiling and bottles of wine lining the walls. Apparently a truck comes once a week, parks in the street, and pumps wine into the barrels. We met one of Cedric's friends there, and had a great time. Melissa bought an awesome goatskin wine flask. We then headed to eat.

We walked a few blocks to a small restaurant, with no more than ten tables. As much as I consider myself a "foodie" I have never had food like this. Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe the company, maybe that I am having an adventure in Spain. Probably it was all of these things. We started off with wonderful olives, then toasted bread which Cedric showed us how to prepare. Here they take toasted bread, then rub raw garlic on it, rub tomato on it, then drizzle it in olive oil and add a little bit of salt. So fantastic. I once bought a bottle of olive oil at Elephant's for about 50 dollars, I think, and it was no better than the olive oil here that sits on all the tables and douses the food. Ok, so after the bread was the cheese. Two types of Manchego, then three other types of cheese I didn't know. One was a sheep's milk that had holes in it like a swiss, one was similar to a brie, and one was an amazing chevre, with that delicious ammoniated goo between it and the rind. After the cheese came the cured meats. Jamon, cured chorizo, and three other types of meat. Better than any I've had. After the cheeses, we had salad... endive and avocado drizzled in this pink sauce, kind of like thousand island, but without any islands. Wonderful. After the salad, there were cod filets wrapped in red pepper then baked in a wonderful cream and cheese sauce, with little bits of crispy cheese around the edges. The final part of the meal was a plate of sausage, with garlic aioli to dip in, fava beans, roasted potatoes, and more bread. This whole time, the plates came in about the same time, so we were passing plates around the table, reaching for food, trying things off of each other's plates, and just having a great time. Cedric said this is how the Spaniards do it. I can deal with that. After dinner was a delicious lime green colored digestif, and some great conversation around the table. At about 11:30 we were finished. In spain when making a toast, instead of saying "cheers" or "salud" you say "por ..." and fill in the blank for whatever you're toasting. Tonight we toasted "Por Barcelona!"