Spain: Day 2 Part 2

Playing: Runaways-The Killers
Reading: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Welcome back to my day two in Barcelona! After we visited mare magnum, we walked back to Las Ramblas hoping to eat at a famous cafe, but it started raining horribly, so we pulled aside to eat at whatever we found. However, I get so little rain in southern California that whenever it does rain, I get this stupid grin on my face that shows everyone I'm thoroughly enjoying the rain. Walking around in a downpour in short shorts was a bad idea. Later that night, I got a bad headache and fever, while I was cheering on Spain in the Spain vs Italy EuroCup game. Sorry Italians, but it felt more appropriate to be cheering on Spain, while I was in Spain!

We ended up at Carta de Vinos-Torres, which is near the end of Las Ramblas, for lunch. We ordered our first taste of tapas with this combo aptly named Tapas 3. It came with fried potatoes with spicy mayo, octopus with spicy topping, grilled lamb, chicken wings, shrimp with garlic butter, and clams with garlic butter. This was one of the best things we ate, while in Spain. Everything was just so tasty.

Since we were afraid it wasn't going to be enough food, we also ordered the Fideuada (Fisherman's Style) and the Hand Made Assorted Pates. The Fideauda was described to us by the waiter as a noodle version of paella, but it tasted like seafood instant noodle to me. It was good, but probably not worth ordering. The pates were pretty average, but my mum found them too strong, so I'd stick to the tapas, if I were you.

After lunch, we headed off to the Cathedral de Barcelona, which was pretty creepy, I'm not going to lie. I personally find medieval religious art to be pretty disturbing and depressing, so I've never been a fan of medieval cathedrals. My dad enjoys visiting cathedrals, so we always end up visiting them and they're considered must-see spots, so it's only me that has this issue. My favorite part was going on the roof of the cathedral to see the city below me, but other than that, I was freaked out for most of my time there.

While walking around the  Barri Gotic, my family stopped off for gelato at La Campana. Since the USA doesn't have a lot of blackberry flavored food, I ordered the mora (Spanish for blackberry). It was very refreshing for the first few bites, but towards the end, I found it way too sweet. I have to admit this particular store was very quaint and for all of you that don't like gelato, it served other desserts.

Afterwards, we went to the Sangria Familia, which was designed by Gaudi. I absolutely loved the Sangira Familia even though it cost a small fortune to get in. It was so beautiful inside and felt surreal. This is how I think churches should feel: happy, welcoming, ethereal, etc. As I've hinted to before, I dislike churches that have the depressing, violent vibe that many medieval things have. The Sangria Familia was just amazing and unlike anything I've ever seen before and I highly recommend it.

At the end of our day, we went back to our hotel and rested until it was time to go out for dinner. It was still raining, so we went to Rias de Vigo, which was very close to our hotel. I ordered the Solomillo de atunn a la Provenzal. The tuna was meaty and well cooked, not too dry for me at all, but I found the tomato sauce to be too tangy and it left my tongue feeling tingly. Is that weird of me to say? Also, the waiters were very funny and they could speak Spanish, English, and French! After dinner, we went back to our hotel to watch the Spain vs Italy EuroCup soccer game. When Spain won, people set off fireworks, opened up windows to cheer, honked horns, and ran around the streets screaming, so I took it as a sign to cheer to. I opened up my window and cheered until my mum told me to be quiet. Well that's the end of my first full day in Spain...