Ahh, Catalonia. We ate a TON (literally, we probably ate close to one ton) of Paella, drank Sangria, went on a walking tour, visited the monastery on top of Montserrat, hung out at the beach, did a cooking class, saw a Flamenco show, and more! Barcelona, you showed us a great time!
Miles walked: 18
Miles transported: ~200
Barcelona!
First things first: PAELLA!!
Walking tour of Barcelona (it was 3 hours long and we learned and saw such much with our incredible guide, but we had to narrow down what to post in this section, otherwise you guys would be here for hours):
The steps where Columbus presented his findings (knowledge and goods) from “India” (America) to the king and queen. He also presented them with syphilis.
Apparently weed is (kinda…) legal in Barcelona! They are trying to follow the Amsterdam model, with weed and other things…
Structure representing Catalonia’s national sport (since bull-fighting was banned)… Castelling!! (The building of human towers… which is a real thing…)
Many citizens proudly sporting their Catalonia flags:
Coolest Mini ever:
We found Daniel Buchko (Francy’s HIGH SCHOOL track mate!), who happened to be in Barcelona with his girlfriend when we were there! Small world.
While Steve & Kim went on an evening booze-cruise (or at least, attempted to…), Francy and I did the lame, boring, married couple thing and went to a Paella cooking class (where, ahem, we also learned to make Sangria… and got to make it as strong as we wanted….). Started off by going to the market with the instructor to buy the seafood FRESH:
Then Francy volunteered to do the actual cooking portion. One can see that this isn’t his first time in a chef’s hat…
Our awesome chef:
Now, the most important part: Sangria!
The essentials:
Making our own rules (and friends!):
Reaping the rewards:
Meanwhile, Steve & Kim missed their booze cruise, but found a restaurant of a long lost relative along the way???
Montserrat Monastery
Look closely. The monastery is built into the mountain!
Took the cable car up:
Stunning views:
This was such a cute photo op, I had to go creeper status and capture it (and then take it a step further and post it on this blog…):
Alo? Anybody there?
Oh, yes, indeed – a beautiful monastery:
Samsonite is pooped and ready for some beach time:
Back to Barcelona we go…
… to find the world’s most packed beaches!
Enjoyed a Flaminco show that evening:
And took off the next morning for France! But not before taking a picture of Samsonite and this random cat statue standing right outside our apartment:
Samsonite's Great Adventures 