WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE D2? PT 9: BARCELONA

originally posted May 17/11
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WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE D2? PT 9: BARCELONA

SITGES

Good on Jos for convincing me to skip the day tour to Sitges (the
beach town) and Montserrat as it was way too expensive. After talking
to Liz at our B&B, we went ourselves. The ticket only cost 6 euros
each round trip. It didn't take long to get there at all. On our way
to the beach the shops called to us. We really liked them because they
differed from the name brand stores in downtown Barcelona. In La
Rambla, H&M stores were situated quite close to each other - perhaps
to share stock?! We found that a bit odd, but it seems to work there.
We spent a pretty penny in one store alone, due to the originality of
the designs.

All the while, we calculated how long we would stay, as we were
contemplating heading to La Rambla again to get a few extra things
before heading to our dinner reservation. We finally got the beach
after all the shopping distractions.

-JOS NEEDS A STOMACH PUMP-

Is there a doctor on the beach? Jos needs one! She almost did not
survive her meal! We went to a restaurant called El Mascaron and
selected the menu of the day. The waiter was very nice and when he
learned we were from Canada, he asked if we spoke French. We said a
little and for the rest of our lunch, he spoke to us in French.
kekeke...using different languages here.

We both had the same appetizer - 3 grilled prawns and 4 grilled razor
clams each. It wasn't anywhere close to the superdelicious ones we had
yesterday but it was still good. For lunch I chose the grilled cod
topped with baked cheese and scalloped potatoes underneath with a
grilled tomato on the side. It was SUPERDELISH...the fish was boneless
and I didn't even have to cut it with a knife. It wasn't fishy at all!
Jos..oh Jos...she chose the seafood platter - a dozen mussels, a
dozen baby clams, 2 oceanic shrimp with claws, two pieces of baked
fish, another razor clam and a whole grilled squid. Jos' eyes almost
popped out, as did mine. That is a SUPERHUGE meal. She had also
ordered a 1/2 litre of wine on her own, so she had a tummy-full. Poor
Jos. Hahaha. We all know what a fighter she is, so she was determined
to finish it all. Even the waiter was shaking his head as he saw her
struggle to empty her plate.

When we originally got there, only two more people were there. Then
more started coming. Although the couple next to us ordered the
seafood platter, they had gotten lighter appetizers like grilled
vegetables, that looked quite good and a stew. I had to help Jos a bit
by drinking some of her wine. I told her that she would be full, drunk
and burnt on the beach. LOL. We just kept laughing, until my sides
were hurting. Finally she finished her food and then I told her there
was still dessert, but she didn't believe me b/c it wasn't on the
menu.

I was right. We both had the baked apple with vanilla ice-cream and
caramel syrup. It was SUPERYUMMY! I was just the right amount full,
while Jos looked like she was going to go into an actual food coma
hahaha.

B IS FOR BEACHES & THE SUNNY TIME WARP

Sitges has 17 sand beaches and its economy is based on tourism. It is
a very gay-friendly town influenced by a famous gay councilman who was
very involved with the development of the gay tourism industry.
(credits to wiki for this).

Jos and I went straight to the beach after eating. We skipped a few
and settled down. Jos wanted to tan for 1h 30mins. I thought she meant
each side and I told her she was crazy. She meant total amount. I'm
not really one for hitting the beach that often at home or even on
vacation. I can see the danger of beaches in Spain. The sun is so hot,
but the wind is so cool from the waves. The waves are also really
loud, so you can relax with the sound of ocean overpowering your
senses. A 30 minute tan seems like it has sucked the hours from you.
We were literally tanning for 30 mins on each side and Jos got so
dark! I don't tan like Jos so I'm still relatively lighter than
her...but wow...the beach is dangerous! Its no wonder that almost
everyone I saw there was sunburn!! Even though sunburns turn into nice
suntans, it hurts later and its not healthy! We walked along the water
trying to find seashells for Chris and then trekked back to the train
station. Note: their trains are regularly late...at least since we've
been here...lucky we weren't in a hurry!

In the end, we opted not to go last minute shopping an pack for
tomorrow. Liz made our dinner reservation and chatted with us. We
drank another bottle of Cava and then headed out to dinner.

LA LUBINA

We both had the most freshly made bread since we've been on this trip
with a bottle of Cava. Our appetizers were the same: grilled asparagus
with a red pepper sauce and lightly breaded calamari.

Jos had grilled monk fish and some kind of Spanish sauce and for
desert, the coconut pudding which was like the creme caramel with
coconut crust. I had the steak which was literally grilled to
perfection (no joke) and french fries with a roasted red pepper. We
both savoured our last meal in Barcelona.

To end the trip to Spain, I wrote someone a postcard. To sum up our
eating experience (just for fun)...voila (I don't know what the
Spanish version of that is...)

GREETINGS FROM BARCELONA

We are here, you are there..we ate too much but we don't care!!
Josie really tried to shop, and now we cannot cannot stop!
We've been eating our way through Spain, in the sun and in the rain.
Paella, gambas, mussels, clam...we want more, we don't give a da--.
Foodies, foodies, more more more, cava, wine, pour pour pour.
Eat until our tummies ache...paella at home is fake, so fake.
I guarantee we'll dream of food, the things we ate were all so good!
(SUPERAWESOME, in fact)

Tomorrow on to the next destination!!! We are curious as to where you
think we will end up next...pls let us know :P If you guess right, we
can't confirm, but pls make sure to submit it via email once we post
the picture clues~

- Sam & Jos
P.S. Are you still reading these, beyond the contests? I know ya'll
are busy so I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't have the time. Pt 6
was especially long. See youuuu in the next one...