Met three American girls in Barcelona, all very artsy and sweet. They call many things ¨stunning,¨ from food to colors to architecture. Each of them is studying somewhere in Europe, living in Paris, Vienna, and Netherlands (I believe), respectfully. We have had two days of picnicing in various sunny places around the city.
The second hostel here, Center Point, is great. Fantastic location and not far from la bacalara (sp?), the most amazing market i´ve been to, possibly ever. Fruits, nuts, meats, you name it. I actually took pictures of the whole baby pigs, and the cow tongues, and the tripe -¨that tripe is stunning!¨ and the everything.
Best part of meeting these girls is, two of them were vegetarians until this trip, and while they intend to ¨go back¨ to their plant loving ways, I have seen them devour chorizo with the best of them :)
Another of the girls worked in a cheese shop in the Netherlands, and she is a great cheese guide here. Did you know, honey really brings out the flavor of a great cheese? It´s quite stunning.
OK, enough of that. I love these girls, it´s been really fun and relaxing to hang out with them. Yesterday, for example, we´re hiking to the Park Guell, a city park on a hill above the city, (on the way our picnic grew from simply grapes, to grapes and cheese, added some Chorize ¨pass me that choriz,¨ olive bread, and of course, some cans of Estrella beer.) We get to the store, and tentatively ask ¨¿Tienes cervejas?¨, (because my spanish is the best of the group and it is terrible) and anyway they say yes, how many, we waver, think a bit, say three, all tentative. They ask what size, pequeno or grande, and we say Pequeno... then we look at each other, like Really? and say very strongly, No, No, Grande! how foolish we were to think small. Anyway, point of the story is relaxation, and so yesterday I was the gringa American girl who went to the city park, drank a huge beer at lunch, and passed out in a little nap in the sun in the public park. You stay classy Justina...
(It was just a little catnap, I swear. Everyone was doing it...)
Gotta run. Today I see what the ferry situation is like for a 19 hour ferry to Italy!
Buena,
Justina
