36 Hours in Barcelona

My travel plans have been all over the place lately.  First I thought I would be gone for nearly the entire month of July, which was going to be awesome. Then one-by-one, each trip fell through and I was going to be in Berlin for the whole month, also awesome. But we all know I can't just stay here so I jumped on board with Randi and her pal Caroline for a weekend in Barcelona. 

This was also the weekend before our big 4th of July party so I also needed to prepare for that. I stayed in town Friday night so Melissa and I could do party stuff and first thing Saturday morning I was off to Barcelona!

Even though the trip was incrementally shorter than most (yet longer than Brussels) I wanted to get the most out of it. In selling this weekend to me, Randi pointed out that we would be spending it almost exclusively on the beach. 

I packed a duffel bag with a swim suit, running stuff, and beach blanket, light enough that I could keep it with me all day. Caroline used to live in Barcelona so we were staying in her old neighborhood outside of the tourist areas. This was awesome but also far from everything. Not wanting to waste one minute, I told the gals to meet me in town when they were ready and headed straight to the center. 

I parked myself at the first cafe and ordered a cava and read my book. hours and cavas passed and Randi and Caroline were still not ready. I was having a lovely morning enjoying the weather and Kurt Vonnegut so i didn't even miss them. 

When they finally rolled in, they needed to buy bathing suits… I said no way Jose and I would meet them at the beach. Along the way, I stopped in a grocery store (obv) and picked up some tasty "musli bars" (similar to Jó Reggelt! but not as amazing) and some interesting gum (which turned out to be disgusting).

My first time in Barcelona was at the tail end of the Panda-Westrick 2k5 Eurotour. We stayed in a hostel room with 8 German teenage boys, ironically. We saw the typical sights and thought the city was just ok. Gaudí is a famous architect from Barcelona and we did not enjoy his work. Actually, two highlights of our barcelona trip were 1. We found a 100 euro bill on the ground and spent it all in one day at a shade ball slot machine "casino". 2. I had been searching for these white and black snakey loafers in every Zara since Dublin and as Zara is from Spain I made Westy go into every single store as we continued the quest. I found them and have since worn them less than 10 times.

The beach weather was perfect. Hot. Barcelona has citywide wifi!! so I cooked myself up while streaming public radio and playing scrabble over the internet. Could not imagine a more perfect day.

Around 5:00 the gals rolled in and I left them with my bag so I could go for a run. In the haste to get to the beach I completely neglected any semblance of sun protection so I was crispy. I had an amazing run along the beach but being a shriveled raisin couldn't go as far as I wanted.

That evening we met up with one of Caroline's pals in de Gracia. It was great to be out with people who knew the area and not see touristy placed. We went to great cocktail bar where a stranger pulled the chair out from underneath me. I fell directly on the floor and it was one of the funniest things that has happened in quite a while.

Sunday the gals wanted to do early beaching but luckily their definition of early is much later than mine since I was still a lobster. I ran through the neighborhood which was a special treat because it was full of hills. One of my few Berlin complaints is that the city is so flat which is not what I like for a run.

After breakfast, the gals went straight to the beach by taxi and I took the longest possible walk doing some classic Panda wandering. I bought Randi and I some really spectacular shirts to wear to our 4th party the next day. After a few well protected hours on the beach, we met Caroline's friend again for Tapas. The place we went was nothing special but it was so special. It was your classic Spanish tapas bar and we filled our bellies with all the Barcelona specialities. 

Caroline's pal Daniel told us the story of tapas. I guess way back in the day, the postmen would ride around stopping in each town delivering important official news. each town would thank them with a beverage. As their travels went on, these postmen would accidentally get drunk and have trouble on their horses, etc. So then they started giving them eats! but only small amounts of snacks because they knew they would get food at each stop and they didn't want to fill up. I didn't verify this store with the internet but I like it so I'm not going to.

We had a great little jaunt down to Barcelona and I came back with sand in my hair and a fantastic tan. 

Stachelbeere

Today was the first meeting of the Stralauer Allee bike gang. The gals and I took to our bikes over lunch time and went into town, cruising through the streets of Friedrichshain in our helmets and heels.

 The bike gang it's appropriate that we're a gang because yesterday we inked up with some sweet tattoos from Hey!Girl Magazine.

 The gang had burgers and more fries than I am comfortable admitting. I had a veggie burger that was made from veggies (!!) however it was fried so that took out some of the fun. but hey, baby steps.

Because of the gluttonous shame I felt from lunch, I planned a nice long run after work followed by some German homework. I made a stop at the fridge on my way out and remembered the Stachelbeeren I picked up last night. Can't run without a little energy, eh?

I've been seeing these buggers around, they're like a mix between extra veiny grapes and cherry tomatoes. Usually they are swarmed with fruit flies and yesterday I swatted them away and took the plunge.  As any exotic fruit club member would, I asked google before sampling. Big surprise here…

Stachelbeeren are gooseberries! But I thought I knew gooseberries?!? turns out these are cape gooseberries, not the classic variety.

Excited by this new discovery, I put the run on hold to consume and analyze this new fruit.

First off, their color is akin to grapes in that there is the green and red variety. I have only had yellow cape gooseberries and they are quite starchy. These have the tartness of a concord (also the same thick and peelable skin) with smaller almost unnoticeable seeds. I found some of them to be a tad mealy - this could be because I had them in the fridge (and everyone knows refrigeration is what makes tomatoes mealy) I'll be sure to store my next batch properly.

The green skin is definitely more tart, even sour and more reminiscent of the cape. Some seemed under-ripe possibly. Most flavor parallels between green and red grapes remain as well. I even blind tested myself a couple times and it was an easy difference to tell

A long time ago I read that you should eat peas and berries one-by-one. This is because each has it's own unique flavor, and when you eat a spoonful at a time you can't appreciate which is sweeter, crisper, etc. This advice comes to mind as I devour Stachelbeeren until nausea. Even as I eat out the guts then the skin of each berry, I don't miss the chance to appreciate the complexity of the individuals.

I have an annual tradition with concord grapes where I eat as many as I possibly can until i'm sick and my mouth is raw from acidity and I can't bear the sight of them. I do this so I can somehow survive the dark and cold months when they are not in season. I will follow this same strategy with Gooseberries and hopefully find a source close to home for next year's consumption!

Public wifi...

Has made it possible for me to share another photo of my feet.