Cooking & Foodie Tour

Being a lil chef

Monday night was exciting because we had our program’s cooking class. Our class was through a company called “Cook and Taste” and we went to this giant kitchen where a chef helped us cook a four-course meal. Our group had 12 people, so we were all working on different parts of the meal. The menu included: pan con tomate, asparagus and zucchini in romesco sauce, a traditional Spanish tortilla (omelet), Valencia style paella, and Catalan crème. I volunteered to prepare the Catalan crème, which is similar to crème brule. We each got to use the blowtorch on our individual Catalan crèmes, which was a first for me (but not a first for Becca…LIAR). The meal was one of the best I’ve had in Spain, and we also got to keep all of the recipes, so everyone at home get excited for some authentic Spanish food!

Tuesday night was also pretty lively because we decided to take up an offer for free sushi and wine at Shoko. Honestly, I expected maybe 2 pieces of sushi and 1 glass of wine, but was very pleased to get appetizers, a plate full of yummy sushi, 4 glasses of red wine, and dessert all FO FREE. We had never been to Shoko, and it was a lot of fun. The music was great and there was a mad-hatter on stilts dancing around—it was extremely bizarre, yet hilarious. We went home more than satisfied. 

I received my first package from my mom on Wednesday. A couple of days late for my birthday, but it still made me incredibly happy :) The package included birthday decorations, cookies from Touche Touche bakery, a birthday and valentines day card, and some pants that I had regrettably left at home. THANKS MOMMY! I was feeling some love from back home.

6 liter drink from Pippermints

Later that night we fulfilled my dream of going to Pippermints. Plenty of people had told me that I needed to go to this bar, especially since it is walking distance from my piso. Pippermints is known for its outrageously large drinks, so of course we needed to get one…or two. The 3 girls started with a 2 liter mixed drink, while the boys split the massive 6 liter drink. We were feeling a little left out with our “mere” 2 liters, and decided to all share another 6 liter drink. To be honest, we did not need this second drink. But, we got free tequila shots, free potato chips, and two free t-shirts…what? Pipperments became aggressive quick, and us girls decided to sleep instead of going to the club afterwards with everyone. We are NOT lame. And in our defense, we had a 9am the next morning…which was no bueno.

Thursday we decided to take it down a notch. Anna left for Granada, Becca was with her mom (who is visiting, yay!) and pretty much everyone traveled this weekend. So Mara and I were feeling a little weird being alone in our apartment, and we had no desire to drink due to the previous night. But something magical happened…we discovered how to get Netflix in Barcelona!! Yes, we are late to the game, but it happened and it was glorious. We stayed in to study for our big exam next week and watch Netfllix. No shame.

Friday morning I slept in, and then decided to go for a run. I cannot express how great my run was. Since my half in October I really cut back on running, and I’m finally getting back into my running routine. There were also so many cute dogs in the park, and one German shepherd puppy ran beside me for a little, hehe. Side note: there are dogs EVERYWHERE in Barcelona and they are the most loyal dogs I have ever encountered. They are never on leashes, they never run away, and are so well behaved. My dog cannot even sit on command—still love ya Cassie.

Get ready for the FOODIE TOUR RECAP:

La Boqueria

After a pretty relaxing afternoon, Becca’s mom treated us to a Foodie tour (major props to Kaye for being awesome!!) Our tour guide took us all over the center of the city to try different traditional Spanish/Catalan foods. We started in la Boqueria and had different styles of ham/pork, followed by amazing cheeses (mmmm Manchego). We also tried a variety of olives, and even though I detest olives, I tried each one. Katie was hilarious during this portion of the tour because she doesn’t like “flavor” hahaha her faces were priceless while she tried to eat the olives. Next, we went into this little dessert place and tried some of the traditional holiday treats. My favorite was the turron de jijona (so so good). Then we stopped in this little chocolate shop and tried catanies, which are roasted almonds caramelized in white chocolate and chocolate powder (amazing). Next, we stopped and tried different olive oils dipped in bread, followed by a traditional tapas restaurant where we drank vermut (popular alcohol in Catalunya to cleanse the pallet) and had pan con tomate with sardines…our tour guide said we had to at least try them…so I did. Can’t say I loved the sardines (or that I will eat them again) but hey, I tried. Then we picked up some churros and brought them with us to dip in our hot chocolates (mmmmmm) at another restaurant. We finished at another restaurant for some savory tapas: squid ratatouille (surprisingly delicious), an amazing Spanish tortilla, and these incredible roasted potatoes with aioli sauce and chorizo. After four hours of eating great food I was ready to fall into a food coma.

La Pedrara

Saturday morning we met Becca and her mom at Casa Pedrera, which is the other very famous Gaudi apartment in Barcelona. The roof was stunning! Again, the architecture was incredible and I loved the free audio tour. I even got a mug at the end of the tour and the handle is one of the designs Gaudi made for the doorknobs in his apartments (they are molded so that you have the perfect grip when you grab them). I splurged on the mug, but I know it is the perfect souvenir, and it will remind me of Barcelona each time I drink coffee from it. 

Later in the afternoon Katie, Mara, and I went shopping in Gracia and walked around aimlessly—which is my favorite way to explore. We tried to search for an amazing little pastry/coffee shop, and failed miserably.  After about an hour, we settled on chocolate croissants from Super Cor…but they were good microwaved!! Then for dinner Katie and I walked around our neighborhood and found Udon, which was a great Japanese noodle place. I got Japanese tapas (chicken curry wontons, sushi, and a “japan taco”) and I also got green tea tiramisu for dessert, yum!  

Flowers from the boi and Gaudi mug

Sunday was spent studying…it was the first time I actually felt like I was STUDYING abroad. There are so many historical dates to remember for my Spanish Culture and Civilization exam. I really like the class, but there is a lot of Spanish history between 1 million BCE and 1808 CE that we covered. I was going a little stir-crazy from being in the apartment all day and was confused when someone buzzed into our apartment. No one had ever buzzed-in before, and it was a Sunday (no one does anything on Sundays). I was so surprised when Mara called me to the door and there was a guy with a bouquet of roses. Eric sent them as a birthday/Valentines day gift, and it was the perfect pick-me-up for my day of studying (you rock Eric). Then later we met Becca and her mom for dinner at Cervecia Catalana for great tapas. My favorite was the huevos cabreaos—basically an over-easy egg on extra crispy patatas bravas. The whole meal was great and I definitely want to go back!

This was my last weekend in Barcelona for 4 weeks (GASP). Get excited for a bunch of travel posts in the future—I leave for Prague on Thursday and cannot wait!