Box of tissues in bed - Barça with Ian

Day 1: After waking up groggy and disoriented after our escapade at Sutton, Ian and I clamor down to a cafe/restaurant across the street from my University. I can barely eat in the morning, but Ian ordered a delicious pork chop breakfast with eggs, fries, and salad. That day we bummed around our hotel room and headed to el Barrio Gótico for my birthday dinner/belated one year anni celebration at Matsuri. Ian & I, with our super sense of direction, end up getting lost for about an hour. But luckily, the restaurant was worth the hunt and we shared a bottle of sake and some yummy asian fusion cuisine. And of course, I ordered fried ice cream for dessert. 

Day 2: 

Ian & I ended up sleeping for the majority of the morning/early afternoon and finally mustered up the energy to go into town. After eating at a buffet, we took the metro up to Parc Güell (this is now my fourth time being there, I should really get paid to do tours), where it was full of street performers and people. I was starving by the time we walked around the park, so we ate lunch at the cafe overlooking the park's benches & promenade. I order una jarra de sangría and end up getting a 1.5L of it. We then make our way to Camp Nou to watch the FC Barça vs. Ath. Bilbao game. 

At the ticketbooth, my credit card wasn't working and I started to panic thinking that Ian & I might not get a chance to watch the game. They kept asking me for my passport, I didn't have it on me, why should I if I have the confirmation numbers and the seat numbers. Ian looked so worried cuz I must've had this horrible look of distress on my face, and the people in the line were getting more and more antsy. Finally, I say, Try this number. Doesn't work. Wait a minute, I thought, it must be a 6 not a 9. So we try the second number, doesn't work either. But the guy comes back with a passport number written on it, and it's exactly the second number I guessed. Adrenaline rush would have worked out in the end. This is how I passed orgo.

Anyways, the game was exciting since Barça scored four goals which, according to Ian, is a lot for a futbol game. It was funny to see all the Bilbao fans in a caged box with security guards around them. Ian was like, Why are there people in that cage thing? Oh, they're Bilbao fans... Oh sports. After the game, we try to sit down at a restaurant, but I'm already feeling the beginnings of a cold, so we leave and end up getting burgers from Quick to take back to the room. One of my favorite pastimes with Ian was, and always has been, watching anime while cuddling or pigging out. We watched the latest episode of Naruto while I sobbed and gobbled down my burger. 


Day 3: Ian & I thought breakfast was included, so at around 10AM we walk down to the buffet (tomorrow we find out that it was not, woops!). I swear, I had the best croissant I have ever tasted in my entire life, and I eat a lot of freaking croissants. It was fresh baked out of the oven, warm, flaky, buttery - just perfect. We then head back upstairs, where we promptly pass out again until the late afternoon. Finally awake, we buy tickets for "Opera i Flamenco" online, take a bus into the city, and walk around Las Ramblas. We luckily stumble upon Taller de Tapas, an amazing tapas restaurant that I recommend. I was thinking about taking Ian there before he came, and it's weird/awesome that we went there by chance since I had totally forgotten about it when he got here. During our lunch, it began to rain heavily so we decided to wait it out. Again, we get lucky because the rain slows down after about 15 minutes and totally stops soon after, allowing us to get gelato and walk around el Barrio Gótico. With the time nearing 9PM, we head to La Palau de la Música Catalana, the beautiful venue where we would watch the flamenco show. 

 

I learned about La Palau in my Catalán art class and saw pictures, but this was much more beautiful and ornate in person. Definitely worth seeing to anyone who is in Barcelona or is planning on going. Lucky moment #3, upon receiving our tickets we find out we have box seats and a perfect view of the show. Lucky moment #4, we realize that the show is only at La Palau four times in the year? And we just happened to stumbled upon tickets online that same day. The show was fantastic, and the venue and the fact I was with Ian made it that much better. After the show, we head to Burger King to get some fast food and head back to the room to watch Paranormal Activity. To anyone who knows me: Kristine + scary possession movie = not good. That's all I'll say about that.

Day 4: Exhausted, with each of us getting barely any sleep due to the stupid movie, we head downstairs and find out breakfast will cost us 14E each. Forget that. So we go back upstairs and pass out. We then make our way to the beach front  and Cava Mar for some paella. At this point, I'm already fully sick and feeling miserable. But we make the best out of it, and even fit in a peak at the MNAC at Montjuïc. 


Summary -  Best spring break ever.