Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Perfección

Oh, peeps. It's like I've died and gone to heaven. I. LOVE. BARCELONA.

I love saying hola! I love the supermarket - it's like the land of custard. I love the boulevards. I love the people who are kind and cheerful and warm. I love the food - I had a superb meal for lunch (at 4:30 pm?!): a pasta with Iberian ham, some other kind of ham, cream and eggs followed by the hugest avocado vinaigrette you've ever seen, a chocolate cake-like thing that defies description and the most delicious coffee I have ever been served in Europe. It was a cortado - and by that I don't mean a Toronto cortado (aka a slightly drier than usual cappuccino). It was (and I can't tell you how rarely this happens) the perfect temperature.

I love the architecture, the weather, the horticulture, the sales, the shoes, and man, I love our apartment:
The view from our terrasse. Trust me, it is all that.
A small snippet of the living space...
In 1200 square feet, it's got 2 bedrooms, a separate (large), fully stocked kitchen, easy sleeping for 6, a dressing room (?!), a fantastic bathroom, original mosaic floors... Honestly, if you gifted me this place, right now, I would live here forever and would not change a fucking element of the design.

I'm writing this from my fabulous balcony, eating some kind of creamy, salty sheep's yogurt (I think that's what it is) watching the swallows and bats fly around. (Yeah: While I am completely freaked out by the tiniest bugs, I'm ok with bats and lizards, who the hell knows why...)

It appears that I cannot eat lunch at 4:30 and dinner thereafter. My stomach is having a bit of a flip out so we're snacking now, after wandering the insanely packed streets at 9 pm. It also appears that this culture does not sleep - or eat before 9:30. But so far, this apartment is silent.
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15 comments:

  1. materfamiliasJuly 8, 2014 at 4:21 PM

    That looks amazing! And the food, oh yeah!
    The same thing in Italy -- dinner before 9:30 was for losers (and, sadly, I occasionally had to count myself among that crowd). Street life didn't shut down until after 1:30, and yet it didn't interfere too much with life inside (nor with sleep, somehow). The architecture is so stunning. And that it's all so close to the beach seems just crazy to me. Enjoy! (and if you can get up the hill to the Miro Foundation, if you're a fan, I recommend it...)

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    1. K.LineJuly 9, 2014 at 4:11 AM

      So far, I like this food more than the French. Gotta say, I've been to France (3 diff areas) in the last 3 years (over this and my last trip) and the food has not thrilled me. I LOVED the food in Amsterdam. I love the food here. Really, it's as fresh here as in France but it's much tastier. The food here is joyful and a bit wry. Very comforting but also beautifully presented. We're off to the Miro etc.

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  2. lisa g.July 8, 2014 at 7:29 PM

    sounds amazing! though i cannot imagine dinner at so late an hour as a custom!

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    1. K.LineJuly 9, 2014 at 4:13 AM

      I know - it's really challenging. The supermarkets are PACKED at 9pm - even full of kids. Who does food shopping at 9 pm? I'm in my jammies :-)

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  3. marcy harriell | oonaballoonaJuly 8, 2014 at 11:01 PM

    as our super puts the recycling out in a loud and abrasive manner outside our window, i sigh...

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    1. K.LineJuly 9, 2014 at 4:15 AM

      Oh, I feel that pain. And I know you live in a city with so much opportunity for noise. Mind you, TO has 3 times fewer people than yours, and it can get stupidly noisy. If only there were a ban on smacking things around after 9 pm!

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  4. Sew little timeJuly 9, 2014 at 5:11 AM

    the food there is amazing! all that great seafood! you have to eat in the Boqueria market too - the food is excellent! we ended up staying up til 2am drinking coffee in barcelona and there were loads of people still around.

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  5. ClioJuly 9, 2014 at 10:53 AM

    Barcelona is HEAVEN! Especially for food lovers! I hope you are eating up every second! Phin and I found that lunch in the late afternoon and a light dinner of tapas while we rambled around worked best. Have fun!!

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  6. AnonymousJuly 9, 2014 at 2:42 PM

    I visted Barcelona almost 9 years ago and absolutely loved it there. There was a very handy tourist bus that went by all the museums and attractions that made everything so easy to get to. The tree lined streets were lovely for giving lots of shade on hotter days too. Ah..... wishing I was on hols again !!!

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    1. K.LineJuly 19, 2014 at 10:19 AM

      I wish I were on hols again too - and I've been back barely a week.

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  7. SharonJuly 16, 2014 at 8:16 AM

    I enjoyed reading your vacation posts. I am meeting my son in Europe in September and considering Barcelona. Would you be willing to provide a link to the apartment where you stayed?

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  8. AmyJuly 20, 2014 at 7:16 PM

    Oh you lucky lady. Barcelona is so beautiful. Perfect, perfect beach ;). I kind of like the rhythm of eating late... it's sorta a thing in southern europe. (Our Portuguese friends said 9 is early.)

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