We woke up (relatively) early, after a night I spent trying to sleep and instead heard the church bells chime out the hours (maybe it was the espresso martini from Sips, maybe it was the bright light). Chris walked Katie and I over to Jaç for coffee (I would have loved to hang out there for an hour). In line we made friends with a dog named Boomer and his owners, who had recently moved from LA and chatted with us about the dog immigration process.
We took our coffees to go and headed to La Sagrada Familia. Words still fail. This time, we went up the Passion Tower, which gave us a good view of the city all the way to the ocean. Post, we got another coffee from Blackbird, and struck up a conversation with a group from Milwaukee. Two couples with about twenty years apart—One from the bay originally.
Katie and I got lunch a second time from La Balabusta, and it was just as good as the first.
- Chicken kebab
- Labneh with kohlrabi
- Spinach boreks
- Broccoli
Following lunch, we went to Casa Batillo, a house Gaudi designed. It had an incredibly strong aquatic theme, with almost every surface curved. Really cool to see.
We then headed back to Chris and Ivees and laid low for a bit. Dinner was a prix fixe at Can Cortada, what seemed to be a super traditional catalan meal:
- It started with calçots (somewhere between a green onion and a leek), roasted till the outer layers are charred then steamed to cook the inside. Eaten by stripping off the outer layers with your hands, then dipping them in a sauce like romesco
- Pan e tomate
- Roasted meats (chicken, lamb, beef, something like linguisa, and some other kind of sausage)
- White beans
- Potatoes
- Crema Catalan (which is not crème brulée)
Completely stuffed, we went home and watched 10 Things I Hate About You, and went to bed.