What’s the Chance?

It’s crazy how long the day can feel when you accomplish so much. We got an earlier start this morning and were out of the hostel by 9 so we could meet up with Theresa at St Josep Mercat de Boqueria for breakfast. We meandered through the aisles of fresh fruit and juice, meat and cheese, pastries and candies. I love food and grocery shopping so I could’ve been happy there for hours just looking at all the different types of food. We each bought a fresh juice, fruit, and an empanada (a Spanish calzone style pastry). Mine was ham and peas, but I thought there would be more ham than there was…turned out to be mostly peas with a couple bits of ham, and it was dry…wasn’t a big fan of that particular one. We ate lunch on some random steps and then went to a nearby cafe for a cup of coffee. We just took our time sitting there, talking. That’s one thing I love about this trip so far. The ability to relax and enjoy something without having to rush to work or be somewhere at a certain time afterwards. It’s so different from what I’m used to: if I’m not working or doing something, I feel like I’m wasting time.

After finishing our coffee we headed to Parc Güell to check that off our tourist to do list. As much as I hate doing touristy things, there’s a reason they are touristy…Gaudi’s work is really quite amazing and nothing like anything I had ever seen before. I just wish there weren’t so many people around! As we meandered through the park, I heard my name called, “Kezia?!” I turned around to find Alexa, a high school friend standing behind me. What are the chances?! I didn’t even know she was in Barcelona and besides that, we were both only there for a few days. What is the probability of both being in the same place at the same time, halfway around the world. Crazy. She was there with a friend she had met in Portugal and we all explored for a bit together before parting ways.

By then we were starving and it was time to find a place to eat! We wandered through small winding streets until we came to a place called Atu Bola. We passed it once and continued looking for somewhere, but then decided to make our way back. The interior, delicious looking food, and price drew us in. The restaurant served “gourmet street food” that consisted of deep fried balls of amazingness. I don’t even know how to describe them and I forgot to take photos because I was just so excited to eat, but if you are ever in Barcelona, I recommend checking it out. We each got different types of balls so we could all try different ones. Chicken, beef, and shrimp were our choices and they were each accordingly accompanied with hummus, potatoes, and noodles…but they were so much more than just that. We also had some fresh squeezed lemonade, and for dessert, more balls. These ones were of the chocolate sort and were delicious with a cup of ‘cafe con leche’. All that for an amazing price of about 10 euros.

Now we had to start walking it off…

We explored the area of El Ravel, admiring the graffiti art and shop fronts. We made our way back to Maltes apartment and then made a quick trip to the grocery store. I only mention this because Megan and I were both amused by the fact that they felt the need to keep the shampoos refrigerated, but not the eggs…anyways that was our Monday!