Oceans Six

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Geo: 41.3879, 2.16992

This was our last day together, as Justin was set to head home early tomorrow morning - wanting to make this an epic day, we had considered a day trip to do some cava tasting, or to one of the many nearby beaches. But sadly, Barcelona's horrific heat wave bested us, yet again. Exhausted from the incessant heat of this trip, none of us was all that eager to take a long trip on public transport.

Instead, we split off into groups, with the Barcelona newbies off to the Picasso Museum, for its weekly free admission day. The remainder of us headed back to the Mercat El Born for a coffee at its chic bar, where we surprisingly found ... the Barcelona newbies! Being a free day at the museum, the lineup was atrocious, and the last place you wanted to be in this blistering heat was standing outside for who-knows-how long, getting seared by the Spanish sun.

Eventually, we did splinter off - had it not been for the heat, all of us would've loved the idea of heading to Parc Guell, but it just would not have been worth the effort. So the rest of us stuck around the gothic quarter for some pintxos, before heading back to the air conditioned sanctuary that is our apartment, for a very long siesta. Hey, when in Spain, you do as the Spaniards do!

In honour of Justin's last night, we attempted to have an amazing meal, but failed miserably - amazing meals of the calibre we found in San Sebastián seemingly do not exist here, so we had to make due with something mediocre. But it wasn't a total loss tonight, as we made our way over to Montjuic for the nightly magic fountain show, in a desperate attempt at glory and grandeur, trying out our own little version of Ocean's Six. Sadly, just like dinner, it just didn't work out for us tonight - we completely forgot to take that iconic photo of ourselves at the fountain ...

Peace out,

Lil B

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Photos

Mercat del Born ...
... formerly El Born's market, it's now a funky museum/cultural centre/restaurant.

A Bunch of Tired Guys ...
... stopping here for our morning coffee, we should have been vibrant and full of life - but instead, the heat and late nights has beat us down, with John looking particularly thrashed.

Best of the Best ...
... the only way to improve upon delicious Serrano ham? Place it atop a slice of sweet, ripe pineapple!

"I'm Not Very Hungry, But I'll Eat" ...
... or so Tri said just before we stopped for lunch at Bilbao Berria for a half-decent take on pintxos. Well, he ate more than Pat and I combined! Seafood salad, tuna salad, chorizo .. this place offered most of the Basque standards.

"But I'm Still Not That Hungry" ...
... or so said Tri after lunch at Bilbao Berria, just before he ordered this massive frozen yogurt!

El Nacional ...
... a highly-recommended restaurant in Barcelona, which is actually several restaurants in one, housed inside of a beautifully-restored renovated building. An oyster bar, seafood joint, tapas bar, cocktail bar, and a grilled meat restaurant ... if only the quality of the food was as good as the variety and the ambiance!

Josper Charcoal Oven ...
... if you've ever been to Briggs in Calgary and had their incredible tomahawk ribeye, then you've sampled the glory of the Josper oven. It produces the most fantastic charred crust on meat, but apparently not in Spain, where the oven is actually from! I've even sampled a Josper oven in the country Georgia before, that far exceeded the one at El Nacional! Oh, the conundrum of Spanish cuisine ...

Convenient Olive Disposal ...
... this plate was nicely designed, with a second lower level for the olive pits. Too bad Tri didn't realize this, and thought the lower level offered some small berries. Too bad that someone warned Tri that they weren't berries, just before he was about to pop one in his mouth ....

Pan de Vidrio ...
... decent, but it paled in comparison to the one offered at Lolita Taperia. Nice and chewy, but lacked the glass-like crispness, and they were also a bit chintzy with the tomato spread at El Nacional. Still, it was probably the best dish at dinner tonight.

Salad w/ Breasaola ...
... the breasaola was great, a little tough buy extremely tasty, and it really kicked up the salad, which was actually more like a salsa, as it consisted mostly of diced tomatoes and onions in a sharp vinaigrette.

Disappointing Steak Tartare ...
... very bland and plain.

Decent Calamari w/ Garlic Aioli ...
... but still, it wasn't anything special.

John's Beef Stew ...
... this was the best dish of the night, though that doesn't really say all that much.

Bland, Pasty Veal Chop ...
... I don't know what to say - it's really hard to churn out such a flavourless piece of meat on a grill. At least it wasn't overcooked, but this is definitive proof that El Nacional is way more style than substance.

Side Salad ...
... this was laughable because it is so typical of Spain - as one of two sides that came with the veal chop, this salad was no more than a few leaves of lettuce and shreds of onion. We should've chosen the fries, instead!

Harley Days ...
... not knowing that Harley Days were on, we headed to an even more packed than usual Montjuic for the magic fountain show. Many of the vendors had some pretty awesome-looking food on display, but we skipped it because we know that there is at least a 99.99% chance that it'll be substandard.