(From Brian)
After wandering the streets (and chanting Chi chi chi, ile ile ile, viva Chile about 15 times) we decided to find a place for dinner. It was around 11p and the restaurants were hopping. After wandering through the gothic quarter, where various musicians play in old allies in between the cathedrals, we ventured in to El Born. El Born is a neighborhood known for bars, restaurants and nightlife with a younger vibe and complaints from some of the older residents about noise at night.
We found a collection of tapas bars with seating in a courtyard and had to wait a few minutes for our table. We asked the bartender for recommendations and were not disappointed. Nor did we lack for ordering plenty. We splurged on a 14 euro bottle of wine (this was really expensive by Barcelona standards) and had a fantastic fish dish along with gazpacho, ham croquettes and mushrooms. We finished dinner with flan that tasted like marshmallows because of the burnt sugar. Yum! Before we left we saw the bartender making something that looked like a mojito but was actually a different drink. My taste for Mojito's was challenged but as I was poised to order one to try it, the bartender insisted that this Spanish mojito competitor was inferior and will never replace the mojito...
On our walk home after dinner we heard music playing and decided to venture off course to check it out. Mind you this was around 1am! At the end of a small street we found a live band playing on a full stage with lighting, a few hundred Catalonians around our age dancing and beers for 1.5 e. We shamelessly threw ourselves into the mix and spent the next hour dancing in the street. We were invited to join a dancing circle and learned a few dance moves as well (these won't compare to the wedding highlights but carry a lot more tradition and will be seen again). The band and dancing carried on until 2am at which point Lindsay went up to the lead singer to try and buy a cd but they had none available (and possibly would not have worked anyway as apparently there is something different in european cd's that isn't compatible). The night ended with a walk home via the gothic quarter and we went to bed after 3a. At this point we are truly loving Barcelona!
1 comment:
after reading this post, I am very hungry and want to go dance in the street.
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