(From Brian)
After the late nights we were due to sleep in! On Saturday we got up after 10a and headed to the beach in Barceloneta. We had brunch at a cafe on the sand (these cafe/bars are very popular in Barca) and I think Lindsay had gazpacho for the 4th time in as many days... After lunch we headed to lay-out. We spent the afternoon in the sun, swimming and people watching. The water was clear and cool, but on the beach it was hot! The sun in Barca is really strong so we only stayed out a few hours. After the beach we cleaned up and went on a tapas tour of Las Romblas and the gothic quarter.
When our plans to take a cooking class failed, our travel agent suggested this tapas tour as the next best alternative. It sounded like a chance to learn about and sample some local dishes. In reality it was a guided historical tour that also stops at two otherwise deserted tapas restaurants for some basic tapas dishes. How basic? They served the same exact items at both locations. We did enjoy the tour of La Bouqeria market (where there was lots of cheese for my wife) but most of the tour was covering the same steps we had walked on our own the night before. The tour was dragging on with the 2nd set of the same tapas, so we cut out early to find a good location to watch USA play Ghana.
We went to the Passeg de Gracia and found a great little wine bar/restaurant. We sat at the bar, ordered a few tapas (no, not part 3 of the same items from earlier) and a bottle of wine and watched the game. It was a great little place and we both commented that this was the type of restaurant we'd frequent often if it was in SF.
During the match we made friends with a friendly British couple and talked about various things including soccer and cycling (they were quite jealous that we were heading to the Tour). They were debating moving to SF but were unlikely to do so. They shared their honeymoon story of quitting their jobs and traveling for a full year. Apparently they booked a flight to Ecuador and one night of hotel (because they were getting in late) and left the rest of the trip tbd. We can't imagine anyone in the USA just dropping everything to travel like that.
After the US loss we strolled up the street for one last photo op and then back down to a gelateria for a delicious snack. Then we headed home early (it felt like that especially since our British friends headed from the bar to go to dinner) and we were in bed around 1am! This was definitely one of the earliest nights for us during our trip.
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