EuroTrip 2018 Part 2: Barcelona, Spain

It surprised nobody more than me that in my 4.5 years of living in Europe I never once made it to Barcelona.  Spain, yes.  Barcelona, no.

Our trip to Europe was centered around a wedding in Mallorca, so I knew if we could do only one thing outside of Norway family time it had to be Barcelona.

And Barcelona it was!

I've always heard "Barcelona is so aMaZiNg!".  So I expected it to be like Paris in that, yes, it was amazing but not, in fact, aMaZiNg.

But what do you know, it legit was aMaZiNg!

The only thing to make it amazing-er is enjoying it with friends.

The beauty of Europe is no place is too far away from anywhere else.  When you put out a call, "Hey, who wants to go to Barcelona?" a few people are bound to bite!

Clare is an Aussie friend and former colleague who moved to Germany for a working holiday and stayed a while longer because she found Das Greener Pastures.  Pieter is a Dutch friend and Edinburgh classmate of Martin's who has spent a ton of time with us in Australia over the past year and a half.  We see him more than we see our own families, but met his new girlfriend Erica for the first time on this trip.

Friends in high places alert: Erica is fluent in Spanish and Pieter studied abroad in Barcelona and...tries to speak Spanish.  Yes I realize they speak Catalan in Barca but they also speak Spanish.  We didn't have to lift a single finger when it comes to planning, navigating or communicating during our trip.  Yessssssss!  First stop:

Park Guell

Any trip to Barcelona is destined to be a historical tour of Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect from the turn of the last century.  His work is best described (by me) as "acid trippy" and for reasons unknown to me heavily toes the line of pretentious at every turn, bordering on straight douchebaggery.  This is evidenced by Wikipedia's description of Park Guell, "a public park system composed of gardens and architectonic elements".

I won't even dignify that word by looking it up, so I will translate it in normal English: crazy gardens, wildly designed buildings, funky all around.

Since we didn't do any research ahead of time our tour guides didn't know that a new ticketing system had been implemented since their last visit, so we missed out on walking on the iconic Main Terrace and had to view it from afar.

Womp womp.  Judging by the crowds every tourist in town - of which there are many - visits this place.

Pro tip: it's located high on a hill but if you know which roads to take you can take outdoor escalators most of the way up.  If there is an opportunity to avoid physical exertion rest assured I'm going to seize it.

One visit to a Gaudi-designed property per day is not enough.

Casa Batllo

I found this house to be an even funkier display of his work and, my personal belief, proof positive that this guy was on some serious shrooms, LSD or other psychadelics.

Nothing is symmetrical; there are no clean lines.  Basically it's the antithesis of Scandinavian design.  And it must've been a BITCH to build!  It was nifty to see, but I wouldn't classify it as a must see.

Mainly because at 25 Euro a head I also found it crazy overpriced.  Also the audio tour was painfully pretentious and eye roll-worthy, to the point it was almost comedic.  I don't know what other Gaudi houses are on offer throughout town but damn it are they gouging tourists with this.

Another "activity" that costs about the same - but totally worth it this time:

Ham!

The best damn ham on the planet.  As Martin says, "the champagne of hams" LOL!  It's an apt analogy, though, when you consider the strict naming rights based on origin, price point, and general cult surrounding the product.  Both also being very much adored by me.

This cured ham costs 20-25 Euro ($23-29 USD) per hundred grams (3.5 oz.) is served paper thin and shaved directly from the intact leg, complete with hoof.

A must do in Barca!  There are three other F&B experiences that cannot be missed, and I would argue could make for a complete Barcelona trip even if you saw or did absolutely nothing else.

Paella

Bonus points that it's pronounced correctly and not "pie-ella" like the Aussies say.

Seafood, maybe meat, and rice cooked in a cast iron skillet that's several feet wide.  It's dinner, a show and a cultural tour of Spain all in one.

Sangria

Red wine might be my favorite booze ever (I can't choose just one!) so I have a deep appreciation for the value add of juice and booze-soaked fruit.

 Tapas

Don't waste your time eating just one thing (except paella) when you can eat many different things!

Honorable mentions in the F&B department:

El Xalet de Montjuic

You're paying dearly for the view at this hill top restaurant, but the tasty [small portions of] food prove they're not phoning it in.

This chocolate milk

This is the best chocolate milk I have ever tasted in my entire life.  Pity I discovered it just one hour before leaving town.  I'm told it's a Barcelona thing, not a Spain thing, so this stuff alone is worth a return visit.  It was 100% aMaZiNg!

Can you copyright a font?  Because this stuff clearly has ripped off the Coca-Cola font.  But this stuff is infinitely tastier than Coke or literally any other beverage on the planet.

Ok, fat ass, back to the tourist trail!

Magic Fountain

My crappy cell phone pictures don't capture the scale and awesomeness of this fountain outside of the National Museum of Art...of Catalonia.  Outside of seeing multiple Catalonia flags hanging out of apartment buildings I didn't get to see or hear more about their fight for independence, which I would have liked.  

Just behind the museum is the Olympic Park used in the 1992 summer Olympics.

There's a cable car up in this area, but we didn't take the time to ride one because we had a scheduled entrance time at the #1 must do (non-edible) tourist attraction in Barcelona.

La Sagrada Familia

A church, but not just any church.  A Gaudi church, which means it's the craziest non-church looking church you'll ever see.

My pictures 100% do not do this place justice.  It's impossible to describe other than "trippy" and "incredible".  It's a gigantic cathedral with jagged edges and architectural oddities everywhere you look.

It is also heavily fortified.  There were cops patrolling with machine guns outside.  Terrorism is a huge threat to this heavily touristed city, which I had blissfully forgotten until I saw that.

We stayed well clear of Las Ramblas, the tourist strip where the 2017 vehicle attack occurred, but not because of that.

We steered clear because it's a tourist trap hellhole and ground zero for Barcelona's unpleasant reputation for pickpockets.  No thank you, please.

After six years living in Australia I don't run around the world seeking out beaches, because I am inevitably disappointed by them.  Barcelona was no different, unless you're into naked old ladies with a surprising lack of body shame because then...this is definitely the place for you.  

But I'm not one to turn down the seeing of sights and where all that tasty seafood for my paella came from.  

Arc de Triomf

I was not aware "triumphal" arches existed anywhere outside of Paris.

But apparently there are several around the world, Barcelona being one of them.

My very favorite thing about Barcelona is not at the top of an arch, but right down on the ground.

Almost everywhere the sidewalks are paved in tiles with this geometric floral design.  Thousands of them, everywhere.

And they're fabulous!

I'm a simple gal.  One of the greatest cities in Europe and I get off on the lowly floor tile.

Two and a half days was probably too little to dedicate to this fine city, but we had family to visit and weddings to attend so that's how we had to schedule it.  Barcelona is the kind of place you could spend one afternoon or ten years.

Don't let the hype fool you like it did me.  Barcelona is aMaZiNg!

EuroTrip 2018 Part 1: Norway

It's been three years since we've been back to Norway (or Europe for that matter).  Martin's parents come visit us plenty, so it's time we returned the favor and got on a plane for 30 hours to visit them.

Our literal first order of business once we left the airport:

Sales target: 1.8 million boller this year

Boller!  Cardamom buns, which are the quintessential Norwegian treat.  I did a spectacularly awful job of photographing my food in Norway, which is uncharacteristic of me.  I was too excited to dive into everything, I guess.

No bakery I've ever tried has come even close to the ones they sell at gas stations, so they're the perfect road tripping snack.  My favorite are the chocolate chip ones but they also come with raisins (blah) and plain (don't bother).  Another gas station food favorite:

Hot dogs in Norway are amazing.  If you find yourself in the frozen north do not miss out!

An old saying goes that Norwegians are born with skis on their feet, so it makes sense that we went straight to Norway's largest ski resort, Trysil.  It was late May, and an unseasonably warm one at that, so we were hardly hitting the slopes.  It was 31C/87F everyday.

Yet there was still snow!

We rented a hytte, which is a Norwegian cottage for a few days of relaxation and solitude in nature.  To fight off jet lag on our first full day there we decided to hike up the whole damn Trysil mountain.

And see that summer snow up close and personal!

A wild experience when you're sweating from heat just as much as from exertion.  Zoom in here and see the buildings down below:

It's impressive how far we hiked up!  Thanks to all the crazy life changes I have skipped the gym for months now (oops) so a little exercise was absolutely overdue.

Besides mountaintop views I think my most favorite thing about Trysil was the local architecture.

There is grass on the roofs!  For decoration?  Insulation?  To throw the Luftwaffe off the scent?  I can't say for sure but it's adorable and quaint and I love it!

In Australia if you want to go to another country you'll have to fly for at least two hours.  In Norway, you just hop in the car for a bit and you'll eventually hit Sweden.  We were looking for more scenic sights so drove an hour or two to Fulufjallet National Park to do a little hike and see a really pretty waterfall. 

We couldn't get any closer due to falling rocks and an unstable bath, but even getting this close offered some lovely sights along the way.

I don't remember the last time I was someplace so remote.  No phone service, no grocery stores, not even a gas station.  But worst of all, no booze that's half the price of Norway!

Back at the hytte we spent a few more days hanging out, eating, drinking (napping!) and catching up.  Eventually civilization lured us back so packed up and headed to Moss, where Martin's parents live and where we called home for three years (plus 6 months of "where are we going to go in life?" quasi-homelessness).

Along the way we stopped to visit Martin's great Tante (aunt) Elsa, who is one hundred and four years of age.  And she still lives on her own!  

Elsa has lived in her apartment since WWII, when the Nazis occupied Norway.  "Under krigen" they say in Norway, "under the war".  No need to specify; there's only one war.  She didn't grow up there - she lived there as an adult!  I find that endlessly fascinating.

But Elsa can't party like she used to so we were back on the road in a flash, bound for home.

Look at that million dollar view!  Martin's parents have an amazing rooftop balcony, which we've never gotten to enjoy in long stretches before.  I'm certain I spent more time there during this trip than I have in the previous ten or so years they've lived there.

It's right by the beach, which the locals were taking full advantage of almost around the clock (land of the midnight sun, remember).  The air might be warm but the water most certainly is not.  It was way too cold for this Aussie to dip more than an ankle in!

Also nearby is the Moss canal, which is picturesque:

But most importantly houses Norway's greatest gift to the world.  The nectar of the sea.

Peel and eat shrimps! 

Straight from local waters, caught that very morning and sold off the boat.

I will never forget the first time I was served these on a visit to Norway in 2006.  I didn't even know what a shrimp even looked like, much less how to navigate peeling one - antennae, eyes and all - to eat it!

I have refined my technique since then - it is not for the squeamish - and they're my favorite thing to eat in Norway.  It's the simplest meal: bread, mayo, shrimps and lemon wedges.  And all the white wine that the wine monopoly will sell you!  Yes, in Norway you have to buy your hooch from a monopoly.  

After a week of full on family time it was time for us to head out into the world, or at least Oslo for gender-separated friend time.

Well lookey here, more shrimps!  I get my fill of the good stuff.

One gal is pregnant and another had a baby 9 weeks prior so instead slamming Jag bombs on Thirsty Thursday like we did in college, we upgraded (downgraded?) to wine in the 'burbs.  My how we've grown!

We made one last trip to visit Tante Elsa before we flew on to our next Euro-destination.  How cute is this?!

Martin was showing her pictures on his phone.  I forget of what, but I assume Matilda.  

Every time we're back in Norway and visit her we (and she - ever the realist) think, "well, this is the last time we meet".  But there's always been a next time!  So maybe there will be another next time, even though I don't think we'll be back for a few years.  

It blows my mind that she was seventy years old when Martin was born...35 years ago!  That woman and her longevity will never cease to fascinate me.  Plus, visiting her is the one time in my life when I literally MUST practice my Norwegian, both listening and speaking.  There are no alternatives (besides pantomime)! 

And that was our grand return to Norway!  I will spare you the gory details of my epic drama, but the gist is I stupidly left my backpack on the airport train, which contained my American passport.

Positive: I still had my Australian passport on me so could fly no matter what

Negative: I left my goddamn passport on a train

No bueno.  It was the worst 15 minutes of the trip (of the year?  Decade?) but thankfully I got it back thanks to the fairly incompetent Flytoget staff.  Relief!

With three flights and two countries left to go, it's comforting to know that the worst thing is behind you!