So Here's Our Vacation Blog...

This morning Marge and I did a little last-minute shopping.  Don’t be surprised if you get one of these for Christmas...

Then we went to the Boqueria.  We had been meaning to mill around there, soak up the sights, sounds, and smells, and grab lunch.  Walking around, it’s hard not to want to buy everything in sight.  There were all kinds of ‘fast food’ items - snacks ready to go...

Delicious drinks like this coconut/strawberry/pitahaya combo for one euro...

and plenty of desserts.  Some to eat on the spot,

and some to take home to share - at least that’s what I assume, because these crepes were huge, and there was enough chocolate on top to last a month!  Make sure to read the names...

If you’re still wondering what a pitahaya is, check this out.  I’d never seen them before, but I understand they can be found in Florida.  They come in white, pink, or red inside.

We bought one to try - looks festive, but was kind of bland and grainy.  Too bad.  Moving on we saw some razor clams - I’d had them before in Barcelona and fell in love with them, but couldn’t find them in the USA.  They may be available now on the east coast, with a slight variation in the name, if you find them, try them.  They’re delicious!

Then we walked around the corner and saw the ‘other side of the tracks.’  While the butchers on one side were selling beautiful steaks, this butcher was selling the leftovers.  The price was very low, but that wouldn’t be enough for Marge to cook tripe (veal stomach lining),

or sheep heads.

They kind of remind me of velociraptors.  On the lighter side, the people who founded this bread-products company must not have been bimbos, because their trucks are everywhere - very successful!

Not to get political, but remember two years ago when a group of people in Barcelona (Cataluña, actually) pushed to have a vote for secession from Spain?  It didn’t happen, the government in Madrid stepped in and shut it down, the organizers fled the country and then upon their return were imprisoned.  They’re still sitting in jail, and there are signs hanging on the balconies of every street demanding their freedom.  We walked by the government offices several times this week, and there were always TV crews ready for action and doing live news spots.  I hope they can get this resolved, because the Catalunian people are a proud nationality.  There’s much more Catalunian spoken here than the last time we came in 2012, in fact it’s the primary language on all signs and Spanish is second.

So good bye from Barcelona, and tomorrow we say hello to Valencia!