Friday February 8th, Tarragona and Torres Winery. We woke up at 8am to meet outside of the Universitat de Barcelona to take a bus to Tarragona at 9. The bus ride was about an hour and a half. We arrived with about two hours to tour the old Roman city of Tarraco. We saw many different walls, the Cathedral, the amphitheater and the Circus. We went to the top of one of the old Roman buildings and had a breathtaking view of the whole city of Tarragona and the ocean. The amphitheater was one of my favorite parts. It was awesome to go inside and sit where sports used to be played thousands of years ago and spectators used to sit and watch where we sat down, We left Tarragona at about 1 pm and went to the “Masia” for lunch.
The drive to “Masia” was about 45 minutes from Tarragona. We were served many different tapas from toasted bread with tomato, garlic, and garlic paste to white beans to french fries to sausage. The main reason why we were there was for the calcot, which is the name given to a local variety of spring onion, which is cultivated in a very particular way in Tarragona. They are eaten by brushing off the outer layer of ash and dipping the vegetable into romesco sauce, a spicy sauce made from peppers, crushed almonds, olive oil, tomato, parsley, vinegar, salt, pepper, and other spices. They are kind of sweet tasting and more mild than a white or red onion. They are very popular and one of the most renowned symbols of catalan gastronomy.
At about 3:30, we left “Masia” and drove 30 minutes to the Torres winery. We toured the enire winery and learned all about the process how they make their wine in one of the most important wine cellars in Europe. At the end of the tour, we got to taste on their white wines. It was very fruity and very refreshing. After the tasting, we had the opportunity to go to the gift shop and buy wine ourselves. I bought a bottle of rose and sauvignon blanc. We were bak by about 6:30 from Torres.
We cooked a quick dinner at home and then went out to Shoko and Opium for the night, which are always a great time.
Saturday was a very busy day. My friends and I went to many different parts of Barcelona. First we went to La Boqueria on Las Ramblas, as one of my friends had not been there before. It is one of my favorite spots in all of Barcelona. After La Boqueria, we continued down las ramblas and walked around El Born and the Gothic Quarter and came across El Call, the Jewish Quarter. We also made our way to the port and ate paella and drank sangria at el Mar Magnum, the mall in La Marina. We were out until about 6 o’clock and took naps. For dinner, we went to a sushi conveyor belt restaurant right near CEA main Campus. It was such an overwhelming experience with a ton of food. We were in such food comas after that meal that we were unable to go out.
Sunday morning, FOOTBALL. One of the best days of my life. I always dreamed of going to an FC Barcelona game and I finally had the opportunity to go. I wore a Messi jersey and a Barca scarf. I was in full game attire and ready to go. FC Barcelona played Getafe and completely dominated them 6-1. I could not believe I was seeing Messi play right before my eyes. I have played soccer since I was 3 years old and it was absolutely incredible to see the best team in the world (constantly debated) play. Messi had so many opportunities to score, but only scored one goal. He is so creative on the field and is one of the best I have ever seen (most people would agree). After the game, we decided to go to Parc de La Ciutatdella. We walked all around the park and saw a beautiful pond, the big elephant, the Zoo, and the fountain. It was a very pretty park.
It was great being in Barcelona for the weekend and seeing new parts and revisiting some places I´d already been to. I am not going to have another weekend in Barcelona until March 7th for Abroadfest, so I am glad that we took advantage of going around the city. You can never get bored in Barcelona, it has so much to offer.
Carly´s European Adventures 