I did a switcheroo to the guesthouse annex after that - just a few blocks form the main one, and just as cute. After throwing my things into the new room, I was back out the door, this time shopping with a purpose. I hit the Mango outlet store, then went down to Barri Gothic to pick up a couple things. Somehow I frittered several hours away...! So I decided to head toward the hotel for lunch.
El Nobu something-or-other was recommended by my guidebooks, especially for the menu del dia at lunch which is cheaper than going for dinner. Sounds good to me! I had beans & ham for a starter -YUM! - then monkfish for the entree. By this point I was full but hey, "Postres" (dessert) comes with it, so yes I'll have a crema catalan. Mmmm. Not a bad meal at all.
Being totally stuffed, I decided to collapse on the beach for a while, so gathered my things and headed to the waterfront. Note to males - there are tons and tons of topless chicks on the Barcelona beach! And I mean 20-somethings, not old hags like me! (Well some of those too). Definitely not in the U.S. anymore.
The beach has a ton of Middle Eastern guys walking up and down chanting "Cerveza fanta coca cola cold beer" and the chant sounds like the call to mosque - they use the same range of notes. Kinda funny. There are also women offering massages; I was skeptical at first and passed on the first woman to approach me, but the second one gave me a little demo and wow. Yes. I got a lovely massage, on a beach, for about $20 US. Ahh.
After a couple hours at the beach I showered, dressed and headed out to see Barri Gothic at night (again). I did a little shopping, then realized I was hungry so started looking for a place to eat.I kept following the old streets, until I had no idea where I was, but there were restaurants... I picked one that looked good and ordered a couple tapas. The corizo was awesome!
Meanwhile, the manager of the restaurant - who, I'm not kidding, was about 5' tall - was hitting on me. At the end of the meal, he gave me a little shot of a digestive. The 2 guys at the next table eyed it for a bit and finally asked how it was, and we all ended up chatting. They were from Australia and on week 3 of their travels in Europe. We had a lot of fun talking, and the manager would occasionally interrupt us, making us all crack up each time. Eventually - after about 2.5 hours - the place closed and the manager asked me for a drink and to see his favorite video at the heavy metal bar. I suck at saying no, so of course I went and we watched G'n'R November Rain - too funny. After one beer I made excuses and left.
Got to the metro and it was closed - wtf??? I checked my watch and wow, 12:30 am - my latest night here.
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