Today I dropped off my wife and 15-year-old son at the airport for their month-long trip to Japan. Then, I worked the day at the office before meeting my visiting brother and 13-year-old son at Pinballz for some fun arcade games. It was great playing pinball and some old consoles like Tempest! Had a great time and enjoyed a nice beer as well.
After that, it was time for dinner and my brother wanted some southern food, so we went to Mouton’s Southern Bistro. I’ve wanted to try this restaurant for several years now, so this was a good chance. The food was delicious and the portions were generous as you can see below! So stuffed… ☺
Today we took it easy and slept in. We were pretty tired from yesterday’s travels, and my brother is still on West Coast time, so it worked out nicely. We pretty much just hung out at the house all day, watched the Dodger game, and then went out for a yummy dinner.
My brother wanted to sample some Austin Barbecue, so we headed to Freedmen’s for some brisket, ribs, pork belly, slaw, and potato salad. We also got salmon and pit-chili, and it was all so good! Austin has so many great BBQ places, but Freedmen’s flies a bit under the radar. However, it’s some of the best BBQ in town!
One of the major sights we wanted to see is La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s amazing cathedral which has been under construction for well over a hundred years and won’t be completed for another 10 or so. As I mentioned before, I don’t care too much for cathedrals and churches, but this one is truly awe-inspiring. It’s got a modern take, is colorful and the design is intruiguing. That being said, my interest is purely about the design and construction, since I am not religious. Still, there’s enough here for the non-believer to be inspired by the human will to achieve. Amazing.
Next up on the list was to do a bit of shopping – specifically to pick up a suitcase that we saw the night before so we could haul our loot back home. This included the food we would be buying from the Spanish supermarket, the paella pans, and non-breakable souvenirs. Plus our dirty laundy. I that gross to keep that with our canned goods? I wonder… oh well, too late now, right? 😛
Anyways, we bought the suitcase, dropped it off at the hotel, and made our way to lunch, which was on the way to MACBA: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, or the Museum of Contemporary Art. For our third paella of the trip, we visited Paelleria. We learned that paella is not as crispy on the bottom as we always thought, but that it was moister. The first paella we got was moist and we thought it was odd. But after the second and third one, we figured that is the way it is supposed to be. Anyways, the paella at Paelleria was delicious, and we also had to order a few other tapas. And beer. And sangria. 🍺🍷
After MACBA, we strolled to the nearby art supply store to check it out, then caught a taxi to Barceloneta Beach for another one the highlights of our trip: touching the Mediterranean Sea. I was so stoked to dip my feet in! The water was cool, but not too cold, and very clear even though it was a pretty crowded beach. Maybe it is silly, but walking barefoot in the waters was something I was looking forward to the whole trip! 🌊
Near the beach were a lot of really nice-looking restaurants, and by this time, we were getting pretty hungry. We checked Yelp and found a restaurant that looked good, but when we got there, it didn’t seem like our kind of place. So, we tried a nearby restaurant which normally you need a reservation for, but we got lucky (and we were early) so we got a table. The menu at Somorrostro was pretty fancy seafood, and we took advantage of our last night in Barcelona to have a nice, upscale feast. We had skipjack with pistachio and sour cream, black rice with smoked sardine and rabbit, shrimp taco with spring onion and avocado, zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese, and octopus with potato and chorizo. Plus beer, cava, and water, of course! It was kind of funny, but lots of the agua that the kids ordered at the different tapas bars come in uniquely fancy bottles. Never saw the same glass water bottle twice!
We were pretty tired after dinner, but of course we had to have our second dinner, and that would mean taking a taxi back to Tapa Tapa (thanks, Bay!) for drinks and tapas. 😄
Hi! Well, as you may have figured out, we love to eat on our travels. In fact, eating and drinking is one of the main activities that we look forward to and plan for. So, without further ado, let’s get started with brunch:
Just around the corner from our hotel is Alsur Café, where we sat outside and enjoyed coffee, hot chocolate, a smoothie, avocado-bacon waffles, eggs Benedict, and another waffle sandwich of what I don’t remember. I do remember, however, that it was all excellent. A good start to the day!
We made it to the museum and enjoyed the drawings and paintings. The collection is mainly of his earlier work so if you are expecting to see a great expanse of his production, you may be disappointed. But, I thought it was good, and worth the visit.
The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets of Barcelona and shopping. Eventually, we landed at our first restaurant, Ciudad Condal. Yet another fun and delicious meal, and even Koa is expanding his palette! He’s becoming a fish-lover. In fact, when we were eating clams in Granada, he had the whole plate in front of him and was powering through those little suckers!
As became our tradition in Spain, we have two dinners… and in Barcelona, that meant going back to Tapa Tapa. I would have wanted to try another place, but Bay is crazy about Tapa Tapa for some reason! Well, he was the main driver for this vacation, so we let him indulge. 😄
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/30 sec, ISO800 “ゲゾラ” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
I’m going to have to go on a serious diet soon if I keep on eating like I did today… 😃🍺
First off, we went to a farewell brunch for some friends who are moving to Brooklyn. The food was something that is common in Austin: build-your-own tacos with brisket, carnitas, homemade salsas, and fresh onion, cilantro, jalapeños, and tomatoes. In addition, cold local beer and yummy mimosas to wash it all down. It was pretty awesome. 🍴
Later that day, we hosted our 8th “Kaiju Nite”, in which we watch Japanese monster movies and enjoy even more delicious food. The menu included karaage (Japanese fried chicken), harumaki (egg rolls), shrimp toast, champuru (Okinawan dish of goya, spam, and egg), lotus root salad, green salad with sashimi, and various small snacks. Beverages included sake, wine, and beer. OMG I was so full! 😝
