Bye Bye Barcelona

Wow, today must’ve been the last dinner that started at 9 in the evening! Honestly, who came up with the concept for the restaurants to open so late?? First of all, I am usually starving by the time my food arrives, and second of all, what has happened to the “don’t eat after six” rule? Of course, I am just pretending to be mad. I will miss those late dinners. So Spanish, so laid-back, no rush, 500 tapas, drinks, fresh bread with every meal... But that’s not even the point. I am leaving Barcelona in a day! 

Ironically, Taylor, who I came here with, and I went to our favorite Brazilian restaurant to celebrate our departure if you will. We laughed, remembering our first visit to this place: the food on the table next to us looked so good that we asked a girl, who was eating, what the dish was. We wanted to order the same one. And, believe it or not, the girl asked if we wanted to try her food! That was when we decided that Spanish people were extremely nice.

There’s always something terrifying and attractive about the unknown. Four months ago I stepped out of my confront zone, I came to an absolutely new environment: I did not know what kind of ovens they used in Spain, whether tap water was drinkable or not, and if asking for some extra sauce at the restaurant was considered rude. I was so excited to try the traditional Spanish foods and to eat as much shellfish as I could possibly find. 

Today I know all the answers to those questions, I can’t even look at shrimps after my poisoning, and I found peace at the Brazilian restaurant that has nothing to do with Spanish cuisine. I am back in my comfort zone. It’s time to leave. 

I shared my thought with Taylor, while she was trying to enjoy every single piece of her dulche de leche tapioca. She agreed it was a bittersweet feeling to leave, she was ready to go home but knew she would miss Barcelona. We talked about returning here soon. That would be such a cool holiday. We’ve lived here long enough to know exactly where to go, what to do and where not to have lunch upon arrival. Who knows, maybe they will even finish the construction of Sagrada Familia by that time! It does not matter, I am just excited to go back as a new, older person. I want to go to my favorite restaurant and order my favorite dish and get a burst of sweet memories from when I was 20, a carefree college student, a lucky girl, who got to learn how to make tapas during her Spanish class. 

During my time here, I got to know Barcelona well, I set into a habit of shopping at my local market, decided that being kissed on the cheek by a stranger was not as gross and uncomfortable as it seemed at first, and got addicted to Crema Catalana, olives, and Fruit and Nut bread.