In the early evening, I went to see Gaudí's famous Casa Battló, which was a house full of whimsy and ingenious architectural designs.
El Tejado de Casa Batlló
Gaudí liked to build aesthetically pleasing, yet functional, structures. He decided to group the chimneys on Casa Batlló, instead of spreading them out, to pack a greater visual punch. Gaudí repurposed broken ceramic pottery in many of his beautiful mosaics; this treatment is called trencadís.
Catenary Arches in Casa Batlló
Gaudí used these catenary arches in many of his works. A catenary is the U a chain forms when it hangs by its own weight and is supported only by the ends.
Gazpacho
This gazpacho gets extra points for the lovely presentation. I didn't order any for myself, but got to try a sip—tasty and refreshing.
Pulpo Gallego (Galician Style Octopus)
I had been wanting to try octopus, so I was happy to see pulpo on the list of tapas. Galicia is a region in Northern Spain known for its excellent seafood, which makes sense since it sits right on the Atlantic coast. Pulpo gallego means octopus has been boiled, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with paprika. It's often served with potatoes.
The pulpo was kind of like seafood steak in that it was very firm and somewhat chewy. It didn't have the creamy-chewy texture of calamari, though. I liked it, but it's not something I'd put on my list of "seafood favorites." I really enjoyed the paprika component—a spice I've never tried on seafood before.
Croquetes
Croquetes are a very common Spanish tapa and are small breadcrumbed fried balls filled with potato, cheese, fish, or ground meat. Several of us sampled these croquetes, but were all puzzled by the filling. The croquetes were light, fluffy and seasoned nicely and possibly filled with a potato-spice mixture.
Anchoas sobre Pan con Tomate (Pa amb Tomàquet)
I had also been wanting to try anchovies. I asked the waiter if the anchovies came on bread and he said that it would be no problem to serve them that way. In combination with the pan con tomate (baguette smeared with tomato and garlic), the anchovies were very enjoyable because the bread helped dissipate their intense salty flavor. I've learned it pays to inquire after food in restaurants. ;-)
Champiñones al Ajillo
These mushrooms were the best mushrooms I've ever eaten! They were delivered piping hot and were so flavorful. Andrew (chico in blue) also ordered this tapa; several other mushroom lovers wished they had followed our example upon sampling some of my mushrooms.
The term al ajillo is a culinary idiom that means cooked with plenty of garlic. Champiñones al Ajillo is a popular tapa in which mushrooms are sautéed in olive oil with garlic, spritzed with lemon juice, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and Italian parsley.
Cava
Cava is the Spanish equivalent of champagne and is mostly produced in Catalunya, the region in which Barcelona is located. Before 1986, the Spanish had been calling all fizzy wines champaña. This made the French upset because champagne is only supposed to be from Champagne, France. However, after Spain joined the EU in 1986, cava became regulated and now can only come from 8 designated wine regions in Spain.
Salud! (Cheers!)
We Cal Poly students were the only diners at this restaurant and when we were getting ready to go at about 11:20, the restaurant owner, who was also our waiter, asked if we would like a bottle of free cava. We happily agreed, enjoyed the bubbly, then dashed off at 11:30 to catch the metro which stops running at midnight in Barcelona.
Midnight seems so early by Spanish standards for the metro to stop running, if you ask me. It runs until 1:30 in Madrid, "the city that never sleeps," which is a little more reasonable, but still pretty early. If the Spaniards don't start dinner till 10 p.m. or sometimes 11 p.m., you'd think the metro would run at least until 2:30! Fortunately, we made it back in the nick of time to our respective hostels.
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