Barcelona Part One

Last Thursday we headed to Barcelona for a long weekend. It sounds strange but I had kind of forgotten what the sun feels like. Even when the sun is out in London it is usually behind a cloud. But sitting by the water with the sun beating on my face felt amazing!

First off, let's talk Gaudí. His design style is so unique. The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) is the most visited monument in Spain. Work began in 1882 and the projected completion date is 2028. Gaudí disliked straight lines (there were none in nature, he said) which is a theme that you can see throughout all of his buildings. Below is a photo of the Nativity Facade.

Along the outside of the building are lizards, snails, snakes and probably some additional creatures. 

 This building is so impressive, it is really hard to capture it in photos.

Another amazing building designed by Gaudí is the Casa Batlló. 

It has been described as the house of the dragon as the balconies look like a jaw of some beast and the roof represents St George and the dragon. 

One last Gaudí building we saw was la Pedrera. The roof features giant chimney pots that look like medieval knights. 

Sadly, I did not really like much of the food in Barcelona. But I took photos of some of the things we tried. One place Warren really liked was Tapas 24, which came recommended by a friend of ours. There we tried the Bravas, which are french fries covered in garlic aoli and a spicy sauce. 

 We also tried the Bikini, which is a sandwich with black truffles, cured Iberian ham, and buffalo mozzarella. 

Below is a photo of rabbit ribs which were breaded and fried. 

We tried this chocolate ganache dessert. I'm not surprised that Warren really loved this place. 

Barcelona has a lot of public water fountains. We saw people filling buckets at these fountains, washing their faces, or just getting a drink. The fountain below is at a Placa de Sant Felip Neri which was bombed by pro-Francist bombers in 1939. You can see the shrapnel scarred walls of the old church behind the fountain.

One night we were out in the Barri Gotic area and we got gelato at Gelaaati di Marco which was amazing! They let us try tons of different flavours before deciding. 

I got one scoop of Mascarpone and one of Cheesecake and both were delicious!

Warren got mascarpone, dulche de leche, and chocolate. 

This next photo was from Placa Reial which is considered one of Barcelona's prettiest squares. 

The Font Magica does a 15 minute display that goes along to music. This time of year they add additional performances that correspond to Christmas music. Behind the fountain is the National Museum of Art. 

In between the art museum and the fountain are these four pillars. They symbolise the flag of the Catalan nation.

Barcelona at night, view from the fountain. 

Queen's English as a Second Language Part Three

It seems every day I find more words that are commonly used here in London that I have never heard in that context before. Even as a native English speaker, I find that I have situations where I feel like I am speaking a different language than someone who uses Queen's English. 

Jab--shot, as in "I need to get my flu jab soon."

Cracking--something sensational, as in "We had a cracking good time!"

Circus--a round, open space at a street junction, as in "Oxford Circus has the best shops."

Fouling--to dirty or pollute. I have never heard anyone use this term in a sentence but this sign says it all. 

Lift--elevator, as in "My legs are tired, let's just take the lift."

Cheeky--irreverent but sly, as in "Oh, you're a cheeky one, aren't you?"

Spot--zit

Curling tongs--curling iron

Boris Bike--bicycles available to rent throughout the city, as in "Let's take a Boris Bike to Westminster this weekend". Named after London's mayor, Boris Johnson, an avid bicycler.

A&E (Accident and Emergency)--ER, as in "You'd better be careful on the Boris Bike or you'll end up in the A&E."

Autumn--Fall, as in "Starbucks has pumpkin flavoured drinks for autumn." (fall and autumn are not interchangeable here as they are in the US)

Clamp--boot, as in "Don't park in front of my place because they come around and clamp cars a lot."

Nappies--diapers, as in "This tube stop smells like a dirty nappy."

Biscuits--cookies. I happened to be at McDonalds during breakfast one day and asked them if they have a sausage biscuit because I didn't see it on the menu. The woman looked horrified and said they do not have anything like that. After I walked away I realised that I had basically asked her if they sell a sausage cookie. Gross. 

Jumper--sweater, as in "I got a cute navy jumper on sale at H&M."

Gums--gummies

Humps--speedbumps

Mind--watch, as in "Mind the doors...mind the closing doors." (you hear this a lot during peak hours on the tube)

Buggy/Pram/Pushchair--stroller, as in "Why do people bring prams to Oxford Circus?!"

Ice Cream at Harrods

This week I met up with some friends for ice cream at Harrods. Harrods is a world renown luxury department store that has been around since the 1800s.  

The ice cream parlour inside Harrods was pretty awesome. The only weird thing was that they were playing songs for kids (specifically the ABCs) on repeat.

We decided to get three sundaes and split them between all of us. One of the ones we ordered was the Oreo Mallow sundae. It had vanilla and chocolate ice cream with oreos, marshmallows, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. 

We also tried the Babbi Nocciola. This one had vanilla, hazelnut, and caramel ice cream with a Reese's peanut butter cup, chocolate sauce, hazelnuts, and whipped cream. Here is a photo of Kate and Meg with our awesome Babbi Nocciola sundae. 

We also splurged and got the Harrods Special. This one had vanilla, chocolate, caramel, and strawberry ice cream with chocolate sauce, fresh strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream. I would definitely recommend getting this sundae. The strawberry ice cream was the best I've ever had. Plus, it comes with quite a show.

Here is a better photo of our sundae after the mist subsided. 

Overall, all of the sundaes were really good! I definitely plan to bring any visitors that come to London here because it was such good ice cream and a really fun time.