A date

One of the things I like about Barcelona are that there are so many places to eat. I like eating.

A couple of weeks ago I convinced the Rube to take me out on a date, I chose the place and he paid. Magic.

The place I chose was CATA181. The restaurant itself is very small, so small in fact that there are only about 5 tables - this meant that if it's just two of you the likelihood is that you'll end up sharing a table with other people - so much for the romantic meal for two.. I didn't mind so much, the other people on our table were very peculiar and therefore amusing. to me.

So, what's so great about this restaurant? Well, if you're into wine they have a fabulous wine list with many local wines, cata literally means tasting and you can take wine tasting courses there too I believe. However if wine isn't your thing then the food is pretty good too. Along the same idea as wine tasting, the dishes are small, allowing you to "taste" 7 or 8 different things. We opted for a combination of wine and food ordering a 7 dish menu with 2 desserts and 4 accompanying wines. I can honestly say that everything was delicious

Raviolis with saltcod, hummus, wild mushrooms and tomato confit
Potato and white truffle omelette
Cod with chorizo wrapped in fine noodles and fried
Spinach salad with a honey mousse
Chicken teriyaki style
BBQ of iberian pork, white butifarra and black butifarra
Mini hamburger
Frozen Chocolate souffle with orange sauce
Pastry ball with melted cheese in the middle mmm melts in the mouth

I think the menu is about 43 Euros per person including wine, we had cava, white wine, red wine and dessert wine.

After all that wine it probably wasn't such a good idea to go to a shot bar, and it definitely wasn't a good idea to drink all the shots I drank including one where you had to lick wasabi off your hand, and an aniseed liqueur with a beer chaser BLEUGH. No wonder then that by the time we went to catch the night bus I was willing it to fly so we could get home quicker and I could be sick - not in the street and not on my shoe as unfortunately was so nearly the case.

Ninja points - before 2 am: 10
after 2 am: -10

Brits in Spain

I recently read this article about the number of Brits in Spain.

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/overseas/article2300489.ece

It's crazy! Brits are taking over the Iberian peninsular. Of all the Brits I know here only a very few can speak Spanish fluently and the majority just get by on pidgeon Spanish and circulate in English speaking groups thereby not having to bother to learn properly.

Recently Barcelona opened it's first fish and chip shop on Rambla de Raval. So far I haven't visited but at least I know where to go if I get any cravings.

Rat tails = wrong

The weekend's activities were fairly low key although I did visit the Gracia festival.

For those not in the know Gracia is a "barrio" of Barcelona. It is customary in Spain for every barrio to hold its own festival and Gracia is no exception. Gracia is famous for its festival as every street is decorated differently using recyclable materials. A contest is held and the street with the best decorations is declared the winner.

For the entire duration of the festival they have loads of live music, food, drink as well as the traditional human castles and it’s nice to stroll around.

This year I noticed that there were a large number of Okupas. Okupa is the Spanish/Catalan word for squatter and in Barcelona there are a lot and they really seem to like the Gracia festival.

What bothers me about Okupas is not their squatting activities but their hairstyles. There seems to be some unwritten law that decrees to be an Okupa you must sport an ugly and unflattering hairstyle of the rat tail variety as well as owning a flea ridden mongrel.

Melendi - champion of Okupa hairstyles

To achieve a perfect Okupa hairstyle, cut any hair on the top part of your head haphazardly or even better shave it off. Leave the back. With the hair left at the back of your head let it grow long and straggly, preferably without washing it ever, so that it tangles and mats. For a really nice effect add one dreadlock for the perfect rat tail style

A rat tail in the making

This style is unisex and worn by all okupa adults, children and animals.

Can someone please tell me why all Okupas like this hairstyle? Is there a head Okupa that brainwashes all the rest into cutting their hair that way?? I get that they wanna be different but how different are they if they are all the same, and there were thousands of them at the Gracia festival.. all the same.

One more time

Another day, another blog.

This is yet another attempt to keep my homeys up to date with my (not so) ninja activities.

Will try not to get bored this time..