This little piggy went to market...

And wow did I enjoy it! I can't believe how much effort these people go to, to display their produce. The results are worth it though.

I scoffed down the most delectable freshly squeezed juice - pineapple and kiwi fruit. But I didn't stop there. Today was a day of full on eating. I haven't eaten this much since the last time I spent the weekend with my parents (yep, they keep feeding you till you are about to explode)!!!

For lunch I ditched the main streets and went to this tiny little cafe which was serving a whole lot of local mechanics on their lunch break. It was the most typically traditional little shop you've ever seen, like the kind of place that we used to go to when I was little. So to most people, it wouldn't be the most exciting feast, but to me it was crazy. 

For a few very good reasons, this place has been my meal time highlight so far:

1. They had Gazpacho Andaluz
2. They had lomo frito (like hello!)
3. They had flan
4. They gave me wine in a bottle and told me to help myself to as much as I like
5. It was 9 euros
6. The waiter was super friendly & we had a good old chat
7. The other waiter was a a grumpy woman with the world's worst bleach blonde. See, not all Spaniards are brunettes, people! I hope I didn't look like that as a blonde!

Then, later the the evening I was feeling a bit peckish (come on, I have been walking for hours and hours on end) so I stopped at the local snack stand... I hit the jackpot. They had the best lollies in the world, including my brother & my all time favourites, ladrillos, gaseosa and pipas!

I'm going to bed with a full belly and a big smile :)

Some things never change

A taxi driver was giving me some pearls of wisdom the other day. He said that even though I've been out of the country for so long, nothing has changed. 

According to him, the sun still rises, the water is still on the east, the people still talk the same language and the food is still the same. The only thing that's different nowdays is this 'crisis' - a bit of mild bother.

So if that's the case, the people of Catalunya don't disappoint. They are just as parochial as ever and on every corner there's a flag to prove it. But Barcelona itself still looks exactly the same too. It smells the same and it feels the same. Oh, and how could I forget? The futbol fanaticism hasn't changed either. I actually stumbled across the FCB school - where they were hard at work training the next generations' Puyol, Messi and Iniesta!

I think the taxi driver might have been on to something...