Birthday, Protest, Seder, and Rest

At the end of March, after all of our other adventures, John had a birthday. I figured we should go somewhere nice for dinner, since we were both feeling good, so we went to El Nacional. Jae went there with mom and dad at the end of our trip in 2016, but John and I missed it that time. It's a giant (fancy) warehouse-like building with bars in the corners serving a variety of food. In the back corner there's a seafood restaurant called La Llotja (the fish market). We had a lovely dinner (one of the more expensive meals we've had in town). Tuna tartare and pan con tomate (fresh homemade bread!) and then I had monkfish and John had tuna. Delicious... although we were way too full to try the desserts. Instead, we came home and I made quick little individual chocolate puddle cakes. (thanks, Smittenkitchen...)  

We really enjoyed the Royal Film Concert Orchestra's John Williams/Hans Zimmer and Ennio Morricone movie-themed nights, so I got us tickets to attend their Video Game music night. Clearly not as popular as the others, since the place was only about half full. They played some pieces we recognized (Star Wars, Gladiator, Myst, Legend of Zelda, Mission Impossible, Skyrim) and a "retro" medley that included the Super Mario Bros theme... which I couldn't get out of my head for days! :) 

At the end of that week was the 'No Tyrants' march -- we have a King in Spain, so we have to call the protest something else, but make no mistake, it was anti-Fascist, pro-democracy, and well attended. There were even little kids and dogs carrying their own signs. I wore my favorite Wonder Woman t-shirt. I volunteered to do security for the march, which mostly meant standing at the edge of the crowd and making sure there were no 'issues'. But really, everyone who came by agreed with us! At some point I noticed a REALLY tall blond guy standing next to me... it was Christopher, aka Mansionsandmascara from Instagram! I knew that he had moved to Barcelona a few weeks before we did, so I said, "hey Sug!" (his catchphrase and brand) and chatted with him for a while. I even volunteered my Spanish when the mailman called, trying to deliver something while he was at the protest. :) I hope he'll get more involved with Dems Abroad as we move closer to the midterms...we can really use his help. (See pics link below for a photo of us together.) 

The following week, some of my friends from the SC Committee arrived by cruise ship (after two weeks at sea - they left Houston mid-March!). We took them to dinner at Cheese's Art -- Becky had their fondue and loved it -- and the second night we went to our favorite spot, Fragments. On Thursday, they took me along for the guided tour of Sagrada Familia. The 'hang-gliding Jesus' was covered up for refurbishing, since the Pope himself is coming to Barcelona in June to mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's passing. But that place is just so staggeringly beautiful. I love the rainbow of stained glass. And they've really updated and improved the museum space downstairs since the last time we were there in 2016. 

Then it was Passover. One of my favorite things about the Democrats Abroad folks I've met is that many of them happen to be Jewish, so we were invited to a Seder hosted by one of my friends in her gorgeous apartment. There are two small kosher stores in Barcelona, so I took the bus to one of them and got some gluten free matzoh, candles, and some other kosher treats. I should've bought a second box of the matzoh, because I used most of the first one for "matzoh crack!" I made some green beans with potatoes and tomatoes for a side dish. Our hostess got a brisket from the kosher store - wish I'd thought of that! There were only seven of us, but it was wonderful and lively.There was SO MUCH FOOD! We had excellent leftovers. And I highly recommend the Haggadah from 'jewbelong'. Lots to talk about. 

We had both Good Friday and Easter Monday off, and I had taken off Thursday for the Sagrada Familia visit, so it was a 5-day weekend. :) Since it was beautiful and sunny out on Good Friday, we went down to the Parc de la Ciutadella and wandered around. We were clearly not the only ones in town with this idea. We walked by the zoo and over towards the park and the Parliament building. I have a photo of mom and dad sitting on a bench in that park from when we were here in 1993!  

More photos from March & April