Yes, it’s that time again — another country is wrapping up, so here’s a bunch of photos that couldn’t quite fit into their own posts.
I have a thing about people lining up for food. If I see a line, I feel a very strong compulsion to stop whatever I’m doing and get in it. Because what do those people know that I don’t know? Following the mob isn’t always the wisest of choices, but seriously, what’s at the front of that line and how do I eat it?
So when I saw a line for a place that specializes in fries called Las Fritas when I was walking around in Barcelona, I was in that line almost instantly. I had never heard of this place, and French fries don’t exactly scream authentic Spanish food, but look at that line. It must be good!
Who can say no to ham croquettes at McDonald’s? Or chicken wings? Well, most people, probably — not this guy.
I’m not very smart, you see. As most people would reasonably imagine, neither of these things were very good.
Note: Thanks to a bunch of terrorist douchebags, the chronology of this blog is a bit messed up. This and the next few posts were actually written before that whole fiasco, which is why this is written as though I’m still in Zaragoza.
I wound up in Zaragoza pretty much at random; the initial plan was to go to San Sebastian between Madrid and Barcelona. It turns out I’m a cheapo and can’t afford San Sebastian, so plan B it is: spending a few nights in Zaragoza, a medium-sized city about halfway between Madrid and Barcelona.
It’s not exactly the first place place you think of when you visit Spain (I hadn’t even heard of it until recently), but I’m actually quite enjoying my time here.
So I’m assuming you’ve heard the news about Barcelona by now. I’m a few days ahead with my posts, so you wouldn’t know it by reading this blog, but I’ve been in Barcelona for the last few days.
And I was right in the area where it went down when it went down.
I’ve been eating a lot of really great meals on this trip; here’s one of the not-so-great ones.
This wasn’t something that I thought would be particularly blog-worthy; just a quick (and unhealthy) breakfast thanks to a random recommendation on the internet. “Hey,” the internet told me, “the napolitana de chocolate at La Mallorquina is actually pretty good!” Okay, internet, I’ll give it a shot.
The bakery turned out to be in a super touristy part of town, so my expectations weren’t very high, to put it kindly.
Then I took a bite and my whole life changed.
Since I began my travels, I’ve gone to a few movies. Now, I know what you’re thinking: you traveled halfway around the world just to go to the movies?? Well:
- Going to the movies is a huge part of my life. Always has been, always will be.
- When you’re walking around all day in the heat, there comes a point — usually around 3:00 or 4:00 — when you just wanna sit down in an air conditioned room for a couple of hours.
- Don’t judge the way I live my life, man.
There are certain things that you just know are going to taste great; you don’t even need to try them. One of those things? A dish that’s actually really popular here in Madrid called chocolate con churros (which is churros with a cup of thick, rich hot chocolate for dipping).
Thanks to something called the Schengen Agreement, most of Europe is essentially like one big country for travel purposes. Completely open borders.