Barcelona Day Uno: Tapas & Trannies

Thank god Bryndia made it to Barcelona, considering the Easyjet flight was packed with 3 school groups, a hard-body waterpolo team who could have passed as male models, & a small excursion group from Guatemala they were quite positive the landing would be the middle of the Mediterranean. But after a round of applause from everyone on the plane (seriously, Spanish people need to stop treating there landings like the end of a Flamenco show) they found themselves safe and sound in BCN Monday the 15th of March.

Gabi, India's cousin, has been living in Barcelona for 3 months post graduation from Trinity in Dublin. Lucky for us there was an empty room in her sweet apartment, 1 block from Sagrada Familia, so the dynamic duo was able to rent it for a week & a half.

After a quick bus ride from the airport through the city, Bryndia arrived at Plaza Catalunya where Gabi met them. The sun was shining and the air was crisp as the three strolled through the old Gothic neighborhood. Gabi took Bryn & India to her favorite Cafe where they indulged in Cafe con Leche & for Bryn a giant chicken breast. This was the first time India had met her cousin Gabi so the three chatted, getting to know each other while admiring the wall paintings around the restaurant of numerous animals performing explicit sexual acts upon each other that would only excite Bear Grylls.

After a filling meal & drinks the three continued through the city, winding through small ally ways to the edge of the "rough part of town", right off Las Ramblas where Gabi's local hang out spot, Hostel Bar, was located. Here, no one spoke English, so bryndia's language skills were put to the test. (This language barrier was, in fact, beneficial as half of the patrons of said bar were tranny hookers, and damn proud of it.) Bryndia met Gabi's awesome boyfriend Israel, a Colombian who had been living in Barcelona for years, and his sidekick puppy Estrella. Take note: an amazing quality of Spain is that dogs are allowed absolutely everywhere. In bars, restaurants, shops... and almost always off leash. How these dogs are so well behaved, bryndia doesn't know. Estrella pranced around Hostel Bar all night, making friends. For the rest of the night, the group enjoyed "cañas" for a Euro, slang for a small beer, and met a lot of Gabi's friends, who were all international and really sweet, speaking Spanish slowly and using hand gestures so that bryndia could keep up with the conversation.


Early afternoon turned into late night and all of a sudden everyone was a little drunk and a lot hungry. Gabi took bryndia to her favorite falafal place for dinner, where they learned that falafal in Spain comes in burrito like wraps. Delicious. After filling their stomachs, the three headed back to Hostel Bar, and continued to conversate and consume with their new friends.

Barcelona was amazing, and it was only bryndia's first day. They prepared themselves for a great two weeks.