Barcelona

The Sagrada Familia is the most visited tourist sight in Spain for a reason.

I felt like I was in the middle of an Escher painting -- the construction that is underway just exacerbated this sensation.

And, yes, the multiple recommendations we received to seek out Commerc 24 were all correct. Jamon, queso, y trufas en un bocadillo? Why have I never heard of this combination before? Simply one of the best things I've ever eaten.

Ever.

In other news, Catalan is messing with my head. I find that I can read it and understand without too much trouble, but I can't explain why. Some French, some Italian, some acquired Portuguese, Latin, Greek, and, of course, some Spanish.

Because I never really properly learned Spanish, whenever the opportunity arises, I find myself in a state of Spanish language acquisition (I surprised myself and some Madrileños by using the vosotros in response to a question in the street -- thanks Argentina!).

Madrid probably helped clean up some of my Argentinian-Italian habits and pushed me into more standard Spanish.

But Catalan? Not so much.

Do you know the excerpts where the first and last letter is correct but the middle is gibberish, and yet somehow, the human brain can read it? That's Catalan to me. I couldn't speak it to save my life, but I could try some spanglifrenchalian, and, unfortunately, when spoken to in Catalan, I do. Often to stares.

Nonetheless, despite the mind-bending nature of the written language here, I managed to have a fabulous time discussing cheese and olive oil with the woman at the cheese stand at the Boqueria -- Mercat de San Josep.

If you are a food nerd, this market is reason enough to come to this lovely city.

Okay, off to seek out some Basque tapas pixtos!