NAP. Neapolitan Authentic Pizza

Well if the title doesn't intrigue you...then I don't know what will. You guys, Liz and I found the best pizza place. Ever. After first coming to Barcelona and trying the random "Italian" restaurant across from our apartment that had fake prosciutto, I was really turned off from pizza. Coming from Chicago, I had not found pizza I liked in Fort Worth at school until I tried Cane Rosso. Liz showed it to me last year and I have been there countless times since including parents weekend, my dad visiting in the summer, friends' birthdays, and random roomie dinner nights. So why am I talking about Cane Rosso? Well this place we found, NAP, is essentially Cane Rosso: Barcelona Edition. 

It started when I found this Instagram....called @bcndelicatessen. If you know me well, you know my best friend Sarah and I run an Instagram called @collegegirleats where we feature food we eat, make, or pictures sent by our friends. Well the other day I found this account and basically it features all of these restaurants in Barcelona (that all look amazing). l have had so many average meals in Barcelona that now I look up the place we are going before to make sure there are decent reviews, pictures, and somewhere I can get a price point. So I saw a couple places that looked really good and started looking them up. 

First one: 4 euro signs meaning expensive... 

Second one: Not open...

Third one: 40 minutes on the metro...

Then I started craving pizza. I became desperate and started Google searching: best pizza place in Barcelona. Long story short, ten minutes later and Liz and I found this place. The pictures looked promising and we decided to go for it. We heard that they could get pretty busy later on so we wanted to go a little bit on the earlier side. 

The moment we sat down, I knew this place was going to be a winner. It was clean, not crowded, and the staff was friendly right from the start. The menu was simple and the prices were very reasonable (yes!). For the broke college students who have been taken advantage of multiple times, we were all for this. We are also people who go by recommendations so of course we asked our waitress what she liked best. She recommended the Speck pizza which was mozzarella, mushrooms, truffle oil, arugula, and olive oil. For us truffle oil lovers, we were sold. We also decided to go with one of the bruschettas which had mozzarella, mushrooms and tomatoes which was amazing. I took a picture of the sign pictured to the right and sent it to my mom because we share a love for burrata (a type of mozzarella) after getting it as an appetizer in New York this past Fall. 

The bruschetta came out immediately and we weren't disappointed. We almost ordered another one, but decided to hold off until our pizza came and I am so glad we did. I also ordered a Moritz (one of the more popular beers in Barcelona) and Liz had a Coke...what is it about Coke that makes it taste so much better in Europe???

This pizza was incredible. First, it came moments later because these pizzas are put in the oven for less than 90 seconds. The dough tasted exactly like Cane Rosso's, and the truffle oil gave it the perfect touch. It has to be eaten with a fork and knife because the crust is so thin, but never burns. Apparently there is some old, written down recipe for the dough...I still don't even understand it. Although this pizza was out of this world, next time I am excited to try another one of their bruschettas (with burrata!), a salad, and the Crudo Parma pizza which also caught my eye. Prosciutto on pizza makes everything better..right? Liz and I decided to order another beer and just sit and talk for a while. Within the next hour, the place was PACKED. I am glad we came early even though we are getting used to eating like locals at 10pm. This place was definitely a winner in our book and I think we are getting better at picking restaurants that are in our price point and have staff with the best recommendations. I am already looking forward to our next visit. If you are in Barcelona, you have to check this place out. It is a couple minute walk from the Jaume I stop.

WEEK 3: I went to Switzerland

So I went to Interlaken, Switzerland this weekend and learned a couple of things.

You can OD from chocolate.

You guys. I ate so much chocolate this weekend. I'm actually kind of burnt out for a while i think. If you are good friends with me, you know that I am notorious for having a sweet tooth (and finishing friends' froyo while they are inside a grocery store). I don't crave pizza at 11pm or chicken nuggets or fries. If I am craving something, it's ice cream or s'mores bars or chocolate. Well Swiss chocolate really outdid itself. We went into random chocolate stores and got samples, had free chocolate on the plane courtesy of Swiss airlines, and bought chocolate bars at the nearby grocery store. Even though my favorite type is dark chocolate, Swiss chocolate is notorious for its milk chocolate and it was really good. I was kind of disappointed that we didn't have chocolate fondue, but you win some and lose some.

"Depends on weather conditions" is a real thing.

I was finally going to skydive. My friend Mary (top right) convinced me into doing it even though it was going to cost me my life because its the Alps and if you run a skydiving company in the Alps, they can charge whatever they want. I had it booked and I finally convinced myself to do it. Well, it got canceled three times because of the weather conditions being too foggy and each time the anticipation made me so anxious. Instead, we decided to the next best thing and went paragliding which was still amazing and the views were unreal. Freezing, yes. But the scenery was something I will never forget.

Switzerland took all my money.

I actually feel robbed from this weekend. How does Switzerland get away with charging whatever they want? I have no clue. Anyway, I was at the ATM a few times and learned that drinks are more expensive than you think. Overall, I convinced myself this was going to be the most expensive trip and decided not to think about it. Key to saving money...split everything and take advantage of happy hour prices when possible. Also, so disappointed in Swiss fondue. We thought it was going to be really good and ended up being so much money and so random.....Hence the picture on the bottom left. So cute Ang!!!!!!!

You CAN become a local within two days.

When in the town of Interlaken, you can only go to the Irish Pub so many times. When skydiving gets canceled...Irish Pub. When happy hour...Irish Pub. When waiting for friends to finish skiing....Irish Pub. When every cafe is closed on Sunday and your hostel made you check out at 10am...Irish Pub. We did have an amazing beer as a suggestion from the bartender called Grimbergen. Also, we became best friends with the owner of the chocolate shop who gave us free truffles samples. 

Hostels really aren't that bad.

Pictured below is the infamous Balmers hostel. Apparently it's ranked one of the "Top 49 Most Famous Hostels in Europe." Whatever that means. It wasn't actually that bad besides for the breakfast which consisted of bread and jelly. Literally that's it. And of course I managed to lose my room key within the first ten minutes of being there. Underneath the hostel, there was the "night club" where everyone went both nights and was actually a great time. They also had Wi-Fi, hot showers, and heating so that was a plus. There was a pizza place and Thai food restaurant next door...so the first hostel experience wasn't anything to complain about. 

WEEK 2: Bridge to Tarragona

Well good news and bad news.

Good news: the planned trip for our study abroad program actually ended up being really fun!

Bad news: classes started and I need to get in somewhat of a school mindset.

Tarragona

Tarragona. Our study abroad center had this trip planned from Friday to Saturday where we took buses to see different sites and spend the night in Tarragona with everyone from our program. Our buses were split up by Spanish classes and conveniently Liz and I were on the same bus. I wasn't exactly looking forward to the trip but it ended up being the most fun I have had so far. We met a lot of really cool people on our bus from Indiana, Virginia, University of Illinois, North Carolina, and UT. There are so many kids from the suburbs of Chicago and this world really is so small. I felt like I had at least a connection of knowing some person to almost everyone I talked to which was really cool. And Liz of course found a Connecticut crew.

On Friday night, after hours of touring and a scarring papas bravas experience at lunch, we could do basically whatever we wanted. In the small town of Tarragona, there was approximately one bar open. After a couple of GroupMe texts, 20 minutes later and all 400 study abroad kids were at this bar. It went from having one bartender and one room to opening up a night club downstairs…so random but so fun.

The next day we saw a monastery in Santes Creus which was really interesting. After, we drove to a restaurant and had a traditional “Spanish BBQ” which was a 2 ½ hour lunch where we were introduced to the baron and calçotada. A baron is essentially a bong that holds wine and you pour it into your mouth. I can work with that. A calçotada is a blackened leek that you dip into a sauce and eat…yeah. It was a pretty fun (and interesting) lunch and after we headed back to Barcelona. It is so weird to me that just being in Barcelona a few weeks, it feels nice to come “home” after only being gone for a day and a half.

So you guys. I had the best and worst sushi of my life this week. Liz and I were craving sushi after having bread, potatoes, chicken, and cheese for the past two weeks and decided to venture out to a sushi place we saw a couple days ago. It was terrible. I wondered why I ever thought sushi in Barcelona was okay in the first place. Well after we got back from Tarragona, Liz and I wanted something lighter for dinner and found a sushi place on Yelp with amazing reviews.So we convinced each other to bite the bullet and try it.

The location was awesome. It’s called Fishop and located right off the metro stop in Passeig de Gracia near the Nespresso building. You walk downstairs into a trendy, lively atmosphere and we were seated immediately. Lesson learned #1: look at prices before you go to a restaurant. I wasn’t looking to spend four euros on a single piece of nigiri, so Liz and I decided to get three rolls (that only consist of four pieces.......) and split it. Well that and two beers later and we were at 44 euros. How did that happen? I have no idea. Oh and we had to pay four euros for our table. Don’t get me wrong, the sushi was incredible and really fresh, but I can't justify spending 22 euros for six pieces. 

Spicy Tuna

Highlight: We’re going to Interlaken, Switzerland this weekend. We’re staying with Angie (one of our best friends from TCU), her roommates and their friends from college. We’re planning on doing a pub crawl, hiking, and exploring so I think it will be a really fun weekend. This is also probably going to be our only winter trip so I’m glad that we decided to do it. I’m excited because so far, all the traveling we have planned is to new cities in Europe.

Oh and Liz and I attempted to make pasta with meat sauce this week to get out of our chicken and vegetable rut that we've done probably three times. Lesson learned #2: tomato paste is not the same as tomato sauce. Liz accidentally bought tomato paste instead of sauce and it was to say the least...disgusting. We ended up straining it, saving the meat and concocting a red wine sauce that we made by sautéeing leftover red wine, olive oil, pepper, garlic salt, spinach, onions, and diced tomatoes. It ended up being surprisingly good…need to get creative in this European city of ours. We added mahón cheese on top which is AMAZING. One of my teachers recommended it to me and it comes from the island off of Minorca which is on the Mediterranean cost of Spain. It is more of a sharp, buttery taste with a hint of sweetness. I’m obsessed. I put it on everything.

Goals accomplished: get my Spanish SIM card to work (hallelujah), spend an absurd amount of money at the bar, switch out of one of my 9am classes, meet new friends and lose six pairs of socks already.

Goals for this week: get school supplies, go to Park Guell, make more dinners instead of eating out every meal, not crave and spend money on a cappuccino each morning (they know my order…I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or bad thing), and try something new.

Liz, Angie and me

See you later this week!

Milky Way Coffee & Bar

I decided that I wanted to do more than just the weekly observation post about my time in Barcelona, so I decided on doing a feature of either a new coffee shop, spot in Barcelona, restaurant, or store each week. Soooooo meet Milk Way Coffee & Bar!

So let me start with saying that I was not looking forward to the coffee situation in Europe. Every day for the past three years, I have started my morning with two brewed cups of coffee in the Keurig in a big mug heated up with piping hot milk. I like my coffee strong and really hot. Basically to the point where I burn my tongue each morning. I think it's the concept of just a hot beverage in the morning wakes me up...I don't know...I think it's psychological.  I also love iced coffee, but I can't make it at home (or haven't tried to) so I normally have to go out and get it which means getting in the car and spending money

Cappuccino at Milk Way 

Milk Way is a coffee shop and local restaurant across from the Hospital Clinic metro shop. Liz and I first saw it our first couple days in Barcelona and knew that we wanted to try it. If you don't know us, we are obsessed with coffee, specifically iced coffee. In Spain, it is called "café con hielo" which means coffee with ice. They give you a glass with ice in it and you are supposed to pour your coffee over it. Definitely not the same effect. So one day last week, we ventured out in search of finding it. 

Inside, you feel the trendy atmosphere of a local coffee shop with donuts, pastries, mini sandwiches, and cakes but not the overwhelming feel of a try-hard, hipster caf  that is normally found in the U.S. Your order at the bar and the owner (yes, he's always working) delivers it straight to your table. Not only do they have a coffee menu, but it's a wine bar and restaurant. So during lunch and dinner, they serve different pastas and sandwiches accompanied with wine. I definitely want to try that next time. 

Liz had heard the carrot cake was amazing, so we split a piece and ordered coffee as well. (Yeah it was incredible, thank you Yelpers). Liz and I talked there for about an hour observing the different Spanish students who came in for a snack or coffee around 5:30pm. For Americans, coffee is normally on the go and is rarely a time in the morning where people can relax and not feel rushed. The people in Spain, however, enjoy sitting down for a cup of coffee and talking with people, reading the newspaper or just observing. Hardly anyone carries coffee cups in the street or has one in class. This concept is a refreshing change of pace and something that allows you to be in the moment which I can really appreciate and value as I try to do that abroad. 

For us, finding the best coffee place in Barcelona is definitely on our list. We have seen a couple of Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks shops but refuse to go in (so far) because we are trying to embrace the Barcelona coffee experience as much as we can. Of course I can’t order my grande triple shot latte with two pumps of the sugar-free vanilla syrup extra hot like I normally do, but for now this coffee is perfecto. 

WEEK 1: Syllabus week?

WE MADE IT! 

After a whole semester of talking about studying abroad and being in Barcelona, I can't believe that it is finally here. There was always the constant struggle of not wanting to leave behind my friends at TCU for a semester but also wanting to do something different and explore a new country to get out of my comfort zone. My family has gone on a few trips to Europe and other places around the world, but to change my whole routine and way of life living in a new country was definitely something I wanted to try. 

So far, Barcelona has been amazing. Liz and I are living in an apartment with two other girls and our RA, Claudia, who is from a village about two hours from here. Going into this, I was expecting a small, beat-down apartment with no space, so I was shocked when I came into a spacious, fully-furnished apartment with kitchen amenities, a nice dining room table, TV, and spacious rooms. This first week we have been focused on getting settled into the apartment (Liz and I share a room and a connected bathroom) and getting used to the slight cultural differences. We are about a 25 minute metro ride from our school, which hasn't been too bad considering we are close to a metro stop and have quickly figured out our way to get there.

View from the top of Placa de Espana

Accomplishments: broil toast in the oven (because we don't have a toaster), successfully find the wine opener, cook our first meal, locate the dumpster outside, take less than three minute showers to conserve hot water, realize wedges have to come off before stepping foot in the apartment to not wake residents below us, find a good running path, that not tipping is okay, and that you need to bring your own bag to carry home groceries. 

Still figuring out: how to successfully brew a pot of coffee, use the correct functions on the washing machine, wake up before 11am, where to buy refrigerated milk, live without air conditioning, use a Spanish SIM card correctly, the purpose of "x" in Catalan's vocabulary, and why there are more Zara stores than cafes. 

As someone who considers herself a morning person, getting used to Barcelona time has been very different. Most of the time we have dinner around 9 or even 10 and then go out after that so the days are much longer than we are used to at home. We have only had Spanish classes start so far so I am excited to meet more people when our full load of classes start tomorrow. At first I was really excited about having 9am classes so I could have the rest of the day to explore and now I am slightly regretting it...but I'm sure once we get in the routine of classes, it will be a lot easier waking up. 

So why am I doing this blog? Of course I was against it at first because it seems like a typical study abroad student just blogging about her time abroad and all the interesting places she's traveled or things she's discovered. Liz convinced me into doing this to share my semester abroad with my family and friends, so I thought I would give it a try. The purpose of Talk Tapas to Me is to share my eats, drinks, and finds throughout the city of Barcelona and other places I travel. My goal is to find the best tapas in Barcelona, see every coffee shop there is, and be able to talk my dad's ear off about Spanish wines when he visits during Easter. So join me as I learn more about this incredible city and everything that it has to offer.