I could easily get used to these markets

So the other day after an interview, which means I had my chef whites on, me and Linds went by the big open market on the way home in search of pork for dinner. So cool, we asked one guy and he didn't have what we were looking for so yelled at the lady across the way to see if she had any. She didn't (naturally) so got on the phone and then told us it would just be a few minutes. About 10 minutes later some dude walks up with a bag, pulls out some pork and asks if it was what we were looking for. Talk about service; so the question is....where did he go to get it? Maybe we don't want to know, but those pulled pork sandwiches sure did taste good.

Guacamole?

The past week has been interesting to say the least; and to be honest I'm too tired to write everything that has happened. However, the highlight was probably last night. Me and Lindsey spent the week job hunting, and one restaurant said they couldn't use me but the Chef (Diego) said that I could come and just observe Saturday night if I wanted to. So here I am, still slightly jet-lagged, minimal Spanish, in a tiny kitchen with 5 guys who only speak French, Spanish or Catalan. All except for the dishwasher who happened to be Moroccan, and spoke some English! I had no idea how it was going to be, but as soon as I got there they put me to work and I didn't leave until after midnight. I got to make guacamole (I know, right?), gazpacho (who else can say they've made gazpacho in a spanish kitchen), tuna tartar (to go with the guacamole), fruit salad, manchego salad with anchovy and tomato; and then I got to slice cheese for plates and postres. Pretty sweet. The guys made me dinner, veggie lasagna with feta; followed by the most interesting cheesesake I've ever experienced. It was so dense it almost tasted like fudge, but it was delicious. At the end Chef Diego told me I was more than welcome back anytime just to hang out and "practice" (guess he realized free labor wasn't so bad after all, but still couldn't give me enough hours for an actual internship site). Then he asked me, in Spanish, if American cooks were as crazy as Spanish ones ( as he did the moonwalk back to his expo station, sporting his 4th beer for the evening). Good times. This is their website, but the menu on there is from fall/winter, I got to work with their spring/summer. www.cheeseme.org

This is our friend Amanda breaking into the portero's closet looking for a ladder. Good times, good times.

Define: Jetlag

The view from my bedroom window; and its even better after dark with the lights from the city. The first night I couldn't fall asleep til after 3:30 but I've been able to go to sleep about 30 minutes earlier every night, so at least there is a sign of progress. It brings a whole new meaning to 'livin on Tulsa time' for sure.

This is one view from the terrace, if you look really close you can see the mountains in the background; which is funny because if you face the other direction you can see two buildings that are on the beach.

Music, food, photography, architecture, painting....art takes on any possible form in Barcelona. These guys were painting with ink, a picture of an old gothic church and surrounding street, absolutely beautiful. It makes you feel more artistic and creative by simply walking the streets and soaking it all in.

Compared to the numerous adjustments I've been required to make in an effort to overcome the engulfing state of surrealism, living at the top of an apartment building seems somewhat trivial.

Playing in the backyard...Barcelona style.