{"id":411,"date":"2012-07-10T21:21:55","date_gmt":"2012-07-10T21:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/?p=411"},"modified":"2012-11-17T10:43:03","modified_gmt":"2012-11-17T10:43:03","slug":"kebap-kebap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/?p=411","title":{"rendered":"Kebap, Kebap"},"content":{"rendered":"

For our last day in Barcelona, we decided we were going to eat cheaper. \u00a0Barcelona is pretty expensive for food. \u00a0So, what did we eat? La comida turca! \u00a0We had Kebap (Kebab). \u00a0We didn’t have any recommendations, so we just headed in the direction we intended on going anyways, and stopped at the first kebap place we found. \u00a0It was alright. It had some weird toppings. \u00a0For example, I’ve never seen corn, bell peppers, or olives stuffed into a kebap sandwich. \u00a0It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I remembered. \u00a0And it wasn’t, great.<\/p>\n

We then headed off to the port in search of the aquarium. \u00a0Seth really likes aquariums, and had read that the one in Barcelona is one of the biggest in Europe. \u00a0It turns out that Europe doesn’t have very big, or exciting aquariums. \u00a0So, that was a bit of an anticlimactic, turn. \u00a0It looked like it was going to be big, because the building was really big, but it turns out that the size was for the IMAX they had inside. \u00a0Oh well.<\/p>\n

\"Barcelona<\/p>\n

We, then, set off walking in search of the beach. \u00a0I don’t think I’d ever been to the beach in Barcelona. \u00a0It was pretty, but overrun with people. \u00a0We walked along the beach for a bit, before heading to a park. \u00a0The park was pretty neat. \u00a0There was this really big fountain, with cool statues. \u00a0It was nice to have some space that wasn’t packed with people. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Barcelona<\/p>\n

\"Barcelona<\/p>\n

\"Barcelona<\/p>\n

\"Barcelona<\/p>\n

We thought of going to the Picasso museum, but when we got there the line was enormous. \u00a0I hope we’re not missing out on a lot of things because of the huge lines. \u00a0But, I can’t justify waiting in line, in intense heat, when there are so many beautiful architectural gems surrounding me. \u00a0Picasso is going to have to wait for another day. \u00a0<\/p>\n

By this time, our legs were in a world of hurt. \u00a0We’d been walking so much for the past week, that our legs felt as if they were going to crap out. \u00a0Wonderful terminology, but that’s how it was. \u00a0We remembered seeing a cheap massage place directly around the corner from our hotel, so we walked right in! \u00a0They led us back a long hallway with doors on either side. \u00a0We were placed in this little curtained room where we could see down the hallway. \u00a0Luckily Seth and I were together, because immediately after we sat down we both started to notice something was a little off. \u00a0Just as we sat, we noticed a young guy being led down the hallway by one of the women, and as he’s walking down the hall he begins to unzip his pants. \u00a0The Lady stops him and ushers him into a room. \u00a0A few minutes later an older gentleman is led from a room, in only a towel, past us to take a shower, then is led back to the room. \u00a0This happens multiple times. \u00a0We were in a happy endings massage parlor. \u00a0Oh man, I never expected to find myself in one of those. \u00a0And, I didn’t even catch on. \u00a0Seth had to put two and two together for me. \u00a0Anyways, we were there for their legitimate business, so we soaked our feet and received massages. \u00a0Both of our ‘masseurs’ had a quirk. \u00a0I had the girl with nine and a half fingers who kept answering her cell phone, and at one point left for a few minutes to run outside, while Seth had the woman who sat open legged wearing short shorts and no underwear. \u00a0As we sat, we watched middle aged and older men file in to this massage parlor. \u00a0Wow.<\/p>\n

\"MassageBarcelona\"We were a little hungry so we went to kebap place number two. \u00a0This one was much better. \u00a0We both ordered doner plates with fries, some kind of slaw, and a ‘salad’ consisting of shredded lettuce some olives and a slice of tomato. \u00a0They gave us a ‘spicy’ (for Spain) sauce, and a white sauce that was reminiscent of ranch dressing. \u00a0Delish! \u00a0And our meals for the day cost at least half the price, probably more than half, than the rest.<\/p>\n

The next morning we left for the airport to meet Sloane. \u00a0Our cabbie got us there in record time, not without putting our lives in peril every other block and a half. \u00a0We found Sloane wandering around a duty free shop with ear buds plugged into her head. \u00a0YAY!! It was so nice to see her after a whole year! \u00a0Commence catching up process!<\/p>\n

The Ryan Air flight was hilarious. \u00a0The entire time we sat in the airplane they were trying to sell us something. \u00a0They didn’t stop at food, they got creative. \u00a0Perfumes, jewelry, lottery tickets! It was one after the next of, “please buy our crap!” \u00a0Maybe that’s why you have to pay for luggage and are only allowed one small carry on (a small purse is included in that one item), the plane is so heavy from all the crap they are trying to sell you! \u00a0Either way, the flight was easy and we had more leg room than some of our other flights so far.<\/p>\n

We made it to Venice without event. \u00a0We ended up being the only people on the bus heading into Maestre. \u00a0This is probably because most people like to stay in the Venice city center, and not the mainland, when they visit Venice. \u00a0There are no gondolas in Maestre. \u00a0But, then again, there are no canals there either, so why would there be gondolas? \u00a0Ok, I messed up. \u00a0In all the confusion of finding a place that worked for the three of us, I booked us a hostel in the wrong area. \u00a0But the room was sufficient and we got our own bathroom. \u00a0Speaking of the bathroom, it appeared as if the entire room was the shower, toilet and all. \u00a0Eventually, we let Sloane be the pioneer of that adventure. \u00a0Anyhow, we checked in, alerted the proprietor that we would only be spending one night at her establishment, and found the bus into ‘the real Venice’. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Holy tourist trap Batman, I think we’re in expensiveville! \u00a0And I didn’t know it was so hot in expensiveville. \u00a0There was a point where we were in the shade, standing still, and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. \u00a0Let me put it out there, that I’m not a sweaty person. \u00a0I don’t drip sweat (my trainer can vouch for me on that one). \u00a0But, It was pouring from my body. \u00a0I have never sweat so much, without doing any physical exertion. \u00a0I was quite impressed. \u00a0So, we headed off, down some random street, alley, I don’t know what they call them, sidewalk? \u00a0After much shopping around for the best price for a pizza, we sat down and sucked it up when we could walk no longer. \u00a0Two coffees and some crackers didn’t last long. \u00a0The pizza was ok, but the beer was wonderful. \u00a0And it made for a tipsy Berkley. \u00a0Think about it, coffee for breakfast, tons of walking in intense heat, and sweating buckets, of course I was effected by a beer. \u00a0Fun times. \u00a0But I sweat that out quickly and was no longer tipsy. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Venice<\/p>\n

We wandered around the city, feeling like rats in a maze, simply following obscure signs to reach an old building, bridge, or cathedral. \u00a0Turn after turn of designer stores and stores filled with Venice chachkies and memorabilia, packed with hoards of slippery, slimy, smelly tourists. \u00a0Our next decision was an easy one, we had to get out of cities. \u00a0<\/p>\n

After seeing integral points of interest, like the Rialto Bridge and San Marco Plaza, we ended up ducking into a little bar that had wifi to check out some details for the upcoming days. \u00a0The guys who worked at the restaurant were friendly and spoke English. \u00a0We took advantage of that. \u00a0Don’t worry, they took advantage of us, too! \u00a0Eighteen euros for three beers! Wow. \u00a0In Madrid, and apparently Huesca, you get a beer for one euro and they bring you something to eat as well. \u00a0Man, oh man. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Venice<\/p>\n

Since we had decided that we wouldn’t be in Venice long, we decided we needed to have one italian meal. \u00a0We wandered around looking for a place that looked good, but wouldn’t kill our wallets completely. \u00a0We ended up accidentially finding one of the places I had written down from some guide book. \u00a0We tried one of the local traditional dishes called sarde di saor, marinated sardines, fried, with some sort of citric sauce on top. \u00a0It was pretty good. \u00a0Sloane and I both ordered a pasta, and Seth ordered the cuttlefish in ink. \u00a0The unanimous decision was that Sloane’s pasta carbonara was the winner.<\/p>\n

\"Venice<\/p>\n

\"Venice<\/p>\n

\"Venice<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a very long and winding walk to the bus station we decided to get lost. \u00a0Well, not really, but we did get a little turned around. \u00a0When we couldn’t wander any longer, we stopped to ask some outdoor dining patrons if they knew where we were supposed to be going. \u00a0They were more than happy to help us, which would have been great if we spoke Italian. \u00a0Though Sloane and I can mostly understand the language, when they use so many words and utilize so many hand gestures, it becomes confusing and its easy to get distracted. \u00a0I got some directions and was ready to head off, when I walked up to Sloane, deep in directional conversation with another man. \u00a0He finished talking and drawing little maps on his hand, and we paused before smiling, thanking the man, and beginning to walk away. \u00a0Then we realize this man is following us. \u00a0He’s walking us to our hostel! \u00a0He insisted, so we walked with a wonderfully helpful man to our hostel with fairly little words, because we couldn’t say anything. \u00a0But, we thanked him profusely when we turned the corner onto our street. \u00a0So nice!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For our last day in Barcelona, we decided we were going to eat cheaper. \u00a0Barcelona is pretty expensive for food. \u00a0So, what did we eat? La comida turca! \u00a0We had Kebap (Kebab). \u00a0We didn’t have any recommendations, so we just … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,42],"tags":[61,56,62,413],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food","category-spain","tag-aquarium","tag-barcelona","tag-kebap","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=411"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1702,"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions\/1702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sethandberkley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}