Yesterday was my birthday - let's celebrate together!
Another year has passed - another year full of wonderful experiences, new skills and knowledge.
I appreciate all the lovely messages of everyone who congratulated me and thought of me - thank you!
As you get older in life, you start to realize that birthdays are not about presents - they're about having a great time, and creatinga memorable experience.
There was a lot going on in the last couple of days and weeks, many meetings, exciting new projects and a dance show on top of that.
But yesterday, all the stress came to an end - it's my birthday!
And what would be a better way to celebrate than to go on holiday?!
My schedule has been very packed for the last couple of weeks but for my birthday, I decided to go on a spontaneous trip for a few days.
So me and some friends, as well as fellow steemians @mrs.steemit, @soldier, @agent and @vanylou flew to BARCELONA, Spain!
When we landed, the first thing I saw when looking out of the airport windows were palmtrees - and the warm breeze when I stepped outside was so welcoming!
We dropped off our luggage at our apartment and went to explore the city for a little bit.
Barcelona is a vibrant, fascinating city - it combines the vibe of an urban metropolis with natural features like the beach! There is something for everyone to see and do, and the food is amazing too.
After a few hours of walking around, we got quite hungry - there are many incredible restaurants in Barcelona, but how should we know which one to choose for my birthday dinner?!
We were in the mood for some authentic spanish food, so we decided to go to a restaurant called "La Flauta" in Eixample, Barcelona.
This was a recommendation from a spanish friend of mine who told me this was one of the best places in the city to eat some local cuisine.
And what can I say... the food turned out to be incredible!
We chose a mixture of different Tapas so that we could try a little bit of everything.
First, the seafood: I am a big lover of seafood, but especially when I know that it's fresh and prepared well.
I ordered some fried squid, as well as some grilled baby prawns.
The squid was nice and tender (not chewy), and the breading on the outside was perfectly seasoned and crispy. And a spritz of lemon completes the whole dish!
Next, the grilled baby prawns. When I saw that they were prepared as a whole and not cut, I was a little disappointed for a second because I prefer when they come ready to eat and you don't have to break them apart yourself.
But as soon as I tried the first bite, all my negative thoughts were gone.
I've never eaten prawns this good! They were cooked to perfection, just the right amount of tenderness, and then seasoned with garlic, fresh herbs and sea salt.
These were so good that I didn't even mind the peeling anymore.
We also ordered some Patatas Bravas (fried potato pieces, perfectly fluffy and hot from the inside while crispy from the outside!) and a "Hot Baguette" - the famous "Flauta" which the Restaurant was named after.
These are essentially small baguettes, toasted, with different toppings. We went for Chorizo and Tortilla, but actually they were so good that we didn't manage to take a picture in time!
It may "only" sound like an ordinary baguette sandwich, but believe me: the bread had just the right amount of crispiness and all the toppings were absolutely delicious.
We were also in the mood for something fresh, so we ordered 2 Salads.
The first one was with Avocado, Shrimp and pineapple - it was plated beautifully and had very generous toppings on it.
The salad and all the veggies were very fresh and crisp, and the shrimp were marinated in herbs and very tender.
Next was a "Crispy Camembert Salad" - a salad topped with fried camembert pieces, cranberry sauce and even strawberries. This might sound like quite an unusual combination for a salad, but it was the perfect mixture between salty, sweet and spicy!
These were definitely some of the most unique salads I've ever tried - the combinations were unsual but all the flavours were harmonizing perfectly!
Of course, is a restaurant is this good, you have to try their desserts as well!
Afterall, you could be missing something incredible!
There was a selection of countless small, tapas-sized desserts, so we went for the chocolate dessert with 3 different layers and textures of chocolate, apple cake "tatin" and "xuxo", which is similar to churros but filled with vanilla frosting.
The apples seemed to be marinated with spices for hours, and then placed on top of a special gingerbread-like cookie - I've never had any apple dessert like this before.
And the "xuxo" was like a big churro, filled with vanilla frosting and with a side of molten dark chocolate.
The combination between the crispy outside, fluffy dough, mellow vanilla frosting and slightly bitter dark chocolate sauce was absolutely mouthwatering.
I definitely recommend this restaurant "La Flauta" to anyone who visits Barcelona, and I might even go there again during this trip!
After the dinner we drove down to the beach, to celebrate my birthday in one of the night clubs.
There are 3 major clubs right on the Barcelona beach promenade, which are all underground locations: Pacha, Opium and Shoko.
So we ended my birthday with a fun dance session at different clubs.
But as I always say: it's my birthday not only for 1 day, but for one WEEK! So expect more fun and festivities from my time here in Barcelona!
Until next time!
© Sirwinchester