Vale

One thing to keep in mind about Barcelona is that Spanish (or Castellano, as it's called here) will only carry you so far. The local population's native Catalán, which sounds and looks like a combination of Latin, Spanish, Italian, and French, is the dominant tongue here and there's an ever-present dedication towards making sure that tradition never dies. You can be a fluent Spanish speaker and not be able to read a menu.

Another thing to know about Barcelona is that Antoni Gaudí's amazing architecture is the star of the show. His style cannot be classified. It's not modern, or post-modern, or gothic, or anything really. We've had such a good time tracking down all the various structures he designed back at the turn of the 20th century. Grab a drink, tour a Gaudí. Grab some tapas, catch a cab to the next location. You can't see anything like this anywhere else.

Most of my time here, however, has been spent at La Taverna del Suculent: a Catalán tapas bar just a block down from our hotel. I am absolutely obsessed with this place. The same three girls are there day and night and at this point they seem like acquaintances.

The atmosphere is just what you expect, the booze never stops flowing, the food is fantastic, and the mood is completely relaxed.

I've been here five times in three days and I feel like I'm still just scratching the surface. We just had a cheese plate that completely blew our minds. My wife thought it was easily the best she's ever had. Two dollar beers on tap. Three dollar glasses of cava. You could spend two hours eating and drinking here and walk out paying less than fifty bucks. You almost feel guilty.

-David Driscoll