Mad hot supper

We met a couple from Northern England on our return ferry trip from Mallorca, Gareth and Gemma. We had great time with them as we made our slow journey to Barcelona, exchanged contact info and made arrangements to get together later in the week. We met them in the massive Placa de Catalonia where you can see a cornucopia of people engaging in any number of activities. A short list: teens making out (hard core), men peeing, street vendors illegally selling handbags, said vendors snatching up their goods and running in packs from the cops like a Santa 5k, sleeping bums, spandex wearing roller bladders, endless lines of winking men selling beer (and "hash-eesh, coka, mar-dee-whanna") and pick-up soccer games with beer bottles as goal posts.

From the placa we walked down the Ramblas, past street performers, you know the kind that look like statues and when paid a bit they move, photos are taken etc, past more winking cervesa/ drugs dealers, countless newsstands selling respectable news publications from all over the world and other less then reputable periodicals as well, open air flower shops and my first experience with an open air pet stores selling everything from chickens to gerbils right off the street, before reaching the waterfront. From there, another couple Dan and Steph from Australia led us to the dining experience of a lifetime.

In a tiny champagne bar called Champagne Negra the six of us wedged our way into a corner before we burrowed our way up to a packed bar to order from a limited menu of sandwiches all containing Spanish pork or byproduct all of which were served with a glass of champagne. But ordering was no small challenge, the noise level of this place was deafening and the staff had the calming disposition of the Soup Nazi. If you didn't speak loud enough or with adequate Spanish you were served once but not twice. The floor was absolutely littered with napkins and bits of food which was added to throughout the night by the patrons of Champagne Negra. The staff didn't serve the food, they handed it to the nearest person who then passed it on the its intended diner who may or may not receive a full portion if the food or drink if spilled or dropped. Several times I just looked around at the thinly controlled chaos around me and just laughed. The food was warm, good, inexpensive and the company even better. If you get a chance to dine at Champagne Negra you'll need closed toed shoes, an assertive Spanish vocabulary, and friends to share in the experience.