Nugs Return to Barcelona

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Nuggz
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Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Nuggz »

Preface

Barcelona, what is there to say...far too much, and not enough at the same time. A city I truly adore, perhaps the only one more so than my beloved Mokum home.

Having lived here in a brief stint as a hostel worker, for 6 months - I have some familiarity with the city, but I hadn't been back for nearing on three years. So after seeing the city cluttering up my instagram feed and others' travelogues on this site - I decided enough is enough. I pulled the trigger on a relatively short notice flight (10 days or so out), and arranged accommodation (for myself and the missus) for five days and nights in Catalunya. The first three nights in the Raval district of Barcelona, at a very spartan budget hotel. The next two nights in a similar place in Tossa de Mar on the Costa Brava.

Needless to say I spent the following ten days, giddy as ever - I was finally going back. And what's more the burgeoning association scene has evolved and given rise to some quite reputable places since I was last there (e.g. Backyard, La Kalada, The Plug, etc.). When I lived there, I was a member of a few clubs, which have all been since defunct or proven to be among the sketchier tourist places, though in my day the weed was definitely cheaper and still of passable quality (in those days I was on a tighter budget too) varying from 5-9 per gram for some decent sensi; with the occasion absurd stuff going to 10 or 11 per g (even that was a lot back then ca. 2014).

I had visited a few times between living there and this upcoming visit, but relegated myself to private contacts as again I was on a budget, but hey decent sensi at 4 EUR per g is nothing to sneeze at, but I was kin to wade back into the associations scene in town, and see what all the fuss was about!

I digress, Barcelona was calling my name - and that call had finally been answered, mama I was coming home!

Day-I

We opted for an evening flight in the end, but I had already planned that Thursday as a day off, so I took advantage of some respite from a stressful week at work, and allowed myself to pack and prepare at a leisurely pace; whilst the missus worked from home and did her own preparations.

After giving my Pax 3 & Vapcap a nice cannabionoid-cleansing alcohol bath, among other preparations, I took my last fat-dab of S-Flux 'no-name' sauce and bid farewell to the canal-belt as the missus and I made the quick seven minute jaunt on foot over to Centraal.

It was Thursday, and a fine summery day, bright beaming sunshine and 29 degrees cutting through the air (a shame to leave it behind as the forecasts were telling me it was actually warmer here then in our south-bound destination) - I was convinced that even at 2 hours before our departure time, long lines could prove troublesome, however the lines of security were rather short - score! I quickly relieved my pockets of all items and even threw the Pax on the tray in plain sight as it looks rather innocuous, and very much like a power-bank. The speed of security on the other side of the metal detectors however was another story, some paranoid android of an employee was clearly calling the 'for further review/screening' shots as the 'left lane' (the 'naughty list' of x-ray findings) was utterly log-jammed with bins for further review.

I saw both of my bins hovering right before the direction-shifting mechanism and got excited as mine appeared to be headed to the right-lane and the all the sudden I saw the wheels go from diagonal to straight and send both of my bins through to face the reckoning of further scrutiny, much to the chagrin of my puckering butthole. Worse, I had time to sulk on my anxiety - as my bag was not even close to being the only pulled aside. After what seemed like forever a security employee approached me and asked for permission to check my bag, to which I consented. He opened the front compartment and after some poking and prodding produced the green plastic tube bearing the vapcap, to which he opened, smelled, slid out to examine and said 'what's this', I stuttered out "umm..like an e-cig or vape kinda thing you know?!" to which he opened the compartment back up, slid the vape in and said with the most subtle sly smile "oh yes I can smell it!" and sent me on my way, the other bin which had my pocket possessions and various electronics (Pax) included was waived through without any additional examination (despite having been sent to the inspection lane), both I and my puckered sphincter let out a collective sigh of relief.

I hastily grabbed my things before they changed their minds and we made our way to the gate, where it was shown on the monitor that our flight would be at least 15 minutes delayed on the departure time. My girlfriend upon telling me this, makes sure to remark "well this is a Spanish vacation, so it's only natural we start it off being late!" :lol: A short while, and an overpriced "cold-pressed" juice later ( seriously shit tasted like it was made from concentrate, #BoycottAirportFood) we've boarded and then in the air. A quick 1 and 45 in the air later and...

TOUCH DOWN BCN - EL PRAT!!!

No checked bags, the missus and I hop aboard the Aerobus which brings us right to the heart of town at Placa Catalunya (think Barcelona's Dam Square) in a quick 25 minutes. I notice that the sun is out and the air is a comfortable 70ish degrees (or 20 for all you commie bastards), in spite of forecasts that had been calling for rain that evening (and it actually had been raining earlier that afternoon), it looks like we took Mokum spell of gorgeous weather with us in our wake. We get off at Catalunya and a immediately make our way down eastward down La Rambla and then slightly southward into the Raval district where our digs are located.

An aside, the Raval - located on the Southern side of Rambla, it's in the Ciutat Vella (old-town) of Barcelona, although that doesn't correspond or fully overlap with what's considered the "center" of town. It's got a lot of rustic charm, and youthful vibrancy - cheap markets, bars, restaurants and other service-oriented businesses (e.g. barber shops), and also happens to home to a vast swath of the city's immigrant community, more specifically non-western immigrants, most notably a large Pakistani community (the city's largest immigrant group). Suffice to say it has a very "ethnic" feel, which I embrace but other racist xenophobes might not. It is seen as seedy by some and consequently despite a very idyllic location and gorgeous historic architecture it has largely withstood the forces of gentrification that have been taking over similar such places (particularly in Amsterdam for example), and that's something which I admire and appreciate about this quarter of the old-town.

I digress, just under 10 minutes walk and we've arrived at our hotel - literally a stoned throw (150m) away is another cannabis-club I've heard good things about: Terps Army, but we'll get back to that later. We check-in, drop our bags and make note of the small (I mean standing room for two at most) balcony which will serve our needs later. Missus has agreed we can make 'stocking up' the first order of business. Google maps in hand and the shoe-lace express in motion we make for the Backyard. The other half, partakes in the herb much less frequently then she once did, so she's only keen to join one club. I figured the best bet was to hit Backyard first, because I've heard so many good things about the price and quality of their flower selection over the years, and I've already managed to score an invite - big thanks to the trusted fellow ACDer who sorted that for me. I decide it's best to join there first as that way I won't be disappointed if I blew most of my funds at another place first and be bummed about what I then couldn't afford to get at Backyard.

As a result, that would be the club my partner would end up joining. It was about a 20 minute walk from the Raval to Backyard, when we arrived to where google-maps had led us, the club being in typical Barcelona association fashion, was completely unmarked, I used the context clues of the heavily tinted sliding doors and lone doorbell to acertain that I hit the mark. I rang and after a few long seconds the doors slid open. A French girl at the reception, inquired about how we had found the places, to which I showed her a few screenshot messages from IG, confirming the possibility of our membership request. She seemed to find it a bit dubious that it was my anonymous 'cannabis-related' account, but I showed her my name within the message and that seemed to appease here enough, and so she promptly got to work entering my profile into the system.

I was told there were no cash transactions permitted past the reception area, and consequently would have to load credit onto the blue drop-shaped reader key that would also serve as my membership pass. Once we were both signed up (20 EUR fee for one year membership btw) the receptionist opened another sliding door to let us in, you first pass a narrow 'bar' area where the serve non-herbal refreshments, typical selection as you would see in a coffeeshop - plus Estrella Galicia bottles (beer) which is a welcome addition yours truly. We go further back and there's a second small room which is the bud counter. We are helped by a friendly Moroccan-French budtender who smiles politely and patiently tends to all my inquiries - taking the time to dig out all the various extracts for me to look at and smell, etc.

Regarding flower, they have their top-shelf varieties in 'pop-tops' with very cool and custom labels for each strain. I ask about these strains, which the budtender informs me are not available 'loose' at the moment but only by the pop-top (an eighth or 3.5g for those not in the know) of varying prices (45-55 per 1/8th I think). So between 12-15 euros per gram I believe. I settle on an eighth of Disco Biscuit (45 EUR) and an eighth of Peach Ozz (50 EUR), and then a gram of Kippax Orange Soda THC-a Sauce (80 EUR), of course this required running back to the reception to upload more credit a few times as I kept (wishfully) under-shooting my budget. The weed from the top-shelf all smelled quite lush, with some exotic 'cali-strain'-esque notes that I haven't experienced from any coffeeshop weed in Mokum if I'm honest. The Disco Biscuit in particular had some spicy, earthy and sweet doughy (alla Gelato-strain) notes. The Peach was similar but a bit more sou fizzy and generally fruity.

Wares in hand, we made our way further back, the decor was simple but cozy-ish, like a modern coffeeshop look, but somehow 'cleaner' if that makes sense. Ample electrical outlets for charging, a Sasquash Rosin-press in the way back (second smoking room with a sky-light beaming through) - to boot there was a beautiful cute little Staffordshire Bull pup named Tangie, fuck a house cat - house dogs are where it's at! Both really tasted lovely in the Pax and sported decent enough potency to boot. After the missus skinned herself a 'pinner' to toke on of Peach Ozz, I tried to have a go on it - but was quickly reminded of why I had forgone combustion altogether, I went back to enjoying the peach's lovely taste notes in the Pax and left it at that. The Peach Ozz, was mildly earthy and sweet doughy, with some sour fizzy fruity notes, and flavor stretch that just wouldn't quit in the Pax, quite impressive. The DB was more doughy and earthy on the initial few pulls, and then the after taste evolves into a sweet creamy profile that's more mellow and smooth. My initial assessment errs towards preference of the Ozz, but after more note-taking later on I grew to appreciate the Disco Biscuit more I think.

Thirst was calling so I headed to the bar to snag a beer and a dab-rig as it was time to crank things up a notch. I grab a Galicia to drink and the bartender sorts me a rig and carb-cap/dabber tool, and says I can collect a torch at the 'dispensary counter'. I blast a few globs of the Kippax sauce which is as expected from a THC-a sauce is quite a firecracker potency-wise, the heavy sweet but tangy citrusy notes really come through on the pallet, there's a some gassy after-notes, however it still has some extra dimension setting it apart from say a Tangie or even 24k Gold based extract - winner in my book! At 80 EUR per gram it seemed steep, however the cheapest I've seen these exact extracts from this same extractor were 90 per g for 2g if you bought from a certain wanker who's popular on Instragram in Mokum (some of you may know to whom I refer), and 70 quid in the UK (about 80 EUR) from another guy on I know on IG. So a fair enough price all-in-all.

Our original plan was to stay about an hour tops at the Backyard and head to a nearby favorite haunt of mine "Veggie Garden" for some plant-based fare; however af few ours of heavy seshing, a few massive globs included, had other plans. We had been glued to our seats for nearly two hours, it was rounding 11 pm and our port of call was a 15+ minute trek with an 11:30 pm close time. We set out on foot convinced we could somehow make it in time, but as we got closer we realized it simply wasn't possible with the time constraints we faced. We wandered somewhat aimlessly towards the Barri Gotica - with another old favorite of mine (Bosco - Catalan/Mediterranean fusion food) in mind, but we arrived and the host originally told us we could eat, but his colleagues yelled to him in Catalan that, it wasn't gonna happen as they were already cleaning up for the evening.

My stoner light-bulb did some flickering before a favorite Pintxos (Basque-style Tapas) that was in the neighborhood sprung to mind - Euskal Extea - so we juanted another 7 minutes northwestward before arriving. Extea is a great hidden little gem, that boasts one of the most stoner-friendly ways of eating good proper Iberian fare, on a reasonable budget, quickly and with minimal human interaction required. The idea is simple, grab a plate - pick from a number the various tapas lining the bar, at your own pace (grab yourself), and then at the end they count the toothpicks, as all items cost a flat 2.10 per tapa - either they have the best low-key security or they rely heavily on the honor system...or perhaps both?! With two beers to wash it down our pintxos, we soaked in the lively rustic ambiance, people watching the throngs of what seemed like only locals (another good sign) - as not a word of English cut the the lively Castellano being spoken across the room. Anyway, in short I highly recommend this place for a more authentic Spanish dining experience.

After the waiter came through counted at our toothpicks and we paid out - we decided we would stop somewhere for one more drink. I put forth Placa Reial area which was roughly in between our hotel and the stretch of the Gothic-quarter in which we found ourselves. We wound up in a a parallel alley to the plaza (a former favorite bar-hopping strip of mine) at skate-punk themed bar "Nevermind" the music is loud, the drinks are cheap, the vibe is edgy and the decor is graffiti and re-purposed skate ramps and quarter-pipes for seating - it reminds one quite a lot of Hill Street Blues (though not 420 friendly), we ordered two Caipirahnas and soaked in the place briefly. It was now rounding the later hours of the evening at a quarter till 2 (or early for the club-going Spaniards rather), so we paid our bill and headed back to the hotel. We went out on the balcony where the missus skinned a pinner of the Disco Biscuit and I loaded myself a Pax chamber of the same before we turned out the lights and bid our fair city or good night. ....or rather she did, my giddiness of being back, coupled with paper thin walls, and (what I imagined) as a pudgy middle-aged man next door snoring away blissfully made sleep quite the elusive mistress for me that night as I tossed and turned, which was a shame as the next day would be quite a long and action-packed one for old Nugs. That however is a story for the next installment. Sorry for the excessive length all, hope y'all enjoy!


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KeyMonCha
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by KeyMonCha »

Bloody hell, that's a beautifully written start to your trip, Nugs... Whilst the idea of a "top-up" card makes me think that this is all far too complicated, the prices and quality, as well as choice make me reconsider Barca as a potential Dam alternative... Just hope the current drive to close the clubs fails, so i have a chance to visit.

Keep 'em coming... Looking forward to your take on Tossa! ...It was once my favourite place on the planet... Hope you managed to blaze on the castle walls! :mrgreen:

Thanks again!
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Nuggz
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Nuggz »

KeyMonCha wrote: Wed 13th Jun 2018 01:51 pm Bloody hell, that's a beautifully written start to your trip, Nugs... Whilst the idea of a "top-up" card makes me think that this is all far too complicated, the prices and quality, as well as choice make me reconsider Barca as a potential Dam alternative... Just hope the current drive to close the clubs fails, so i have a chance to visit.

Keep 'em coming... Looking forward to your take on Tossa! ...It was once my favourite place on the planet... Hope you managed to blaze on the castle walls! :mrgreen:

Thanks again!
Thanks for the kind words brother, means a lot! I've been to Tossa twice now - so I'm no stranger to the town, and yes we did have a few lovely sessions in the old castle/fortification area with the Pax and vape cartridge.
LLMReb
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by LLMReb »

Great read, DLN! Thank you for sharing. I honeymooned in Barcalona 6 years ago, and you visit brings back fond memories.

Looking forward to more.
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RoMoney
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by RoMoney »

Nice man, really good write-up and I'm always happy to see more Barça content on here!
Bring back Imelda Marcos!
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Nuggz
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Nuggz »

Day-II

Sleep eluded most of the first night, as I tossed, turned and was serenaded by the slumbering mammoth just at the other side of paper-thin walls mere inches south of my feet.

As the wee hours of the morning arrived, the first rays of sun shone - flitting and dancing across the bed, teasing me to arise. However, I knew that I was in dire need of some shut-eye if I were to have any chance tackling the day that lay ahead of me. Somewhere around the ass-crack of dawn, a cunt hair past 7 am I must've dozed off briefly - as I re-awoke at about half-past 8.

Satisfied to have gotten any slumber whatsoever, I decided to suck it up and haul my ass out of bed to take on the day. I swiftly opened the drapes and was greeted by a full-on blast of hi-power Spanish sun, "aaah" like a plant taking in photosynthesis it was just the energy I needed, coupled with the excitement of being back in my own personal Mecca - I got dressed packed a Pax chamber, cranked some 90s hiphop and headed down the hustle and bustle on the streets.

First order of business 'survival-juice' - I wander briefly around my immediate surrounding in the Raval to puff away contently on this vape packed full of Peach Ozz, a fine fruity and soury wake up for my palate this fine morning. Once that has been killed, I head towards La Boqueria - Barcelona's most iconic open-air (kinda) market. It's certainly a bit touristy, but I'm hard-pressed to find a more impressive such specimen for people watching, window shopping and indulging in tasty food and drink bits. On that note I round to the right at the main-entrance and see my favorite fruit-juice stand, I get a coconut x bramble-berry concoction (an old favorite) and suck it down whilst gleefully perusing the other stands.

I saw another old favorite stand, a Pinxtos bar - I noted they even had Pilsener Urquell on draft, though at this hour I'm not quite enough of an alcoholic to be so indulgent (sorry Jesscasshole), I order up a Cafe Cortado for my first dose of survival energy. I'm sat next to an older British couple, the wife whom is originally Italian - uses her (now in comparison to her English) rusty Italian to sub in for Spanish and order with the barista, I have a chuckle and begin to chat with them - good company, good ambiance, good coffee - the day is off to a fine start thus far. After a cortado or two more to awaken the senses, I grab one more coffee to go and a "Xuxo de Girona" (traditional flaky custard-filled Catalan pastry) to tote to the missus and rouse her from her own slumber.

The better-half is very happy to be greeted with this most spartan "breakfast-in-bed", she has designs on some shopping-excursions of her own, and consequently gives me the green light on my own (coffee)shopping run. She gets dressed and we head down stairs and part ways on the street. I hook right, and make 30 second trek to Terps Army as I'm keen to check this place out. I again use my stoner spidey senses to deduce the correct door and bell, before promptly being buzzed in. This time I'm greeted by a friendly Italian receptionist - who seems to find it incredulous that some yank is coming to chat her up and gain entry in Italian, but after establishing my backstory and some pleasantries - she lays out the rules of the club me and gets to work entering my deets into their system.

She produces a blue drop-shaped reader key, just like I had been given in Backyard - I roll my eyes. She tells me not to worry though, as their credit-processing function for the reader-keys is down, so it only works as a membership-pass at the moment and cash can be used inside for now - sweet! That sorted, I'm buzzed into the main lounge area, wow this place is quite spacious. Hugging the walls are several sofa booths which make several adjacent "squares" that hug the span of most of the room, there's also a table in the center, still leaving plenty of ample empty space - which could easily house more seating should the demand ever call for it. To the left there's a gorgeous funky mural with the association's name written in graffiti motif and some chimps, very cool!.

There's a small refreshments bar to the right and straight ahead, back-right corner is the "dispensary bar", there's an e-nail for dabbing set on the counter there. I stroll up - the speakers are blaring Italian hiphop, and the music is evidently being controlled by the bud-tender so I don't even bother asking what to speak to him, I just engage him in Italian immediately, and he begins the undertaking of giving me a glimpse of their many wares.

A lot of the bud doesn't look as impressive as what I saw the previous evening but a lot of it smells the part, and the prices are quite fair. On the flower front I settle on a gram of Clementine - I nice tangerine-citrusy specimen akin to and Orange-Diesel or Agent Orange, and at 9 per g, I'm not bothered on the price-tag one bit! Now for extracts, this takes longer but eventually settle on a half-gram of Strawberry-Banana shatter from Bhoss Lady Extracts, who I'd heard more than a few rave reviews about so I decided to have a try on her wares - that put me out 40, then I also grabbed another half-g of Wifi OG x Dosi-Pie Shatter by Kippax at the bud-tender's recommendation also 40 per.

I double back to the refreshments bar, and grab a latte - before posting back up at the dispensary, powering up the e-nail and putting the dab train in motion full-steam ahead. I sit there, just pounding away on them - I give a few cheeky ones to our man behind the counter, who happily excepts. The place is mostly empty, so I spend most of the next few hours shooting the shot, dropping globs with him - in between intermittent buy and fly clientele. The vibe and customer-base is very Italian, with Spanish language/influence also evident, but I think I only heard English briefly spoken once the whole time there (of all subsequent visits included) by a straggling B&F English lad - the rest of the time it was all Spanish or Italian. Our man at the dispensary whom we'll call "Freddy" is a top lad, he in our shit shooting takes time to flash me almost every item on the menu, knowing full well I probably won't take any of it - eventually he hits the mark with some GG#4, his personal favorite on the menu. It looks like what you'd expect from a top Mokum specimen of the same strain, from say - Voyagers. But at 12 per g instead of 15 the price is compelling so I order a gram to sample it for myself.

Regarding impressions of the wares here thus far - the Clementine was very nice, and lush orange-citrus profile for the price-tag, though it's dark coloration, led me to believe it was likely outdoor or greenhouse grown. The two extracts - the Bhoss Lady stuff, as stated I'd heard quite a few praises of her products up until this point, and I have to say the product I tried uphold those claims. A sappy pull-and-snap shatter on transparent 'oil-slick' sheet inside the envelope/sleeve, the color was a light golden piss-color that was almost transparent. The smell was very fruity, subtle notes of strawberry, with a creamy back note - the flavor and potency came through as a sharp fizzy strawberry hits the tongue up front followed by an explosion of creamy banana-esque terps on the back end that coat the tongue on the exhale.

The Wifi x Dosi-Pie, didn't come through clear on flavor the first few dabs, but after a few goes at probably cleaning the e-nail some gassy notes, with a bit more complexity came through - overall though it reminded a lot of most other "OG" oriented extracts I've sampled, and thus wasn't as noteworthy as the Bhoss Lady bits - wouldn't pay 80 a g for it at home suffice to say, where the Bhoss Lady stuff perhaps - although I'd assume if I could source it even back home (outside the club and/or coffeshop scene) that it would be for less.

As the short hand notched past the 12 on the clock, I decided it was happy hour so I ordered up 33 cl can of Estrella Damm, for only a Euro - what a price! I made my way back to the bar, and loaded the vapcap with some of the GG #4, it was a full-bodied taste of spicey gas, as to be expected - in short not anything more or less than exactly what I was expecting but plenty nice enough of the price, especially when compared to Amsterdam - though I would determine the Clementine to be a better value in the end. After what must have been at least two hours at the helm of the dab train, and sniffing my way across the place's entire selection whilst shooting the shit with ole Freddy - I decided it was time to get to steppin'.

I rang the missus, she still doing some shopping for a bit, so I decided it was an opportune time to do a bit more shopping. Next port of call: The Plug BCN! I made my way southward and uphill of Raval towards the Poble Sec district. A 20 minute ride aboard the shoelace express and I was at the Plug's door. I rang and was buzzed in, I greeted the two hostesses in Spanish - when I showed the message of invitation, which came directly from the owner - they raised zero inquiry and kindly advised me to delete said message after the registry process was complete. The fiery receptionist on the left immediately switched to English on upon me handing over my stateside license too her, must've pegged me for an ignorant 'guiri' - ah well. After producing yet another one of those damned reader keys, she explained (like Backyard) that I would have to pre-load credit to acquire cannabis inside - drats!

I top up optimistically low again and am buzzed in. When I arrive at the counter I'm mainly in search of a vape-cart - as the missus wants one for easy toking on the beach in Tossa. I check all the vape carts available, only a few brands. The bud-tendress, mentions 'Yellow Brick Labs' which another poster on here gave good reviews to. There were two flavors, Ghost Train Haze & 707 Headband - 50 EUR per half-g (of concentrate equivalent) cartridge. I opted for the Headband. I wanted to look at the flowers too, but had already overshot my top-up balance on the cart alone, so I hurried back to the reception where by now a line, of what appeared like the usual suspects ((*cough* #BritsAbroad) had built up.

As I approach the sassy Spanish receptionist that had registered me, mere minutes ago - a fiery young Dominican lad cut head of everybody, talking very cockily (oye mami, no pasa nada - dejame entrar), and asking to be let in. She asked him firmly to go back to the end of the line and wait his turn, which he wasn't having any of - well, I had already seen this chick's demeanor on the way in, and if you know Spanish women, then you know they can be quite fiery, so I watched her erupt on him and tell him "if he didn't like it and want to wait his damn turn, then he could not so kindly get the fuck out if he was gonna keep acting like an asshole" well basically she ended calling for security, and then turned to me and let me top up my credit. Not sure exactly what happened with our Rico Suave Dominicano, as I immediately went back in to the dispensary but me thinks didn't stick around too much longer.

I went back downstairs and grabbed the cartridge and had a look at the Key Lime Pie - for I think 11 or 12 per g, but it didn't smell anything like or near as good as the batch I had from their Amsterdam branch in my neck of the woods - PASS! Uninspired, I told them I'd have a few dabs and a think on it. I went up to the bar and asked for a dab rig - they pointed to an e-nail in the far corner of the bar, which they said I could use. I asked for a beer, but they said they served no alcohol - to which I made the pisstake remark to ask if it was because they needed to keep the holidaying Brits at least somewhat tame? But she told me it was "because it's illegal", however no other associations joined thus far seemed to mind...weird!

I digress, I heated up the e-nail and dropped a few globs of whatever I had (so the StrawberryBanana from Bhoss Lady, the Kippax shatter and terp sauce), and then made my way back to the dispensary, the see their finest cogollos on offer. I look at a few odd bits I can't recall, some are pretty nice - some are meh, but I've already spent a lot more than I'd like to on ganj this trip so I'm trying to be fussy and only come away with the creme de la creme in my pocket! I shoot the shit with the few budtenders behind the counter at this point, when they hear I live in AMS, they ask if I had met the now instagram infamous "Mr. Skittles", who's become a bit of a staple at their Amsterdam location (look on instagram for the guy, or rather follow The Plug BCN's page and you'll find him) to which I said I'd had the pleasure of speaking with him once or twice. Moving on, after checking a few jars - they seem to sense I'm fussy and thus confidently pull the Cherry Pie at 15 EUR per, off the shelf. Mokum fucking prices, fuckin' hell! Well, that stuff had quite a fucking nose on it - deep pungent fermenting berries, a mild funk of feet and sweet cherry and cedar notes, very similar to some Cherry-AK from Jungle Boys I'd tried recently, fuck it "1 gramito por fa" with that I took my cheeky little gram and vape cart and bid the Plug a farewell. If I'm honest I didn't get enough time in there or enough of there product - at least flower that is - to give the place a full assessment, as that was my lone visit unfortunately; I do hope get a bit more face time there in my next visit though.

That said, the ambiance at Terps & Backyard was a bit more gezellig IMHO. The Cherry Pie was definitely some of the most impressive of smelling and looking bud I got, smell as described above - lime green, frosty well developed dense buds. I gave it a first go in the vapcap on the trek back to the hotel the meet the gf, flavor follows bag smell quite neatly, depth of flavor and quite potent to boot. Perhaps the most potent of any bud I've grabbed thus far. I meet with my better half at the hotel, we give a test go on the vape cart. On first glance it looks very small even for 500 ml, I'm kinda annoyed but after a few quick puffs - I'm quite impressed, the stuff rivals a lot of the top US made ones I've tried regarding potency - good to know! All in all the limited wares I've got from the Plug have been solid, so still a place to recommend I'd say.

We decide we're in the mood for seafood. So I ask everybody's favorite source - google. Travel tip: when in doubt, google it! It sounds lazy, it sounds cliche, it sounds dumb I know - but I've found some of the best restaurants I've eaten at in a multitude of cities, using google and checking their reviews/ratings system. I digress, we found "La Paradeta - Paral·lel". We hoofed it, 20ish minutes and arrived. Not sure what to expect we stumbled in, there are appeared to be a bar counter area with people queued up, as well as what looked like a market type counter with crabs, live lobsters, shrimp, razor clams, monkfish, sole the works all on display and on ice.

Thinking it was a split operations type joint I made for the bar counter. A friendly Dominican feller took notice to this and and pointed to the other line, I started talking with him and he told me he works there in the evenings, but was just here helping and got to work explaining the whole concept and advising me on what to order. Basically, you can get your filets or shellfish to go - live, fresh, raw, etc. to prepare yourself at home - or you can pay the same price and they'll either prepare in a traditional way (example "calamares a la plancha' o 'calamares fritos' - i.e. grilled or fried calamari), or incorporate it into some dish such as a bisque, or salad, etc.

We opted for some fried calamari, salad stuffed crab, butter sauteed sole, grilled razor clams and a few Radlers to wash it all down in the sunshine out front. Our Dominican friend even coached us on how to properly get every edible bit of meat out of that crab, now that's service :). After all that we made out with relatively little sting our wallets for as well as we had eaten, so I highly recommend this place. In fact I believe it's a local chain, as they have a few other locations in Barcelona from what I gather. We enjoy the seafood, sunshine, and 707 Headband cart out on the terrace before settling the bill and heading towards the waterfront area, with the ultimate destination of La Barceloneta - the city beach in mind.

It's a nice balmy 25+ degrees as we stroll along the harbor area. I puff away on some tasty Disco Biscuit in the Pax, then bam rounding the corner come the Guardia Urbana (police) so I quickly tuck the vape away and off and leave it at that - I'm reminded that I'm not in my 'hometown' where I can do these kinds unabated, without fear of legal repercussions. Ah well, you can't have it all... we arrive at the beach and spread out, a few beers, some tunes on the bluetooth speaker and cheeky puffs on the vape cart make for a lovely experience. The Barceloneta, it's prime people watching place, the beach itself is a bit dirty, and certainly sketchy - never leave your belongings unattended here i.e. without someone you're to dole out such trust to that is to say. That said, it's got a vibrant energy to it, you can get anything on this beach, from food, to drugs, to massages, to alcoholic beverages - pick your poison, chances are it can be delivered to you here. The waters are a clear azure blue, as if to alleviate any concerns of how dirty the water may be, but at least they're pretty waters! All in all one of the better city beaches for being in such a bustling city-center and metropolitan area.

Nonetheless, after a few hours at the beach our energy is waning, and our tummies rumbling. Feeling ambitious we make the half hour trek back to our digs on foot. We change and freshen ourselves up and head for veggie garden. Another Barcelona favorite of my time, since 'way back when', it's a great little place that now has two locations. The original is in the Western edge of the Raval, and offers delicious vegan/vegetarian fare with a heavy-handed Nepalese twist, with very reasonable and wallet-conscious prices to boot. We opt for their "Vega Nepalse Thali special" which boast a few mixed vegan curries and various other side accouterments for a modest 7.50. Another place I highly recommend, and obviously particularly of interest for our vegan posters/readers. After the bill is settled, we head back towards the hotel. The missus is worn out, so she calls it a night. I head to Terps Army next door to put a dent in my concentrate stash, which I'll have no rig for in Tossa, so time to get the dab train rolling.

There's more customers hanging around then previously, but the spaciousness of the place makes it hard to notice really. I had back to the dispensary bar area and crank up the e-nail. I was a few dabs of my current assortment down with a few estrella damms and shoot the shit with another Italian bud-tender, the staff are really friendly here - though speaking Italian probably helps with that to be fair. I don't look at any wares this go around. After I'm well dabbed up, and a few beers in I set off towards the beachfront again in search of "la marcha" (Spanish word for nightlife/party), vape cart in tow - I stay out far too late or early (depending on how you look at it). After stumbling home in the wee hours, I catch up on some much deserved sleep it's been quite an epic 24 hours, and I really need the shut eye. (to be continued).
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OneHighMofo
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by OneHighMofo »

Fantastic stuff laddo. Beautifully written of course. Keep it coming (and finish my travelogue too please I don’t have time)
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Pierre von Mondragon
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Pierre von Mondragon »

Good stuff, nice reading. Sounds like I should really go there sometime, but I'm conflicted as I'd also really like to return to Euskadia and see Donostia and Gipuzkoa again, do they have clubs too, probably but harder to access I suspect.

Is there any vibe change since last years politics and subsequent political repression?
worldcitizen1723
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by worldcitizen1723 »

thanks great read
makes me want to go ; )
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Fat_old_dwarf
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Fat_old_dwarf »

I've never been to Barcelona. How are they like with bad Spanish half-remembered from school as a foreigner, or are you better off with English in Catalonia?
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Nuggz
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Nuggz »

Fat_old_dwarf wrote: Sun 17th Jun 2018 08:32 pm I've never been to Barcelona. How are they like with bad Spanish half-remembered from school as a foreigner, or are you better off with English in Catalonia?
Barcelona is touristy enough that anywhere you'd frequent should have somebody with at least passable English within earshot. And in the worst case said Spanish plus generously applied hand gestures should suffice in a pinch.
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redeyezman
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by redeyezman »

DeLekkersteNUGS16 wrote: Sun 17th Jun 2018 09:04 pm
Fat_old_dwarf wrote: Sun 17th Jun 2018 08:32 pm I've never been to Barcelona. How are they like with bad Spanish half-remembered from school as a foreigner, or are you better off with English in Catalonia?
Barcelona is touristy enough that anywhere you'd frequent should have somebody with at least passable English within earshot. And in the worst case said Spanish plus generously applied hand gestures should suffice in a pinch.
Or get one of those electronic microphone translators that don't require internet access, made by evil capitalists.
Shells sink. Dreams float.
Talhahaha
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Talhahaha »

Great read.
I've been considering Barcelona for a while after reading a few travelogues but after reading yours I'm booked and ready to go. Lol.
I've been to Amsterdam quite a few times and decided it was time to try somewhere else.
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Black-King
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by Black-King »

A nice well-written travelouge.. looking forward to read the rest.. and I am also looking forward to go to barcelona one day too.

Big up and thanks for including the vegan resturant tip!

Bless.
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LLMReb
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Re: Nugs Return to Barcelona

Post by LLMReb »

Black-King wrote: Mon 16th Jul 2018 11:51 pm A nice well-written travelouge.. looking forward to read the rest.. and I am also looking forward to go to barcelona one day too.

Big up and thanks for including the vegan resturant tip!

Bless.
Great to see you posting again!
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