Els Quatre Gats - The 4 Cats Cafe

Modeled after Le Chat Noir in Paris, this was a popular hangout for the Barcelona art crowd, including, of course, Picasso. There are several stories about the name - one being that there were four founders of the cafe, another that the initial reaction to the concept was that there would be no one at the bar except the owner and four cats, a colloquial phrase meaning a few people, or a few crazy people, depending...

I didn't see absinthe on the menu. But Bob and I had drinks (poor Bob...he had to endure "the local swill" throughout the trip, although he did find a small place in Barcelona that sold bottled somewhat-local microbrews), Ryne ordered the classic Spanish treat - chocolate y churro

These are not American churros. Lighter texture, hot from the fryer, sugared (no cinnamon) - a far cry from those fried pastry sticks you can use in a sword fight in a pinch. And this is not your American hot chocolate! A mug of what was basically melted semi-sweet chocolate is what defeated Ryne in the end. He couldn't finish it.

Churros and chocolate

You dunk them. Mmmmmm.