Barcelona :: chapter 4

...the arts.

Every place is infused with art.  Barcelona happens to be a spot where art is evident.  You don't have to look too far or hard to find something that makes you smile, gasp or melt for its aesthetic pleasure-giving properties.  The pleasure leads to multidisciplinary wonder almost immediately...how did they do that/how creative/how long did that take/how does it connect to Barcelona, to Catalunya, to the artist, to me?

Have a look...

came upon this...public sink?...as I wandered about on my own looking for the Scottish woman's cheese shop.  the shop was closed that day, but I met a wonderfully helpful hotel dude who left his desk to walk me around the corner to the street I was looking for.

from the collection of Frederic Mares.  fascinating man who collected some unusual things including large Jesus-on-the-crosses.

detail from a painting of the "Black Madonna", the jewel of Montserrat.

a holding container that was part of a salted fish making area from Roman times.
 

also from the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat (City Museum of Barcelona).  Barcino...Barcelona in Roman times.

Sagrada Familia...a Gaudi-in-progress 80 years after his passing.
 

on the roof of La Pedrera...one of my favorite places/times during the trip.  it was incredible.
 

shot from the roof of La Pedrera, a neighboring roof...
 

detail from a Gaudi building, the front gate.
 

thankfully, photos were allowed on the patio at Fundació Miró.  an artist whose work I've admired for decades, what a thrill to discover his Barcelona roots.
 

more Gaudi...detail from the roof at La Pedrera.

inside a candle shop that has been selling candles since the 1711.
 

at a park in Montjuïc, detail of a mosaic made with repurposed metal machine pieces.
 

inside Casa Calvet, where I took Barbra for lunch to thank her for this magnificent gift of travel.
 

Arc de Triomf, detail...our apartment was very close to this landmark and metro station.
 

arches, Parc Güell...more Gaudi.
 

detail from a Gaudi building...Parc Güell.
 

my absolute favorite spot in Barcelona...Plaça Sant Felip Neri...a place of powerful and peaceful Spirit...I felt it...and then discovered the history that this square holds...
 

detail, menorah at the Main Synagogue of Barcelona...an unbelievably small space (truly hidden when closed) that remains essential.
 

stained glass detail from my favorite church building in Barcelona, Santa Maria del Mar.

ceiling at Santa Maria del Mar...built by the people for the people...gorgeous Catalan gothic.
 

roses celebrating Santa Rita, the patron saint of Impossible Things...
 

orange tree in the courtyard of the Museu de Frederic Mares...
 

lucky, beautiful shot right outside the Museu de Frederic Mares...may be one of my favorites from the trip...the light and the architecture were delicious highlights for my senses and soul...
 

I love the cello...and this shot will forever make me smile because she was playing a song that I don't particularly care for...

An horse

Digging this tune lately:



Moving very slowly today.  So far one air conditioner is in its window and plugged in.  Two have come out of hibernation moldy.

Simple dinner for the kids planned and good to go...wondering what to do for lunch.

Hello in there

I forgot to tell you I was going away for the weekend. 

We spent a lovely few days with my mother-in-law...a woman who I admire greatly under normal conditions, who has blown my mind this year as she has recovered from a life-altering and physically debilitating health condition.  It was really good to see her.

We also met Jamie's new kitty, Maya, and spent the afternoon at her place on Sunday.

We also saw Karen and her crew Friday evening for play and dinner.

We also met a distant cousin who has been living in Massachusetts as an au pair.  She returns to Finland this weekend.

We also took a sauna in my father-in-law's homemade one.

We also set foot in a mall for the first time in forever as a trio.  New bathing suits were needed and Gem picked up some Warriors books.

My jet lag is nearly gone.  Moving on, moving on.

This morning my eyes landed on this pale purple beauty and my body responded strongly.  I crushed three large cloves into a dollop of coconut oil...once the garlic softened I added two pastured eggs and gently scrambled...dash of sea salt, a couple of grinds of black pepper, and breakfast was good to go.

Wishing you love  and peace...

Barcelona :: chapter 3

The food.

Jet lag has surprised me this morning.  Both the kids came to the big bed...maybe that woke me up, too (it is really no longer comfortable for the four of us to be in the bed together, what would be bigger than a king...a kingdom bed...)

So, I'm here to post before we leave for Massachusetts for the weekend, but I don't have much energy.  Posting about food?  Perfect.  Easy.  And pleasing.

The food in Barcelona was fantastic.  It is clearly a culture that cares about food.  And has long standing traditions around food.  I knew I was going to love the food aspect of being there, and I did.  I decided to eat anything I wanted and though I definitely felt the strain of eating both dairy and gluten every day, the miles of walking burned a lot off and kept the qi flowing.  I practiced qigong every other day, as well, which helped.

The humble yet utterly satisfying bocadillo de tortilla de patata.  The first thing I ate once on Spanish soil (Madrid airport).  I have yet to master this "simple" dish, but I am inspired to keep trying!

Eva introduced us to a wonderful gelato place.  They had traditional and innovative flavors, all incredibly fresh and natural.  This was my first one: a scoop of avocado and a scoop of crema catalana.  That there was heaven in a cup.

Downstairs from the apartment was a cool cafe where we could hop onto wifi for the cost of a cup of cafe amb llet or a glass of agua con gas.  On occasion, I would get something to eat, as well.  I had a perfect, small blueberry muffin one morning (the plate dusted with cocoa powder), on another, I had a slightly salty, but delicious slice of truita de carbassó i ceba with an unexpected side of pa amb tomaquet.  The staff was incredibly friendly and I appreciated their quick familiarity and ease of being.

Chocolate was one of my highly hoped for food destinations (the others being olives and cheese).   One afternoon we visited Cacao Sampaka based on a strong recommendation from my Frommer's Barcelona Day-By-Day (a book I definitely recommend and will happily lend to you...I am usually a Lonely Planet traveler but knew Barbra would have the LP guide so I chose otherwise).  We ate a way overpriced lunch in the cafe which was built around a living tree and had a very gruff waiter.  The chocolate appealed conceptually, but didn't blow me away.  I got: pistachio, orange, jasmine tea and cardamom (starting at the upper left and going clockwise).  I was so underwhelmed by the jasmine tea, which I ate that day, that I didn't have anymore of them until after I was back home.  The pistachio was okay, I liked the orange the best.  I gave the cardamom to Cap.

We stopped into the gift shop of the Museu de la Xocolata which happened to be down the street from our apartment.  A few times.  I enjoyed their dark chocolate bark with almonds and white chocolate bark with hazelnuts.  The white chocolate was revelatory.  It was nowhere near as sweet and processed tasting/textured as other white chocolate that I've had (particularly American made white chocolate).  I ate most of the bark on the plane ride home.  If I hadn't needed to rest so much my last two days (my period came on very unexpectedly and knocked me down) I would have definitely gone back for souvenir chocolate.

In this shot taken from the front row seats of the upper deck of the Barcelona Bus Turistic (sometimes my NYC subway riding childhood comes in handy when navigating the crowds of a tourist-heavy city) you can see the colorful wavy roof of the Mercat de Santa Caterina.  We didn't prepare and eat food in the apartment anywhere near as much as we thought we would.  I typically ate twice a day, never feeling hungry in the morning (unheard of for me, typically...)  But, I wanted the market experience so off we went.

We picked up heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, leek, mushrooms, three types of Spanish ham, some white botifarra (another of my favorite things I ate), and four types of Spanish olives.  We already had cheese back in the fridge picked up from the Scottish woman's cheese shop (a raw manchego and a strong goat).

We snacked on the olives, meat and cheeses over the course of the second half of our stay.  And one night, Barbra cooked up some delicious veggie scrambled eggs.  It was really nice to have a home cooked meal.

I am out of time, and steam, for now.  There will be a second installment of my food adventures in the near future...

Pa amb tomaquet

yum.

Pa amb tomaquet (bread with tomato) is a perfect example of Catalan food.  Simple and completely speaks for itself.   The quality of the component ingredients matter greatly...there's nothing to hide behind, which is at should be...in food, as well as, in life.

This is a staple of Catalan cuisine and we had it many times.  It's always slightly different, the cook's style and personality will come through in its presentation.  Our favorite was at our tapas place.

I found this recipe online and appreciate the perspective of the blogger, a young chef who has trained in Barcelona, including at a restaurant that was down the street from the apartment we stayed in, that recently was awarded a Michelin star (we did not have the chance to eat there).

I am making this tonight with a loaf of GFCF French bread that Cap baked for me this afternoon.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Barcelona :: chapter 2

Mitsi.

Mitsi is my Barcelona angel.  She enhanced our trip immeasurably.  If you ever go to Barcelona, you should meet Mitsi for a coffee or tea.  She loves her city and you will undoubtedly deepen your experience by taking in even a bit of her expert expat/local experience.

And if you love a story...well, Mitsi's got stories...lots of them.

I met Mitsi at Hunter.  She was a few years ahead of me and I was tickled that an upperclasswoman showed me interest (the school was very small and cross-grade friendships/relationships were not unusual...but Mitsi created the connection between us whereas my other connections with kids not in my grade tended to be made through some or other factor external to the other person and me, which made our friendship special to me).  I was probably 14 when we met.

Mitsi graduated and then I did, too.  We had no contact for almost thirty years.  In fact, when we "friended" each other on Facebook, a couple of years ago, I didn't remember her at first.  But then I did.  Her very friendly nature, her Aquarian presence...forward looking, imaginative, out-of-the-box, her smile.

When Barbra first mentioned the trip, I realized that I actually knew someone who lives in Barcelona.  I got in touch with Mitsi and was pleased that she was as interested as I was in meeting up.

It was a fantastic meeting of the mind and heart.

Mitsi was the one who advised me to take the Aerobus (5 Euros instead of 25 Euros for a cab) into the city.  She was the one who met me as I stepped off the bus into my first inhale of Plaça de Catalunya.  She was the one who had already mapped out where the apartment was and walked me, taking over the handle of my suitcase, to the quiet, old street and sat me down in Lolita Bakery for some red velvet cake and cafe amb llet where we relaxed until it was time for me to meet the property owner for the keys.

Plaça d'Espanya from the Aerobus.

a quiet Sunday cafe amb llet at Café d'Estiu at Museu Frederic Mares.

Mitsi was the one who then sat with me in the apartment for over an hour poring over the map, her brain jabbing and feinting with a fierce beauty listening to me about where I wanted to go, what I wanted to see, while plugging in her own suggestions, tips and recommendations for good eats all over the city.  She marked up the map she gave me with notations that guided me for the next 12 days.  (This was after she walked me around the neighborhood for over an hour giving me a grounding of the immediate area...I was born with a good sense of direction and this initial walking around with a local was invaluable.)

When she left for the night, she handed me an extra fan (which I used a lot during the white hot mid-days), gave me a big hug, and suggested two places not too far for dinner.  Not 20 minutes later, Barbra rang the buzzer.  My other Barcelona angel had arrived.

we ate our first dinner at what would become known as "our" tapas place...thanks Mitsi!

Mitsi was incredibly generous...of her time, her energy, her friends, her city, her love.  I grew very fond of her very quickly and enjoyed every moment I spent with her.

Mitsi's square: Plaça del Pi (pi=pine and not 3.14 :-)

30 years later...what is time?

an afternoon of shopping and gelato.

  chicken with garlic night at Romesco...one of the best meals I had in Barcelona, hands down...

a restaurant we never would have found/chosen without the guidance of someone who knows...

that's a Gaudi-designed gate behind us.

Mitsi's friend, Josep Soto with some of his friends.  a soulful, beautiful hour of sound.

on a hotel roof terrace for a non-alcoholic night cap with Mitsi and Eva (except for B's cava :-)

Fiesta de Santa Rita...patron saint of the Impossible...we dug her :-)

night of our last supper.

Mitsi, thank you doesn't seem like nearly enough...but I do thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  You transformed this trip for us...but even more than that, you have changed and enriched my life by being who you are and where you are.  Thank you, thank you, thank you...we will meet again someday...I look forward to it!