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!