Some of the products make you hungry and some have the opposite effect. All are very colorful though.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Here is the large market off the Ramla
Some of the products make you hungry and some have the opposite effect. All are very colorful though.
Barcelona Day 2 - Friday
These photos are of a private residence designed by Gaudi. It was AWESOME.
Barcelona Day 2 Friday
6 pm
I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know this city – my feeling is that you could spend a very long time here and not get bored. I have only begun to scratch the surface. I think it was a very good idea to take the tourist bus these two days to get an idea of the layout of the place. Tomorrow I plan to try the metro system.
Some of my impressions are:
· This is a very sophisticated place.
· It is full of incredibly beautiful architecture over many centuries – the gothic area which is built upon Roman ruins, the Modernistic – full of the amazing architectural masterpieces of Gaudi and others, the waterfront – previously shanty towns and factories and now futuristic business buildings, shopping areas, and modern apartments, and then other neighborhoods that previously were other nearby towns each with their own character.
· Although it is densely populated there is a lot of open space, green parks (with lots of wild parrots) screeching. Many more than in San Francisco.
· Art is much appreciated (for instance today I witnessed several classes of young children (??7-10) visiting the Picasso Museum and clearly paying attention to their teachers’ discussion of the paintings.
· This isn’t Spain – it is Catalonia. I think there is much more difference than just the preferred language.
· Gaudi was definitely a genius but I think he was pretty odd. The Sagrada Familia clearly demonstrates this. Who would design such a place knowing that it couldn’t be completed in the next 200 years (and actually expect that it would be completed so long after his death? However the private residence that I saw today – Casa Battlo? Sp? was absolutely beautiful and felt to me like a dreamscape. For me, I appreciated his genius far more in this than the huge and complex Sagrada Familia.
· Picasso’s genius is easy to appreciate. While the Museum here doesn’t have a huge collection of his most famous works, it does let you see his art develop over time. The most interesting is about 50 different interpretations/studies he did from an old master (Valesques) painting.
· The “touristy” stuff is a bit much although I have enjoyed rambling on the Rambla. One needs to be very guarded from pickpockets.
· I visited the massive market which has amazing displays of fruits, vegetables, fish, fowl, and meat (including “parts” that Tony Bourdain would swoon over).
I missed John a lot today. This is definitely the kind of place he delighted in traveling to and researching ahead of time. Somehow I did feel like he was with me and that in my mind I shared my thoughts with him. On our last trip to Catalonia, in the fall of 2002 before his brain tumor was diagnosed the following March, we planned to come to Barcelona. However, we were so relaxed enjoying the Costa Brava at the end of that trip we decided to delay Barcelona until our next trip here. Of course that never happened. I am enjoying my solo status on this trip but I wish John (the old pre-tumor John) was with me. I sure do miss him.
10:30 pm
I went out walking tonight. I headed to the Rambla but found it much more entertaining in the squares off of it. First large square had live Catalan music with a group of young Catalans dancing the “levitating” dance. They were wearing traditional costumes. It was great.
Then on the opposite side of the same square there was an incredible “choir” of about 40 people dressed all in black. They were very theatrical and sang a wide variety of songs with much gusto and a lot of dancing/mugging/and general theatrics. They did a medley of Mexican songs such as the Mexican Hat Dance (with lots of aiyee yai yahs). Other songs included Oh Happy Day and Alleluja. Amazing.
Later in the square adjacent to the Gothic Cathedral there was live Catalan music and folk dancers (some pretty senior) in costumes who were teaching any interested person how to Catalan dance. It was a great sight with lots of positive vibes. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera with me tonight.
6 pm
I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know this city – my feeling is that you could spend a very long time here and not get bored. I have only begun to scratch the surface. I think it was a very good idea to take the tourist bus these two days to get an idea of the layout of the place. Tomorrow I plan to try the metro system.
Some of my impressions are:
· This is a very sophisticated place.
· It is full of incredibly beautiful architecture over many centuries – the gothic area which is built upon Roman ruins, the Modernistic – full of the amazing architectural masterpieces of Gaudi and others, the waterfront – previously shanty towns and factories and now futuristic business buildings, shopping areas, and modern apartments, and then other neighborhoods that previously were other nearby towns each with their own character.
· Although it is densely populated there is a lot of open space, green parks (with lots of wild parrots) screeching. Many more than in San Francisco.
· Art is much appreciated (for instance today I witnessed several classes of young children (??7-10) visiting the Picasso Museum and clearly paying attention to their teachers’ discussion of the paintings.
· This isn’t Spain – it is Catalonia. I think there is much more difference than just the preferred language.
· Gaudi was definitely a genius but I think he was pretty odd. The Sagrada Familia clearly demonstrates this. Who would design such a place knowing that it couldn’t be completed in the next 200 years (and actually expect that it would be completed so long after his death? However the private residence that I saw today – Casa Battlo? Sp? was absolutely beautiful and felt to me like a dreamscape. For me, I appreciated his genius far more in this than the huge and complex Sagrada Familia.
· Picasso’s genius is easy to appreciate. While the Museum here doesn’t have a huge collection of his most famous works, it does let you see his art develop over time. The most interesting is about 50 different interpretations/studies he did from an old master (Valesques) painting.
· The “touristy” stuff is a bit much although I have enjoyed rambling on the Rambla. One needs to be very guarded from pickpockets.
· I visited the massive market which has amazing displays of fruits, vegetables, fish, fowl, and meat (including “parts” that Tony Bourdain would swoon over).
I missed John a lot today. This is definitely the kind of place he delighted in traveling to and researching ahead of time. Somehow I did feel like he was with me and that in my mind I shared my thoughts with him. On our last trip to Catalonia, in the fall of 2002 before his brain tumor was diagnosed the following March, we planned to come to Barcelona. However, we were so relaxed enjoying the Costa Brava at the end of that trip we decided to delay Barcelona until our next trip here. Of course that never happened. I am enjoying my solo status on this trip but I wish John (the old pre-tumor John) was with me. I sure do miss him.
10:30 pm
I went out walking tonight. I headed to the Rambla but found it much more entertaining in the squares off of it. First large square had live Catalan music with a group of young Catalans dancing the “levitating” dance. They were wearing traditional costumes. It was great.
Then on the opposite side of the same square there was an incredible “choir” of about 40 people dressed all in black. They were very theatrical and sang a wide variety of songs with much gusto and a lot of dancing/mugging/and general theatrics. They did a medley of Mexican songs such as the Mexican Hat Dance (with lots of aiyee yai yahs). Other songs included Oh Happy Day and Alleluja. Amazing.
Later in the square adjacent to the Gothic Cathedral there was live Catalan music and folk dancers (some pretty senior) in costumes who were teaching any interested person how to Catalan dance. It was a great sight with lots of positive vibes. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera with me tonight.
More Gaudi
After Sagrada Familia I went to this park. It is very beautiful in a strange way. One of the most unexpected things here is that there seem to be more wild parrots than San Francisco. They are quite noisey but remind me of home.
It got pretty cold while I was walking about the park and pretty soon started to rain. Brrr.
Last night I rambled on The Rambla (a walking street very long and wide with lots of shops and touristy stuff. You need to protect your belongings well as apparently there are many pickpockets. I was very safe with my money belt underneath my clothes. Found a great tapas place where everyone sits together. Good wine and great tapas. It was not right on the Rambla as most of those are supposedly awful.
Today I am heading for museums - starting with Picasso.
More later.....
Thursday in Barcelona
I arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday night. When my plane from SFO was scheduled to leave we were at the zenith of a major rain and windstorm. We sat on the runway for over an hour and then returned to the gate. I knew we were going to have a major delay when they give us an energy bar to eat. Finally left 3 hours late and of course missed the connection in Frankfurt. So I waited there another 4 hours waiting for a flight to Barcelona. The good news was that it was late enough in Barcelona I got my "second wind" and went out for a late dinner, came back to the hotel and slept until 10 am thereby avoiding jet lag entirely.
I spent Thursday seeing Guadi - first Sagrada Familia and then Parc Guell. Both are amazing. First Sagrada Familia:
Note: I am having some problems figuring out how to format so just bare with me. Later I will make this look better. Can't seem to figure out how to move text and pictures. Above are pictures of the Sagrada Familia. This is the Cathedral that Gaudi started 100 years ago. It was only just begun in his lifetime. It is still under construction and won't be completed even though they are now using very modern technology. The last picture shows a workman very high up in one of the towers. You take an elevator up there after waiting in line for 1 1/2 hours. It was definitely worth it though.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
My next trip
So I am getting ready to travel again. This time I'm off to Spain, Portugal, and France. Spain and Portugal will be a new experience for me. France is one of my favorite places and where John and I had many happy times. This time I will be traveling alone for about a week and then the rest of the time with three sets of friends/family and different periods of the trip. I hope to keep this blog up to date as I travel. I leave October 13th.
Till then....
p.s. thanks Laura for introducing me to this blogging stuff.
Till then....
p.s. thanks Laura for introducing me to this blogging stuff.
Well now I am going to get started
My niece, Laura, helped me set up this blog before I went to Kenya last spring. I never did get going with it. Now I am refocused having retired from my full time job and fully enjoying my life.
The last few years were very tough. My husband, John, and I had a great life together. We had a great life together with friends and family and fully enjoyed our life living in San Francisco. We shared common interests in such things as theater, the music scene, exploring the back country, and sharing good food and wine with friends. Then in 2003 John was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor - the same kind that Ted Kennedy had. After surgery John was a trooper - went home the day after surgery, returned to work (physician), and carried on bravely. Unfortunately the treatment of the tumor (which did give him over 5 years of survival) left him with deficits making it impossible for him to continue working or driving. Despite this we had a pretty good life for 4 1/2 years when the tumor returned. After that surgery the course was downhill and he lost his valiant battle on Novemer 18, 2008.
The picture above was taken 1 year after John's first surgery during a trip to the East Coast.
I miss John very much and think of him every day. He told me to live the rest of my life any way I wanted to and so that is what I am doing. One of the things that we loved to do together was travel. Last March I took a safari to Kenya. It was wonderful - never thought I would see anything like it. I am posting a few pictures below.
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