Michael and Judy arrived today. It is great to have them here. We are going to have a great Spain/Portugal experience I am sure. They felt pretty good so we walked to the Prado, hired an English-speaking guide, and had a very enjoyable and educational Prado tour. Our guide, Lola, was excellent. She focused on just a few, but the most important, works in the Museum.
For me the things that made the biggest impression were the rapid evolution of painting in Italy around 1400. Lola showed us several paintings close to each other chronilogically, but very different in content and style. The first was very stiff and looked much like a religious icon. The next was a huge leap in technique and content with people that actually had real forms and substance and this painting used perspective and geometry very effectively (and apparently for the first time in art history). Goya was also very interesting and we learned quite a bit about his politics. He favored the French takeover of Spain and after it failed he was exiled and spent the rest of his life in France. The Goya painting in the Prado are mostly of the Spanish royalty for whom he worked (and didn't like). Then there are two nudes which apparently were kept hidden and were very revolutionary in their time. Last, and best of all, is a very famous painting by Velasquez. Viewed from a distance it is very clear and has amazing perpective. Up close it is blurry and you really can't tell much about it. It is a painting of the artist doing the painting that you are viewing with the King and Queen reflected in a mirror. This is the painting I learned about at the Barcelona Picasso museum. Picasso believed that this was the best painting ever done and he did over 50 studies from this painting. Seeing it in person, I think he was right.
After the Prado we had lunch in a little non-descript place, walked back to the hotel, and Judy and Mike are napping.
Weather still cold and crisp. Felt like it was going to rain, but didn't.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Day 2 Pics
The first picture on the left is the train station.
Above is "Central" Park. I can't remember its exact name. It is huge and was created in the 1700s.
On the left is the Royal Palace.
Madrid Day 2
Madrid Day2
The purchases I made today will give some indications about the day - effervescent Vitamin C tablet, umbrella, wool socks.
I awoke with a slight sore throat. No I am sure it isn’t H1N1 – just likely a plain old cold. Since I am feeling a lot better this afternoon, I don’t think it is even a bad one. I am pretty sure I know where I caught it. In Barcelona one evening, I was having a glass of wine and a pretty seedy bar in a very touristy area. A fellow sat down next to me (pretty seedy himself) and proceeded to blow his nose repeatedly in Kleenex that he deposited on the bar and then asked the bartender to throw them away for him. The bartender did so and then continued to serve/prepare drinks and bowls of olives. I should have left immediately but I did finish my wine before I did (I think that was the mistake).
I looked outside when I got up and it was very dark and cloudy. I thought probably I should skip the tour bus and stay inside. However when I checked the weather forecast the weather looked even more rainy tomorrow. So I took the tour bus and froze to death. It hadn’t started raining yet when I got to the Royal Palace but it felt like it was going to any minute. I visited the Palace and was glad just to get inside. For a palace – it was VERY palacial. I took a guided tour (in English) and apparently the tour is intended to be one way only (talking that is). She didn’t take any questions and talked very, very fast. It was still good. Those Spanish kings were very, very well cared for. The Royal rooms were all quite grand with brocade walls, frescoed ceilings, and incredible chandeliers. The king and queen had separate apartments (including bedrooms and dining rooms) they ate, and slept, alone. The latter I doubt very much probably just not with each other.
The current King and Queen do not live at this palace – they have a new modern one. However, they still use this palace for certain state events. Such an event was held last night, a president from somewhere was visiting (I couldn’t hear where from and like I said she didn’t take questions). They had a royal reception followed by a state dinner. We saw the dining room and it was AWESOME. These days the state dinners are done by take out (I am sure quite gourmet takeout).
There were two additional museum viewing associated with the Royal Palace - The Armory and the Apothacary. Both were very interesting. I didn't get a lot out of the Apothocary. It didn't have any posted information in English. It looked to me that it mainly consisted of jars that contained every possible plant substance ground up so it could be used for pharmaceutical purposes. The Armory was far more interesting. It had the armor for men, horses, and CHILDREN. Scary.
eems very serious compared to Barcelona whose old and new architecture is playful and light.
There are a lot of museums here. I will probably go to a couple tomorrow. Expect that Judy & Mike will need a nap. We will probably go to the Prado the following day.
I am looking forward to getting out in the country to some open space and some old towns that are a little less daunting, although after today I have some idea of how the city is laid out.
A few pictures follow in the next post. Sorry they aren’t better or more interesting. That is just the kind of day it was.
Tonight I headed out in the rain and found a nice little non-descript bar/restaurant. It was fine with salad and grilled shrimp with the most wonderful aoli (garlic mayo) I have ever tasted. It was raining hard. Looking outside the restaurant windows I was reminded of one of my favorite films - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It was raining hard and all the passers by had their umbrellas open. Probably no one but me remembers it. But it was very romantic and artistic. I saw it with the first sophisticated man in my life. I have seen it many times since. If you've never seen it then you have not appreciated cinema as it can be.
The purchases I made today will give some indications about the day - effervescent Vitamin C tablet, umbrella, wool socks.
I awoke with a slight sore throat. No I am sure it isn’t H1N1 – just likely a plain old cold. Since I am feeling a lot better this afternoon, I don’t think it is even a bad one. I am pretty sure I know where I caught it. In Barcelona one evening, I was having a glass of wine and a pretty seedy bar in a very touristy area. A fellow sat down next to me (pretty seedy himself) and proceeded to blow his nose repeatedly in Kleenex that he deposited on the bar and then asked the bartender to throw them away for him. The bartender did so and then continued to serve/prepare drinks and bowls of olives. I should have left immediately but I did finish my wine before I did (I think that was the mistake).
I looked outside when I got up and it was very dark and cloudy. I thought probably I should skip the tour bus and stay inside. However when I checked the weather forecast the weather looked even more rainy tomorrow. So I took the tour bus and froze to death. It hadn’t started raining yet when I got to the Royal Palace but it felt like it was going to any minute. I visited the Palace and was glad just to get inside. For a palace – it was VERY palacial. I took a guided tour (in English) and apparently the tour is intended to be one way only (talking that is). She didn’t take any questions and talked very, very fast. It was still good. Those Spanish kings were very, very well cared for. The Royal rooms were all quite grand with brocade walls, frescoed ceilings, and incredible chandeliers. The king and queen had separate apartments (including bedrooms and dining rooms) they ate, and slept, alone. The latter I doubt very much probably just not with each other.
The current King and Queen do not live at this palace – they have a new modern one. However, they still use this palace for certain state events. Such an event was held last night, a president from somewhere was visiting (I couldn’t hear where from and like I said she didn’t take questions). They had a royal reception followed by a state dinner. We saw the dining room and it was AWESOME. These days the state dinners are done by take out (I am sure quite gourmet takeout).
There were two additional museum viewing associated with the Royal Palace - The Armory and the Apothacary. Both were very interesting. I didn't get a lot out of the Apothocary. It didn't have any posted information in English. It looked to me that it mainly consisted of jars that contained every possible plant substance ground up so it could be used for pharmaceutical purposes. The Armory was far more interesting. It had the armor for men, horses, and CHILDREN. Scary.
eems very serious compared to Barcelona whose old and new architecture is playful and light.
There are a lot of museums here. I will probably go to a couple tomorrow. Expect that Judy & Mike will need a nap. We will probably go to the Prado the following day.
I am looking forward to getting out in the country to some open space and some old towns that are a little less daunting, although after today I have some idea of how the city is laid out.
A few pictures follow in the next post. Sorry they aren’t better or more interesting. That is just the kind of day it was.
Tonight I headed out in the rain and found a nice little non-descript bar/restaurant. It was fine with salad and grilled shrimp with the most wonderful aoli (garlic mayo) I have ever tasted. It was raining hard. Looking outside the restaurant windows I was reminded of one of my favorite films - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It was raining hard and all the passers by had their umbrellas open. Probably no one but me remembers it. But it was very romantic and artistic. I saw it with the first sophisticated man in my life. I have seen it many times since. If you've never seen it then you have not appreciated cinema as it can be.
Monday, October 19, 2009
And Today Madrid
I arrived in Madrid yesterday late afternoon. Took the AVE high speed train from Barcelona. The scenery was pretty boring. Some agriculture and the rest pretty flat with scrub bush looking very dry. They showed a movie - Vickie, Christina, Barcelona (which fortunately I saw before). Its actually a really good one and was shot in Barcelona so has lots of good visuals. On the train it was dubbed AND subtitled in Spanish - so an English speaker would be completely lost. But good for me, since I knew the story I was able to practice thinking in Spanish.
The hotel I am staying in is located very well. I didn't know this when I got here because I didn't bring a Spain guidebook (as I knew Judy and Mike would have one and I brought a strictly Barcelona one instead). Unfortunately Judy & Mike don't get here till tomorrow. So I was a little bit lost when I ventured out of the hotel. I did notice that there is a large square (Plaza del Sol) right outside the hotel and I thought that would help me stay oriented. I walked down two blocks and found a large department store so decided to check it out. It had everything anyone could want from cosmetic counters carrying everything we have in the USA, shoes, clothing, computer and camera stuff, luggage, furniture, hardware, paint, linens, and cookware and then in the basement a full supermarket.
Walking back to the hotel I decided to take a few side streets to see what was in the neighborhood - within 20 minutes I was completely lost. Fortunately I was able to find my way back by asking where Metro Sol was. I bought a map immediately. Today I am going to take an open top tour bus ride and try to get a bit better oriented. I did learn in checking on the web that the Plaza del Sol is "the heart of Madrid" so I think I am going to be ok.
I will take pictures today and post them later - nothing much to see yesterday and the day before there was something wrong with the "card" I had in my camera.
More later....
The hotel I am staying in is located very well. I didn't know this when I got here because I didn't bring a Spain guidebook (as I knew Judy and Mike would have one and I brought a strictly Barcelona one instead). Unfortunately Judy & Mike don't get here till tomorrow. So I was a little bit lost when I ventured out of the hotel. I did notice that there is a large square (Plaza del Sol) right outside the hotel and I thought that would help me stay oriented. I walked down two blocks and found a large department store so decided to check it out. It had everything anyone could want from cosmetic counters carrying everything we have in the USA, shoes, clothing, computer and camera stuff, luggage, furniture, hardware, paint, linens, and cookware and then in the basement a full supermarket.
Walking back to the hotel I decided to take a few side streets to see what was in the neighborhood - within 20 minutes I was completely lost. Fortunately I was able to find my way back by asking where Metro Sol was. I bought a map immediately. Today I am going to take an open top tour bus ride and try to get a bit better oriented. I did learn in checking on the web that the Plaza del Sol is "the heart of Madrid" so I think I am going to be ok.
I will take pictures today and post them later - nothing much to see yesterday and the day before there was something wrong with the "card" I had in my camera.
More later....
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Problem with pictures
Not sure what is going on but I am unable to upload the pictures I took today. I keep getting message that there is an error in the jpeg file. So I tried uploading older picture - of the fire place in the Gaudi house. It worked.
This one is from a couple days ago. I believe I changed the card after I took this series. So I will switch back to the old card. The new picture view fine on my laptop. Wierd.....
Barcelona Day 4
Barcelona Day 4
Today was my last in Barcelona (that is till next summer – I am sure to make at least one trip here while staying in the exchange house in the South of France – only 3 hours to Barcelona from there. I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what is here but did a pretty good job of seeing and experiencing a lot in a short time. I highly recommend Barcelona as it is beautiful, full of culture, good food, unbelievable impromptu entertainment, a long and interesting history, art that encompasses the very old, very new, and everything in between. It is modern and ancient at the same time. It is important to remember that, as I was reminded frequently by graffiti, Catalunya is NOT Spain.
As you will see in some of the pictures that follow in the next post, Barcelona is a huge city. It is also a wonder of urban development done well (as least it appears so to me). It started out populated by prehistoric people, later was a Roman city (Barcilina), and then became Barcelona populated by Catalans (between France and Spain along the Mediterranean). They built their city on top of the Roman one – hence under the Gothic Cathedral is an archeological dig. The medieval city was walled. When the city became more and more dense they tore down the wall and let it spread. There were a number of villages away from Barcelona – over time these have become part of Barcelona.
Eventually Barcelona and other parts of southern Catalonia became part of Spain (rather than France), however it has retained its own culture/language and it would rather be its own nation. Apparently the Civil War was a very tough time here – the Catalans did not support Franco. There are still demonstrations here against the Spanish government – I saw one last night in front of the Government center.
Barcelona embraced the industrial revolution and apparently became quite wealthy because of this. There were many factories, chimneys, and pollution all along the waterfront. Immigrants from many areas (I guess primarily southern Spain) came to work here. Just north of the factories there were dense shantytowns of these workers and their families. Eventually the factories closed, moved, or whatever – but they are gone (only a couple of old chimneys remain). The port was beautified and made much bigger and it is a primary source of Barcelona’s success. The shantytowns were replaced by modern (if pretty modest apartments) – now an area called Barceloneta. The last Olympics also added a lot to this area. There are a lot of open green spaces as well.
Today I took the Metro, to Montjuic, and went to the Cataluyna Museum of Fine Arts. It was great. I was mainly Catalan art over centuries. There were frescos from medieval churches that have been installed in reproductions of parts of churches. There are classical works that look a lot like medieval Italian religious paintings. Then there is a whole section on impressionism (who knew there were Catalan impressionists??). Finally a little Picasso and Dali. Miro has his own museum but it was too crowded when I got there so I skipped it.
After that museum I took the funicular up to the “castle” which is really an old military fort surrounded by a moat. It was pretty anticlimactic but the views of the city were amazing. Then I walked down the hill, off the beaten path, following a few signs to a Metro station. When I got to the bottom of a huge set of stairs (equivalent to two blocks) there was no sign of a metro stop and the map I had wasn’t helpful. I found a young woman who gave me directions which was very fortunate since I would have gone to the right instead of down a narrow quiet street straight ahead as needed. I walked quite a long way through a modest old neighborhood and then heard a brass band playing “Brazil”. I figured there must be a parade ahead but no – it was just about 20 people in band costumes playing great music as they marched up and down one block. The only spectators were a few locals standing in their doorways and me and two other tourists.
Now back at my hotel resting my feet. I have already packed so I will be ready to leave tomorrow. My train isn’t till 12 noon but I have a tendency to sleep later than usual (probably because my room gets like no sunlight).
Off to Madrid tomorrow on the high speed AVE train. I realized I forgot to bring a Spain guidebook so I am winging it using the internet for some guidance. Steve lent me a guidebook on Barcelona which was much more extensive than the general Spain one so I left mine at home. So Judy & Mike please bring yours!!!
Today was my last in Barcelona (that is till next summer – I am sure to make at least one trip here while staying in the exchange house in the South of France – only 3 hours to Barcelona from there. I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what is here but did a pretty good job of seeing and experiencing a lot in a short time. I highly recommend Barcelona as it is beautiful, full of culture, good food, unbelievable impromptu entertainment, a long and interesting history, art that encompasses the very old, very new, and everything in between. It is modern and ancient at the same time. It is important to remember that, as I was reminded frequently by graffiti, Catalunya is NOT Spain.
As you will see in some of the pictures that follow in the next post, Barcelona is a huge city. It is also a wonder of urban development done well (as least it appears so to me). It started out populated by prehistoric people, later was a Roman city (Barcilina), and then became Barcelona populated by Catalans (between France and Spain along the Mediterranean). They built their city on top of the Roman one – hence under the Gothic Cathedral is an archeological dig. The medieval city was walled. When the city became more and more dense they tore down the wall and let it spread. There were a number of villages away from Barcelona – over time these have become part of Barcelona.
Eventually Barcelona and other parts of southern Catalonia became part of Spain (rather than France), however it has retained its own culture/language and it would rather be its own nation. Apparently the Civil War was a very tough time here – the Catalans did not support Franco. There are still demonstrations here against the Spanish government – I saw one last night in front of the Government center.
Barcelona embraced the industrial revolution and apparently became quite wealthy because of this. There were many factories, chimneys, and pollution all along the waterfront. Immigrants from many areas (I guess primarily southern Spain) came to work here. Just north of the factories there were dense shantytowns of these workers and their families. Eventually the factories closed, moved, or whatever – but they are gone (only a couple of old chimneys remain). The port was beautified and made much bigger and it is a primary source of Barcelona’s success. The shantytowns were replaced by modern (if pretty modest apartments) – now an area called Barceloneta. The last Olympics also added a lot to this area. There are a lot of open green spaces as well.
Today I took the Metro, to Montjuic, and went to the Cataluyna Museum of Fine Arts. It was great. I was mainly Catalan art over centuries. There were frescos from medieval churches that have been installed in reproductions of parts of churches. There are classical works that look a lot like medieval Italian religious paintings. Then there is a whole section on impressionism (who knew there were Catalan impressionists??). Finally a little Picasso and Dali. Miro has his own museum but it was too crowded when I got there so I skipped it.
After that museum I took the funicular up to the “castle” which is really an old military fort surrounded by a moat. It was pretty anticlimactic but the views of the city were amazing. Then I walked down the hill, off the beaten path, following a few signs to a Metro station. When I got to the bottom of a huge set of stairs (equivalent to two blocks) there was no sign of a metro stop and the map I had wasn’t helpful. I found a young woman who gave me directions which was very fortunate since I would have gone to the right instead of down a narrow quiet street straight ahead as needed. I walked quite a long way through a modest old neighborhood and then heard a brass band playing “Brazil”. I figured there must be a parade ahead but no – it was just about 20 people in band costumes playing great music as they marched up and down one block. The only spectators were a few locals standing in their doorways and me and two other tourists.
Now back at my hotel resting my feet. I have already packed so I will be ready to leave tomorrow. My train isn’t till 12 noon but I have a tendency to sleep later than usual (probably because my room gets like no sunlight).
Off to Madrid tomorrow on the high speed AVE train. I realized I forgot to bring a Spain guidebook so I am winging it using the internet for some guidance. Steve lent me a guidebook on Barcelona which was much more extensive than the general Spain one so I left mine at home. So Judy & Mike please bring yours!!!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Barcelona Day 3
Barcelona Day 3 – Saturday
I put a lot of miles on today. It really feels good to sit for a spell.
I started the day by walking down to The Rambla and having capuchino at the Opera Café recommended by Steve Schwartzberg. It was full of local color including a lot of cigarette smokers. Other than that it was fine.
T hen I took a walk through the market again and saw all the variety of stuff. Yesterday I missed the whole baby pigs.
Afterward I walked the full length of The Rambla to the waterfront thinking I might get good views and maybe find a good place to have some seafood for lunch. No such luck. The harbor had pretty boats and Cruise ships but other than that not much except for a modern shopping center with all the usual stores, Ben & Jerry’s, and McDonalds. So I headed back up The Rambla to a plaza near my hotel which has OK outdoor restaurants. I got Octopus salad and fried eggplant. I was a pretty happy camper. While eating lunch I watched a man I suspect was a pickpocket talk for a long time with a middle aged woman tourist who had her purse sitting in the middle of her lap. I suspect she was flattered he was so interested in her. He kept pointing in a direction for her to look toward and I watched him carefully but didn’t see him open her purse. However, I suspect that later when she went into her purse she found her $ missing. Maybe I am just too suspicious.
I then walked through the “Cal” which is the old Jewish Quarter (very close to my hotel but I didn’t figure that out until today. It has very, very narrow walkways as the Jews were not permitted to build outside the Cal and so could only expand their houses by building them forward into the walkway. Of course they are “long gone.” The Sephardic Jews had a significant population here, and elsewhere in Spain, from the 7th to the 14th century. Everyone got along well for many years with Jews being very important as they were the “money lenders.” Then the Christian fervor of the middle ages gave them a mandate – convert to Christianity, leave, or we will kill you. All three options were popular. The only thing left to mark the Cal here in Barcelona is a small plaque on a building. How sad.
Then I visited the Historical Museum which is practically across the street from my hotel. This is in the the Gothic area as it was where the first city was built here. It turns out that it was built upon a much older Roman City which has been excavated and lies beneath the museum. You walk over the excavation on ramps. Question: Did you know that the Roman laundry technique used human urine as a laundry bleach/disinfectant? They placed vats outside the laundry so that passerby could contribute to this laundry additive.
After this I went back and crossed the Rambla to walk around the Raval area (previously the seedy part of early Barcelona). Much improved now but looks like it has more recent immigrants and graffiti. I went to the Contemporary Art Museum – my advice skip it. Not much in myopinion.
By now my feet were ready to rest so I decided to head back to the hotel. Then, as has been my experience so many times, something unplanned and very interesting catches you. As I was walking on the Rambla I heard “Frank Sinatra” type music (Jeff Goffo eat your heart out). There was some sort of festival happening in an open space off the Rambla. The musical group appearing was a trio (singer, saxophone, keyboard) sure enough singing old style music – and they were really good. They sounded like they were from Chicago and the singer sang tunes with an American accent. However, when they did introductions at the end they Catalan. This is an amazing place.
I limped backed to my hotel and decided it was time that I made my arrangements for getting to Madrid on Monday. Well technology failed me. I was unable to make reservations using the train website (if you think I’m kidding just try using their website). In desperation I thought – I’ll check out flights – they are probably about the same price anyway. When I hit the “purchase” button the site told me it couldn’t sell tickets on the weekend. So …… I went to the train station and bought tickets the good old fashioned way. Actually this was a good thing as it forced me to use the Metro (which was actually very easy and cheap. I plan to use the Metro tomorrow (my last day here). I am going to take myself on a tour of the Modernisma architecture.
10 pm
I went out for the evening not expecting anything in particular. First there was a square filled up entirely with Catalons (and their band) dancing the traditional Catalon dance where they dance in a circle and then jump. These were just plain old (and young folks) just having a good time. And then later in another square we were treated with opera – a tenor who obviously does this regularly (he had his CD player). But there was also a number of other people who just love to sing kind of backing him up. Then the most special – a middle aged soprano who was excellent. It was truly special. I love Barcelona!!!
I put a lot of miles on today. It really feels good to sit for a spell.
I started the day by walking down to The Rambla and having capuchino at the Opera Café recommended by Steve Schwartzberg. It was full of local color including a lot of cigarette smokers. Other than that it was fine.
T hen I took a walk through the market again and saw all the variety of stuff. Yesterday I missed the whole baby pigs.
Afterward I walked the full length of The Rambla to the waterfront thinking I might get good views and maybe find a good place to have some seafood for lunch. No such luck. The harbor had pretty boats and Cruise ships but other than that not much except for a modern shopping center with all the usual stores, Ben & Jerry’s, and McDonalds. So I headed back up The Rambla to a plaza near my hotel which has OK outdoor restaurants. I got Octopus salad and fried eggplant. I was a pretty happy camper. While eating lunch I watched a man I suspect was a pickpocket talk for a long time with a middle aged woman tourist who had her purse sitting in the middle of her lap. I suspect she was flattered he was so interested in her. He kept pointing in a direction for her to look toward and I watched him carefully but didn’t see him open her purse. However, I suspect that later when she went into her purse she found her $ missing. Maybe I am just too suspicious.
I then walked through the “Cal” which is the old Jewish Quarter (very close to my hotel but I didn’t figure that out until today. It has very, very narrow walkways as the Jews were not permitted to build outside the Cal and so could only expand their houses by building them forward into the walkway. Of course they are “long gone.” The Sephardic Jews had a significant population here, and elsewhere in Spain, from the 7th to the 14th century. Everyone got along well for many years with Jews being very important as they were the “money lenders.” Then the Christian fervor of the middle ages gave them a mandate – convert to Christianity, leave, or we will kill you. All three options were popular. The only thing left to mark the Cal here in Barcelona is a small plaque on a building. How sad.
Then I visited the Historical Museum which is practically across the street from my hotel. This is in the the Gothic area as it was where the first city was built here. It turns out that it was built upon a much older Roman City which has been excavated and lies beneath the museum. You walk over the excavation on ramps. Question: Did you know that the Roman laundry technique used human urine as a laundry bleach/disinfectant? They placed vats outside the laundry so that passerby could contribute to this laundry additive.
After this I went back and crossed the Rambla to walk around the Raval area (previously the seedy part of early Barcelona). Much improved now but looks like it has more recent immigrants and graffiti. I went to the Contemporary Art Museum – my advice skip it. Not much in myopinion.
By now my feet were ready to rest so I decided to head back to the hotel. Then, as has been my experience so many times, something unplanned and very interesting catches you. As I was walking on the Rambla I heard “Frank Sinatra” type music (Jeff Goffo eat your heart out). There was some sort of festival happening in an open space off the Rambla. The musical group appearing was a trio (singer, saxophone, keyboard) sure enough singing old style music – and they were really good. They sounded like they were from Chicago and the singer sang tunes with an American accent. However, when they did introductions at the end they Catalan. This is an amazing place.
I limped backed to my hotel and decided it was time that I made my arrangements for getting to Madrid on Monday. Well technology failed me. I was unable to make reservations using the train website (if you think I’m kidding just try using their website). In desperation I thought – I’ll check out flights – they are probably about the same price anyway. When I hit the “purchase” button the site told me it couldn’t sell tickets on the weekend. So …… I went to the train station and bought tickets the good old fashioned way. Actually this was a good thing as it forced me to use the Metro (which was actually very easy and cheap. I plan to use the Metro tomorrow (my last day here). I am going to take myself on a tour of the Modernisma architecture.
10 pm
I went out for the evening not expecting anything in particular. First there was a square filled up entirely with Catalons (and their band) dancing the traditional Catalon dance where they dance in a circle and then jump. These were just plain old (and young folks) just having a good time. And then later in another square we were treated with opera – a tenor who obviously does this regularly (he had his CD player). But there was also a number of other people who just love to sing kind of backing him up. Then the most special – a middle aged soprano who was excellent. It was truly special. I love Barcelona!!!
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