Barcelona reflections under the stars

Sometimes it gets windy here...
My big purchase one day, for 4.77E. The wine was 1.79E and it's pretty good.

Shopping cart secured parking lot inside the local grocery store....

The place where I got my pedicure....

You would be forgiven for thinking this store sold ferrets.... those are toilet seats in the window.

This is a doodle I did today in a cafe, ended up giving it to my waiter who was admiring it - so snapped a pic first...

I am sitting outside under the stars with my laptop blogging. It's 10pm and quite lovely, the sky is still fading so I can see blue, but the stars are starting to twinkle. When I see the Big Dipper here it makes me realize the world isn't so large afterall...

So, 2 more nights in Barcelona, and just one more full day. So what have I been doing? Not scrambling around seeing as many final things as I can. Nope. I'm chillin'. I came to the realization the other day that there is still so much I want to see here that I am going to come back, most likely in January. So that took any pressure off. And I've been taking advantage of the relaxed mood I have been in, to sleep, to doodle and to read. And journal. And just be. It turns out that I had a whole lot more decompressing to do that I thought, but I have been trusting my inner voice and just going with the flow.

Barcelona really is a great setting off point for a long journey, as it is so relaxed here. I would consider starting off a future Europe trip here too.

But, with time ticking down, I realize there are lots of reflections and memories that I want to capture before I move on, as once I do, I am sure they will slip away. I'll actually have a good collection of assorted bits to look back on this trip: this blog, my journals (both in notebooks that I always carry with me and often write in cafes - and some stuff written electronically), emails I've sent people, letters, and even postcards. And doodles. And loads of pics. There hasn't been a day so far when I haven't taken at least one pic.

So, I expect I'll do a few blog posts in the next couple of days...

Some random reflections:

• When you go into an inside ATM here, there is a little lever that you can put across the door so no one else can get in - that's just SO smart!
• I missed a good one today: Jess and Sean (my flatmates) were down at the beach today beside a couple that were seriously making out, as in "oh wow!" - went on for hours... aside of the interlude where the girl clipped the guy's toenails (an all out pedicure) before they got back to it
• They also had a good story of a couple all out making out on the bus: girl straddling the guy's lap.... things are kinda relaxed here...
• I was surprised how many people here have asked me for a light... who smokes and doesn't carry a lighter? It's rare to be asked this at home... finally figured out they were all guys, maybe it's a way to chat up the women?
• I'm surprised at the number of little bars that don't have soap in their bathrooms... the health department here isn't doing a great job on swine flu prevention - and I haven't seen a hand sanitizer station here anywhere
• Was woken up at 3am one night by explosions - I couldn't see anything, but the next day Mabel told me that it was fireworks a couple of streets over... at 3am on a weekday night? lol
• It's midnight and there is the loudest scrapy clanging garbage truck doing it's pickup

More later...

Heat

The above is a doodle I did this afternoon, while still reflecting on the theme of heat...

The pics are of Mickey the cat, lazing about and looking for attention on a hot day....

I was looking for a word this morning that will not come to me, to describe my love/hate relationship with the sun and heat here. Because it is not hate, it is more like a patient intolerance, or sometimes not so patient, when the heat explodes into its thick, opressive endlessness, with no relief. And, yet, it is not intolerance either, because I can tolerate it - in fact, I think I could live in Barcelona, I like it so much - but perhaps it is exasperation? Anyways, there is always this struggle here from appreciating the sun and warmth, and wishing it would just ease off, if only for awhile....

There have been a few cooler moments, a gentle relief, if just for awhile... Of course there were the 2 days of truly torrential rain when the Tour de France came through (of course, the days that involved standing at a barricade for hours were the wettest! ah, irony...), but beyond that, a few precious hours here and there. This past week there have been evenings that after the sun has gone down, it has been cooler, though again that is not the right word, as "cool" and "Barcelona" in the summer simply cannot be used together. More like quiet warmth instead of oppresive heat, and the breeze feels lovely when it picks up. Although it is a warm wind that caresses the skin, and does not truly cool one off, it is pleasant and comfortable. On these nights it is lovely to sit on the terrace under the stars and just be. Or chat with my flatmates Jessica and Sean, visiting from Boise, Idaho. Still followed by a cool shower before bed, still the fan on, but generally easier to fall asleep as the heat isn't as deep in my bones.

And the mornings, if I wake early enough, are refreshing. Again, the terrace, as I sit in the shade and read while I have my breakfast. During the heat of the day, the terrace is impossible, though I will sometimes prop the umbrella and try to catch a break. More likely, to retreat indoors, or to be out and about in this fine city.

At the hottest moments, one ducks into stores that have air conditioning -- or if down at Plaza Catalunya will step into the doorways of the Ingles department store, where they have the most powerful and cold air conditioning blowing upon the entrances (I will step just inside and pretend to be studying the store directory, which is directly in the path of this relief). Otherwise, it's shade: the shady side of the street, the cafes with their huge shady umbrellas. And the ice cold beer or bottled water. Or gelato.

But the heat does take something out of me, as I have seemed to turn lazy this last week or so. Or maybe this is my body releasing years of work and go-go-go.... Perhaps a bit of both. For 4 or 5 days in a row I did not leave the little neighborhood where I am living (Sants), choosing the frequent the little cafes and markets here, rather than trekking about by the metro or bus. Not that I mind these, but it has been restful just to hang out. I guess I have been really living like a local this past bit. I've been working a fair amount too, so the pace has suited me.

Now I find myself with just three days left in Barcelona, and so much still to see. I had some moments of feeling rushed to now "do it all" but I let go of that pretty quickly, as that's not my travel style, and I want enjoyment, not agendas. The realization that I want to return to Barcelona again at some point during this year in Europe has put my mind at ease. So I will still see a few more things, but I won't sweat it (pun not intended!), while still enjoying moments of reading or doodling in the sidewalk cafes.

Today I have some work to do though, so blogging is the perfect way to avoid it ;-) In truth, the time difference suits me quite well here, as being 9 hours ahead of Vancouver gives me a whole day to deliver something promised in the morning. So it is that I am sitting down at 1pm here to do a few hours work (after getting up twice, I was up fairly early, but fell asleep reading on the terrace, so lay down and slept again, an early siesta!). Depending on how the work goes, I shall probably send in my work around 5pm here (8am Vancouver), then head out to enjoy myself.

One good thing is that I have some colour in me now - no pale sun starved skinned girl here - and along with catching up on sleep I think I am looking more rested and relaxed than in years. That can only be a good thing.

Post script, later the same evening...

Ironically, this evening has turned out to be the coolest since arriving in Barcelona. This afternoon as I sat in an outdoor cafe and doodled on the theme of heat (pic above) the wind picked up and it was actually cool on my skin. Lovely. Some people next to me were shivering, probably locals who are used to the heat. Me, it was just a nice break. This evening in my room, I still have my fan on, as it keeps the air circulating, but I had to turn it down from the medium setting, as it was a little too cool! And, just now, on the terrace, after midnight, under the stars, it was refreshingly cool. Yes, cool can be used. Veeery nice.

Just checked the temperature, it's 24C, so I guess my definition of cool has evolved....

Thinking back on my reflections earlier, I was focused on the downside of the heat... But said little about the "love" side of the equation.... I love that I never have to give a thought to another layer or wishing I'd brought sleeves (not that I wear those often anyways); I love the way my body is relaxed from the heat; I love the bright light the sun brings here; I love feeling warm; I love all the realizations I have in the heat that go, "Wow, I am IN Spain!!!"; I love all the trees in this city, lots of shade; I love the wide boulevards with trees down the middle; I love how many cafes have outside seating under huge umbrellas; I love much about the sun - it beats out the downsides, for sure.

Other heat observations and reflections:

• To sleep on a really hot night here, I have found the trick is to have an icy cold shower just before bed, soak a towel in water and spread it over my naked body, and leave the fan on high. It helps. Believe it or not, the towel dries overnight, and I've been known to redouse it part way through the night.
• The trick is to always be well hydrated here. Lugging a couple 1.5L or 2L bottles of water up the 68 stairs every day is a bit of a chore, but you get used to it... Nothing worse than running low on water!
• Always have 2 big bottles of water... keep one in the fridge and one in my room - every few hours switch them, so as to enjoy cold water.
• One day I came home after a day out and had a drink of water from the bottle in my room... it was reaaaallly warm - as in the temperature of a cup of tea after it has cooled for about 10 minutes... didn't taste all that pleasant!
• Carry a bottle of water when leaving to go out for the day, it's cheaper than buying one immediately while out.
• They have cold water in the pop machines on the metro platforms - nice touch!
• I bought a bottle of Spanish red wine (1.79E) and left it in my room (as I have been conditioned to drink red wine at room temperature), then cracked it a few days later... I confess to adding a couple of ice cubes to bring it down to a drinkable state
• Some stores here have signs in the window that loosely mean "local temperature" - in other words, no air conditioning - I guess a warning sign to fend off tourists who come in and then complain
• People here really do all go out and walk in the evenings, enjoying the fresh and somewhat cooler air
• Lots of people carry fans - and I sometimes do (Mabel, whose apartment I am sharing, brought me back a truly lovely hand-painted fan from Seville - a special treasure and useful too!
• Some of the metro trains have awesome air conditioning! Unfortunately, not all of them (the rest have "ok" AC) - but it's a crapshoot, never know what you will get!
• It pays to get to know which entrance to use for the Metro stations you use most often, otherwise there are a lot of up and down stairs going above/below tracks
• Don't let anyone tell you that people don't wear shorts in Europe!!! That may be the case in Paris (as I soon will find out for myself) but Barcelona is super casual and you see shorts more than anything else here

I bought shoes!

No, I have not lost my senses.... these are not my shoes!
These were worn by a fashionista in a sidewalk cafe and I couldn't resist taking a pic. Aren't they the most ridiculous things ever? A high heeled sneaker is an oxymoron, isn't it? But for a fashionista, maybe that's the point. Anyways, they were funny and she looked very happy. That black thing in the background, of course, is the dog leash for her little fluggy dog. It completes the look I think! (btw, not unusual for people to have their dogs on the patios while they eat here, a few instances of dog fights and crazy barking while dining... as I say, it's very relaxed here....

Now... drum roll please... these are my shoes!!! They are the most adorable sneakers I think I have ever seen. If you've heard that women don't wear sneakers in Europe, that's not true... the only thing is they wear runners with very interesting designs (the Nike type are for sport only here!)...

OK, I bought 2 pairs of shoes, these are the other ones..... holy sweetness!!!!

These are the dangers of shopping while slightly drunk (emphasis on slightly, just a few beers on a patio on a very hot afternoon....). Really, I'd intended to buy shoes, just not at such a upscale shop, and maybe not 2 pairs... I, of course, have iron-clad justification for such indulgences! (I can justify anything...)... The day before I had received a 125E credit for the hotel screwup earlier in my trip, so the 175E - 125E = only 50E for both pairs! Then subtract the 17E VAT tax refund I'll claim, and they really only cost me 33E for the pair. hee!

I'd actually seen lots of very good shoe sales on nice stuff closer to home here, but if I was going to buy something here, I wanted them to be totally different from anything I'd seen in North America. These definitely fit the bill! And they were on sale ;-)

They were from a shop called Camper that is apparently big all over Europe. And they come with a 2 year guarantee. Hmmmm.... upon looking at their website, there are a few places in Canada that carry them, but, regardless, these are not going to be styles I will see every day back home.

Pictures of my feet will begin to be a lot more interesting!

Random Pics and Reflections from Barcelona

Well, I can hardly believe I have been gone 3 weeks... I definitely love Barcelona, the city is being most kind to me. Some random pics and observations....

This is the bubble lady, have seen her a couple of times now, she goes to plazas with little outdoor restaurants and performs, making these HUGE bubbles, which the little kids try to chase. Really quite remarkable, but hard to get a good pic of....

This is how the sidewalks all look here:

Lots of little sole proprietor shops here, so not odd to find the doors locked for a bit. Actually, not odd to find shop doors locked - period. Often in the middle of the afternoon, around siesta time, and otherwise quite at random. Aka "I feel like opening the shop..." and "I feel like closing the shop..." .. this would be a hint to customers that it's not a long siesta break and it's worth hanging around for the owner's return:

This inscription appears on many of the crosswalks in the busiest (most touristed?) areas. I haven't bothered to translate it yet, but I do know it tells me that I could be dead if I don't watch out... And it is so true!

Went into the most adorable little fine candy shop the other day, attracted mostly by the beauty of the displays. This was the only pic that really turned out, but it is a good sampling of the diplays. I ended up buying 4 little white chocolates that were dreadfully cheap (maybe .60E?) and were a dozen times better than any chocolate bar...

Curiousity killed the cat, so I went in, and it's your basic "dollar store" like those we have in Canada. Remarkably, it was all the same crap, really, with the same crowded aisles and I swear the same proprietors.... I've since seen a shop called .60E which I guess is the same...

So I guess "Dunkin' Donuts" wouldn't have meant anything to the locals, but not sure "Dunkin' Coffee" means much either...

Cleaning ladies on their way home from work....

Ah, yes, the recycling... also well organized here. Every couple of blocks, especially in the residential areas, are these communal recycling bins. Though I was surprised to find that metal and plastic go together in the yellow bin here, as these must be separated in Canada. The blue is paper, and the green is glass. The odd thing here is that despite such an awesome for locals, there are virtually no recycling bins on the tourist streets, just garbage cans, so a lot of plastic bottles and cans get thrown away.

This was the oddest looking bus I'd ever seen when I snapped this pic, (a little spaceship on wheels?) though I have gotten so used them now... Rather clever mirrors, I must say...

If you're down at the beach, and can't be bothered to find a campground, or maybe it's just siesta time, why not pop the roof and tuck in right there on the promenade?

Domino's Pizza guy on a thingamajig.... (can't believe I forgot the name of these things, that were supposed to revolutionize the world, but didn't... though you can get a tour here on them)....

This bread may not make you smart but promises fun?

Tic Tacs here are called "Hit", but they taste the same...

I really do have some awesome pics of architecture, but local life was calling to me when I sat down to blog today...

Random reflections:

• I have a pedicure booked for tomorrow morning at 11am... booked in a place where they spoke no English, but we managed to communicate a time manyana. She couldn't understand my name, so she just wrote "Chica"
• Bought my first train ticket here the other night, went down to the train station with my carefully written note in Spanish, checked by Mabel, and it worked! I have my seats for my trip to Aix later this month. Not an easy place to get to from here, 2 trains and 1 bus, but it shall be an adventure just the same.
• Got lost for the first time in Barcelona the other night, it was after I left the train station, I followed my nose, which was seriously misguided, actually had fun wandering for about an hour, but as it got later and I figured I should rescue myself. As I hadn't come across any Metro stations, I grabbed the first bus that came along and sat down to figure out where it was going that I could connect up with the Metro or one of the busses to my place here... oops, I was on a bus heading out of town... got off and crossed the street to await a bus going the other way, and had my first moment of feeling a touch unsafe... I don't think I was in a bad area, but there were not many people on the streets, and I was around car dealerships in a less residential spot... so just flagged a cab and took it back to Placa de Sants near where I stay, was nice to feel like I was "back home" - had a cervesa on the plaza then made my way home...
• I have discovered that there is "bad" gelato, "good" gelato and "great" gelato. Have only had "bad" once, and the rest have been a mix of "good" and "great"... so far my favs are chocolate blanco, raspberry and lemon (the lemon in a bowl with the sweet stuff is quite the taste bud sensation), also partial to mint chocolate and fraise. Melon was bland. Haven't tried the cinnamon yet... btw, I am saving the descriptor of "awesome" gelato for Italy, as I'm told nothing compares, and I have learned not to use that term loosely (right, Bryan?) ;-)
• I adore "patatas brava" - these are potatoes cut in chunks, I think deep fried though sometimes they may be cooked in a pan, with a lovely orange Spanish paprika sauce, and sometimes mayonnaise... yum
• I will blog soon about other adventures: the Tour de France a week or so back, some Gaudi sights, an awesome art gallery, and shoes.... but for now, I have a little contract work to do, so I'd better get at it....

Reading, reflecting and a bit of radio

Last night I found a beach bar and sat under a big umbrella (which would eventually come in handy when it started to rain) and had a beer, something to eat and a couple hours of people watching and relaxing reading...
This little bar is actually IN the sand, steps from the promenade, lots of folks wandering onto the deck dripping wet in their bathing suits.

Not far from the beach bar, walked by this plaza and it looked kind of cool. I love public art, so shall probably come back at some point to see the sculpture when the weather is clearer. It was 30C but windy, so the air was full of mist and sea spray, quite pleasant actually....

Earlier, musicians on the promenade and lots of people dancing, including these fun loving girls (got several good pics of them, so offered to email them) and this dude in his wheelchair... and babies and all ages... There are lots of waterfront musicians here.

Oh, and just in case you decide to take off your bathing suit and wrap yourself in a sarong... and then after a couple of beers decide you want to go swimming again, this is how the re-donning of the bathing suit is done at the beach bar:

A few random reflections 2 weeks into my trip:

• I am incredibly appreciative of the CBC at the moment; while I am very happy to be abroad, there is nothing like Canadian news and familiar voices to ground me. While watching The National happens a day late, podcasts such as The World at Six, The Current and As It Happens are available immediately. Just one of the things that makes Canada so awesome.
• This is the first time I have travelled with a full suite of technology and I love how it facilitates things like the above, as well as to keep me doing a bit of contract work. Email would be accessible anyways, but it is nice to have it at my fingertips. I am quite enjoying random comments from people I know who are reading my blog - often with their own tips on what not to miss.
• The sparrows I enjoying in the mornings appear to be, on reflection, swallows...
• I wonder if seagulls are a North American thing, as being able to hear the above birds without seagulls in the background made me notice their absence... hmmm.... I've been down by the beach a few times now and I don't remember them.... will have to pay attention to that...
• I may not be into the rhythm of the formal siesta here, but I seem to be mastering the ability (and inclination) to just lie down and sleep whenever I am drowsy....
• Aside of books/postcards and food/drink/transportation, I have spent a total of 27E since I got here: a watch with Salvador Dali's melting clock face on it (20E), and a little bracelet from one of the seaside artisans (7E)
• I should write some of those postcards soon.....

About reading..... I am totally enjoying time to read again, I have no idea when I stopped reading regularly, I think it's something I didn't even admit to myself. Having always been a reader, I think I was shocked to notice that I had allowed my world to be taken over by tv (mostly news and documentaries, but still...) in my spare time. Skimming travel books is not reading! Anyways, it's such a pleasure and I am seeing that finding English books will also be one of the themes of my trip.

I finished my second book here, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery (which I enjoyed immensely), on Saturday night .... (If you have read the book, you'll understand why I chuckled when trying to decide where to put that second comma in the preceding sentence!).... so my mission the next day was to find a new book. Oops! The shops are all closed here on Sundays, many restaurants and bars too, so I figured out quickly that finding a bookstore open, that also had English books, was just not going to happen. Interesting that later, when wandering near La Ramblas, I stumbled across a place called "Travel Bar" that had inside it a book exchange for travellers. Marvelous! Well, in theory, anyways. Mostly French, German and Spanish books, and the few English books were texts or bibles.... Eventually found a series of three novels that didn't really look like my thing, but, what the heck, any book in a bookless storm!!! So grabbed one.

I got probably 1/4 of the way through "Eclipse" before I figured out life was too short to spend this much time on a weak story about modern day vampires and werewolfs in the Seattle area.... (funny, as I looked it up on Amazon to put in the link, it says it is not being released until August, but somehow I have a copy... I guess I should feel special, but I don't.... someone else will, I'm sure, be delighted by the find when I take it back to the lending bookshelf...).

I used to resist not finishing a book, always holding out the hope that it might get better, but I now think that's rubbish: if a book is not connecting with me (or me to it?) best let it go and find something else....

So Monday I was off to find a real bookstore with a real selection, however modest, of English books. I found a couple (which I'll post a list of at some point), and am presently reading "The Bay of Angels" by Anita Brookner. I am engrossed and immersed -- that's the book in the pic with my beer above.

Lonely Planet has a tip about a 2nd hand bookstore in Poble Sec that apparently has a large cache of English books, shall swing by in the next day or so to check them out... cuz books that are both good and cheap would be good!

A bikini, the beach and some Barcelona history

For anyone who knows me, it´s not what you think....

Went down to the waterfront today, the beaches here are awesome, though I have yet to visit to just bask.... This is a view of some of the fantastic public furniture that is everywhere. I will return to take a view from sitting in one of those chairs!

There are some really interesting bars down by the beach, pricey but probabl worth the fun once... This is one of several that have benches, couches and, yes, even beds, in their lounges overlooking the sea. Rather exotic, I must say....

OK, this is a Bikini! It´s a fav breakfast treat, like a grilled cheese sandwich but with some type of yellow cheese and ham. ¨Hola, bikini, cafe leche, gracias¨ is all I have to say to start my day....

I saw these girls up on the boardwalk with all their luggage, and thought, gee I am glad that is not me.... Then I saw them head down the stairs to the beach, and was giggling... way to go girls! One last trip to the beach on the way to the airport, I guess.

I´ll bet this bar gets really busy on a hot afternoon or a steamy Barcelona evening!!

So.... what I ended up doing afterwards was visiting the Museu d´Historia de Catalunya. It was a wonderful building and a wonderful exhibit. And it gave me a good understanding of the history of Catalonia and it´s people. At the Tour de France the other day (which I´ll blog about soon) there were protests somewhere along the route, ¨Catalunya is not Spain¨ - so I wanted to understand that history and struggles of the Catalan people, and why they have such a proud heritage. Now I understand...

I usually walk by the blood and gore exhibits, but the next 2 pics show why this exhibit was important...

This exhibit is from the time of the Civil War (I think that´s the one, they had so many wars and much turmoil here, it was hard to keep straight).... and was a reconstruction of one of the bomb refuges the people of Barcelona built, you could go right inside.

Another exhibit showing how the Roman architecture in the region changed. Everything was really well done.

Lots of interactive exhibits. This was a blast, watching this girl dress her boyfriend in a full suit of armour (that´s him inside):

I loved the building and the work the architects created the museum. There were these immense red walls, and all sorts of pipes and things. This is me trying to be a real photographer, heh...

Another view looking up....

This was cool. The exhibit began with the most ancient artifacts found in Catalunya, and this had the various stages of the human.... with mirror in the 4th spot, so moi!

Ah, another reflection... a habit I have while travelling alone...

Up, up, up....

That was today. I have been having a marvelous time, it´s hard to believe I have been here 13 days already. There is much I haven´t blogged about yet, but will try and capture more of my adventures soon. I am enjoying living like a local, I am sharing an apartment with a marvelous woman (Mabel) and her cat (Mickey, also marvelous!). She rents out another room as well, and I had some enjoyable time with Janet, an American just on her way home from a year abroad in Rome.... how interesting that as I embark on a year-long trip I get to met a woman at the end of hers. I had fun asking about her adventures, and how her travels have changed her (Hola Janet, if you are reading this, and I found the no cara paella today :0) .

In other words, all is well. I love the flat and the terrace. I am actually getting used to the 68 stairs now! All 4 now....