una ciudad muy bonita - barcelona
16 march 2001

i thought we would never actually arrive. the plane was delayed almost two hours and then we sat buckled up for awhile and after taxiing for quite a long time, we heard the engines rev up and then stop. what was that about, we wondered, becoming impatient? and then the captain announced that right as we were about to take off, there was an animal on the runway! so we had to go all the way back to the beginning of the runway and that was absolutely the longest taxi in history; at least in my history.

fortunately, people dine late in spain so after checking into a suite that we didn't want, we changed to a regular, match box size room and went out to experience the late night tapas scene. knowing some spanish doesn't really help in barcelona because they speak catalan, since this is a region of cataluna. of course i'm exaggerating, everyone speaks spanish but i'm constantly confused these days, trying to sort out languages. at least i remembered to say, si, instead of ja this time. this bustling restaurant had pictures on the menu so we did manage to pick out some recognizable items, which were quite tasty. this filled us with glee since we weren't too impressed with spanish food on our previous trip to andalucia.

it's always a slight adjustment coming from the narrow world of amsterdam to a city that has wide streets and lots of space. barcelona is such a city and is lit up at night, showing off its eclectic architecture ranging from moorish influences to art nouveau. the buildings are equally radiant in daylight. basking in the not- to- be- taken- for- granted- ever- again sunshine and mild temperature, we mosied past store windows sporting the latest in euro fashion. who buys these clothes? i find them colorful, funky, and fun to fantasize about but do real people ever wear hot pink with orange and lime green all together? i think i've been in a'dam too long where it's pretty much gray and black. barcelona definitely holds up to its reputation for being an upscale shopping mecca.

this was to be a mellow weekend since gary was recovering from a nasty throat infection so our pace was quite relaxed. we sauntered down la rambla, a boulevard running north - south and home to a pedestrian mall teeming with people and street performers. {not unlike the pearl st. mall in boulder}. the living statues were particularly creative. we parked ourselves at a cafe where the people watching was excellent and the cappacino stimulating. a round of capps turned into lunch and a shoe shine and half the afternoon, as we took advantage of being able to sit outside in early march. we unknowingly had front row seats for a clown who was entertaining himself and us by following people, imitating how they walked or subtely sticking a feather in their hair or just being generally, yet tastefully annoying. it was quite funny and most people were good sports about having been heckled. it was, however, time to leave when the off key pan flutist arrived. there's only so much quality entertainment to be had at an outdoor pedestrian mall.

barri gotic, or gothic quarter is a medieval area of winding, twisting streets and alleys that are dotted with charming shops and uniquely wonderful atmosphere. most of its important buildings date from before the early 15th century, which is considered barcelona's golden age. the cathedral is a magnificent example with its classicly pointed archways and spires. it wasn't open so we had to take it all in from the outside. more meandering through barri gotic and eventually we found ourselves on a street laden with more shops. and more people. the city was packed as is every european city, it seems. i browsed through a department store with nine floors, while gary was content to view the city from the top floor restaurant. on the way down, we bought two colorful vases in keeping with our tradition of accumulating things for the house. later, around nine, early by spanish standards, we came upon a great little restaurant and ordered the black rice with cuttlefish, a catalan specialty. it really was special but we agreed it wouldn't be a very good choice for a first date as it turns your teeth black for a while. the black color is actually squid ink; you just can't think about that if you want to enjoy it.

hanging out in our doll size hotel room on sunday, we opted to blow off breakfast. it was to be a "gaudi" day and we planned to visit several of the famous architect's works. they are the most unique and stylistic structures i've ever seen. seeing one of these strangely shaped buildings juxtaposed next to one in the art nouveau genre makes it really stand out. i'm referring to casa batllo, originally constructed as an apartment building, not sure what it is now. it looks like something out of "the hobbit", with it's curved lines and green and purple textures splattered over the facade. the roof is a dragon! gaudi never used straight lines, taking much of his inspiration from what he saw in the natural world. one of his buildings has been described as a series of "vertebrae and pelvis". his structures always have big open spaces, allowing for maximum light to stream in and this is really apparent in the reconstructed flat in "la pedrera". this was also an apartment building commissioned by a wealthy family in the early 20th century. the building has a circular inner courtyard and on the roof are several chimneys which resemble ancient figures from somewhere unnamable. it's difficult to describe how beautiful his work is and i've become fascinated with him as an artist.

you can't go to barcelona and not visit gaudi's mammoth unfinished project, "temple de la sagrada familia". started over 100 years ago, and still being worked on, it depicts the holy family. its two vertical towers reach high into the sky and the entire design is made up of sinuous shapes and lines that are truly the signature of gaudi's creations. the detail work is ornate and symbolic. we climbed the stairs and at each level, we could see more and more of the detail, taking on different perspectives. my favorite was the cypress tree at the top sprinkled with white doves, symbolizing incorruptibility. the images are incredibly interesting and so is gaudi's biography. seeing more of gaudi's work is reason enough to go back to barcelona!

and so.....our weekend in barcelona was as great as we had expected it to be and completely different from our trip last year to southern spain. who knows? maybe gary will get transferred there......

adios amigos,

love,deb

p.s. we spent last weekend in london as gary has been there working for 2 weeks. the theatre experience is the best and we saw three very different shows, all of which we loved. on friday night, we saw "madame melville" with irene jacob {gary was drooling; she's gorgeous}, and mccaulay culkin, who has turned into quite an impressive adolescent stage actor. "medea" was very intense, starring fiona shaw, whose mind, body, and soul were immersed in the role. the setting was eerily modern and the tragedy of the story brought me to tears. i had never seen a greek tragedy performed live and it was quite moving. for lighter fare on sunday we went off west end and saw "swollen tongues", delightfully written in iambic pentameter, incorporating modern language. it was a scream! choosing what to see is a challenge in that city of never ending performances - we haven't been disappointed so far.

cheers