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Published: March 8th 2007
Out by the pool: No, I'm not still out by the pool, nor have I been here all day. I began my morning with breakfast at just after eight in the hotel. We had juice, coffee, Belgian waffles, fruit and bacon. It was great. Afterwards, it was time to attend to some business. We trekked down to the business center, found at the bottom of an elegant staircase, carpeted in a plush brown shag. We discovered that they didn't have the capability to access documents on a USB device as we had hoped, so instead, my dad showed me where the conferences would be held - in a dark old ballroom-looking room, with oversized glass chandeliers, off a glassed-in hallway overlooking the pool fountains.
After we took a look at the rooms, we headed back to the lobby to meet up with the conference planner. She was an interesting woman, with a simple short haircut who wore no makeup. Although she had a thick Spanish accent, she spoke English almost fluently and I had little trouble understanding her. I learned she would be arriving Friday morning with her guides to lead the companions' tour around the city. Then, the entire
contingent would be meeting up to head to the vineyards for a cava tasting. She will also return on Saturday for the morning's
Gaudi tour, the afternoon trip to the
Picasso Museum and finally, the Gala Dinner. It will be busy, but it sounds fun.
Once we had finished our meeting with her, we headed out into Barcelona. We took a taxi to the
Colon, which is a large, pointy statue down by the original Port. I took some photos of the port building, which had some interesting architecture. It reminded me of something you would see in New Orleans - of course, it's probably the other way around. We walked along the port, down a walkway with thin, loose wooden boards. The boards felt as though they would collapse at any moment, but seemed to be a popular attraction, so I figured it was just my imagination. At the end of the Port was a small mall, very modern-looking so it was clearly built for the tourists. We wandered around inside, looking at the trinkets for sale in the windows. It was amusing to find that one store sold "Native American" items. You could even have a tattoo done
at one shop!
We didn't stay long there, but made our way back up to
La Rambla, which is this big cobbled sidewalk, flanked on either side by roads, stores, restaurants, and apartments. On the sidewalk itself are vendors for tourist items, such as postcards and maps, as well as those selling all manner of animals, from chickens and birds to turtles and iguanas, to rabbits, ferrets, and even mice. I saw three ducks in a cage! One of the vendors yelled at me for taking a photo of his chickens - something in Spanish about blinding them. It was embarrassing certainly, so I was less apt to pull out my camera anywhere else. I definitely don't want to seem too much of a tourist on one hand, but on the other, there are some really interesting photographic opportunities I'd like to take advantage of.
Also along La Rambla were make-up clad "artists" who dressed in costume and posed as statues. They changed their positions only when someone gave them money - some were more successful than others. We saw a man painted white, sitting on a toilet and looking frustrated. I caught Peter Pan putting on his green
make up, and one woman who appeared to have fallen asleep! The most successful were a pair of Asian men, dressed in brown leather soldier's uniforms that appeared to date back to World War II. They were so convincing that I almost wasn't sure if they were real! We deviated from our course at one point to inspect a local market. It was huge, with food stalls in every direction - I was convinced we would become hopelessly lost. It was fascinating to see the food being offered - almost entirely fruit and seafood. I didn't recognize the Spanish names, but I saw crabs, lobster, squid for calamari. There were other fish - glistening silver-scaled ones, some tan fish with a rounded nose and tiny eyes, a small thin fish with great big eyes like golf balls, and some papery thin fish with both eyes on one side of his body. They were interesting and creepy at the same time. There were also a number of fruits I'd never seen before - some with deep red flesh and dark beds of seeds. We finally found our way out, back into the morning sunlight, and hailed a cab.
Our driver was clearly having a bad day, evidenced by the angry streams of Spanish he shouted at other drivers and the near miss accident with an Audi who tried to let a pedestrian cross the road. The situation was made more humorous by the loud opera music booming from the taxi radio. But we made it to the hotel in one piece, and I am now roasting to the color of my brown bathing suit out by the pool, where there is a gorgeous breeze.
This is the life, but I actually am feeling a twinge of loneliness for my friends back home - as I receive their emails about wedding plans and engagement celebrations. As least I will have my own exciting trip news to tell when I return home!
Tonight, it is over to the Spanish firm, and then a nice dinner with members from the Spanish, German and British firms - should be fun! Right now, I'm off to enjoy another shower in my luxurious bathroom - I'll have to be careful or I could become used to this!
~In my room, waiting for dinner~
I figured we would head out to dinner after our meeting with the Spanish firm - but I forgot the difference in custom! Instead, one of our hosts will be meeting us downstairs at a quarter to nine tonight. We took a taxi to the firm's offices, which have just been moved to an old apartment building in Barcelona. The building is narrow and old, with an elevator that shows your upward progress through its cracks. Once we figured out where the offices were, we rang the doorbell and were shown into the conference room. The conference room could have formerly been a beautiful dining room. It had high vaulted ceilings, inlaid with cream paint and white molding. The room was narrow and small, but these ceilings prevented it from feeling cramped. In the center of the room was an old dining room table with six chairs around it. The walls were covered in official looking documents and degrees all in Spanish and one wall was home to tall two bookcases full of legal volumes. The floors were spectacular - tiled with small tiles to reveal an intricate design that must have taken days to complete. Two of our lawyers entered through a large door that housed a mirrored window. They were both so incredibly polite and deferential that I felt like an honored guest instead of an unwelcome tag-along. We discussed final details of the upcoming meetings and events, and I was pleased to learn that they both had an almost childlike sense of humor. We all giggled when they described how pompous one of Friday's speakers is - he has had them change his title on the program three times and has rquested a gift for speaking, and went so far as to specify that he didn't want a gift from Barcelona! It eased my mind about the events to come that these two were so enthusiastic and personable - dinner tonight should be fun.
As we talked, I could watch the traffic outside of the window - the window was floor to ceiling and opened onto a small balcony overlooking the main street in Barcelona. The buildings across the street were quaint - looking similarly to the architecture I saw earlier at the Port. It's exactly what I would have imagined an apartment in Barcelona to be - narrow, high ceilings, tile floor with a small balcony that exposes you to the beauty of the local architecture and the hustle and bustle of city life.
On the way in to the office, we were fortunate to pass a Gaudi building - and my mom was right - it looks just like a drip sandcastle, which I loved making as a child. I wonder if that's where Gaudi got his inspiration. I'll find out on Saturday morning, when I join the companions for the Gaudi tour. I am always interested to learn more about architecture and art, but now I'm really excited!
When we left the office, we returned to the hotel for a cappuccino in the lobby. I really love these tan leather chairs in the lobby - the leather is so expensive and luxurious that I feel like some rich or famous person as I drink my coffee there and look out on the giant copper fish sculpture. Tough life!
Since then, I've been enjoying a break in my room before dinner. I ordered room service, and argued with the girl who brought it up because she tried to insist on holding the door and the tray. I won out, and she deposited the tray for me. I have a sneaking suspicion there was fish in the mayonnaise on the chicken sandwich - but it could just be my imagination. I'm hoping I enjoy our dinner tonight, since I'll need to put on a good face for these delegates. Hopefully there will be enough people so that no one will notice what I'm eating!
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Spain trave guide
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