Barcelona!

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When I said the 11 days we stayed in Paris would probably be the longest we stayed in any one city, I spoke too soon. We're staying in Barcelona for 12. It's been such a nice relaxing visit! Lucky for us, Asaf (Jason)'s brother, Gilad, lives in the Gracia neighborhood of Barcelona and we've been staying at his place instead of a hotel. He's in a great location, with a market two blocks away, restaurants and bars on every corner, and walking distance to everything. We've hardly had to use the Metro at all. We've taken in the sites of Gaudi, strolled along the Ramblas (a wide pedestrian street), taken the funicular to Tibidabo (a hill overlooking the city), and watched the dancing fountain at night. To my delight, there are more wild parrots here than on Telegraph Hill!

It's a different pace of life, here in Spain. Shops are open in the morning, then close between 2 and 5 pm for siesta, and reopen for a few hours in the evening. Even IF the shop hours are posted, they are merely suggestions; the shop will open when it opens. No rush. Sometimes things are just closed, maybe it's Sunday, or a holiday, or a Tuesday, no apparent reason. Like in France, you go to the cheese shop to buy your cheese, the bakery for bread and sweets, the meat counter for meat, you get the idea. Jamon, cured pig legs, are a specialty here and hang in all the shop windows. You really get tired of seeing them.

After spending a month in France, I learned enough French to decode the menu, order food, and exchange pleasantries with people. I thought that Spain would be easier for me to navigate, since I studied Spanish in high school (granted, that was a few years ago). However, they speak and write Catalan in Barcelona. It's different enough from Spanish that I had a hard time with it. Some words are more closely related to French than Spanish.

One of our first nights here happend to be the Merce Festival, in celebration of the Patron Saint of Barcelona. We saw a huge fireworks show set to music and people dressed in costumes. One of our favorite things was going to a flamenco performance. The singer had such passion in his voice and face and the dancer was just awesome, she took up the whole stage! We've also enjoyed walking in the Ciutadella Park.

We liked the Park Guell more than the Sagrada Familia...maybe it's the completion factor. I love the way Gaudi encorporates nature into his architectural design. While the church was impressive, it felt like a giant construction site. Which it is. Building started in 1882, and is not scheduled for completion until at least 2026! (The 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death). The park, on the other hand, was like walking in his imagination. The giant colorful lizard is one of the most famous symbols of this city. Barcelona is very much an artists' home; Picasso's family lived here as a child and a young man, and the Picasso Museum in the old town has many of his early works.

We have enjoyed exploring Barcelona at a leisurely place, and having an almost 2 week siesta in this pleasant city.

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