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Published: November 24th 2013
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We decided to go to the Picasso Museum, advised by my Mom. You wander through the narrow streets of the Gothic section of town till you get to the next section of windy streets where you find the museum. The temporary exhibit is showing a photo story of Picasso's life in Cannes, a ten year period or so. The photographer was a close friends so you see the intimacies of daily life. Picasso almost shows in colour in these black and whites, his life force is so powerful. You have the sense of a man who lived to fullest, always. His pet goat lived at the foot of his bed. The huge home was filled with piles of leftover bits and stacked canvasses, meals left for still life paintings amongst the bric a brac of his creations. He smiled a lot. Jaqueline, his wife, is fascinated by him. Her eyes never leave him. She sat and watched him as he painted, seeming a statue herself. They touch a lot. The exhibit gave you the chance to form a picture of the man from which to contemplate his art. The museum holds a lot of his work from early years and then
some from the rest of his career, including ceramics and bronzes. It has almost nothing from his blue period. So it gave me a good idea of how his style developed and then left me wanting to see more. Of what was there, I love The Pigeons and the Portrait of Jaqueline. Jacob and I have decided to go to the Picasso Museum in Paris. He also requested pencils and has begun drawing as part of his daily studies.
Next day, we went to the Pablo Espanyol. It is a village that was constructed to model the different types of architecture throughout Spain, and show the different cultural foods and crafts of each region. It was a tourist trap. The buildings and squares were interesting. The craft shops mainly had higher quality goods, and everything was extremely expensive. I would rather do my window shopping without an entrance fee. None the less, it got us out on a beautiful day and we stopped on our way home for a tapas meal. We chose a set meal so we could try a bunch of tapas more easily. We didn't like everything, the dishes with aioli were beyond us, but it
was a broad section of typical Catalan Tapas so we were content. That night we went back out on the streets to go and see Flamenco dancing. Flamenco is not from this part of Spain, but there are still go dancers here. We saw a half hour show. There was a very good Flamenco guitarist, the singers (who are major percussionists with their hands) were excellent and the dancers truly impressive. They were a couple, you felt almost a t war with each other, the tension was so strong. Then the woman danced alone. She actually looked quite a bit like the famous Carmen flamenco dancer.her face was strong, distant and compelling. Her feet moved so quickly and with such force, the clapping of the men was overwhelmed. It was beautiful, and at moments disturbing to watch, it is such a strong act. Walking to and from the theatre was part of the fascination of the evening. This was our first time out at night and we realized that we had been missing a whole other part to Barcelona. The night world is full of light, sound and twice as many people, itches the vibrancy of carnival.
Yesterday, we
had hoped to walk in the sun in one of Barcelona's many parks, but ended up moving too slow. We had to eat and I had received enough info to arrange for flights to and from Tanzania, so no walk for us. We were really curious to try the oldest restaurant in Barcelona, so that was our treat for the large middle meal of the day. This restaurant serves traditional Catalonia meals without a lot of expense. We had the basic soup with noodles, vegetables and ubiquitous chick peas. Then I had quail in mushrooms. It was absolutely amazing. Jake had a cross section of seafood. I didn't think the dessert could compete with the main meal but the whiskey tart was delicious. It was layers of cream with a narrow line of sponge cake smothered with pure, clean whiskey. That night, we headed back out into the lively night life of Barcelona to see the Magic Fountain. This is a huge water fountain built at the base of Mont Juic which has water dancing light and music shows. It made me feel the same way as when I watch fire works. The half hour show holds every bit of
your child like awe. We want to go back tomorrow to see it from the heirs. From the side it was glorious, from up top, I think you will see the light artistry more like flowers. I hope we can make it there after the soccer game.
Good Night and Sweet Dreams
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jean
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cool - i didn't get up Mont Juic. I loved the Picasso museum too. If you really want to see his stuff you need to go to the MOMA in NYC. Maybe the three of us could do a weekend there. . . J