Magnesia Cinfa

Barcelona - Day Three

     Today was another amazing day but before I go on,  I have to give you a little background. . .

     My daughter came home from college last Spring and lectured her father and I about eating healthier, getting fit and taking care of ourselves because she wanted us to be around for a long time.  In reality, she was saying, "you guys are getting fat."  She lectured us on reading food labels, eating whole, organic foods and exercising regularly.  She was a great motivator during the summer and helped to get us "fit and trim" for our trip.  She sat us down many a day in front of Dr. Oz and one day he talked about his "Poop Chart."  We all died laughing at this episode as he talked about the 7 types of stools and that a "No. 4" was the perfect poop!  Here is a link to his chart in case you are curious:  http://healthybodydaily.com/dr-oz-in-case-you-missed-it/dr-oz-poop-chart-poop-solutions

     So, having a "No. 4" was a big deal and it has become a joke around our house - we are weird like that.  As you can imagine (or probably don't want to imagine), after all that healthy eating, we got to Barcelona and forgot all about the organic, whole foods as we devoured tapas and paella and all the amazing dishes of Spain.  Yes, you guessed it - no number 4's for us!  In fact, there was no number 1's, 2's, 3's, etc!  As we walked around each day it got more hysterical until we finally had to stop to find something to get us "moving" again.  I was really anticipating a hilarious game of charades when my husband had to go into a pharmacia and try to act out exactly what the problem was.   As he began to describe the problem in spanglish, the pharmacist spoke up in perfect english and said, "you need something for constipation."  Dang it!

     She sent us back with a bottle of "Magnesia Cinfa" and the instructions to drink a capful.  That's it, just drink a capful.  So two nights ago, that's what we did.  No luck. We tried again last night with no luck.  By that time, we were in agony and I was trying to decipher the directions on the bottle with my limited high school spanish.  We even went as far as using an online translator to try to figure out what the maximum dose was.  It became hysterical as we were trying to figure out the directions and then both said "the hell with it" and chug-a-lugged the bottle!!!

      And this morning - I am happy to report, "OLE!  NUMERO QUATRO!"  These are things you don't find in travel brochures!

     Okay, enough of that - on Day 3, we spent another amazing day with Sonja wondering the city.  This was our last day and she was trying her best to cram in the most important sites.  We started with another Antonio Gaudi house, Casa Mila or "Las Pedreras," which means "The Quarry."  Guadi took a lot of heat over this design because it was covered in stone instead of his usual ceramic and mosaics.  No one appreciated what he was doing until it was finished and his critics could see the true beauty as the design mimicked waves and the wrought iron balconies were like fish nets with various items from the sea intertwined.  It is quite beautiful, but also innovated as it was one of the first buildings to have underground parking, and open courtyard for light and lifts.

     We toured one of the apartments inside that has been restored to its original condition, but the real surprise was when we went up to the roof to the terraces.  I have seen these images before in pictures, but had no grasp of the scope of these sculptures.  They remind me of monks or even soldiers and for some reason, even Don Quixote comes to mind when I look at them.  Again, there are no words . . .

     We really covered ground after Casa Mila as we went through the Gothic Quarter where we saw remnants of Roman Temples and parts of the aqueduct still intact.  We strolled down La Rambla where the streets were full of vendors, artists, musicians and every sort of social misfit in Barcelona.  It was like a circus - so full of activity!

     We walked down the "Manzana de la Discordia or the Block of Discord.  It is the most famous collection of modernist buildings sharing the same facade in Barcelona.  My favorite one was Gaudi's Casa Batllo - incredible to see and the other two facades pale in comparison.

     We had lunch in the marketplace - one of my favorite things to do when I travel to a new city.  I love the sights, smells, colors and people - vendors have tiny little restaurants all around the perimeters and we had an amazing lunch.  Our server fussed at Michael for not eating all of the meat off of his fish and she showed him how to cut around the bone to extract the tiny piece of meat and then made a show of feeding him!

     After lunch, we made our way up to the Olympic Stadium and saw spectacular views of Barcelona from Montjuic (or the hill of the Jews).  Sonja took us through the cemetary there where only the wealthiest of families have mausoleums.  The more common folk have a box in a wall (complete with a window) where all of the members are buried.  The only unfortunate part is that it takes two years for a body to decompose in one of these crypts, so if another family member passes before the two years are up, they are kept in a box somewhere else until the first body is decomposed and the crypt can safely be unsealed.  The bones from the previous relative are then shoved aside to make room for the next member!  A family pays for this space for a period of 40 years.  After that time, you have to pay a yearly rent or you are OUT!

     It was a strangely beautiful place - it stretched for miles and was built into the side of the hills of Montjuic.  Sonja had us stop to take a picture of this particular gravesite - I didn't feel comfortable but she explained that these "tacky" plots are the tombs of wealthy gypsy families and this one in particular was especially tacky.

     But the best one of all was this grave marker we found:

     Sonja explained to us that it was the grave of a very wealthy man who had nothing but greedy nephews who sat and waited for him to die so they could inherit his money.  This is the translation (according to Sonja) as to what he left on his marker . . .

"My last dying wish . . . F**k You!" Gotta love the irony of it all!  Those Spaniards have a sense of humour!

     Our day ended with a lovely, late dinner at Casa Calvet, another home designed by Gaudi.  We had a fabulous meal and some spectacular Spanish wine.  So good, in fact, that I proceeded to play "Yankee Doodle" by blowing across the wine bottle.  The guests at the next table were not amused but hey, I felt extra happy to be in Spain and what the heck, it was our last night and I had finally had my NUMBER FOUR!

Gaudi & Tapas!

     Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days . . . the "high-speed" wireless internet we have here at the hotel for 25 euros per day is about as fast as "dial-up" and pictures take forever to download.  Here is an update of our first full day in the city and I will try to post days 2 and 3 when I have a much better (and cheaper) connection:

Barcelona - Day One:

     We woke this morning to a beautiful cool, sunny day.  The weather here is incredible and there is absolutely zero humidity - which means everyday is a "good hair" day in Barcelona!  These are the types of things that travel brochures should tell you.

     Having no expectations, we were happy to let our guide, Sonja plan our route.  Her feisty, animated personality made us love her immediately and it was funny to listen to my husband's Alabama accent automatically switch to "spanglish!"  In fact, Sonja suddenly had a bit of a southern drawl so the two of them were more or less speaking "Alabamish (or Spanabamian)." Listening to the two of them all day was very entertaining and the two became fast friends!

     The day started with Parc Guell - designed by Antonio Gaudi.  There are no words or pictures that could accurately describe the way this beautiful space was planned and built.

     Gaudi was famous for his organic designs. Always mimicking nature, he never incorporated straight lines.  In the Parc, his columns appeared as twisted trees and roots and were built in and around existing vegetation.  The Placa, or central gathering area was surrounded by a serpentine bench covered in mosaics.  It was difficult to get decent pictures with all of the crowds but perhaps we will get up early one morning and get back to take proper pictures.

 

     We walked the city and stopped at most of Gaudi's buildings and were able to go in, on top and around them.  Everywhere we looked, the ancient buildings were mixed in with the Dr. Suess-ish style of curved roofs, windows, crooked towers and vivid colors.  Somehow, it all worked!  Barcelona is clean and safe (except for a few gypsies who will quickly pick your pocket if they have a chance.  Several got very close to me but Michael was ever-watchful and I believe no gypsy is a match for a pissed-off Alabama boy, so I wasn't worried.  We were surprised at how kind and gracious the people of the city were - having traveled all over Europe, we found Barcelona to have top scores in hospitality and friendliness.  They are very proud of their city and especially protective of Gaudi and his work.

    We discovered lunch time didn't start until around 3pm and our 6:30am breakfast had long worn off so when it was time for Tapa's we were so excited.  Sonja took us to a quaint and cozy tapas bar and did the ordering for us.  She was a little worried, but we told her we wanted to eat what the local's eat!  I was a little concerned when the Sea Cucumber's arrived, but I remembered my son telling me I should always try new things that I've never had before!  The roles have definitely switched since he was a little boy!

Looks interesting?  Tastes delicious!  I am so proud of myself!

So today I discovered that I LOVED Tapas, and I also realized where "siesta's" come from.  After a late lunch like this, there is only one thing you can do, and that is to take a NAP!  Those Spaniards know what they're doing.  But we had too much to do and and so much to see, so no nap for us!  We headed next to the crown jewel of Barcelona and the site I looked forward to most . . . Gaudi's church, La Sagrada Familia!

     This church is still being built almost 100 years after it was started.  Gaudi lived long enough to complete this south facade and over time, builders and architects have been trying to replicate his work from drawings and designs he made before he died.  I have seen many churches in the world but there is nothing to compare to this space.  It is modern and flooded with light and again, Gaudi takes his inspiration from organic substances like vegetation, bones, and especially items from the sea.

    We were able to go to the top towers and make our way down - the views of the city were spectacular.  The spiral staircase, narrow and steep looks like a nautilus seashell.

Our view from the top:

The sculptures carved into the facade, although not the work of Gaudi, were created in his style.  It is amazing to see - the pictures do not do their size or dimension and justice!

     Still incredibly full from our tapas lunch, we strolled the 2km back to our hotel and took our time exploring side streets, shops and enjoyed people watching.  This city is so beautiful and filled with art.  Everywhere you look, there is something unique.  One minute you may be standing in front of a gothic church and the next minute you are looking at something like this- which of course, Michael had to have his picture taken with!

     And then you will see something like this:

And I will leave you all with this last structure - it is actually the city's water company building and is supposed to be a spout of water but you know how art is . . . everyone interprets it in their own way.  I'll let you think about this one and decide for yourself!

Buenos Noches - more tomorrow!!!!