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!

Montserrat!

 Barcelona - Day 2

  I waited until we got on board our ship to work on the blog because of the dang slow internet in Barcelona.  Guess I wasn't thinking about that fact that a "Satellite" internet connection on board is even slower than dial up.  I feel like there must be some poor little guy down in the hull somewhere tapping on a telegraph machine to send email messages.  So, I don't know how far I will get or how often, but I'll just be sending short messages from this point on.  Actually you are all probably pretty relieved about that because, well, admit it.  No one likes to look at other people's vacation pictures.  Except me.  I love it!

     Also I accidentally hit a button on my fancy new camera so there aren't many pictures that are in focus so I'll spare you those.  Lucky you!

     After an insane day of walking the city yesterday, we decided to head into the hills to a place my friend Rita recommended.  We found the perfect guide, "Jordi," who is from that area and knows it well.  Shout out here to Jordi who is now reading my blog!  Hola Jordi!

     The hills are actually a massive rock outcropping called Montserrat, which means "serrated" mountain in Catalon.  Make no mistake, there is a huge difference between Catalon and spanish and they are quick to remind you at every opportunity.

      Isn't it amazing?  We stopped in a little village called Minostrol at the foot of the mountains to have an espresso and soak in the view.  I can't imagine living there - what a peaceful place.  Do you see the single rock just right of the middle standing there?  Here is a better view below. . .

      It's called, "The Finger."  Are you starting to see a recurring theme with my photographs?  Kinda remind you of that artsy water company building yesterday?????  Anyhoo, Jordi is a mountain climber and has scaled Montserrat many times.  Thank goodness I had the wrong shoes on yesterday (even though they were very cute) - otherwise, I believe Jordi would have had me harnessed up and climbing that finger!  WAIT - that came out all wrong, but you know what I mean.

     Okay, enough of that nonsense - the most amazing thing about this area, besides "the finger" is the beautiful benedictine monastery built into the side of the mountain.  We drove a winding switchback road up and up and up and finally came to this beautiful, peaceful spot . . .

     In this monastery is the "Black Madonna," which as legend says appeared to shepherds in the caves of Montserrat.  She is the Patron Saint of Barcelona and pilgrims come from all over to rub their hand on the "earth" which she holds and pray for her intercessions and grace.  I had to download this pictures because of course, with a relic so important as this, my camera failed!

     There is also a special treat in Montserrat.  Everyday, at 1:00pm, a boys choir sings.  They are boys who are boarded and schooled there and their voices are angelic. They range in age from 6 years to 14.

     We loved Montserrat - you could actually stay in the monastery and eat with monks if you had time - maybe a trip I will come back and do one day.

     From Montserrat, we traveled to the village of San Cristofol, Jordi's home town.  We walked the dirt roads and picked figs from trees and grapes from vines and strolled meeting all of his lovely neighbors.  I think we were a bit of a novelty in that town of 200 but we had a grand time.  Next we wnet to lunch at Can Font in the neighboring village of Marganella where I had my first true spanish Paella.  I was not disappointed!

     Do you know what these are?

     Yes, class.  Very good.  They are champagne bottles - except in Barcelona, champagne is called Cava.  And if you add a winery plus my husband, that equals BIG TROUBLE.  Fortunately, this vintner did not ship to the US, so we got off with only purchasing one bottle!  Last time we were in Italy, 8 cases of wine arrived at my door about 3 weeks later!  I had to give Jordi a hard time over that pit stop.

     We ended the day with a drive to the picturesque seaside town of Sitges.  We had time for just a quick stroll down the beach and through the city square.  I had to look very closely at everyone in this picture to make sure there weren't any nudies!

And here is a mermaid "Voguing" Madonna Style!  All in all - it was a great day in Spain - the experiences diverse and the sights were bountiful! My high school/college spanish is flooding back and I am enjoying the Spainiards laughing at me massacre their language.  They are so patient and kind and very quick to correct you.  Well, Beunos Noches everyone - early wake up call in the morning!

Oh The Places You'll Go!

    “You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go! 

     In less than 24 hours I will be sitting (hopefully sleeping) on a plane bound for Barcelona where the real Empty Nest Adventure begins.  "Am I packed?" you ask.  "Why, no.  I'm not packed yet. In fact my room looks like this right now:

Totally adorable, but impractical shoes - my favorite kind!

Don't judge me.

     Me, the expert packer, organizer, chief cook, laundress, and do-er of all things motherly am sitting in this giant pile saying, WTH?????  For some reason, I am a bundle of indecision as I try to organize outfits and pack for a 45 day adventure that will take me to 6 countries and at least 2 different climates.  Eeegads - I'll be up all night.  Why am I so disorganized lately when I am used to juggling so much and handling it like a pro?  In fact, my standard answer to family members when they try to pile more jobs on my "to do" list is, "If you stick a broom up my butt, I can sweep the floor while I do everything else!"  Except I don't use the word butt.  Anyhoo . . . I digress.  My big dilemma now is eliminating some of the 20 pairs of shoes I have set aside that are oh so cute and match all of my new cruise outfits!  Like I said, don't judge me.

     I promise to reply to all of the amazing comments and emails I have received in response to this blog.  I am a bit stunned, I have to admit.  I have had over 800 page views which blows my mind so I guess at this point I should add a disclaimer:  Ahem.  While I know it is not wise to announce that I will be traveling for the next 6 weeks, I am giving all readers fair warning that I have a very ferocious cat that is staying behind to watch over the place.  Oh yeah, and she will be accompanied by my 320 pound ex-bodyguard, bouncer and his friend who are house-sitting.  'Nuff said.

     So back to the reason I haven't blogged or responded to everyone's comments...I had a little computer problem this week.  It was one of those tragedies that had me almost in tears while Apple techs were shaking their heads and clearing their throats.  Words like "hard drive failure" and "corrupt files" were being tossed around as I helplessly sat at the Apple Store Genius Bar and prayed they would take pity on me and take care of my issues quickly.  After a few diagnostic tests and a mumbo jumbo explanation that I didn't understand a word of, they were able to restore my computer to a useable state.  Of course all bookmarks, passwords and convenient items are gone, but I am happy that my little baby is alive and well and still kicking!  I think I am going to have to adopt one of these adorable, geeky Apple guys as my son was the techie of the house and he had to up and leave me for college.  So if you see a different face in our family Christmas card, you'll know the adoption went through!

     So back to the trip . . . a trip of a lifetime and I am happy to go with very little plans, lots of spontaneity built in, and besides my massive suitcase full of adorable Lilly Pullitzer and shoes galore, I am also bringing my art journal.  I decided to start a journal just for this experience.  I love this book - it is chunky and thick and I could just lick it because it is THAT good.  Handmade watercolor pages and hand-tooled leather cover - I couldn't wait to get some things in it.

I prepped it a little - just because I can't stand a blank book.  Here is a little "peek" . . .  more to follow!

     So I guess it is safe to say that I am a little excited and I've decided to go with the flow and move on!  And now - Off to Spain!  Adios!

“Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!