Day 16_Barcelona

Yesterday I had a bad attitude and I decided to pull myself up by the bootstraps today.  Tired, hungry, stressed by a long day, and my Barcelona apartment was such a disappointment as it is old and kind of shabby.  However, Barcelona is not about the apartment, but the city.  Two doors down from my apartment is an elegant tapas bar/cafe/restaurant.  I had brunch there:  paella and a tomato/olive/feta salad.  Tapas are like small appetizers and in my opinion are the perfect size.  This same place had the best coffee I have had in months.  A cafe con leche (coffee with warm milk) probably is what set me on the right path.  It was so good I had another for dessert.  Basically through exploring the city, I noshed my way across it.  There was also the gelato ecstasy of a tart and wonderful strawberry cheesecake.  Dinner was back at the tapas place with four students.  We ordered at least 12 different dishes from garlic chicken, seafood salad, sauteed mushrooms, asparagus and Parmesan small sandwiches, to tomatoes on toast, and more.  It was fun and again, the perfect amount of food.

Not only have I never met a museum I didn't want to enter, I have also never met a cathedral I didn't want to see.  If you are going to look at cathedrals, Sunday morning is an ideal time as both were having mass while I was there.  It was interesting to watch a service I know, but in Spanish.  The settings were breathtakingly beautiful.  As a cultural historian, I also love seeing how places are used by the community.  I met a funny Italian man at the second cathedral and we sign languaged to each other about what we were trying to capture as he was taking pictures, too.  He helped me take some pictures I would have never considered like the blind photo of the ceiling (as you guess on it being centered and hit the take button).  After our photo session, we adiosed and I met a bunch of my students at the Picasso museum.  The museum was ordered like the Musee d'Orsay usually is:  in chronological order.  This type of organization makes the evolution of work much clearer.  Tons of fun and amazing to see up close and in person.  Some of the students RAN through the museum, but a few of us lingered over it like good wine.

Sunday seems to be wash day in Barcelona as most people don't have dryers.  You can see the 2nd floor residences with their family laundry for all to see.  These dark alleyways between buildings are actually a good thing in a hot climate as they keep shade on many of the units.  The colors in Barcelona are like Southern France, but with two drops of brown added to all the colors.  Unlike Paris a couple of weeks ago, it is spring in Barcelona with the trees leafed out.

Can I just comment about the pillows in France and Spain thus far?  I don't understand why a long (what in America would be a decorative) pillow counts as a sleeping pillow.  I brought a child size down pillow as I like my own.  Good thing or I would have a face ache by now.