The Best Insurance

If you've ever read up on visiting Barcelona or experienced it for yourself, then you know that one of the biggest drawbacks are petty thieves.  Luckily they aren't violent.  Instead they just want to pickpocket you or snatch your bag.

In preparation for my two month excursion I did a lot of research towards ways to keep my passport and cash safe.  After seeing pages of neck pouches and travel wallets I finally found one.  It clips around my waist and is make of 100% silk so it's super soft.  I actually had it altered to be smaller since I wear more form fitting clothing than guys.  In addition, I bought this great PacSafe handbad and a cut-proof camera cord.  All the items have been fantastic for me so far giving a sense of safety, especially the waist pouch.

Now the biggest way to protect yourself is staying aware of your surroundings.  I've found many thefts occur when people aren't paying attention or leave things unattended.  Needless to say Ryan quickly showed me how to watch out and the common scams to avoid.

Yet the other night I learned the best insurance of all.

This was evening we were traveling up north for Ryan to play soccer.  We were headed for the metro and we trying to get through the gates.  Normally we each have a metro pass, but mine had just run out.  He had a T-10 which allows you 10 trips and will let you run it more than once.  Hence we planned to both just use the card for this trip.   Being the gentlemen that he is, Ryan always lets me go first and then he takes the card and follows. 

But he couldn't follow.  The doors wouldn't open for some reason.  It had taken his card, but it wouldn't open.  In the shuffle the guy behind Ryan started pushing him forward towards the unopened doors.   Confused Ryan continued forward jiggling the doors which finally opened, but when Ryan went to take the card it was gone. 

The next second a guy with a hat who had been behind Ryan came over and handed him his cell phone saying it was on the ground.  Strange how did he know it was Ryan's?  Well because he had taken it, took one look at it, and promptly returned it.  Ryan's phone has the best insurance: so old even the thieves don't want it!

I will say that whole situation was a lot of work just for a couple rides on the metro, but hey it reminded us to stay viligent and to always carry old, crappy things.

My Project

While here in Spain, I've accepted one project while I'm exploring the city and lazing around reading lots of books catching some sun.  It is the balconey.

Ryan's apartment has this nice simple balconey that has large double doors in the living room and our bed room.  This is the source of the lovely sea breeze I enjoy each day, the sound of those darn children at recess, and of course my favorite place to catch some sun. 

Upon arrival I notice there were a few plants left from previous owners although most don't look great and some have weeds mixed in with them.  There is a large stack of empty terra cotta pots, various pieces of furniture or broken shutters, and a barren metal structure that I assume once was an awning.  Living in Barri Gotic equates to old buildings and rarely air conditioning hence why we leave the doors open all day and spend a lot of time outside when the hot sun isn't baking the tile and metal.  This quickly became the area that I knew should be fixed up and had such great potential. 

I zoomed in on this picture so you can more easily see the plants as I found them. 

You can see some of the trash left although there is a bit moe hiding behind those shutters!

I'm lucky that Ryan loves life and enjoys plants, so our first step is fixing up the plants.  In my IKEA post, I had shown you the plant we had bought for our deck.  Since then the lavendar took a turn for the worse almost completely dying.  I think I have it starting to revive now...I have about 6 stalks that are green again. The huge fan like plant decided it didn't like the sun and has shrivled up.  Since then I've brought it inside and feed it water daily.  The stallk is still green, so I have hope.  A few days ago I spent a lovely afternoon strolling down the la rambla which has numerous florists selling not only cut flowers but potted plants and herbs.  After eyeing all the different vendors I choose one which had a little old lady who I believe spoke Catalan and bought a small basil plant and a large mint pot (for all those mojitos ;).  So far they seem happy although the Basil did need a little water, whoops. 

This first large task is going to consist of me getting rid of the dead plants, trimming back the alive ones, and transplanting a lot of our new ones.  One of the tricky questions has been placement since as you can tell a lot of my plants are sensitive to all this sun.  It took a few days and some rearranging to get to where I am now. 

This side looks much better without all that junk!  The Jasmine smells lovely in the evening and early morning and has 8 blooms to date.  The Aloe and Himalayan both need to be transplanted soon as they seem to be taking over their pots!

My basil is now flowering (which of course I have to pinch off to preserve flavor and my lavendar is slowly bouncing back.

The next step is to hang my lanterns and string lights.  I'd also like to find some cushions for the chairs and plant something in that hanging box planter. I'll update with more pictures as things progress :)

Dali (Part Un)

Over the weekend, I traveled along the beautiful Costa Brava and enjoyed the small town of Cadaques.  This is where the famous Salvador Dali spent his childhood summers and eventually built his home here.  After my first look of this stunning coastal village, I understood his choice.  The water is a mix of blue to green with many large rock formations.  All the buildings are stark white with red tiled roofs making it picturesque. 

Sunday morning we set off to his home.  This adventure of course was met with a blinding hot sun and a hilly 30 minute trek from where we ate. Yet when I first gazed at the sprawling white building and felt the breeze from the Mediterranean my hike felt more like a pleasant walk especially after my dolce de leche ice cream.  A quick walk along the dock, I could see the desire to have such a beautiful view and secluded area. 

Soon it was time to see the Casa de Dali.  Unlike some muesums, it is a bit more guided in part because of chaotic nature of the house and likely in part to move more people through.  Many of the rooms feel quite small (especially for U.S. standards) and everything feels a bit jumbled together.  Later I learned that the house was built and added to over 30 years as Dali bought more fisherman shacks and surrounding land.  In the beginning he started with small one-room house for him and Gala which slowly evolved into a labrinth of white walled rooms and strange decor. 

Here are a few of oddities I discovered...

Apparrently Dali kept a cricket in a little "house" on his bedroom wall.  I'm not sure why anyone would want to hear a cricket chirp all the time, but then again he is a bit odd.

It's the tiny box on the wall past the bird cage.

One thing he often bragged about was being the first person in Spain to see the sun rise since his home is on the easternmost tip of the Spanish penisula.  He even had a mirror positioned in front a window so that he could see the sunrise from his bed. 

I found it interesting that he and Gala had separate beds.  Maybe they weren't big cuddlers?

Two paintings are unfinished which he left in the house when Gala died.  I find this quite romantic especially since the gesture is now show-cased to every visitor. 

Dali made a circular room for his wife which in the center has interesting acoustics.  I wonder if she was into music or if it just helped make conversation easier to hear...Either way it was fun to play around with the volume changed.  When you stood in the center and spoke, it seemed to amplify your voice.  Here is a link so you can completely see the oval room: http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/portlligat/en_visita-virtual_6.html

I'm not sure if could enjoy my dinner when eating under a Rhino's head with bird wings.  How about you?

No matter any claim to the pool being the floor plan of Alhambra, it is a phallic symbol.  Trust me.
Here's a virtual link so you can see although the angle doesn't quite show the pool's shape in all its glory:
http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/portlligat/en_visita-virtual_8.html

Upon my return to Barcelona, I immediately began researching Dali and Gala.  If you have a spare few minutes, just read the Wikipedia entry for either.  If you thought their home is a bit strange just read about their lives.  Wow.

Oh and here is Chirst of the Rubbish:

Settling into the Silence

My eyes scan the field searching for Ryan in his florescent yellow tshirt which is now drenched with sweat.  I find him just in time to see him strike one towards the goal although the keeper had found him as well and stopped it.  Darn.  I turn to see my new companion with disappointment across her face as well.  I shrugged and she replied with a quick sigh.

You see, I was watching Ryan play soccer with friends far up north of the city discovering something that transcends language barriers: sports and body language.  My companion was the girlfriend of one of the other players and was very nice.  The only challenge was that she only spoke Spanish and I only English.  Therefore, I only had a few useful words such as gracias or vale or si which don't get you very far in deep conversation.  Over the course of the next 2 hours, I found that smiles, claps, sighs, eye rolls, grins, shrugs, and other non-verbals became a new understandable language between us.  In between the events we sat in a companionable silence equally enjoying the game below us and cool sea breeze coming off the ocean just past the fields. 

When we first sat down, I felt uneasy with the silence.  Often we want to fill these gaps with small talk or empty statements trying to eliminate the quiet.  Quickly my mind raced along with possible things I could say, but the only thing I really could come up with is "Perdona no hablo espanol"  Not really something useful especially since I think she kind of already assumed this by my lack of conversation so far. Yet as I pressed forward through the silence for just a bit it became comfortable.  We shared an understanding that we could use words to communicate, but we could still enjoy the game together.  With each save, strike, and hit we mirrored each other cheering on our boys.  Lucky for me her boyfriend was on Ryan's team uniting us ;)  She even offered my some delicious gummy candy at least I could say thanks.  Together we communicated our distrust of the  bugs starting to swarm above us and the humor in one of the players rolling over and over on the field and the amazement in one strike going far beyond the field past the parks boundaries. 

As frustrating as language barriers are, they do illuminate commonalities between people and highlight some of the clearer non-verbal communications.  You start noticing people's tones and body language since you do not understand the words.  It brings you back to early childhood when you don't know everything and have to use your instincts to make sense of the world around you.  For that game I learned there is always a way to express yourself and you can make friends without words.

Montjuic de Nit

Here in Barcelona everything done that has to do with culture or socialization is done BIG.  While the grocery stores may be small and portions normal, their parties are not simple or small.  Case in point: Montjuic de nit.

Montjuic is a very large hill in Barcelona which is covered in trees, muesums, and topped with the castle of Monjuic which I can see at this moment looking out my balconey far in the distance.  Personally this is my favorite area of Barcelona so far...I love the height, views, and natural woods.  It also contains the bontanical gardens which I've yet to see but excited for none the less.  This giant hill and gorgeous venues hosted a night of music of Barcelona or la nit de la musica de Barcelona.  It had 10 venues along the hill featuring over 40 separate acts in addition to having 7 different muesems open.  They had 2 bus routes free of service transporting you around the hill from venue to venue.  Here's the map so you can get an idea:

Oh and in case you hadn't caught the time it is from 10 until 4 in the morning....did I mention these people know how to party?

Needless to say those extra few hours Ryan and I got from our misadventures with the muesums were much needed.  Our first venue was at Greek Theatre which is an open air theatre made for the 1929 World's Fair.  Here is a picture at night although it does no justice to the mood or feel at night:

The first site that greets us is a set of large steps surrounded by trees and plants.  We climb up to the entrance of the event to find three lovely ladies dressed up as angels....interesting.  They were hired by Axe to give out samples, I guess we know one of the sponsers, lol.  Upon entering there is a huge area that is landscaped with roses and gravel paths surrounding by columned areas and benches.  It is stunning and I feel regret having to leave it to go to the concert which has started.  We are ushered to enter to the right and I'm instantly overwhelmed by the beautiful site of stone and foliage and the sounds of Sandra Carrasco filtering through the night.  You can't help to love the romance of the setting....long vines cascading down the stone backdrop with stars overhead and a light breeze.   In addition to the venue Sandra has a fantastic voice which made the concert all the more fun.

Afterwards we grabbed a quick coffee at this ingenious Nestle coffee bar.  The waitresses used these counter top machines that use those prepackaged cups so it took no time to make any of the drinks and they promoted the coffee line for people to buy.  I will admit my iced cappacino was delicious....I kinda wanted a few more but there wasn't time for that.  Instead we walked a bit further down and bought a sandwich since dinner hadn't really happened yet. 

Before I continue I should mention the quest for flamenco.  While in Granada one of the events of the conference was supposedly flamenco.  Ryan and I were excited about this only to be at the wrong place which resulted in missing the flamenco dancers.  We were pretty bummed, but when we looked at the program for Montjuic de Nit we found redemption.  At midnight at the castle were scheduled flamenco dancers. 

So at this point in the night we are debating if we have time to hit up a muesum or head straight to the castle.  Pablo calls so we schedule to meet and nix the muesum which isn't that surprising if you've read my plan b and c blog.  Anyway we cram into the bus and begin our ascension up Montjuic.  When I say cram, I mean cram.  I was in shock when the driver allowed other people to get onto the bus and wasn't surprised by the girl blocking the sensor to allow the doors to shut....it was crammed. 

The castle feels old with a bridge to cross over the moat which is now landscaped greenery and stone walls and paths....it feels straight out of a movie aside from all the loud music and hundreds of people in modern clothes.  There are two venues at the castle which makes finding the dancers even more confusing from the start...navigating a castle along with finding the right place can be tricky.  We first find a food place and a huge lookout to I can only imagine is venue 1.  It looks like a classic giant rock concert complete with thousands of screaming fans apart from the castle in the backgroud of course.  We stopped and asked a guard where the other venue is (Ryan is actually quite good at asking for directions, I know surprising trait in a guy) and we finally find it.  Much to our dismay we have found a bunch of men singing blues...no flamenco in site.  Quickly we pull out the agenda to discover they have changed the times and no longer have the dancers.  Naturally we are quite bummed out, but decide hey maybe we can go take a look around the Miro Muesum.

Back on the sardine packed bus, down the hill, and WAIT.  It's closing in 30 minutes so they aren't allowing anyone else in.  Just a perfect cap off to our earlier mishaps with muesums.  It seems no muesum or flamenco dancer wants Ryan and I.  Quite disappointing.

We travel to another spot to try and meet up with a few friends which of course proves impossible in the crowds and spend the final portion of the night listening to more classic Spanish music.  I was mesmersized by all the participates dancing even if I did get elbowed a few times.  We called it a night around 2 feeling exhausted and bit let down from flamenco and began the long walk home from Catalunya.

Be sure to check out the event's website to hear some of the artists on the opening screen...it's pretty cool: http://www.bcn.cat/cultura/montjuicnit/2011/index.html

Plan B and C

I'm a planner.  I'm one of those people.  I strategically think through where I want to go, plan what to wear, when to go, when to eat....everything.  I even read all official postings places.  What?  I just want to know what they are trying to tell me and honestly, it's normally helpful info.  This probably stems from teaching or maybe this is why I am a teacher...I'm good a planning or neurotic, however you'd like to put it.

This post is my reluctant admitance that my planning doesn't work in Barca. 

Now in St. Louis, I would call Brigitte up and say I want to go shopping.  We would find a day that she was off and then I would think what stores do I want to go to and pick the right mall.  Then I would choose clothes that would be comfy and easy to try on things with and then start thinking when am I going to eat?  Brigitte would arrive on time like always ;) and off we would go on our shopping adventure or wherever we had planned.  Normally the only hitches we might hit would be traffic jams, wrong turns, or possible crowds.

Here in Barcelona it doesn't seem to ever work that way.

Late last Friday night, I was researching.  The big "free" muesum weekend here is the last weekend of the month so I wanted to decide what muesums we should go through.  I read my whole Fodor's guidebook noting all the free muesums in my handy dandy notebook (Blue's Clues anyone?).  Then I continued looking up a few other muesums on-line and had a nice list. 

Although there were only 2 free muesums on Saturday, I was excited.  I really wanted to see the Museu d'historia de la ciutat (the history muesum of the city) for it is filled with Roman ruins and has a great audio tour.  Ryan was excited as well, so we set off that afternoon with high hopes.  We soon arrived although it felt quiet and reserved especially for a free day.  Though I pushed this aside as Ryan started chatting in Spanish and I honed into all the new signs to read.  Quickly I read a line in English that was a bit disheartening, free day: Sunday after 4.  Wait, it was Saturday and somehow I had gotten the wrong day.  We decided to wait to go to that muesum since we could buy tickets any day of the week and maybe we would try on a Sunday.  Now we could rush across town to the other muesum or just call it bust which we did.  We had big plans for our evening so an extra hour or two relaxing wasn't such a bad thing, just unexpected.

Now Sunday we planned to go to the Picasso muesum partly because it was the most expensive and partly because we really enjoy art.  After a long, restoring sleep Sunday morning, we set out with renewed hope and excitement.  I also had learned my lesson and double checked on-line the hours and confirmed it was a free day. 

Upon arrival, I did not read any signs to confirm this nor did Ryan have any Spanish exchanges.  Instead we relied on our observation skills. Namely the three hundred plus people waiting along the street to enter the muesum.  As we walked on for ages with growing trepidation that the line might never end, I began to wonder do I really want to go to wait?  Now I'm a patient person and can wait for long periods of time, but 2 hours to save some Euros????  When we reached the end after at least 3 blocks of walking, we looked at each the all knowing silent communication of "hell no" and walked away. 

I found myself at that moment in a familiar predicament...now what?  My plan failed and I didn't really have a back up.  Ryan suggested the Catalan History Muesum since it was close by.  I was game although I felt unsure if they had a free day or not...as we walked the 15 minutes to get there which by the way isn't "close by."  In America close by is either a 5 minute drive or physically next door possibly a block or 2 away.  We arrived to discover Sunday is the free day!!!!!!!  Of course there was a catch, this is Barcelona after all, the museu d'hisotira de catalunya closes at 2:30 on Sundays or in 20 minutes seeing as it was 2:10.  At that point we took the bus home and tried to regroup.

The moral of these misadventures:  one plan is never enough.  Barcelona doesn't just surprise you with random puddles of dog pee or strange beggars or naked gay pride parades...it also likes to change it's hours, specials, and attract unexpected hoardes of people.  It always has a curve ball so you best have a plan B and like plan C.  Who knows maybe even a back up to the back up of the back up plan.

Additional Note:
So I even needed to have a back up plan for this post.  When I clicked publish, it errored and I lost allllll of my writing!!!!!!!  I think blogger is reading my blog and has a sick sense of humor.