day 10: you are here for a reason

i forgot to mention some notable differences between france and spain, well at least barcelona. 

there are flip flops. everywhere. 

hell, some arent even wearing shirts. 

and  people lounge all over the parks whereas in paris there were designated grassy lawns for such things. 

in barcelona, AKA barcino (the romans used to call it back in the day),

[see.]

it seems more people are shamelessly (and some proudly) waving their freak flags. 

we all have that 'freak' facet - it may be tied to shame, guilt, vulnerability, insecurity, etc...

and here they're just wavin' it. topless. in their flip flops. 

whereas in france, 

it seems most are hiding behind their put-together outfits and closed toed shoes watching where they walk so they dont step on the manicured lawns. 

in the same vein, 

barcelona is rowdier, grittier, and spicier than france. 

neither here nor there. 

just is. 

just some things i noticed...

in a lot of ways, barcelona is what i am more familiar with. 

and france is what i desire to be more of. 

both excellent places speckled with poo-poo traits. 

'tis life, oui/si?

and today begins my rendezvous with gaudi.

the sagrada familia tour begins...

sharp, cold, rigid sculpting depicting the death of christ

total contrast to the other side...which i couldnt get a good picture of...

the inside...

trinity with ceiling

trinity without ceiling. 

its very clear that with or without the ceiling in the pic, this structure is stunning.

i just read these words from 'embracing the wide sky by daniel tammet:

"...the success of outstanding individual's in numerous fields, from mozart and einstein to garry kasparov and bill gates, has been attributed by many to minds they regard as unearthly and inexplicable. i think this view is ot only erroneous but also harmful, too, because it separates the achievements of talented individuals from their humanity; an injustice to both them and to everyone else. the brain is amazing..." [p.3]

which makes me think twice before i call gaudi a genius. 

rather he perceives the world differently than most of us or perhaps has a less narrow view of it...or has commanded more of his brain than most of us to be able to create the way he did.

if it werent for tammet's book, i wouldve left in awe stained with envy and self-deprecation. 

instead i walked away in awe and inspired. 

and hungry. we sat at a corner cafe and ate some food while staring up at the sagrada familia. 

i had a difficult time tearing my eyes away from it...

the croissant was...actually really good :)

the 'pizza slider' meh. 

the salmon and spinach pie thing was off the hook. 

and our date with gaudi continues...to park guell!

just doesnt do it justice...

at the tip top of the park we come to this. 

a pillar with a cross on top. and this spotted creature - spotty was instantly curious and rightfully nervous. he was a bit of an obnoxious guitarist just rambling random 'oh baby's and 'come fiesta with me's while he mimed taking a bite out of innocent female tourists walking by. 

i dont think he was a part of gaudi's design...

although he sported hard not to notice colorful characteristics... 

theres the sagrada familia and a sip of a smoothie to cool off on this very very calor day

at the tip top of the pillar!

vicky christina barcelona moment. listening to classical spanish guitar music. swoooon~

the "serpentine ceramic bench" says my fodor's guidebook

'the iron dragon on the gate to the guell garden guards the golden apples of classical mythology' says my fodor's guidebook

the entrance. 

'can i have some?' 

'what's that spotty? i cant hear you over the awesome coconut ice pop.'

and i was too busy enjoying my sangria ice pop to remember to snap a photo...

but i assure you it was muy bueno.

barcelona cathedral...and mitsi!

thanks karen for connecting us with mitsi :)

catalonian acrobats aka castells. apparently so it spotty!

a giraffe of many tricks and trades. 

spotty makes friends with chakra, mitsi's kitty

view from mitsi's 

rooftop

dinner at can culleretes. the oldest restaurant in either catalonia or barcelona...eerr...

either way, our tastebuds thank you mitsi. 

duck-ham & parm salad...and that up in the right of the plate smoked salmon and kiwi salad

and strong sangria.

traditional Catalonian cuisine. 

cannelloni, sausage & white beans, spinach with ham & pine nuts & raisins

and more strong sangria

all of it...buenisimo. 

profiteroles and crema catalana. 

the profiteroles -- party in my mouth. 

olivia, minnamoo, spotty, gina, mitsi

muchas gracias, mitsi for a memorable evening in barcelona...

there certainly are no coincidences. 

if you are ever in barcelona, 

do stop by [mitsit took us to these two places before dinner. appetizer for the eyes.] 

1. vives de la cortada import and meet maria, a very warm and spiritually gifted individual who works with crystals

2. la basilica galeria. a jewelry store like youve never seen. something for everyone, even if it's to admire. benny, they had this gorgeous slice of watermelon tourmaline ring. like i said, something for everyone to admire. 

tomorrow is our last full day in barcelona...

good night, loves. 

besos

xx

day 9: water

my eating has gone completely to shit. 

at times. 

like today's breakfast: 

the "croissant"...no. thats all i ate of it. i am now a croissant snob. even bigger than before i left europe.

the coco puffs looking thing. yes. i ate all of it. i heart cereal.

the lemon yogurt. meh, ate some of it. 

the strawberries...although a little mashed from yesterday's bus ride, i ate all of it. i heart berries. 

the book, i traded it in for 'beautiful ruins' off the hostel shelf. 

chocolate milk and this tartelette. yikes. but at the same time, why the hell not because its tasty!

a view from the hostel balcony.

with fabrizzio, the hostel mascot.

our hostel is called 'fabrizzio's guesthouse' and people take photos with fabrizzio wherever they go. 

spotty and fabrizzio hit it off.

until fabrizzio tried to eat spotty. 

and then i ate the rest of gina's eggplant/chicken sandwich too. 

i think im pretending that calories dont count when traveling abroad...

so.

a big part of traveling: 

go. with. the. flow. 

in other words: 

only a few blocks from park guell, 

gina was feeling terrible so we taxi-ed it back to the hostel. 

i left her to rest and i walked the lower part of barcelona instead. 

park guell will [must] happen in the next couple of days.

and my stroll brought me to 

barcelona's very own arc del triomf

and barceloneta near the piers and a view of montjuic. 

i couldnt get spotty in the pic so instead i opted in. 

this one's for you, yang ;)

and blue scholar's lyrics play: 

"be like water with the flow you drippin'"

and then i stumbled upon the santa maria del mar...i stayed here a good bit. 

it was both the "something better on the horizon" and a "lesson to learn"

and then this.

dinner at can majo in barceloneta. 

barcelona's food is just WOW.

thats cava right there. dont call it champagne...

grilled scallops. and pa amb tomaquet. *drooooool*

calamari. the best ive had. EVER. 

their house paella. yup, this is what food tastes like. 

tiramisu [still thinking about the one we had in montmarte...] 

and crema catalana [their version of creme brulee]

not bad. 

lets just say they are known for their seafood dishes. 

and now we say buenas noches.

flow on, friends. 

besos

xx

day 8: beautiful ruins

it is 2:13 en avignon. 

we never made our final leg of the petit Tour de France.  

instead, we rode in the front seat of the van driven by an adorable french universite student working for the bike tour company with our bikes and belongings in the back.

gina woke up not feeling well - i believe the heat and physical demands were the culprit. 

after my petit dejuner with spotty, which was quite good, 

i continued to read jess walter's 'beautiful ruins', a novel i picked up at JFK, in our hotel room while waiting for the van to take us back to avignon. and gina rested. 

around noon, i was sandwiched between the young driver and my sister. the driver and i made small talk in frenglish (?). at first glance, he looks like your ordinary college student - cargos, a&f polo, aviators, boy next door features...but the french accent completely transformed him. all of a sudden, he became charming with just the right amount of coy and seemingly totally unaware of these qualities, which made him more desirable. the whole french thing is really working for these frenchmen. 

[back at the bike shop, we return our gear. had this been our ride, gina probably wouldn't be ailing right now. and i wouldnt have crazy tan lines.]

our bus ticket to barcelona is for 7:30 pm. 

and we are scheduled to arrive in barcelona at 2:40 am. 

mm, it will be uninteresting and a bit uncomfortable, i imagine. 

in the meantime, we have perched ourselves on a bench in a shaded courtyard. 

well, i am encloved by our belongings and gina is spread out on the bench with her head resting on my right thigh, occasionally rubbing her tummy in the hopes of relieving the knotted nausea. 

oh and this awesome lunchtime treat:

seriously...the sandwiches in these shops are super-tasty. 

simple, fresh, and easy on the wallet. 

way to go, france!

on the last chapter of beautiful ruins, 

i read this: 

be present. 

something my friend karen spoke to me about on the day before departing for paris. 

'be present' has been traveling with me since. 

an appropriate and gentle reminder to shoo the thoughts away and soak in where i am. 

...

and where am i now, at 2:33 am? 

in my barcelona hostel after a much needed shower!!

i feel like a nueva mujer. 

but traveling between two foreign languages is discombobulating...

my Romance languages are all jumbled between francais, espanol, and even a little italiano.

i feel like beautiful ruins after sitting stagnantly for hours, cooking under the avignon sun being coated with dust from the courtyard against my clammy skin 

then having to sit stagnantly again for hours on a bus with a dude behind me sleeping on his half-full water bottle that kept crinkling under his weight being jostled by the bus and some person way up front who kept spritzing perfume for god knows what reason...

pero estamos en barcelona y estoy cansada...

and really, 

"isn't it enough to be [adventuring together in Europe with my sister]?"

[beautiful ruins, p. 337]

buenas noches..

besos

xx