Barcelona:
17-24 November 2003

| Madrid: Nov 13-16

Monday, 17 November

A restless night is erased by good cheese and meat and a sunny day. Four Metro stops away to the Atocha-Renfe station and the train -- a new high-speed -- to Barcelona. We have first class tickets and we find a lounge for those in "Preferente". The train trip is perfect. Smooth, quiet and just under five hours for the trip. Two great small meals and views of the countryside and eventually the Mediterranean Sea. Though we read reports of rain, the weather is beautiful as we pull into Barcelona.

Our host, Robert Anderson, has given us easy directions and we move only a couple of stations, then walk one block to his apartment at the corner of Carrer de Balmes and Carrer de Corsega. As we near the security keypad, but before we can even push his call button, a voice rumbles: "You're in the right place." He had seen us approach; it sounded a bit spooky to be greeted first! It was a humorous and warm greeting which represented well how the rest of the afternoon, evening, and early morning would progress.

His apartment is shared with Luis and is in a Gaudi-designed building. It is decorated tastefully and our comfort -- both with his home and with him -- is instantaneous. After a period of easy conversation, Robert takes us for a ramble on the Ramblas. The streets are full and the look of the city is so specific, so charming, so impressive.

We sit down, after this stroll, in front of home at the Jamaica (pronounced "ya-MY-ca") Cafe and continue to chat about all sorts of things as we wait for the Dry Martini Bar to open.

We make a stop in a nice little market where three good wines are purchased for under $10 -- total!! Now to the Dry Martini... No sign or marker out front; leather chairs and a bar -- lots of men and a few women -- in business attire. Our three-way conversation is lively -- made more so by the martinis.

By 9:00pm, Luis calls and Robert says, "Meet us at La Flautas" and we are off for dinner. And what a dinner! Robert and Wade have the amazing filet mignon -- veal filet mignon. Wine. Marisa and Luis are gaga over their two varieties of squid. Wine. Coffee with whiskey -- lots of conversation. At 11:30pm, we go home and continue the talk until 2:45am. Pictures of and talk about the Anderson side of Oliver's family. To bed on the perfect, hard bed by the balcony. Whew! That was fun!

Tuesday, 18 November

A short sleep behind us and we are greeted with coffee, croissant, and conversation by Robert. He gives us keys, then walks us to the nearby Metro stop. Over to Las Ramblas we go, walking toward the sea.

Then through a small pedestrian passage we go to the Barcelona Cathedral. The side streets are jammed with stores of all kinds. In this case, very upscale international, interspersed with some local and regional. Such an appealing place to spend money! The cathedral is part of that sweep over Europe from 1100-1500. A normal example.

Down toward the water again we stroll, savoring the look and feel of the activity and movement everywhere. Beside the Columbus monument, we catch the "Touristic Bus."

The sky is blue and the temperature allows us to sit on top of the bus and take in all the sights of this place. The effect of the '92 Olympics on this city is evident on the edges. But its heart is much much older. And very agreeable. And very stylish.

Lunch at Raca de Nuria is surprisingly good, even though guidebooks tell us to stay away from places on Las Ramblas. Pork medallions and cream, cream, cream; mushroom soup and creme caramel complete the "Menu del Dia."

Back on the bus and around to the west side, around the national palace and the zoo, the 1929 exposition buildings where modern buildings were introduced from around the world. The city opens up below and the sun is glorious making everything seem bright white.

Dinner at Topo Gigio with Robert and Luis. This is good pizza and only a half block from home. Easy conversation in the den and a little earlier to bed.

Wednesday, 19 November

Up and out on foot all day. Over two blocks to Paseig de Gracia to take some pictures of the famous Gaudi facades and put them into the city context. Great and surprising lines, even though we've seen the photos for years. We "ramble" down to the Bari Gotic again, into the "shopping mall" of new stores, old alleys. Wade buys a Spanish-made coat. Neat.

Now through back alleys, we look up to see clothes hanging out on elaborate folding frames. The Palau de la Musica Catalana is a "modernista" music hall designed by Lluis Domenech i Montaner and inspired by Catalan choral music tradition -- a wholly civic endeavor from the 1920s and not designed by Gaudi our guide tells us more than once! His English is excellent and the lavish craftsmanship is awe-inspiring, even where renovation has been precisely undertaken. We buy tickets for Friday night's Catalan music festival. Three hundred concerts yearly, with many countries, styles, and tastes represented.

We stop for refreshment: tea for Marisa, beer and a flauta of bread and mashed potatoes for Wade. (Flautas here are a sandwich, not like the Mexican-American version.)

Now by foot again up to the Sagrada Familia cathedral to see the work in progress. Breathtaking, but ummmm... hard to describe this century-plus departure from expected architectural performance.

A rest and then back for a tour through Casa Milo (called (disparagingly, by contemporary citizens) La Pedrera or "The Stone Pile") to see the complete Gaudi plan, an apartment, and the rooftop park.

A nice dinner and a long, pleasing night of conversation results from the efforts of Robert. We talk and laugh and relax -- Robert and Wade talk into the early morning hours.

Thursday, 20 November

This day is a free day! We have done the must-see things. We go, therefore, to Starbucks and have decaf coffee, apple tarts, and write postcards. (It seems silly to go to an American-style coffee shop while abroad, but they do serve decaf and are a non-smoking establishment...)

Then Marisa goes to the Maria del Pi cathedral where she has studied the architecture of low, broad Catalan Gothic arches. We then take the Metro to Placa Espanya which will get us near the 1929 German Pavilion designed by Mies van der Rohe. A small, but oh-so-influential building which seems inconsequential. But in 1929, this was radical, as can be seen in so many examples.

That's Marisa peeking around the corner 

Then off to the Miro museum. We trek up the hill, around the curve at least a mile, then were stopped at the door by a nice lady who explained that because of the beginning of a new exhibition (and the visit, we learn later, of King Juan Carlos II), the museum was closed and we weren't invited. Bummer.

Down the hill and to the train and back to our nice side of town. We walk down to the giant El Corte Ingles overlooking the Placa de Catalunya, where we intend to sit on the top floor with appetizers and a drink. We sit on the wrong side and are offered a menu with prices in the 20-25 Euro range. We uncharacteristically get up and go inside to avoid this unwanted escalation. Tapas at the inside bar are lousy.

Then back out to the window Wade goes as Marisa checks out leather in this giant store. The sun drops behind the bank clock as Wade looks across Placa de Catalunya. We then amble back home in the dark and have a meal served in Robert and Luis' gorgeous dining room, surrounded by the best of our hosts' hospitality. The day is saved again by our new friends.

Friday, 21 November

Out at 9:45am to plan the day and catch up on world news. We decide to go to the mountain top of Tibidabo. A train from Gracia is required. We take it to its last top, then sit to wait for the tram which runs up the hill to the funicular station. We and four other tourists (they're Italian) wait for the tram that simply won't come. At last we decide to walk up.

It's steep -- about a mile. Then we discover the funicular is closed, no train anywhere and hardly a place to get a view. "Closed for the Season": that's what it should have said somewhere, anywhere, but no... Down we walk, determined to get back to our neighborhood and have a great meal to change our sour attitude.

Train back and a walk and we have lovely steak and fish and a lingering lunch. For further adjustment of attitude, we prepare for shopping by looking at the guidebook. Leather... yes, that should do it!

A little shop called Sadur at Carrer del Bruc and Diagonal. A lone shopgirl shows us most thrilling designs which we happily purchase -- including a present for Marisa and for Katy.

We sit down next door for a celebratory stop, then we come home for a quick change before the concert at the Palau Musica. As we had hoped, the building is wonderful at night. A Mozart piano concerto and a viola concerto by Paganinni are the program. We walk home -- sated and redeemed by art and by craft.

Saturday, 22 November

Up at an easy hour for a trip to Castello de Ampurias and the ruins of an ancient city on the Mediterranean. Luis drives his Beemer while we listen to his music mix -- a very satisfying collection of songs from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Perfect background for looking around at the fine Catalan countryside. (It is notable that Europe's M-roads are exactly of the size and layout logic as the U.S.)

The clouds loom in front of us and we consider that the ruins will look fine in the rain. But when we arrive, the clouds part and we see the ruins: Greek nearer the sea, and Roman up the hillside. The site has been actively excavated since discovery in 1908. Signs point to wells and houses, cisterns and sewers. All the while, the waves of the sea sound in the background. We walk and absorb and imagine.

There is a promenade between the ruins and the shore which runs all the way a coastal town where Luis once spent years doing physical therapy as a boy -- swimming in the sea. Right beside the ruins, facing the sea, is the Hostal Ampurias and a restaurant. We stroll inside where just a few are sitting.

We take a table by the sea and proceed to enjoy a lovely meal and relaxed conversation, very aware of our nearness... to the ancient and the timeless.

Afterwards, we adjourn to sofas in a den-like room with a fireplace; chat and rest. More than two hours have flown by. Marisa runs down to the beach to touch the Mediterranean Sea before we leave.

We are home by early evening and come inside for awhile, waiting for the appropriate hour to go out -- about 9:30pm we leave. Robert and Luis take us to the Ponsa restaurant a couple of blocks away. It is a small and completely Catalan restaurant. On the menu are brains, kidneys, and other organs of interest. Luis has the kidneys and shares with Marisa. The rest of the order is rather conventional. The egg dish appetizer is done in the oven with whole eggs and a red sauce -- very tasty. The crowd around us is strictly local and familiar with each other. Great slice of life for us visitors.

Now to the Dry Martini for a late night pop. A very much younger crowd is here than on our afternoon visit the first day. We're reminded again that in the days since our first late-night talk, Luis has said, "Are we going to arrange the world again?"

We talk and discover that Robert and Wade knew at least one Atlantan in common: an actress who used to have a drug problem. Walking back home, Luis and Marisa are humming songs -- playing "Name That Tune" really -- about songs from their era (both were born in 1962).

Robert and Wade settle into the living room, while Marisa and Luis begin to play the piano, taking turns and together. They are very impressed with each other, while the other two get to listen and talk. After the music, all talk spiritedly until the clock rudely strikes 3:00am, sending Marisa from the group. The men lasted about 45 seconds longer.

A perfect vacation-in-Catalunya-by-the-Mediterranean day.

Sunday, 23 November

Rain greets our 10:00am rise. A croissant and coffee and we're out to say goodbye to Barcelona.

The weather matches our melancholy sense of facing our departure and of satisfaction about our stay here. We sit outside under an umbrella at a coffee shop. A stroll continues and we look at various points of our visit.

Robert and Luis join us and we have a 2:00pm lunch of tapas, including a bunch of fish which pleases Luis and Marisa. Halfway through the meal, Luis mentions THE NAP and how great it was bound to be on this rainy Sunday.

It was. All four of us took full advantage of the wet weather and light schedule to sleep.

Just talking and a little TV until 9:30pm and time for dinner. Our hosts took us to their favorite Chinese restaurant, where the Chinese staff (of course) speak Spanish with a Chinese accent. Luis told the story of his trip to Atlanta and his surprise that the waiters spoke only English with a Chinese accent -- no Spanish. We obviously shared his amusement at default assumptions.

Conversation continues until nearly 1:00am. These late dinners lend themselves to late talks. Luis and Marisa are again playing "Name That Tune" while trying to remember all their favorite artists.

Our last night in Barcelona and to our cozy bed. How nice.

Monday, 24 November

Up at 7:30am so that we may say "So Long!" to Luis before he goes to work. Our train is to leave at 11:30am, so we have time to sit with Robert after Luis leaves.

Thanks. Thanks. Thanks.

The train ride is great. Sun is bright, sky is blue, sea is azure and placid. To the west; to Madrid.

Today the sun is setting in Madrid with high pink clouds that gradually turn gold nearer the horizon. We walk toward the Palace Real along Calle Mayor, stopping to look for last-minute souvenirs. Marisa buys two dress purses as we pass up all the usual tacky stuff because it's too much to pay for crap.

The city looks great as we walk into a cafe near the Palace and sit as the sun goes down on our last day in Spain. After a slow walk back to the hotel, Wade goes to the market to bring home simple dinner and a bottle of wine. One more spin around the Puerta del Sol and down for the night.

Tuesday, 25 November

Wade awakes to the dulcet strains of Marisa singing "Happy Birthday" as indeed it is. Adding the time difference between Spain and the U.S., Wade will celebrate a 30-hour birthday today.

To the airport, to the lounge, to the seat, to home. We're in our door by 4:15pm Atlanta time.


The impressions and real sense of our trip to Spain are connected in memory and consideration by comparison to other European excursions we have made.

The changes, amounting to greater similarities among all the principle trade partners of Europe and America, seem to continue. Though we stay in European cities for short periods only once a year, we see even more common approaches to daily life and commerce with each visit.

There is nothing to report about wildly exciting menu variations between regions. Window shopping leads one to see how much more we are the same than different. Hotels, beggars, street entertainment, train stations are either non-threatening, or easy and familiar. Commerce seems to be the leveler, the host, to these trends.

We buy the same and similar things, play the same way, buy tickets and cell phones, listen to and watch much of the same entertainment -- from opera to jazz. We make it as easy as possible for visitors to arrive and spend cash.

Real trouble among different peoples looms only, therefore, when these ordinary activities, so needed by all interests, are interrupted by political, or radical power shifting, events.

So, walking down the Ramblas, standing by the Mediterranean, shopping around Puerta del Sol---these are pleasures of common experience to be savored and remembered and protected by our own friendly treatment of friends who visit our own country..


| Madrid: Nov 13-17 |