Protests this summer in Barcelona

Well back to the impossible task of getting “ready” for a vacation. \240The good news is no matter how much gets done (or is left undone), we hop on a plane tonight and magically end up in Spain - and the adventure begins.

What trip can start off without Champagne in the Delta Sky Club.

Patti and Marianne enjoying the bubbly.

We arrive at the Palace Hotel in central Madrid. \240The area around the hotel is abuzz with activity because it is right across the street from Parliment which is in session. \240It seems like everyone in Spain has some cause to protest and they were out in force.

The hotel is a beautiful older hotel. \240Our room is gorgeous.

We had arranged for a guide to take us for a walk and tapas tasting around the city. \240We met Melinda, a 30 something expat from Texas, who took us for a tour and tasting. She was wonderful. The building above is now the city hall. \240

Here is the Puerta de Alcala, which commemorates one old gates to the city. \240Madrid was once a walled city with 4 city gates. \240Interesting story, the king who commissioned the gate held a contest among architects for the design. \240The contest came down to two competitors and the king, unable to make a decision, decided to choose both - one designed the front of the gate and one the back. \240Very king like I wold say.

This is a famous intersection of Madrid. \240The street on the left is very historic and travels west to the Plaza Mayer, the main square in central Madrid. \240The street on the right is the Gran Via, often called the Rodeo Drive of Madrid. \240Thank goodness we were with the guide who led us to the left side to see the historic sites. \240However, you know we will be back to the Gran Via for some shopping before the trip is done.

How European - an artist at work.

We got off the beaten track and walked down a side street known as the Street of Letters - it is where famous writers, including Hemingway and Cervantes, hung out.

This was Hemingway’s hangout when he lived in Madrid. \240It is a sherry bar. \240We plan to return one night when the place is supposed to be hopping.

After an hour walk, we were hungry for some tapas. \240

A typical tapas place. \240It is here we were introduced to Madrid’s passion - Vermouth. \240

Vermouth is a red, fortified wine (actually made from white grapes) that the people in Madrid drink like soda, on the rocks with lemon. \240It is delicious.

A collection of Spanish cheeses.

A selection of Spanish Jamond (Spanish Ham). \240The reddish ham on the left is the famous Jamond di Iberia. \240The meat comes from pigs that are fed a strict diet of acorns which gives the meat a distinctive (and delicious) flavor.

Enjoying our tapas and Vermouth and then off for more walking.

City scene.

Busy streets.

We hit the Mercado de San Miguel. \240It is a large market with many “booths” each of which specializes in a “pintxos” which are small snacks that cost 1 or 2 euro. \240The most popular are on long sticks and contain olives and different meats or seafood.

A selection of pintxos.

We passed a famous Madrid pastry shop along the way. \240Definitely a return visit here is in order.

Traditional Madrid pastries.

We finally returned to the hotel after 4 hours of walking. \240Randy and Marianne were just not used to the pace.

After a siesta, we were back at it. \240We had a beer at the Plaza Mayor.

Here is the highlight of our trip so far. \240This is Randy standing in front of the Convent of Corpus Christi. \240This is a convent of cloistered nuns who are forbidden from contact with people outside their cloister. \240However, they are rumored to bake the best cookies in town. \240So, if you want cookies, you ring the doorbell at the convent and ask for “Dulce’s”. \240They ring you in and you proceed down a dark corridor to a small room where there is a screen and a lazy susan. You order your cookies and put the money on the lazy susan. \240The return your cookies and you walk out. We almost got it right. \240We rang the bell but forgot to say “Dulce’s” - thankfully a homeless person saw our plight and came over and helped. \240We thanked the women who helped us and gave her two euros, she thanked us and moved on and we gained access to the secret treasures.

a left down the dark corridor brings you to the cookies.

Success. \240Cookies in hand.

By now it was 7:00 PM and we decided to have dinner. \240We found a restaurant that was open which is trick in Madrid because most restaurants don’t open until 8:30. \240

We had a great meal. Randy and I tries the house specialty, Roasted Suckling Pig which we enjoyed very much.

We left a nice tip and the proprietor chased after us and insisted on giving Patti and Marianne a gift.

We headed back to the hotel, past the famous Tio Pepe sign in the Puerta de Sol.

Madrid is pretty at night.

Finally back to our hotel for a well deserved rest. Goodnight from your exhausted chronicler.

Reflection of the Tiffany glass dome over the restaurant at the Palace Hotel

The Museo del Prado (the Prado) is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to have one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and the single best collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it also contains important collections of other types of works. \240The numerous works by Francisco Goya, the single most extensively represented artist, as well as by Raphael, Rembrandt, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez, are some of the highlights of the collection.

The Prado

“Prado” means meadow and the area around the museum is beautiful

Patti, Randy and Marianne

Statute of Goya - famous Spanish painter

Entering the museum

Not only beautiful art but a beautiful place (no pics allowed - this one got me a stern warning)

As we wandered the galleries here, I couldn’t help but reflect on a common theme I have observed relating to Spanish history. \240Spain is really a fairly new country in Europe. \240It wasn’t until the 15th century that it really threw off Muslin rule. \240So, it seems to me, that Spain is kind of the new kid on the block trying to show it belongs. \240You certainly get that sense in the museum. \240The Spanish kings did all they could to buy the most famous paintings in the world and bring them to Madrid. \240They paid their artists to study in Rome and France and paid artists from Italy, France and Germany to paint in Spain. They went crazy over their own artists treating them like rock stars. They extensively advertised their fine collections and were one of the first countries to publicly exhibit the royal collection. Spain’s attempt to climb into the big leagues in terms of artistic sophistication worked and, lucky for the world, the Prado is the showcase for this success.

Some of the artwork we saw is set forth below:

Peter Paul Ruebens (Dutch 1577-1644)

El Greco (Spanish 1541 - 1614)

More El Greco

Roger van deer Weyden (Belgium 1399-1464)

Raphael (Italian 1483-1520)

My favorite artist in the Prado was Goya, whose statute is outside. \240He was a Spanish artist that lived from 1746 to 1828. \240He served as the painter of the royal house for years. \240His access to the royal women whose he painted is rumored to have led to numerous affairs. \240In midlife, he painted a very famous painting Nude Maja where, for the first time in Spain, the subject of the painting of a nude women was an actual women, not a fantasized goddess. \240Even though he displayed the painting with another, Clothed Maja, this work did earn Goya a visit to the Spanish Imposition. \240In later years, Goya lost it completely (too much partying can do that). He became a recluse and started painting very dark pictures which he hung on the walls of his house. \240The “Dark Pictures” are a scary look into Goya’s last days in torture.

The Maja

One of the “Dark Pictures”

After hours in the Prado, including a stop in its incredible book store, we headed out for food. \240We came across a restaurant where we thought we could have tapas. \240Instead, they served a 3 course meal, family style, \240that included a big bowl of delicious chicken noodle soup, a plate of chick peas, potatoes, cabbage and carrots and a plate of various meats. \240We washed it all down with wine and vermouth and it was delicious.

They don’t skimp on the food

After our late afternoon meal, we hustled back to the courtyard outside the Prado. \240You see, Patti and Marianne had eyed some “artwork” that they really wanted to “acquire”. When we got to the artist’s booth, we soon realized that it wasn’t the artwork they wanted to obtain, it was the “artist” that they were wild about. \240

Patti and Marianne with the “Artist”

It was ok because his artwork was pretty good looking as well and we bought an oil painting to bring home (although I think Patti will treasure the photo of the smiling artist as much).

Our new oil painting

We headed out later in the evening for some tapas. Tapas are the small plates that are the staple of Spanish cuisine and culture. According to The Joy of Cooking, the original tapas were thin slices of bread or meat which sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry. The meat used to cover the sherry was normally ham or chorizo, which are both very salty and activate thirst. Because of this, bartenders and restaurant owners created a variety of snacks to serve with sherry, thus increasing their alcohol sales. The tapas eventually became as important as the sherry.

It has also been claimed that tapas originated in the south of Spain during the time of the Spanish Inquisition as a means of publicly identifying conversos, Jews who had converted to Christianity to avoid the Inquisition. Since tapas often consist in part of ham or other non-kosher foodstuffs, the reluctance of the conversos to eat whatever tapas dish was offered to them could be taken as a tacit admission that they had not abandoned their Jewish faith, thus tapas were a tool of the Spanish Inquisition.

Our Hotel at night

Great lighting on the City Hall

Tapas Bar for dinner

After dinner we strolled around Madrid for a little. \240The town was hopping on a Thursday night at 10:00. \240I lobbied for a trip to the Chocolateria San Gines which is supposed to have the best churros and hot chocolate in Madrid. \240I was outvoted but I vowed to make the trip tomorrow; solo if I have to. \240Instead, we headed back to the sports bar at the hotel. \240We watched the Spanish national team (our new home team) lose to Croatia in the National Cup in a heartbreaker 3-2 in overtime. \240We had some scotch and called it a night.

Enjoying a nightcap

Well off to bed. I will dream of churros and hot chocolate and I am sure Patti will be dreaming about her “artist”. Talk to you soon, your trusty chronicler.

Fountain in front of the Madrid Palace

We visited the Madrid Royal palace today and I must say that of all the palaces we have seen in Europe (including Versailles in Paris and the Schonbrunn in Vienna), this may be our favorite.

The original structure was a wooden castle built in 1550 by King Philip II when he declared Madrid the capital of Spain. \240What is interesting is that King Philip insisted that his castle occupy exactly the same footprint as the castle the Moors had built when they ruled. \240He wanted to show that he had completely obliterated the Moors by covering their most sacred spot.

The original structure of the palace was eventually destroyed in a terrible fire that completely razed the wooden structure on Christmas Eve in 1734. The fire was thought to have started in the room of the French painter Jean Ranc (stupid French), and rapidly spread from there.

The fire was first noted by one of the palace guards, who promptly raised an alarm to try and draw help towards the castle. Unfortunately, people were still in the midst of Christmas celebrations and mistook the alarm bell as a call to mass. The first to arrive to assist were monks from the nearby religious community but the doors had been barred so as to prevent looting during celebrations. There was little time to rescue the multitude of precious objects kept within the palace, and as a consequence, countless artifacts and over 500 original works of art were lost in the blaze.

The king at the time, Philip V ordered the palace’s immediate reconstruction. Philip was the grandson of Louis XIV of France and had grown up at Versailles so he set out to create a palace that rivaled his grandfather’s place. In order to ensure the palace could not burn down again, the structure was primarily built with stone, marble and brick. By the time the current palace was finished, almost 17 years after it was started, it was Philip’s son, King Charles III who became first Spanish monarch to take residence within the completed building.

The theme of Spain trying to show that it was one of the “big boys” of Europe is demonstrated again when viewing the Madrid Palace. \240Charles III went all out in the interior design (as you will see below) hiring the greatest Italian and French artisans of the day to design the lavish interior. \240And there was a lot of decorating to do! \240The palace is one of the largest in Europe in terms of floor area, encompassing 1,450,000 square feet and possessing no less than 3,418 rooms.

Palace Garden

Exterior of Palace

Beautiful view from the courtyard

The King and Queen happened by

An artsy picture by Patti

Castle Dome

Entrance to the palace makes quite a statement

Beautiful finishes

Palace Entrance

Entering Palace

This is actually a painting of the current royal family. King Philip is the young man on the right

Gasparini Room

This entire room, top to bottom was designed by the famous Italian artist Gasparini. \240Even the upholstery on the chairs and the tile on the floors are designed to blend in with the Rococo style.

The Porcelain Room

This room is paneled entirely in green, white and gold porcelain. \240At the time, porcelain was very rare and could only be obtained from China.

The Throne Room

This room is where the King still meets foreign guests on official visits today. The huge ceiling fresco is by Tiepolo and is interesting because the figures in the painting actually spill over onto the gold wooden frame where 3D statues and 2D painted figures reside next to each other. The perimeter of the painting celebrates all of Spain’s conquests - while I couldn’t find it, there is a Native American Indian in one of the panels celebrating Spain’s conquest over these indigenous Americans by Columbus.

After touring the Palace, it was time for lunch. \240I suggested a restaurant that had been recommended in one of my books. \240It was a little off the beaten path and, I argued, would give us a sense of how the locals live. \240Anyone who has read my blogs before knows that these forays usually do not turn out well! Randy and Marianne were game (they haven’t travelled with us enough to know some of my past disasters) and so, with extensive grumbling by Patti, we proceeded. \240We travelled through various areas of town until we entered an area with very narrow streets. \240By this point Patti was absolutely convinced that I didn’t know where I was going and that disaster loomed. \240It got worse when we passed a nice looking restaurant that specialized in pasta (nice safe food as Patti pointed out). \240I insisted we pass (this sealing my fate). \240We travelled on (thank God for Google Maps) and found ourselves on Calle Cava Baja, a cute street shown below.

We found our destination, Taberna los Huevos de Lucia. \240

The restaurant was small but were able to get a great table in their small wine cellar.

We had a wonderful meal of avacodo salad, grilled provolone cheese, braised tenderloin and grilled squid with carmelized onions. We washed it all down with home made vermouth and wine. Finally, one of my adventures was successful. Even Patti had to grudgingly agree it was good.

Next on the agenda was a walk down the Gran Via back to the hotel. \240The Gran Via is the main artery through central Madrid. \240Think of it as Broad Street in Philadelphia with glorious architecture, shops, cafes and restaurants. \240Below are some of the sites along the Gran Via.

Grand Via

Grand Via

Of course we couldn’t go too far with a stop at a cafe. \240We chose the Gran Clavel.

The cool thing about this place is it had vermouth on tap! Very good vermouth and excellent wines are about 3 euro per glass (and its a generous pour). \240What a country. Not only that but Patti and Marianne did a good job flirting with our waiter (pictured below) and so got a little extra with each glass.

Cute waiter

Randy and I marveling at Vermouth on tap

A little ginger and almond cake to hold us over

Beautiful fall colors

A rainbow greeted us as we returned to the hotel

After a short rest it was off to dinner. \240

View from our hotel room window

We got an “early” reservation at 7:30 to a local restaurant recommended by the concierge at the hotel. \240The restaurant El Rincon de Esteban. \240It was a classic Castillion restaurant specializing in traditional favorites.

Restaurant

Settling in

Great table

We ordered some traditional melon with Jamón and potato croquettes.

I ordered Oxtail, the house specialty. Randy ordered leg of lamb and Patti and Marianne tried the seafood paella. \240It was all delicious. \240Our waiters were great.

Oxtail is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of a steer. An oxtail typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs. and is skinned and cut into short lengths for sale. Oxtail is a gelatin-rich meat, which is usually slow-cooked as a stew or braised. It is a traditional stock base for a soup. The Oxtail they served had been slow cooked for hours with vegetables and melted in your mouth - it was very good.

Oxtail stew

After dinner, the waiter brought out different digestives. One that Patti particularly liked tasted like Bailey’s. \240The one I liked was more an herb flavor. \240What a great way to end a great meal.

Spanish Baily’s

While the restauarant had an extensive dessert menu - we did not bite - why? Because we were heading to the Chocolateria! Yea, my dream come true.

Getting ready for Christmas

The Chocolateria was everything I had hoped for. The Hot Chocolate was rich and dark. \240The churros were great. \240What a great way to end our stay.

Famous Chocolateria

Churros

We strolled back to the hotel filled with the tastes of Madrid. \240Well, off to Barcelona tomorrow and hopefully more good reports. \240With thoughts of chocolate in my head, I remain - your diligent chronicler.

Good Night

Barcelona Seal

Last breakfast in Madrid

As you will see below, the Madrid train station is quite a place.

Inside of Madrid Train Station

We decided to leave for the train station nice and early for our 9:30 train to Barcelona. \240The reason was that I had one out of my way to book first class tickets so we could access a beautiful lounge in the station that was renowned for its coffee and pastries. \240Plus, as Patti will readily admit, she loves first class and all its accoutrements. \240We arrived an hour early at the station with great anticipation. \240I went up to the information desk and asked to be directed to the first class lounge. \240The clerk scanned our tickets, looked up politely and then said “No First Class, Tourista Plus”. Oh no! I had thought I had booked first class but I had booked Tourista Plus which is a kind of “Delta Plus” and, to my chagrin, the lounge was not included. It was not easy breaking the news to Patti. \240At first she thought I was kidding and then slowly the reality of the situation sunk in. \240So, we found some pedestrian seats in the nice grey waiting area. \240I did manage to find a store that had water and stale pastries but my peace offering to Patti was to no avail. \240I tried to keep the conversation light and focused on Barcelona.

First class lounge into which we did not get.

Fortunately, the train was very nice and our seats were great. \240We whisked off to Barcelona at 200 MPH and arrived by 12:30.

Madrid train station

Randy and Marianne on train

Patti was all smiles once on the train

We arrived at our hotel, the Cotton House in the old city of Barcelona. The Cotton House Hotel is housed in a listed historical landmark built in 1879 by Catalan architect Elies Rogent, at the height of the textile industry in Barcelona. The building later became the headquarters of the Catalan Association of Cotton Manufacturers (Fundación Textil Algodonera). \240The building has been converted to a hotel with many of the structural elements such as the striking marble staircase and ceiling frescoes being carefully conserved. Also, there is the original spiral staircase which runs the entire height of the building.

Cotton House

Original stairs

The Library

Our favorite spot - the Bar

Our room

Cotton trademarks

Spiral Staircase

The Library

After checking in, we headed for lunch. \240Rick Steve’s, the travel guide, had highly recommended a tapas restaurant, Tapa’s 24, which was near the hotel. \240We found the restaurant, a small place, and it was packed. \240We asked a waiter to help us find a table and were told to wait by the wall. \240As we waited, we watched as tables opened up and locals who had come in later than us being seated. \240Finally, when a group that was already seated moved tables so they would have more room (while we were waiting), I decided to do something. \240I spoke to the waiter and nicely explained that we had been waiting for some time and that I believed the next table was ours. He shouted at me in plain English that “If you (meaning me) try to organize this restaurant, it will create chaos. So, just wait by the wall.” I was dumbfounded - I have never been spoken to like that. We simply turned and left. \240Wait until I tell my buddy Rick Steves about this experience.

We continued down the block and found a great little Italian restaurant where they seemed to appreciate our patronage. \240We were greeted with big smiles and open arms. Yea Italians!

Restaurant for Lunch

Pasta with wild boar sauce - yum

We left the restaurant and headed for our next destination. \240It was to see some of the famous Modernisme sites in town. However, before we got to the area we passed some beautiful buildings and a great garden shop open 24/7 - a dream come true for us gardeners.

Touring Barcelona

Touring Barcelona

Garden shop open 24/7

Christmas is coming

Happy Gardeners

Now, on to Modernisme. \240Browse any travel guide to Barcelona before arriving and you’re sure to encounter the phrase ‘Modernisme’, normally used to reference the city’s distinctive style of architecture and in particular the flamboyant creations of one Antoni Gaudi.

In fact, if you read about it in more depth, you will find that Modernisme was a wide-scale movement across all of the arts, not just architecture, which coincided with the Catalan Renaissance taking place during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. As Catalonia (the area in northern Spain around Barcelona) grew in wealth and power around the mid-19th century, the region strove to re-establish its national identity, separate from Castilian Spain (Madrid) and Galicia (northwest Spain), first by restoring its language (after 150 years of oppression), but equally by a conscious injection of modern ideas designed to invigorate and lift Catalan society and culture as it approached the 20th Century. In other words, like we have talked about before, the Catalan region wanted to show it was a major league society and belonged in the European “Big Leagues”. Wow, I think all of Spain historically suffered from a big time identity crisis.

The main vehicle for asserting this Catalan identity was Modernisme, which is simply the Catalan word for ‘Modernism’ and refers to the region’s cultivating of ideas and trends from the Art Nouveau movement, which was already taking place in England, France, Belgium, Germany and elsewhere in Europe. However in no other part of the world did Art Nouveau leave such a strong architectural legacy as in Catalonia, thanks to the enormous pace of urban growth which took place at that time and the boundless talent of those who championed the movement.

Two famous Modernisme houses. Casa Batlio (Antoni Gaudi) on the right and Casa Amaitler (Josep Puig I Cadafaich) on the left. These run along the so-called Bolck of Discord.

The third famous house on the Block of Discord, Casa Lieo Morera (Lluis Domenech)

The most famous of the Modernisme architects is AntonGaudi. \240His work is all over Barcelona. \240His famous house, Casa Batlio is pictured below. \240It is said to have been based on the legend of St. George slaying a dragon. \240The roof looks like the scales of a cresting dragon and the rosebud symbolizes the rose the was legended to grow on the spot where St.George slayed the dragon. \240The house was built by a wealthy family and was quite the rage.

Casa Batlio

We then walked uptown to see one of Antoni Gaudi’s other works, the famous, Le Pedrera apartment complex built in 1900. \240A picture is below.

A tour of this building is quite remarkable from the roof terrace with odd shapes meant to “stand guaradian over the apartment dwellers” to its curves and materials meant to show homage to nature. \240As you will see by the pictures below, it is unique.

Odd shapes on the roof terrace of La Pedrera

A view from the roof into the open center space of the building

More of the eerie roof terrrace

Roof terrace

View from roof terrace

Roof terrace

Full model of Le Pedrera

Gaudi determined shapes of his buildings by using hanging wire shapes positioned over a mirror

Attic of La Pedrera with arches

Model of the Casa Batlio. The building on the left was the original building that was renovated by Gouda. \240Some change!

Furniture designed by Gaudí meant to mimic nature

Grams phone located in Le Pedrera apartment

Bed designed by Gaudi for apartment at Le Pedrera

Sink by Gaudi

Interior Courtyard

Stairs leading from interior courtyard. Look at color in ceiling.

As we walked back to our hotel, we saw the Casa Batlio all lit up

After a little siesta, it was time for dinner. \240We finally made it to an authentic tapas bar called El Mercat (the Market). We got some spots at the bar and had or first real taste of Barcelona tapas. I showcase some of our favorites below. \240I must say, it is really fun to order a bunch of plates of food and share them. \240It creates an atmosphere of camaraderie. \240As you will see, we really enjoyed the experience. Also, notice how crowded the place is at 9:30.

El Mercat

Busy place at 9:30 at night

Mussels with oil and chilies

Beef with Pepito peppers

Fried eggplant with goat cheese an honey

Spring rolls

Menu

Having a great time at El Market

After enjoying the tapas, wine and vermouth, it was time to head back to the hotel. \240We walked back through the narrow roads of the Barre Gòtic (the old part of town) to our hotel. \240A very satisfying first day in Barcelona.

Streets of the Barre Gotic

We have been doing so much, it is hard to keep up the blog but I will persevere. Until next time, good fortune to all and good night from your diligent chronicler.

In the Rain

As we strolled through the old section of town, we saw many fountains that still provide fresh water. \240The Romans built this system of fountains and until the 1940’s over half of Barcelona’s population got their water from these public fountains.

Roman Fountain

We wound our way down the narrow streets that are in the oldest section of the city.

Historic Streets

And, without incident, we arrived at the Barcelona Cathedral just in time for Mass. I say without incident because there were any number of times that my traveling companions doubted my navigational skills and, I must admit, sometimes they had good reason for concern. \240However, not this time.

Barcelona Cathedral

The Cathedral is a gothic design completed in the 1400’s (before Christopher Columbus even thought about sailing to America). \240It is dedicated to Eulalia of Barcelona, co-patron saint of Barcelona. \240Eulalia was a Christian girl who had the misfortune of being born in Barcelona in the third century during the reign of the very un-Christian Roman emperor Diocleciano.

Diocleciano insisted that all Christians denounce their faith but the feisty 13 year old Eulalia refused. \240The emperor was furious and order Eulalia to be stripped of her clothing and tied nude to a post in the town square. Legend has it that a miraculous snowfall in mid-spring covered her nudity. The enraged Romans put her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolled it down a street (according to tradition, the it was the street now called Baixada de Santa Eulàlia). Her feast day is celebrated every December 10th. \240I read that she is especially loved by those fighting for freedom for Catalonia as she is seen as the symbol of defying authority. \240The body of Saint Eulalia is entombed in the cathedral's crypt.

Cathedral

Cathedral

Cathedral

Cathedral

Getting ready for Mass

Attending Mass

Small chapel in Cathedral

There is one other story about the Cathedral I found interesting. \240Below is a picture of the famous Christ of Lepanto crucifix which hangs in a side chapel off of the main nave of the church.

You can see how the Christ figure leans to the left. \240This crucifix accompanied the Spanish Armada when they fought in the history changing Battle of Leptano in 1571 when the Spanish stopped the Otomans (Muslims) from advancing into Europe. \240The crucifix was lashed to the front of the lead ship. As you can see the Christ figure leans to the left on the cross. \240The legend is that the figure of Christ leaned left to avoid cannon fire during the battle which Spanish soldiers took as a sign that God was on their side. This rallied the Spanish troops and they went on to victory.

After Mass, we headed over to the Picasso Museum. \240Picasso spent a great deal of time in Barcelona and painted many of his early works there. \240The Museum has a great collection of his work, especially some of his early work.

Picasso Museum

Beautiful space

Great Collection

When I think of Picasso, I think of his modern abstract art which is done in the “cubism” style that he helped create. The real story is that his father was a well known art teacher and Picasso was educated in the classical style. He was a gifted classical painter who was a realist until he went to Paris in about 1906. There he fell in with the advent guarde movements of the days (young people do such stupid things) and started experimenting with different painting styles. \240Some of the paintings below show this evolution.

Picasso’s first publicly exhibited painting was First Communion which won praise in the Barcelona Art Show of 1899. Picasso was 16 at the time. This is a far different look than he is known for.

Early Portrait

Picasso’s Painting of his mother in 1900

Even before France, his paintings became more abstract like this 1902 picture of Mas del Quiquet, a famous home in southern Spain. \240See his use of color and geometric shapes.

Once in France, Picasso was influenced by painters such as Cezane. The picture above is Picasso’s Still Life. \240Below is a painting by Cezane painted about the same time.

But as Picasso continues to evolve into cubism, his later composition entitled Still Life really evolved into something quite different from the older work of Picasso or Cezane.

Still Life by Picasso

Picasso was a very serious artist and continued to study the masters. \240One interesting example of this is set forth below. \240The first picture is Picasso’s famous Les Meninas, which is known of one of the great examples of cubism. What some don’t don’t know is that this painting is actually Picasso’s interpretation of a famous picture by the Spanish painter Valequez, whose original Les Meninas (which we saw in the Prado in Madrid) is shown below Picasso’s abstract work.

Les Meninas (Picasso)

Les Meninas (Valesquez)

The idea behind cubism, as I understand it, is that it is meant to take away the limitations of space and time and allow the artist to have the freedom not to just draw the object but to paint the feelings of the subject. \240I get the concept but, frankly, I came away from the Museum understanding Picasso more but wishing he had stayed a little more in the real world.

Seated Man

After a nice lunch, we made our way back to the hotel in the pouring rain for some rest before Marianne’s special birthday dinner. \240During the course of the day, Patti had been increasingly worried about a toothache that had started in the morning but was getting rapidly worse. \240She spoke to the concierge and they arranged for a doctor to visit Patti in our room. \240Imagine that, a doctor who makes house calls on a rainy Sunday. \240I could only guess what this was going to cost.

The doctor arrived and did a nice intake and examination of Patti. \240She was very thorough and quite personable. \240She diagnosed that Patti had an infection starting around her tooth and prescribed an antibiotic, a medicine to combat swelling and some pain medicine. \240She took the time to explain everything to Patti and wrote out instructions for the pharmacist. By now it was 7:00 on a Sunday night but we found a pharmacy close by and they filled the three prescriptions.

Now, for the moment you have all been waiting for - how big a mortgage do we need to take out to cover this little adventure? Surprise - the doctor’s visit was €100 and the 3 medicines were a grand total of €13. \240I don’t think you would ever get away for that price in the US. \240What an interesting study in European health care.

With that adventure out of the way, and Patti appropriately medicated, we headed off to dinner at Oria. A Michilein star restaurant in the Monument Hotel.

Monument Hotel

All day Patti had been worried about the restaurant that she had chosen. \240In fact, at one point we seriously considered cancelling and going to a “safer” place. We are happy we did not give in to Patti’s lack of confidence in her choice because it turned out to be the best meal we had in Spain. \240The restaurant was beautiful with modern lines and a large reflection pool in the center. \240We had a great table.

Enjoying dinner at Oria

A Cosmo and a Manhattan to start

As you can see from the pictures, each presentation was like a \240work of art. \240We started with \240truffled oxtail ravioli and a sautéed squid salad. \240The chef threw in a couple of amuse bouche (including a sardine mousse which didn’t go over so well with the girls but Randy and I loved). \240Our main courses were grilled Roasted Monkfish in Tomato and Piquillo Jam (boys) and Tenderloin Steak with Potato and Iberian Bacon Terrine (girls). It was delicious.

Monkfish

A special treat for the birthday girl

We headed back to the hotel and had a nightcap at the hotel bar. \240None of us wanted this lovely birthday celebration to end. \240However, we needed our rest because tomorrow we are going on a market tour and cooking class. \240Adios from your well fed chronicler.

Patti and I outside our hotel. Notice the scarves - very European

We headed through the old city on our way to the designated meeting spot just behind the Cathedral.

On our way to the meeting place

Barcelona’s version of the Bridge of Sighs

We found our meeting place, the office of WE Barcelona (“WE” standing for Wonderful Experiences) and were entertained while we waited for our guide by a young Irishman who runs WE Barcelona. \240WE Barcelona is a company that arranges experience tours in Barcelona. \240He was telling us about how, along with food tours, they arrange tours that involve riding in Formula 1 race cars; helicopter trips; hot air balloon rides; jet skiing; motorcycle tours and even parachuting. \240Needless to say, Patti and Marianne were not biting on any of those “experiences” - a cooking experience was certainly more our speed.

We met our host, Chef Otger (aka OJ), who was a pleasant 30 year old with an exuberant smile who was to be our guide and instructor. We had one other person join us, Ming Wey, a 30 something software developer from NYC who was visiting Barcelona on his own. \240He was a great companion.

During the first two hours of the excursion, we visited two markets and learned all about Spanish and Catalan food. \240The first market was the famous La Boqueria on Los Rambla. \240As our guide told us, this is the tourist market and no self respecting chef would be caught buying food there. But, it is a huge market and it gave Chef OJ a chance to describe many of the finer aspects of the market and the goods sold there.

We learned that most of the fish mongers do not work on Monday because that is the day that the fishing boats tradaitionally sail and the catch does not come to market until Tuesday. \240We learned the difference between the Spanish lobster (darker color and denser meat) and the Canadian (i.e. North American) lobster (lighter color and more fat because of the warmer waters). Canadian lobster is also cheaper. We learned how to determine if fish is fresh - peel back the gills and see if the inside is dark red and feel the eyeballs and see if they are still moist. We learned to distinguish between farm raised fish and wild fish (size and price).

Clearly a wild fish

We learned that Spain has the perfect climate for tomatoes and olives but really not for most fruit, so much of the fruit at the market was from Peru. \240

Fruit stand

We discovered that it is traditional for some sellers in the market to sell certain complimentary products like olive oil and nuts.

Olive oil and nuts on display

We were also surprised to find out that saffron is not generally used in real Catalon Paella. \240It’s more used in other parts of Spain, Portugal and Latin America. We learned that saffron is so expensive because it needs to be picked by hand from the inside of the flowers of the domesticated saffron crocus. Originally saffron came from wild plants growing in Persia but the plants have now been domesticated and wild saffron really doesn’t exist in quantity anymore. We were also warned to stay away from any Paella with yellow rice because it was a “cheap imposter”.

The top bag of saffron is selling for €550 but as Chef OJ told us, that much saffron would probably last three generations

Our enthusiastic guide, Chef OJ

Our group

Ming Wey told us an interesting story as to how he came to be on the tour. \240He had officiated at a friend’s wedding (after being ordained online) and his friends, knowing he was visiting Barcelona, gave him the tour as a thank you gift. It was nice to have him along.

After we visited La Boqueria, we headed to another market, Santa Caterina. \240As our guide explained, Santa Caterina is a one of the finest local market and where many of the chefs in town buy their food. \240He said you would often see some of the most renowned chefs in the area walking the market in the early morning, choosing their meat, fish and vegetables and planning their menus based on what was fresh that day.

On our way to Santa Caterina

Santa Caterina Market

The Market

Our first stop was Chef OJ’s favorite fish store (one of the few opened on Mondays) to buy our fish for the Seafood Paella we were to make later. \240We chose cuddlefish, octopus, squid, mussels, clams and prawns. \240Chef OJ gave the woman who worked at the fish stall instrucutions as to how he would like each fish cleaned and cut and we went on our way. We would pick up the fish later, cleaned, cut and wrapped - and no extra charge!

Ordering fish

Fish being prepared

We next headed over to the vegetable stand to get some ingredients. Chef OJ delighted in showing us that this one stand sold 28 different varieties of tomatoes. \240He bought some for us to sample - oh, the simple pleasure of tasting a fresh tomato that tasted like a tomato.

Fresh vegies

Mushrroms

Fruit (some from Peru)

We moved over to the Jamon (ham) area. \240The Spanish are \240very serious about their ham. \240As I wrote in an earlier blog, the highest quality ham is Jamon Iberian. \240It comes from the Iberian pig which is always raised free range (happy pigs make happy meat) and are primarily fed natural acorns that are shaken each day by farm workers from trees in the area where they graze. \240The other major type of ham is Jamon Sorrento. This ham comes from the white or pink Sorrento pig (similar to the pigs we have in the US) which are mostly farm raised and, according to AJ, eat anything thrown their way. The gradations don’t stop there - there is 75% Iberian (the meat comes from a pig whose one parent is 100% Iberian and the other one is 50% Sorrento); there is 50% Iberian (one Iberian and one Sorrento); and 25% Iberian. \240There is 100% acorn fed and 75% acorn fed and 25% acorn fed. \240Wow - no wonder they need huge markets.

We tasted some ham and cheese along with chorizo and blood sausage. Yes, in blood sausage they use the blood of the pig in the cooking process. \240However, as Chef OJ explained, it is cooked at least three times and simply gives the sausage a smooth flavor. All of \240us who could get over the name and try it, agreed that it’s as quite good.

Jamon stand

We next had an impromptu olive oil tasting with full explanations of where each oil originated. Randy and I bought some of the oil on the right in the picture below. It is unfiltered and has limited availability. The question will be whether it makes it back home in our suitcases - could be a disaster!

Olive oil tasting

Finally done with our market tour, and with groceries in hand, we headed to Chef OJ’s kitchen to make a Catalone meal. \240We were all quite hungry by this point.

The walk to the kitchen

Walk to the kitchen

The building in which the kitchen was located

Our kitchen

Olives from the market to start

Our aprons

Patti and I ready to go

The guys

Chef OJ announced the menu for the day: Gazpacho, Potatoes Bravas, Baked onions with Romesco Sauce, Seafood Paella and Cantalone Cream for dessert.

We got right to work, cutting onions, peeling potatoes, chopping tomatoes, cutting peppers, preparing the seafood. \240We got the seafood paella started by adding some oil to the paella pan (or papaya pan as Randy called it) we then added the seafood (except the mussels, clams and prawns which went in much later). As the seafood would stick the pan, we would add another ingredient and then some salt. \240The salt would release the water from the added ingredient cooling the pan allowing the pan to be scraped and mixed. Doing this many times allowed for the development of a very flavorful rue. \240First, we added peppers, then onions, then garlic, then tomatoes. We let the paella stock simmer for almost 45 minutes as we attended to the other items.

Chef OJ attending to the paella stock

Patti and Marianne at work. \240

See the makings of the Gazpacho in the blender (above). The rule - always 80% tomatoes and 20% everything else. \240We used peppers, onions, olive oil and salt. We finished the soup and set it in the refrigerator to chill.

Preparing the Catalone Cream (a custard like Creme Brûlée) for dessert. We learned the exact measurements and how to bring the milk to just the right tempature before pouring into the 6 egg yolks and cornstarch to set into a custard. It came out perfectly and we put it into the fridge for cooling.

Patti watching over the paella base - look at the beautiful color its turned.

Above is one of the appetizers we made called Potatoes Brava. It is served with a spicy pepper sauce (which we made) and mayonnaise. Guess who opted out of the mayo.

This appetizer consists of cooked onions, a romesco sauce (that we made from tomatoes, garlic and pepper) topped with an anchovy. Guess who didn’t eat the anchovy.

After the paella base had cooked for 45 minutes (and smelled like heaven), it was time to add the rice. \240No, you don’t cook the rice first, you add it to the seafood base and then add a fish stock.

Mix rice into the seafood very gently

Add fish stock and Let it simmer for 15 minutes and add mussels, clams and prawns, simmer another 10 minutes, and..

Seafood Paella is born!

We set the table and enjoyed the feast.

Potatoes Bravas

Gazpacho

Seafood Paella

We finished by our meal by finishing off our Catalone Cream by carmelizing sugar on top in the traditional way as shown by Marianne below.

The meal was absolutely delicious. The entire experience was almost 6 hours but time flew. What an awesome experience.

Now, you might think that we would be exhausted after all that. \240There was some talk about heading back to the hotel but, we had one more thing to check off our Barcelona “must do” list and we were bound and determined to do it. \240That was to visit Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral (Sacred Family Cathedral). \240It is the best known attraction in Barcelona and the culmination of the Modernisme movement. \240I bought tickets on my phone, we hopped a taxi and headed to the Cathedral.

It was worth the trip. \240Gaudi started the Cathedral in 1862 and worked all of his remaining life on it. \240It is still not complete with the current plan to finish it in 2026. It is not funded by the government - every dollar is either donated or is derived from ticket and merchandise sales. The Cathedral was dedicated as a basilica in 2014 so it now serves as a church with regular services. It is built in the Modernisme style and Gaudi’s intention was to blend heaven and earth and create a place where “God and nature would co-exist together”. \240Take a look at the pictures because there is truly nothing else like it anywhere.

The Sagrada Familia

Front facade of the Cathedral

Elements of the church and nature blend into the facade

Facade

Facade

Facade

Entrance

Outside stonework

Outside stonework

The use of natural material to make earth tones

Inside - Gaudi wanted the light of God to fill the tabernacle

Inside

Fascinating stain glass all designed by Gaudi

Light streams in

Awe inspiring

Curved hidden stairs access the upper areas on the Cathedral

Carvings and statues everywhere

The front of the church over the alter

A look at the crypt which sits below the main floor and is where Gaudi is buried.

Everywhere you look is fascinating

One of the doors to the Cathedral contains various bible passages in a sort of a word puzzle

Rear of the church - this is newer and the design has now been taken over by a team of architects following Gaudi’s general plan

More modern but still in keeping with Gaudi’s sketches

Rear wall

Fantastic

Amazing

North facing facade as night falls

We left Sagrada Familia tired but happy that our list was complete. We stopped at a small bar, Casa Alfonso for a drink.

Cafe Alfonso

A typical neighborhood bar

A cute place to rest our weary feet

As you might guess, by this point, we were running on fumes. It was just 7:00 o’clock so it was hard to find a restaurant open. \240Fortunately, we found a cute tapas place near our hotel that opened at 7:00 and stopped for our final supper in Barcelona.

The sign outside this place caught our attention.

50 wines and vermouth - we are in

We ordered some tapas and enjoyed. Thanks to our training by Chef OJ (or maybe because the menu was in English), we could identify everything on the menu.

The menu

We were the only ones in the place at 7:00 when it opened.

Live eels in a tank. \240Patti had to move seats so she couldn’t see them slither around.

We ordered tapas, wine and homemade vermouth and had a nice final meal. \240Just when we were catching the vibe of Barcelona we need to leave but I am sure we will return.

Spanish cheeses

Rustic bread with tomatoes

Seared beef served in a hollowed out eggplant

Pork ribs with a cofffee and pepper rub

Baked mixture of Catalone cheeses

Well that’s about it. Tomorrow we head home. I hope you have liked tagging along with us on this wonderful trip, I know we have enjoyed having you. \240Thank you for indulging a struggling writer’s passion to know everything - I know it can sometime be a bit over the top. For our good friend, Joan who was anxious to know about shopping in Spain, we are sorry to disappoint. However, Patti promises that we will make a return trip with you and Mike that will be dedicated to shopping delights. \240To all of you who wrote nice notes and comments, thank you - your encouragement made it easier to stay up late and write.

So, I will close with a Spanish toast:

Todo el mundo debería creer en algo. Yo creo que debemos tomar otra copa. Salute

Everyone should believe in something. I believe we should have another drink. Cheers

THE END

The end.