Spanish Fly

After our wonderful Italian getaway, we were off to the cool city of Barcelona. Barcelona was the complete opposite of Italy. It was young, hip and very modern. The contrasts of the city were great. In one area you would have an old home built in the 19th century next to a modern sculpture/building designed by Gaudi.

Typical Barcelona: Old statue with new construction around it

Old Barcelona-Placa d'Espanya

Now if you don't know about Antoni Gaudi, coming to Barcelona you will be innudated with Gaudi images. The Spanish are very proud of him. Not only was he an amazing architect but he is responsible for designing several huge structures and parks around Barcelona. You see references to Gaudi everywhere in Barcelona. He is definitely the Barcelona patron saint! I want to be honest. I never thought very much about Gaudi's style of architecture/design. It struck me as a Dr. Seuss on LSD with a math degree from MIT kinda design style. I just didn't get it. I'm sure if I saw some of these building in 1960's with some mushrooms/acid on board they would be more awesome. Actually, I have a much better appreciation for his style now. Especially after realizing that it takes a true mathematical genius to make these structure. Bruce (being the engineer in the family) really enjoyed the Gaudi exhibitions.

Example of Gaudi's architecture

Parc Guell, an amazing park designed by Gaudi

A building in Gaudi's park...very Dr. Seuss-y

Arriving in Barcelona I started to notice that I didn't feel too hot. I figured that I just needed a little rest and all of the travel, ripping and running was wearing me down. We had been in the coldest of the cold for the past month and the sunshine and relative heat of Barcelona was a welcome change. Barcelona wasn't hot by any stretch of the imagination but it was a balmy 65 degrees on most days. This is how I figured out the Spanish were crazy....We are staying right on one of the famous beaches in South Barcelona, called Platja Barceloneta and one day, we decided to take a walk down the boardwalk. I had on my fleece jacket, and a scarf and pants, Bruce had on the same...The Barcelonans on the beach? BUTT ASS NAKID! Seriously people? I have so many issues with this! First of all, I'm not adverse to nudity. If  (and ONLY IF) you look decent nude. I'm no supermodel but gravity has been kind, thus far. I have two rules about nakedness or skimpy clothing. Spandex is a privlidge, not a right and if any part of your body falls down to cover any other part, you should NOT be naked! Our first Butt Naked Barcelonan was seen early in the morning when the temperature could not have been more than 55 degrees....Ouch. Secondly, he was an old man, with a saggy.....everything...yuk. He was totally stretching and exercising and bending over (OMG!) in front of God and the world. At first, Bruce and I thought he may be the resident bum/schizo/nutty dude. We even were on our way to find a police man to let him know there was a naked man running around. Imagine our shock, surprise and dismay when we stumbled upon an entire herd of elderly, shriveled Barcelonan men and women farther down the beach. Needless to say, we decided to walk on the street.

Amazing view of the beaches in Barcelona

We were supposed to have a great time in Barcelona but my Flu decided otherwise. By then end of our first day in Barcelona, I had a full blown fever complete with chills, muscle aches and pains. Wonderful! I was NOT about to let a little H1N1 ruin my trip! Thank God for the European sensibility and over-the-counter drugs! We were able to get all sorts of goodies to help me thru the worst of it. I just had to bundle up a couple of times to brave the sights of the city.
We decided to take a bus (the cheapest route) around the city. With a bus pass, we had the flexibility to check out lots of tourist spots. We knew we wanted to hit a couple of "famous" Barcelona sights. Like I said before, Barcelona is pretty famous for its favorite architect/artist in residence, Antoni Gaudi. One of our first stops was his famous church, La Sagrada Familia. This church was started back in 1882 and is STILL being built to this day! Gaudi knew that his brain child was so intricate and so big that it would not be completed in his lifetime. So now, over 100+ years later, public donations are funding the continued construction of the church. Now we've seen hundereds of famous churches, cathedrals, etc all over Europe and South America but this one was truly special. The sheer uniqueness of the design and the amout of symbolism in all of the carvings is truly breathtaking. It kinda looked like a melting candle on one side and on another facade were literally hundereds of intricate statues and carvings.

The melty-candle waxy facade of La Sagrada Familia

As we have noted before, me and Bruce are NOT cold weather people. We thought that Barcelona was a welcome change from the sub-zero temps of Denmark. At a balmy 60 degrees, we were loving life. But, thanks to the flu and a violent 30mph wind from northern Europe, our "warm" reprieve of Barcelona turned out to be a lot chillier than we hoped. No worries, we know how to layer. So, the morning we decided to brave the crowds of tourists to see La Sagrada Familia we had on long johns, scarves, hats and gloves. I noticed that people snickered when they saw us bundled up and we laughed at their asses too, with thier short sleeves, thin coats and flip flops. When that wind hit and the temperature dropped, we were the ones that had the last laugh. A lady in front of us who had on a fabulous black skirt and flip flops initially turned her nose up at us. We did look like a couple of homeless bumbs. Bruce had on the equivalent of a ski mask and I had my beloved 6 foot fleece scarf/pashma/sheet that I use to wrap up like the holiest Saudi Arabian princess. We did look crazy. But, after an hour in the whipping wind, our friend, Miss High and Mighty sought refuge in a store and came out in a silly pair of MC Hammer tourist pants she bought at the 7-11 on the corner! After the hour long wait, we were rewarded with awesome views of Gaudi's church.

La Sagrada Familia-Gaudi's crowning accomplishment

My highlight of the trip was seeing an authentic Flamenco show in a exquisite recreated Spanish village. I had only a peripheral knowledge of the Flamenco dance. I knew about the costumes and the fact it was a kinda sexy dance. I wasn't prepared for this amazing show. It was a tribute to one of the most famous Flamenco dancers of all times, Carmen (whoo-hoo!) Amaya, a gypsy born in 1913 who was an amazing dancer. She was beautiful, exotic, sexy and a great dancer. (I was describing me, but she was all of those things too:)) She was so good that she danced for the Spanish king, Alfonso XIII. The show is dedicated to her memory and the great Flamenco dance style. If you haven't seen Flamenco, its a very interesting combination of singing, guitar riffs, passion, emotion and dance steps that are a combination of African and Spanish. It is beautiful! The show was moving and it could not have been more perfect! Hopefully, we will be able to load a couple of segments of the show.

Flamenco dancer

Flamenco singer...don't know what the hell she was saying, but I know she FELT it!!!

The passion and feeling was evident in the dancers

What tour to Barcelona would be complete without a stop at a local cafe for some serious paella? Bruce had some of the best paella I've ever seen. The hallmark of good paella is good rice and lots of mystery meat. My new rule: If you can't recognize the meat in the dish, don't ask, just enjoy!

Our usual food porn...Spanish Paella this time!

Although our time in Barcelona was plagued with the plague, butt naked old men on the beach and the return of the whipping cold, we got the opportunity to rest and live like "locals". I really enjoyed the history and the culture of the city and would love to venture back to explore more (minus the fever).

You can check out all of our pictures from Barcelona (minus the naked old men) by clicking here