We had a wonderful visit in Barcelona (BCN) with our niece Karen, husband Peter, and children Ingrid and Asta – here from Copenhagen. They rented an apartment just down our very short street, so we were within two minutes of each other – what a treat!
Well, the first thing the girls were interested in was the beach – no more than a 10-minute walk from our apartments. Now you may find this surprising, but the BCN beach was rated the best urban beach in the WORLD by National Geographic (per Wikipedia). We were skeptical. Our last seen Spanish beach was in Malaga and, frankly, given that it’s on the Costa del Sol and all, we expected more. But, the sand was brown, coarse, and appeared dirty, especially compared to the white and very fine sand beaches we SoCal folks are spoiled by.
Surprise . . . surprise. BCN beaches are lovely. Soft golden sand (maybe not as fine as SoCal, but we’re being picky here). Warm water – very nice – and much warmer than the Pacific! Some waves and surfers. All this right here within walking distance. Really, who knew?
The girls loved it, went in swimming several times, and played in the sand. It was the last thing they wanted to do before they left and who could blame them as they headed back to already cold Denmark?
And so do Barcelonés. They flock to the beach, especially on Sundays, even if it’s not so warm. And who can blame them?
One can even get a massage -- right there on the beach!
One can walk several miles along the beach, stopping along the way for tapas and drinks – and enjoying the headless fish – the Frank Gehry sculpture which marks the 1992 Olympic Village (now a major shopping/living/eating area).
Otherwise, what did the girls love? They were very intrigued by the Christopher Columbus statue with finger pointing out to sea at the end of Las Ramblas. “What’s Columbus to BCN and why the direction of the finger?”
And the answer . . . . Old CC (not a Spaniard) returning to BCN with booty after “discovering” the New World was met by monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella – who paid for his trip. Now BCN had paid for two of his ships. But did BCN get to share in the New World spoils? Well, no. In fact, it was denied the right to trade there at all and could only continue trade in the Mediterranean, which wasn’t so interesting compared to all the treasure from the West. Folks here weren’t happy.
So, long story long, CC’s statue has its back to BCN – consistent with the sorry history of Barcelona being dumped on.
Ruins – early Roman, and later – were Ingrid’s biggest interest. Plus Karen really wanted demonstration of the Visigoth presence in BCN (500-800 CE). The Visigoths were the fair-haired invaders from Scandinavia. The Museu d’Història de la Ciutat was the place. These are the best underground ruins in all of Europe (per one of our guidebooks). We could see where fabric was dyed, fish dried, and wine made. And, an added benefit – no crowds.
We guess that most folks are more interested in the Modernist architecture – but this is their loss. These ruins were amazing, and we were delighted that – for once – there were not tons of tourists around.
After a funky non-Mexican lunch (Mexican food in Spain can taste very different than what we Angelenos are used to), we took fun photos of each other (minus Peter, who had to return to Copenhagen earlier that Karen and the girls).
Peter and Dale love to cook together. Luckily, the large Mercat Santa Caterina is a 5-minute walk away from our apartment. The roof of the market is a feast to behold in and of itself. (The entire structure was designed by Eric Miralles and built around 2000.)
Meats and poultry of every description, produce, and fish -- some very odd-looking -- abound.
Well, Peter and Dale cooked up some amazing meals!
And why did they need to cook meals, when there is such wonderful cuisine all around?
Guess what...this brings us to the rhythms of Spanish life. Most of you probably are aware of the late-night culture of Spain. But how does one live with it – especially with small children used to eating at 6:00 p.m? Restaurants don’t open until 9:30 pm. Cafes maybe – but that's a limited menu. Pizza only gets you so far. So we cooked – and bloody marvelous food it was!
We had a wonderful time with good adventures, food, laughter, and family time!
We felt sad to see Karen, Peter, Ingrid, and Asta go back into the colder northern climes they call home. Adios.
Love,
Elsa and Dale
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