visited sarria in the north west end of the city where the plaza looks like so many tiny villages in the middle of spain. though i hadn´t connected the dots until yesterday, it completely made sense that barcelona was a town quite distinct from its current boroughs such as sarria, montjuic, sant andreu.
as barcie headed into the industrial revolution and demand for real estate grew in leaps and bounds, the l´eixample area began to take shape with architectural masters leaving their distinct marks. it didn´t take long before the new district grew to fill the gaps between barcelona and its neighbouring areas. these boroughs soon became part of barcelona while maintaining their original small village feel. cool!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
shade-hunting
no doubt one adapts to one´s surroundings but when one´s environment is sooooooo very hot, one sometimes has to come up with different solutions. my ¨beat the heat¨ trick is to hunt out every last corner of shade available and make a beeline for it. anyone following my progress would wonder whether i hadn´t hit the bottle as my path zigzags from one extreme to the other in search of cooooool relief!
gitanos
elsa had warned me about gitanos, the iberian gypsies. consensus was that they were shameless thieves, first class cons and brutish barbarians, not to mention stinky and rowdy marginals.
gypsy barrios - essentially seedy, overcrowded concrete compounds - are the sadly successful outcome of the spanish authorities' assimilation crusade. some twenty years ago, iberia's last rebellious nomads were crammed into sterile apartment buildings which, in the rough hands of these former tent-dwellers, quickly fell prey to accelerated decay.
gypsies are also called "rom" (free man) and have been associated with the dom indian caste. they are believed to have abandoned their native punjab around the year 900. linguists have even traced back the origins of romani - the traditional gypsy idiom - to sanskrit, and uncovered shared features with modern darvinian languages such as hindi, bengali, and panjabi. so gypsies settled in spain around 1425 and nearly 600 years later, gitanos were still completely alienated mostly because they had retained much of their traditional beliefs and way of life.
few are the metro trips where a couple of gypsies don´t jump into a crammed car dragging a pull cart containing a mini p.a. system, only to whip out a mike. next thing is you are being treated to a syrupy but abbreviated version of some spanish tune, like it or not. oftentimes, the second gitano looks around with an expression of the most intense boredom while smacking a tambourine to the beat and pelting out the chorus. it´s all very entertaining. of course, the hat is passed around before the metro pulls into the next station...
gypsy barrios - essentially seedy, overcrowded concrete compounds - are the sadly successful outcome of the spanish authorities' assimilation crusade. some twenty years ago, iberia's last rebellious nomads were crammed into sterile apartment buildings which, in the rough hands of these former tent-dwellers, quickly fell prey to accelerated decay.
gypsies are also called "rom" (free man) and have been associated with the dom indian caste. they are believed to have abandoned their native punjab around the year 900. linguists have even traced back the origins of romani - the traditional gypsy idiom - to sanskrit, and uncovered shared features with modern darvinian languages such as hindi, bengali, and panjabi. so gypsies settled in spain around 1425 and nearly 600 years later, gitanos were still completely alienated mostly because they had retained much of their traditional beliefs and way of life.
few are the metro trips where a couple of gypsies don´t jump into a crammed car dragging a pull cart containing a mini p.a. system, only to whip out a mike. next thing is you are being treated to a syrupy but abbreviated version of some spanish tune, like it or not. oftentimes, the second gitano looks around with an expression of the most intense boredom while smacking a tambourine to the beat and pelting out the chorus. it´s all very entertaining. of course, the hat is passed around before the metro pulls into the next station...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
tapas
it is said that as far back as the 13th century, ailing spanish king alfonso x el sabio ("the learned") took small morsels with wine on his doctor's advice and so enjoyed the cure that he made it a regular practice in his court. even cervantes refers to tapas as llamativos (attention getters), for their stimulating properties, in don quixote. often miniature versions of classic spanish dishes, tapas allow you to sample different kinds of food and wine with minimal alcohol poisoning, especially on a tapeo -- the spanish version of a pub crawl: you walk off your wine and tapas as you move around.
Friday, August 8, 2008
jewish quarter
i connected with some of my he medieval jewish quarter inside el barri gotico. the area was founded in the 12th century and therein now resides spain´s most ancient synagogue. while most of the buildings have succombed to modernization, the streets remain as they were 9 centuries ago. the gothic surroundings were very amenable to these mental conjurings, particularly as here was a little traveled tourist destination, thus leaving me mostly alone wih my thoughts.
the saga of barcelona's jewish community came to its culminating moment in august 1391 when, during a time of famine and pestilence, a nationwide outbreak of anti-semitic violence reached catalunya with catastrophic results: nearly the entire jewish population was murdered or forced to convert to christianity. and this, a full 101 years before they were expelled from the rest of spain, in 1492, by the reyes católicos, isabel and fernando. no wonder they felt the need to congregate in a ghetto of sorts.
next on the list was the old town´s 13th century gothic cathedral de santa eulalia, co-patron saint of barcelona. eulalia was a young virgin who suffered martyrdom during roman times in barcelona. it is said the romans exposed her naked in the public square but a miraculous snow fall in mid spring covered her nudity. the enraged romans threw her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolled it down a street. her body is entombed in the cathedral's crypt.
as the cathedral is currently undergoing a faclift, the entire front facade was hidden behind scaffolds and large scale prints representing the future finished product. the view from its towers was beautiful and a funky gothic cloister is home to a flock of 13 regal white geese (eulalia was 13 when murdered).
in the evening, i met julia around the parallel area to check out a concert where her trumpet teacher was performing with the opening band. the apolo theatre is a fairly good sized venue deckedout in the grooviest chandeliers and it was just about filled to capacity. the opening band was tight but lacked in a certain ¨ooumff¨. the headline band wasn´t much better so i cut out in time to catch the metro part way home. the last half was a nicely chilled late night stroll in a barcelona that is rarely so quiet.
the saga of barcelona's jewish community came to its culminating moment in august 1391 when, during a time of famine and pestilence, a nationwide outbreak of anti-semitic violence reached catalunya with catastrophic results: nearly the entire jewish population was murdered or forced to convert to christianity. and this, a full 101 years before they were expelled from the rest of spain, in 1492, by the reyes católicos, isabel and fernando. no wonder they felt the need to congregate in a ghetto of sorts.
next on the list was the old town´s 13th century gothic cathedral de santa eulalia, co-patron saint of barcelona. eulalia was a young virgin who suffered martyrdom during roman times in barcelona. it is said the romans exposed her naked in the public square but a miraculous snow fall in mid spring covered her nudity. the enraged romans threw her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolled it down a street. her body is entombed in the cathedral's crypt.
as the cathedral is currently undergoing a faclift, the entire front facade was hidden behind scaffolds and large scale prints representing the future finished product. the view from its towers was beautiful and a funky gothic cloister is home to a flock of 13 regal white geese (eulalia was 13 when murdered).
in the evening, i met julia around the parallel area to check out a concert where her trumpet teacher was performing with the opening band. the apolo theatre is a fairly good sized venue deckedout in the grooviest chandeliers and it was just about filled to capacity. the opening band was tight but lacked in a certain ¨ooumff¨. the headline band wasn´t much better so i cut out in time to catch the metro part way home. the last half was a nicely chilled late night stroll in a barcelona that is rarely so quiet.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
barca fc
fully intending to stuff a little culture into my day, i pointed myself in the direction of the museum of contemporary art. however, upon looking at the map, i somehow got distracted and wound up standing outside the stadium where barca futbol club play their home games. sport trumps culture...art can wait another day!
key to my heart...or at least to the front door!
before having my senses fully about me this morning, i ran out to pick up some breakfast fruit only to realize i´d left my keys in the house. knowing that one half of my exchange partners is minding my pad in toronto while the other half is 300 km away in zaragoza, i just knew this would happen.
luckily, gary was still inside the house but fast asleep. i located his window in the apartment building and looked about for a projectile to slipshot at it. there were no pebbles to be found so old cherry pits would have to do instead.
after calling gary´s name and assailing the window for a good 5 minutes, the neighbouring apartment´s window whipped open and some guy´s head popped out. in the split second it took me to look over, i suspected i´d upset a night owl´s beauty sleep and was in for an earful. but when the face registered, i realized to my surprise that it was gary´s sleepy face. so...who´s window had i been pelting with old sun-bleached cherry pits?! lucky for me noone was home!
what with gary leaving tomorrow, i know i won´t be doing that again!
luckily, gary was still inside the house but fast asleep. i located his window in the apartment building and looked about for a projectile to slipshot at it. there were no pebbles to be found so old cherry pits would have to do instead.
after calling gary´s name and assailing the window for a good 5 minutes, the neighbouring apartment´s window whipped open and some guy´s head popped out. in the split second it took me to look over, i suspected i´d upset a night owl´s beauty sleep and was in for an earful. but when the face registered, i realized to my surprise that it was gary´s sleepy face. so...who´s window had i been pelting with old sun-bleached cherry pits?! lucky for me noone was home!
what with gary leaving tomorrow, i know i won´t be doing that again!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
sitges
gary and i spent the day at sitges, a little seaside beach town less than an hour out of barcie. it couldn´t have been less than 40 degrees in the shade, not that there was much shade to be had. crazy hot.
still, we checked out the digs and were impressed with some of its architecture. very attractive spot with lots of great shopping and restaurants. on one of the menus, we saw the following translation of seafood paella: ¨soggy fisherman´s rice¨!!
still, we checked out the digs and were impressed with some of its architecture. very attractive spot with lots of great shopping and restaurants. on one of the menus, we saw the following translation of seafood paella: ¨soggy fisherman´s rice¨!!
Monday, August 4, 2008
gaga 4 gothic gargoyles
i strolled around the old gothic quarter on a self-guided walking tour and sleuthed about in search of all known vestiges of the excavated roman walls. the ancient roman colony - then known as barcino - was founded between the years 15-10 bc in the time of emperor augustus. the barri gotic covered around ten hectares and housed some 1,000 inhabitants. living under the constant fear of attack, the romans built a sturdy wall in the 2nd century ad to protect the city and its residents. a second wall complete with watchtowers was built in the 4th century as further reinforcement.
fascinating to think some of these stones that i was admiring had been standing for 19 centuries. the battles they´ve seen...the evolution they´ve witnessed, the injustices and acts of bravery. blows my mind.
it´s a wonder people walking around the old town don´t collide more often as there is soooo much eye candy to contemplate up high in the cornices, windows and towers. my faves though are the gargoyles. there are so many different types, shapes, sizes and are immortalized in the oddest poses. i´ve gone gaga over gargoyles!
temps just soared today. ahhhhhhhhh, thank my lucky stars there is no longer a water shortage.
fascinating to think some of these stones that i was admiring had been standing for 19 centuries. the battles they´ve seen...the evolution they´ve witnessed, the injustices and acts of bravery. blows my mind.
it´s a wonder people walking around the old town don´t collide more often as there is soooo much eye candy to contemplate up high in the cornices, windows and towers. my faves though are the gargoyles. there are so many different types, shapes, sizes and are immortalized in the oddest poses. i´ve gone gaga over gargoyles!
temps just soared today. ahhhhhhhhh, thank my lucky stars there is no longer a water shortage.
Friday, August 1, 2008
through the eyes of another
gary is in town! spent the day subtly smiling at his excitement upon sharing some of my most highly coveted city gems. whether architecture, a district or food, g obliged by exhibiting the appropriate amount of glee. out popped the camera every 5 seconds!
i had intentionally set aside the gothic quarter´s born area to discover it together. we caught our second wind in a discrete square near the cathedral where a musician serenaded us with some ancient instrument while we contemplated the neighbouring church´s many gargoyles. also checked out la boqueria and its gastronomic cornucopia of colours, textures, smells...an epicure´s delight! a terrific day on both counts, capped by a typical spanish lentil chorizo stew dinner and san miguel cerveza. que bien!
i had intentionally set aside the gothic quarter´s born area to discover it together. we caught our second wind in a discrete square near the cathedral where a musician serenaded us with some ancient instrument while we contemplated the neighbouring church´s many gargoyles. also checked out la boqueria and its gastronomic cornucopia of colours, textures, smells...an epicure´s delight! a terrific day on both counts, capped by a typical spanish lentil chorizo stew dinner and san miguel cerveza. que bien!
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