Lots of Stuff But the Last Post

Before leaving the 'hood for the milonga, we wanted a bite...quick & not too filling.  We opted for the Japanese hand-rolled (temaki) joint.  It's basically a takeaway place but has a few high-top seats at a counter.

(I love how things tie together.  "Te" means "hand".  I first learned that in "Karate" which means "empty hand", same word.)

Anyhow here's what it looks like in the light of day.  That window counter is where we had dinner.  Those hanging lamps are in keeping with the hand-roll theme.

And the interior.

We ordered miso soup, kappa maki (cucumber roll), two sake temaki (salmon hand roll) & a beer.

Susanne & the soup, in styrofoam of course.  The miso was quite good.

The kappa maki was so nothing, it didn't merit a photo.  But the salmon hand rolls...

A very nice surprise.

On to the milonga...this sign greeted us at the entrance.

We walked in a little after 10pm; 6 euros each, no food/drink but a cash bar in the lobby.  The floor was almost empty and the music refreshingly familiar, yippee!!  Claudia mentioned in class that morning she planned to come but didn't.  She described the crowd as older...it was.

Here's the floor around 11.

It never did get very crowded.  The floor was smooth granite.

Susanne was asked to dance (in French) by Rrrramon.  (The closest I can come to writing a trilled R)

She enjoyed the tanda thoroughly, her face just shined.  Rrrramon had this look of grim determination the entire time.

As the evening progressed, the music turned to more vocals & less familiarity.  Never did hear any DiSarli...he must not be appreciated here.  As we were leaving, she gave Rrrramon a hug & we shook hands.  Got back to the apartment around 12:45am.  Sure beats 2:30am!

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A sign of the times...Susanne prepares a what's-left-in-the-'fridge lunch.  Clockwise from the tomatoes:  Lightly fried goat cheese, I know what the pink stuff looks like but it's canned Spanish ham paté (to be spread on the local bread, quite good) & leftover fried potatoes.

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My blogging philosophy.

It started out years ago as an opportunity to share our travel experiences with friends and family.  Those of you who've been with me a long time recall that it began as a journal, a series of long emails with a few pics thrown in.  Then Hotmail made it increasingly difficult to do it that way while blogging platforms came along and made it much easier.  So here we are.

Sharing is still a goal but it has moved to the number two priority on the list.

It turns out, Susanne & I refer back to this blog when home and really enjoy reliving our experiences.  The blog condenses oodles of photos (which we still keep) down to the essentials and adds a commentary.

So if the above detail on our leftovers lunch seems way too mundane...for you it probably is.  But we'll recall it months & years from now with great memories.

Think of all of this as your peeking in on our continuing travel memory documentation project.

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We love French & Spanish pizzas.  The crust is thin and soft, best eaten with a fork although we saw some locals pick up the slice & fold it over.

The Spanish versions seem to be sparse in the ingredients department.  This one has plenty of anchovies (yummm!), some black olives, but not alot of capers or basil.

Ran out to the pastry shop this morning to grab some goodies for breakfast.  Susanne wanted a photo, here it is.  I'm the family chocoholic.

Our kitchen has a bit of a safety hazard.  When trying to navigate the dish drainer or the clothes washer/dryer in the cabinet below, that corner of the microwave has caught each of us.

We wandered past the Barcelona Maritime Museum & ventured in.  There is alot of space devoted to a particular old ship.  The ship was built in 1568 and had oars & sail.  Sail for moving long distances, but oars for maneuverability in battle. About 200 feet long, 20 feet wide, it was long & slim.  Had 290 rowers (mostly slaves) & 400 soldiers & sailors.

Here's a model of the ship & a view of its cannons.  Red and yellow are the Spanish colors.

Can't fire cannons from the sides because of the oars.

Now comes the cool part.  In 1971 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of this ship's most glorious moment in battle against the Turks, a full size replica was built.  This baby is huge:

You can only get an idea of the enormity of this thing if I place little Susanne next to it.

Wow!

Another model of note.  Usually a ship is built, then later a scale model is done from the original plans.

In this case, the process was reversed.  This scale model bristling with cannons was built in Havana around 1740.

Three ships were built in Havana between 1765 & 1767 based on this model.  Fascinating, to me anyway.

We came upon a church.  Judging by the activity outside, a wedding had taken place earlier.  We went inside for a peek.  The exterior is very unremarkable.

Ahhhh, but the interior!!!   More gorgeous and ornate than anything we've seen.   Inside that bright area in the center is a statue of the Virgin Mary.

This church is old, but it did not have that 13th/14th century Gothic vibe about it.  No flying buttresses outside.  Seems to have been built centuries later.  Sure enough, construction began in 1765, just about the time Britain's American colonies were beginning to get itchy.

Another señorita or maybe señora .  Miniskirts are quite the rage here along with short shorts and jeans thrashed along the entire front of the legs.

Went back to our burger place for dinner; had the same fabulous burger as before.  Is it possible the best burger joint in America is a place called "Milk" in Barcelona?  Here's their website.

Could someone please tell me...is this nonsense English or a deeply profound thought my little mind is incapable of contemplating?  Or maybe song lyrics?

OK folks....tomorrow we pack & the next morning we leave.  So this is the last post.

I am absolutely amazed that blogging fatigue has not set in in a big way.  It's happened on previous trips.

We are heading back to Bozeman in late July & will reactivate the blog then.

Bye4now, it's been fun.

Steve

Beginning to Wind Down

Today was actually sunny and warm in the afternoon.  We wandered along the harbor, only a few blocks from the apartment.  Looking out, this is where the smaller boats arrive.  The big ships like ours arrive in another area.  Note the cable car crossing the water.

By Turning around 180º, we see a huge monument to that most famous of all Italians, Christopher Columbus.  It was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his exploration.  OK do the math, when it was built?

And there he is, at the very top pointing towards his discovery a considerable ways off.

A detail of one side of the base.

I mean, what in blazes did Columbus ever do for Spain except to set off a territorial claim scramble that went on for 150 years or so?  And caused a few wars here & there.

Across from this monument in multiple directions are a number of public buildings done very much in the Spanish style.  This one was built to be a Customs facility.

Don't know the purpose of this one but love the Spanish flag flying just right.

This building was built for the administration of the port.  The roof tops are reminiscent of the Norman style.

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This following morning was our last yoga class; said "good-bye" to the ladies.  Here's the mat area from the back.   The wooden floor is beautiful and creaked with every individual move.

Susanne is ready for the foot work.

And here we all are.  Teacher Claudia has the best posture.  We'll probably be seeing her at the milonga tonight.  The other three ladies are our "regulars".  All in all a really, really nice super group.

Some thoughts on Barcelona.

We do really like Barcelona.  For us it takes more than one visit anywhere to get to "love".  Barcelona has its own flavor & ambience.  The food is great in its own unique way.  The Metro makes it easy to get around although the stops are much further apart than in Paris.  The yoga & tango are great.  And the bonus...it is so much cheaper here than in Paris.  If you want to go to Europe on a budget, Barcelona should be on your possibilities list.

Will we return?  Probably, but we'd like to get back to Paris first; haven't been there since 2014.  We have a major trip to South Africa in the works for next spring; won't firm that up until November.  Then maybe back to Paris.

Did we like our apartment & would we stay there again?  Yes & maybe.  For a few days up to a week, it's fabulous.  Modern, in great condition, lots of space, a clothes washer/dryer, an on-site go-to person.  A neighborhood with many restaurants & shops.  A not too far of a walk to the Metro and to Las Ramblas.  A much better deal than a hotel.

But it's not really set up for a long term stay (ability to prepare some meals in, for starters)...no drip coffeemaker (so we bought one), not enough pots & pans, no place mats, no English language TV news.  Overhead lighting difficult to live with for three weeks, especially in the bathroom.  Could've used a coat rack in the living room & a table in the bedroom (we used the ironing board instead).  We took our old Paris apartment for granted where we had all these things and more without asking.  Now we've learned to inquire more beforehand.

This afternoon we strolled around and sat down on a bench in a small plaza area.  Susanne was clicking away with her camera.  She loves shooting people, with the odd object thrown in.  Here's some of what she took.

Why is the shadow incomplete?  The rest of it fell across a big ugly sign.

Here's more, some of it on the way back to the apartment.

Lots of dogs being walked, no dog stuff anywhere.

Then there was this guy following her around, EVERYWHERE!

We're heading to a milonga tonight...gots to get ready.

Off you go again, little blog post!!!

Starting Our Last Week

Donna & Paul left for home.  It was a delight to spend time with them.

The weather has settled into being cloudy with periods of sprinkles.  It may continue until we leave on Monday washing out the colors in all our photos.  That happened in Paris a couple of years ago.

This morning we were back to yoga and what a wonderful class it was!  Claudia's classes are never the same.  She starts out very slowly with breathing and ends with a wonderfully long savasana, but doesn't have a pattern in between.  Today we worked the entire body top to bottom with stretches.  We even did our feet by rolling & standing on a 3/4" dowel about 2 feet long.  The bottom of my feet got their first major workout ever and complained the entire time.

Three very nice ladies have been with us in every class.  Still no hangups in the single-gender changing room.

Here's the graffiti-covered door to the yoga class building and the tiny sign with the studio info.   It's a shame no respect is shown.

We Metro'd up to one of Barcelona's major plazas, Catalunya and was surprised to exit through a large underground Metro station with lots of shops.  Tokyo & Osaka are famous for gigantic versions.  Zurich, with its severe winters has a huge underground shopping area.

There's no way to get this huge plaza in one shot.  A video on a gloomy day will turn out blah.  The day being what is was, the pics don't exactly pop out at you.  I'm grateful for the balloons, otherwise you'd think it was in B&W.

Like any major public space, you get pigeons...

and fountains.  The Spanish love boobies, too.  One lady took a shower with high pressure sand, the other not.

What is the difference between Spanish & French architecture?  Here are unmistakably Spanish buildings...more rounded and with flourishes that are different from the French.

These seem to be Gaudi-inspired.

Kids and pigeons are not my favorite health combination but that seems to be ignored here. 

Below is a short video.  If you are reading this in an email, click on "Steve's Travel Blog" at the top to get the web version.  Email doesn't like large files.

I haven't been adding to the "Señiorita" collection.  Here's one Susanne took, she saw the shoes first.

It began to sprinkle.   Las Ramblas starts at Catalunya and meanders in our apartment's general direction, so we strolled there heading towards home.  Mild hunger hit us but we didn't want to spoil dinner, so we shared a fresh fruit cup from the Boqueria market, all of 2 euros.

For dinner we both wanted Italian. Our quest actually started with Susanne jonesing for Spaghetti Bolognese, spaghetti in a marinara meat sauce.  I believe this is the single most popular menu item in Europe...even in non-Italian places.

And we did not want just a local restaurant with tapas & pizza, but REAL Italian.  We found one in the 'hood...not a single tapa on the menu.  Another clue, the establishment lingua franca was Italian, not Spanish.

As we put in our order and settled in, the waiter took our picture with pi & delta in the background. 

Why Greek letters in this restaurant?  Don't know, forgot to ask.  Susanne wondered where I learned the Greek alphabet.  Easy answer: physics class in high school.  Our teacher told us that the study of physics had a very practical application...it uses lots of Greek letters in the equations so when we get to college, we'll know the names of all the sororities & fraternities.  True story.

Back to food.  Here is Susanne's linguini Bolognese.

I ordered my favorite pasta, seafood linguini but my order came with a surprise.  The waiter (in black with red braces...so Italian!) brought a very hot dish containing a sizzling bag of pasta & seafood.

He proceeded to cut open the bag, then remove the plastic.

And voila!  There's my dinner...

We also shared the mixed salad.

A great meal, we strolled back to the apartment in the rain.

More posts coming.