Vallromanes

with Alicia in Cabrera de Mar

A couple of weeks ago I had spent a weekend with my friend Alicia, it was one of those weekends when her 11 year old twins stay with their father. What I didn’t know is that Carmen Villuendas, another old friend, was going to join us, as she also lives in the area called Maresme, just north of Barcelona, I guess you could call it the “Marin” of this place. And Carmen has a 5 month old rescue named Nala.

Alicia and Carme

I had such a good time, we laughed so hard, it was very therapeutic.

The next day I found out that two more single women, old friends also live in this area.

So I started thinking that I should come live close to this area too. And I did find a great place, however it didn’t pan out, so in the end I agreed to move in with Laura in a neighbourhood called Horta, while still in Barcelona city, it is close to a large park on the hills.

Nala  

I had to leave Albert and Mar, they put up with me for an entire month. 

Since I thought I was moving to El Masnou, I had already made plans to stay with my friend Alicia for a week. So last Friday Victor came with his van, we loaded all my stuff, and arrived in Vallromanes, which is only half an hour from the big city, and as nice as it is, public transport from here is not ideal, since one must take a bus to Granollers and from there the train downtown Barcelona. El Masnou would have been great, as it’s the same distance, only on the beach, so the train runs right by the place I wanted to rent, but there was a misunderstanding and the girl who I thought was leaving March 1st, is actually leaving April 1st. “Mi gozo en un pozo” as they say here, which translates to “my pleasure in the well”. 

So I was going to spend a few days off and relax from the pressure, the first two days Alicia was off with some friends, a weekend that was planned a while back, while her kids, Berta and Eloi stayed with their dad Jorge. So I had the place to myself. 

That evening I had dinner with Jorge and the kids, and we played Monopoly.

Gascon's home

On Sunday Jorge was preparring a “calsotada”, which I explained is barbecuing spring onions and dipping them in romescu sauce. originally he planned this only for his older daughter Aida and her boyfriend David (I think) who are vegan, but as these things go, in the end were 20 some people, so Jorge had a huge box with 200 calsots. And while Aida and her group of vegan friends arrived first, they had already barbecued all the vegan food, which was fortunate, because later the carnivors arrived, and initially had a bit of a problem that was eventually solved and were able to cook the meats too.

Josep Maria stuffing his face

And in case you ever do have an oportunity to enjoy these typical onions, be careful, the sauce is very heavy, lots of nuts, and the calsots give you a lot of gas, so the digestion is problematic.

the yard between Gascon's and Coch's

Now remember that Jorge house shares the garden with my ex’s house, so naturally he was there too, as a matter of fact he came to fetch me; and as those of you who have skyped me already know, business as usual, so it was fun, and cordial, but that’s all, nothing juicy to tell, just a good time with old and new friends. And that’s all I can say about that...at least for now.

The bad news is that while I’m still working on the “becoming spanish” thingy, I found out the process can take about a year or so. This means that I can’t legally work, all I can hope for is finding things that will pay cash; which makes things a little harder. But I’ll keep trying.

And the good news is that despite all the fatty foods, croissants and chocolate cookies, I've have been loosing weight, my belly has shrunk significantly. I can only assume it's all the running up and down the Metro stairs.

home sick? me?

I was talking to Deborah on Skype just yesterday, I was confessing some sadness about not being back in Marin, and how we miss going to Mill Valley Dog Park, as she's been going to Sausalito recently.
I didn't think much about being home sick before, since I've moved around so much. I do remember feeling a sense of calm every time I went home the three and half years I lived in Hermosa Beach. I convinced myself it was the sight and smell of the ocean so close that made me feel warm and fuzzy.


My grandmother Adela would get homesick when she was away from Spain too long. And Deborah mentioned that when she tried to live back in New York, she just couldn't do it anymore. Damn California, you've spoilt us rotten.


However when I first came to live in the USA, I must say, it took me about 3 or more years to not miss Barcelona. Right now, to tell you the truth, I can't stand it; I like going out of the city. Like yesterday morning for example, Albert was going to Vilanova i la Geltru, a large town about 1/2 hour south to film Lost in London, a play by one of his theatre companies, so I tagged along and took Wilbur for a walk on the beach, and it just feels good to be out, away from the tall buildings and traffic. Sorry I forgot to take my camera, but here's a link to Pasifae , she was the wife of Minos, King of Crete, she became madly obsessed with this large white bull; anyway I could see this huge bull sculpture at a distance, right by the water, and I came closer to see that she was actually inside the bull's stomach.

The previous day I was meeting Hugo for lunch, somewhere along the Rambla de Catalunya, which is one of the popular downtown streets. Hugo had been waiting to get his work visa renewed to go back to San Francisco, usually once every three years, this time took longer than in the past (possibly due to furloughs?). We sat outside as the weather was pleasant enough, and order "el menu del dia" which was cream of zucchini and sole with salad. 




After we drove up to Parc Guell for a stroll, this is another of Gaudi's masterpieces, which was supossed to be a whole development of maybe 100 homes and finally only 3 were built. I hadn't been up there in over 20 years, so it was a treat.

where to lay the egg?

...is an old catalan saying, which some would say when speaking of my grandfather who would travel back and forth with the family, hoping for the right place.

Edward and Wilbur on the beach

riera between Calafell and Segur de Calafell

So, as I'm pondering where to (temporarily) land; I'm conflicted between the bucolic life outside of the city, which I have been used to for the past 24 years, and Wilbur would definitely prefer, as a friend of my mother offered me to stay in a duplex home that is near finish remodel for 500 euro/month, in the beach town of Calafell, one hour south of Barcelona, or another friend who offered her apartment in the beach town of Canet de Mar for the same amount, or should I be more practical and stay in the big city where I have more opportunities to find work?


Speaking of work, this morning I was up early for my first interview, I was referred to by Monica, it's to promote the free classes by social security for unemployed people. Sadly I was asked to return once I have my DNI (documento nacional de identidad), which hopefully I will have next week. Actually I had foreseen this, but I thought I should get my feet wet anyway, besides since it's a goverment thing, it can always lead to other better stuff...maybe?

Edward and Wilbur

Monica, Wilbur and me

Last Sunday then Edward and Monica picked me and Wilbur up to go to the town of Calafell to check it out. I had been there a few times 25 years ago, when Jordi was a baby, and the beaches down south, Costa Dorada, are known for taking babies, as the sand is fine and the water shallow, in contrast with the Costa Brava where the sand is rough and very deep waters. But just like everything else, it has changed too, more developed.

calcotada

mmmm!

Anyway, the trip doubled up as a traditional outing to celebrate the beginning of spring onion season, where one town in this area is famous for "La Calcotada". Onions are barbecued or grilled, and dipped in Romescu sauce, and dropped into ones mouth from above. Bibs are very necessary. This dish usually comes with a plenty of others dishes too, usually a platter of a variety of barbecued meats, lamb, rabbit, chicken etc. 

ou esclafat

We decided to try another specialty of the house "ous esclafats" fried egg over house fries and truffle sprinkle, and you smash the egg by cutting it into small pieces in order to mix the flavor. It was delicious, despite my egg allergy. And the "escalibada" which some of you have already tried, are the roasted red bell peppers and eggplant, but in this case they had a round of warm goat cheese in the middle; and I'm telling you, this combo is sooo good.

carrer de la barca 6

After this meal, we went to see the "house" for rent, and for a stroll along the beach strand, where Wilbur enjoyed chasing seagulls and accidentally falling into water that was hiding below a sand dune.


What would you do?

Sagrada Familia

I've decided to skip a few days because I simply don't have time, at least not right now, maybe later I will revisit some events.


Currently I'm staying with Albert and Mar, which is better for me in some ways (wireless, heat, convenient location), but also less convenient for Wilbur, although there are many small dogs areas everywhere, we need to walk further to go to a larger park, like "Parc de l'Estacio del Nord".


Yesterday I spent most of the day with Maica, an old friend from highschool, and in the evening we went to get Wilbur and took him over to another friend's, Maite, also from highschool, coincidentally it happened to be her birthday. It amazes me, how easy we get along, it's as if we can just pick up where we left off, even though we hadn't seen each other in over 30 years.

This morning I had my own plans, and since most people have a hard time getting up early on the weekend  here, and I was not will to go late in order to avoid crowds. The Sagrada Familia, is one of the more visited churches in the world. Antoni Gaudi, was a unique architect from the turn of the past century, during the Art Noveau period, a similar movement in Barcelona named Modernisme, incorporated Nature in all it's form, so building had very organic shapes. 

reflection in the pond

Like many other geniuses in those days, Gaudi had health problems as a young man, and died after being hit by a street car, but because of his fashion sense, he was mistaken for a homeless person, and his friends discovered his absence 3 days later.


The construction of the Sagrada Familia, came to a halt due to bad economy, and during the Franco Reign of 40 years. I remember playing hide and seek with my friends in those first older towers as a teenager, as the building was abandoned. So it's quite exciting to see the transformation.

the Eucharist 

January 2011 started with the exciting news that the interior of the building was finally completed. However the exterior will be completed by 2025. To celebrate, the city was offering free Saturday visits during the entire month, and today was the last, so I was not going to miss the opportunity.


It feels like you're in the woods, with very tall concrete trees.

emergency exit

the alter

the windows

the elevator

the ceiling

exit door

A large part of the flooring is cork.

Now I will step outside to show you some of the sculptures.

pretty cool, don't you think?

                                        

January 25...observations

This morning starts with a croissant from this bakery, “forn de pa” , forn means oven and pa means bread, so it translates to bread oven; and a little coffee with milk, in this case I’m using “leche de avena” which is oat milk, since I was not able to find my preferred hemp milk.

Next is a visit to the nearest savings bank “la caixa” to open an account. While I was waiting by the boarding gate in Frankfurt, there was a free news paper stand, and they also have free coffee machines, and I noticed the headlines of one of the American newspapers, but now I can’t remember if it was Washington Post or Wall Street Journal, anyhow, next to President Obama and Hu Jintao, was an article about a possible bailout of these popular “cajas” savings banks. I mentioned it to Victor on the ride home, and he dismissed it as no problem, he says they’re always saying things, but they always solve whatever. Actually, later, after lunch, on the news, right after the bomb at the airport in Russia, they talked about this being only certain spanish Cajas, but the Catalan Caixas are ok (let’s hope, cause that’s where I went this morning).

can you find Wilbur in the distance?

Before lunch I went to take Wilbur out, to the beach for a little while, this area has no security guards, so taggers can sneak around to do there thing, and while I dislike the senseless ugly dribbles, there are a few graffiti artists that have talent.

These 3 tall towers were part of an old power plant, which the locals voted to keep as historic icon of what the old Sant Adria used to be like; they are also the tallest building of the city , over 200 meters.

Then we walked over to the Plaza de la Vila, were we strolled a bit a couple of nights ago, they had these cool water fountains that change shape and color, sorry I forgot to bring my camera that evening, but I’ll try to go back there later, when it is dark, because during daylight they don’t operate. 

Along the way, there’s a pedestrian street with local shops and bars, which Victor pointed out how empty they’ve been these last few weeks, because the new law that came into effect on January 1st this year, there’s no smoking allowed allowed inside, bars and restaurants. I was happy to hear that, but I didn’t say, as Victor is an avid smoker, but he makes his own cigarettes. And so now they have a few tables outside in the cold of winter, usually these tables have only been outside during the better weather.

Actually when we went to lunch yesterday at the Gallego, it was only because I had unexpectedly brought Albert over and Mari didn’t have enough food for all. She was conflicted, because she said Victor will not go there anymore because of the no smoking law. I argued that they should support their local businesses, as they are not at fault. He made an exception.

wedding dress

Now this is a rare find, a spanish gypsy wedding shop. Sorry the reflection of the glass takes a bit away from all the outrageous colors. Just check out those men's shoes.

mens shoes

men's wedding clothes

Day care for seniors, I don't think I ever saw this before; as most of you know, most elderly people live at home with the family; well now they have these centers where you can drop them off and pick them up later, just like you do with little kids.

I think it's cool, this way they're not so lonely when you're at work. And stay out of trouble.

Warning: Beth, Deborah, Denise and other horse lovers, you need to skip this paragraph.

Back when I was young living here, horse meat was rare, although I knew it was very popular in France, and you do see a wide variety of world wide foods now, but I was still surprised to see several horse butcher shops. I have never tried horse meat, and I don't think that I could, not knowingly anyway.

Wilbur at the beach