 |
| What the hell? |
On two successive afternoons,
Rob led Beth through pedestrian shopping districts in search of Spanish-made
shoes that were both to Beth’s liking and a bargain. By Rob’s account, he
figured that they had checked close to fifty different shoe stores in Barcelona’s
core. Each one they entered he began the process by trying to be the good
'girlfriend’ by aiding in the shoe selection. Giving his full effort, he
attempted to find styles that appealed to her particular taste. When this
operation proved unsuccessful, he occupied his time trying on men’s shoes he
liked or, in the case of stores with only women’s shoes, take photographs of
the more unusual styles.
 |
We passed through the seven levels
of the Candy Cane forest, through
the sea of swirly twirly gum drops,
and then we walked through
the Lincoln Tunnel. |
Entering into one store after
another Beth found many appropriate styles, but unfortunately few were left in
her size. At this time of the year almost every shoe store exhibited a
“2° Rebjais” sign indicated a secondary markdown and, although many shoes were
left in the smaller sizes, few were left in size 41. In an act of desperation,
after finding a pair of short black lace-up boots which she had been searching
for for years, Beth tried squeezing her feet and orthotics into a size 40.
Although successful in the exercise of placing the shoes on her feet, she
was in obvious discomfort when she attempted to walk about the store. Sadly she
removed the shoes but made note of the style and brand and was determined to
conduct an extensive internet search which Rob jokingly compared to
"chasing unicorns". However she was convinced of her ultimate
success.
*
* *
*
* *
 |
| Gaudi courtyard above. |
 |
| Gaudi courtyard below |
Guell
Park, an architectural design of Antoine Gaudi, is free to the public and one
of the best sights in Barcelona. The large main pedestrian area of the park is
surrounded by one 250+ meter long, wavy, mosaic bench surrounding an open
courtyard which is often populated by entertainers. Tourists are always found
in this popular park enjoying the sun or the scenic view of Barcelona’s coast.
Off to one side of the courtyard is an elevated patio terrace usually
populated with young couples having drinks while people watching. Underneath
the expansive courtyard, thick columns support the massive tonnage of rock and
pedestrians above.
 |
| Bubble fun. |
 |
| Ahhhhh! Period 1 |
While
the sun was moving across the late afternoon sky, Rob with book in hand and
Beth with her iPad, sat soaking up vitamin D and reading in the warm, sunny
afternoon. Every once in a while Rob glanced at his watch to determine which
period of the school day his colleagues were teaching in Canada.
“Oh…
They are on the second half of period 1.”
*
* *
*
* *
 |
| A Miro Parc sculpture |
Most days
in mid afternoon Beth and Rob would take turns seeking out the restaurant
outing of the day. Beth usually chose a vegetarian restaurant that she had
looked up online. These places tended to offer more ethnically diverse menus
and were usually quite delicious. When Rob chose he usually sought out a
place that offered a typical Spanish menu plan. The plans, usual very
filling, came in three courses: primo plate, a main plate, and a dessert.
The menus often included choice of beer or wine, and ran at a price of around
10€.
After
attending the Picasso museum, Rob decided to stop at an Irish restaurant that
also included the menu plan, which was his preference. After placing
their orders, they sat and discussed their thoughts on the latest episode of
“The Walking Dead”. During the previous couple weeks they had been
immersed into the AMC series, which they watched each evening before they
slept. After the arrival of the first course they discussed topics which
included, 'Who do you think will be killed off next?’ and 'How could we survive
during a zombie apocalypse?’
 |
| Beth was bitten. |
When the
entrees arrived Rob eagerly gobbled down his half roasted chicken dinner with
roasted potatoes, and then eyed Beth's plate which was hardly touched.
“Is your
dinner alright?” asked Rob. “ You’re eating awfully slow. Are you still
sick?”
“No, I’m
not enjoying this fish.”
Looking
down at the plate Rob stared at a whole fish that was resting at the side of
her plate. The grey-skinned fish, with an open gaping mouth and large, cloudy,
bulging eyes stared back at him.
“It looks
like it’s a zombie fish."
“ I
KNOW!!”
*
* *
*
* *
* *
*
 |
| Dancing ladies.!???.... Whaaat the..? |
“Why
are people wearing costumes?” Beth asked the waitress who sported a pirate
costume.
“It’s
Carnivale.” the waitress replied.
When
she returned to the apartment Beth looked up places to go during Carnivale in
Barcelona. She went to the ‘Couch Surfing Social Network’ chat room and
discovered that on that evening the gay community was having a celibately
parade that was highly attended in the nearby town of Sitges.
 |
| Dancing ladies, I think. |
Later
that evening on a clear 5°C night, both Canadians stood bundled up warmly on a
street corner and watched as scantily dressed dancing troupes preceded
decorative floats playing music that carried dancers while all around confetti
and pot smoke floated through the air. Around them stood multitudes of
costumed spectators watching and joining in the celebrations.
*
* *
*
* *
* *
*
 |
| Unicorn captured. |
After failing at locating the
black laced up boots online, Beth directed Rob to return her to Roy Alty shoe
store before leaving Barcelona to try on the size 40 boots again. One again she
squeezed her foot in with orthotics and once again they were uncomfortable.
Sadly, she asked the shoe
clerk if there was a size 41 to be found in town.
“No, but try taking the shoe’s
insert out and use just your orthotic,” suggested the clerk.
As she pulled on the boots
and walked around the store, Beth called out to Rob, "Looks like I just
found my unicorn."
