Barcelona- Snippets

A cat lover in Barcelona

“I'm glad you want to go to Barcelona again, Rob.  I love Gaudi's architecture...  Maybe we can visit the inside of his church. - Sacrada Familia.  And, I'd like to shop for shoes.  I love Spanish shoes." Beth thought of the Spanish-made shoes that she bought in 2007 when she last visited.  Although the February sales were getting pretty thin, hopefully she would still find something in her size.  

Gaudi's 'Hansel and Gretel House'
in Gruel Parc

“I guess we can cough up the 12€ ticket price for Gaudi's church. It just seems like a lot of money for visiting a church.  We’ve seen so many great cathedrals for free.  I think if the price is around the same we’ll go in.” Rob, who tended to be miserly when sightseeing, thought that he might have to pay the price this time. He quickly calculated how the 24€ for two admittance fees for a 15 minute church tour would cut into their budget of 50€/day (excluding accommodations). He imagined all the of the cheap beer and wine accompanied by an excellent Spanish meal that could be had for the same price.  He mentally set an acceptable limit at fourteen for admission to The Sacrada Familia.  

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“Please don’t shake the bed!” Beth admonished Rob as she lay in bed with nausea and an upset stomach.  “I’m not feeling well. Could you get me a Tylenol in the black bag?”

As lay in bed she watched as a freshly showered and dressed Rob backed away and begin to rummage through bags for the dwindling supply of pain medication that they brought from Windsor.  Rob who refused the unwashed market fruit the day before due to its (as he described) fishy odour pondered if food poisoning was to blame.

Rob's morning walk at the harbour without Beth.

“What can I make you for breakfast?” Rob asked, in part to provide proper comforting care, and in part to explore his food poisoning hypothesis. 

“Nothing!  Thank you!  Please don't cook in the apartment. Go out for breakfast this morning.” 

Hmmm.

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Future F.C. Barcelona player trains
with pigeon football.

On a Monday they began the day stoping at the Market café for a morning coffee. Now that she has become comfortable with the espresso macchiato (Italian version) / café noisette (French version), Beth wanted to order the equivalent version in Spanish.  Unprepared she turned and asked Rob how to order it.  

“Una cortello” Rob proudly asked the waitress, believing that that was the drink he learned on the morning of Beth's illness. The server responded with a puzzled, blank stare. 

“Una Cordello?” Rob repeated less confidently.

The server's brow began to furrow.

“Una coredillia? Cordoba?” … “cor..corrr…”

The server grew noticeably impatient.

“Cor....”. 

Laundry five stories up-
a morning routine

“Espresso with a tiny bit of milk?” Beth cut in with a hand gesture indicating a small pinch when she described the milk. 

“OHH, Cordato. Una Cordato. Si.” replied the now obviously relieved server.  Then, turning to Rob, she asked him his beverage of choice. Rob meekly ordered the same. 

To everyone’s relief on subsequent mornings the server, now recognizing the two tall tourists greeted their arrival with “Hola. Dos Cordato?”  

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La Rambla

La Rambla, Barcelona’s popular street to which tourists gravitate, is usually alive with activity.  A myriad of vendors entice diverse crowds with a variety of trinkets, T-shirts, caged birds, waffles, flowers and seeds, or cafe seating offering inexpensive, low quality, Spanish paella.  

Busking for Change

Artists exhibit their drawing skills and offer to create portraits for pedestrians.  For the going rate of 45€, tourists sit and pay for caricatures of themselves.  Further south is the busker section where tourists watch as copper-coated cowboys, gold-plated Egyptian mummies, silver-covered dragons, and white-washed, historian figures stand motionless until a passing tourist drops a coin into the can that lays at their feet at which point they spring to life, animated and entertaining, to provide a photographic opportunity for the donor.

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Sagrada Familia

In order to make the most of the warm, sunny, Barcelona whether, Rob and Beth walked the three km to Sagrada Familia, the famous church designed by Antoine Gaudi.  Along the main thoroughfares they marched along, stopping in most of the shoe stores that displayed the ‘Rebajas’ banner in the window.  Although they looked at many styles, this was only a sample of what was to come on the subsequent days. 

The second course plate of
a 9.50€ set price meal.

When they arrived at the Sagrada Familia church they gazed up at the four gargantuan spires and acknowledged that the cathedral was still under construction as it has been since 1883 when the building first began. In front of the church stood the long line of ticket holders waiting for the appointed time. Together Rob and Beth located the pricing placard and dejectedly read various prices displayed:

Adults 20.50€

Seniors and Children 16 €

Audio Guide 6€ 

  

“You wanna go to get something for lunch?  I’m kind of hungry.” 

“Sounds good”  

One of many pleasant Barcelona streets.