Catalunya

Okay, my love affair with Barcelona has come to the point when the bitter-sweet truth must be discussed. I’ve never been one to beat around the bush – so for the sake of raw honesty, this city stinks! I’m not being figurative here, it literally stinks – as in foul odor, smells bad, “pee-ewe”, stench, reek, pong, tang……..ultimately a hold-your-nose kind of waft to the air. I say “thank god the beach is close” or we’d (ahem) be up shits creek.
I imagine that Venice (Italy) smells very similar (es lo mismo) – and actually I asked my “Barcelonian” flat-mate, Alicia, if she knew that to be true – and she does. It is. It’s like their sewage system runs just below the surface of the streets – and the streets have vents!
Whatever the issue, it’s rather unpleasant, especially on these hot and humid days. Did I mention that it’s humid? I finally bought one of those hand-fans that look oh-so-feminine to use while in the metro (underground es hace MUCHO calor y humidio!) and wouldn’t you know it…..I bought one that suggests political conflict! It’s red and orange and says “Espana” in beautiful letters across the fan blades and there’s a picture of a bull. Well, for those of you who don’t know about Catalunya’s history allow me to share (in brief) that the Catalonian people have GREAT resistance to Spain and fiercely believe in their right to exist as a free state/country. They have their own language, culture etc. and DO NOT LIKE BULLFIGHTING! So as you can see…..my new fan causes me to loose some points with the locals! Tomorrow is September 11th – Catalunya’s day of mourning for the battle they lost almost 300 years ago – a reminder of what they’re fighting for. Everything is closed, except for the historical museums and all over the city the gold and red flag hangs from balconies. There are usually (so I’m told) demonstrations and activists in Placa Espana (one of the central plazas) – I’m planning on heading out of town! I toyed with the idea of going to Valencia for four days (no school on Thurs or Friday) but it proved to be more expensive than was comfortable so instead I convinced my local language exchange friend (Alex) to drive me to Figueres where there is a Dali museum – open on the holiday!

I found the flea market today – el mercat de encants velles (that’s Catalan) Gotta love a flea market! I need to pick up art supplies for school and have found the local stores either very expensive or weak in product and hadn’t purchased anything yet. Then today at the mercat I found a big canvas for 6 euros, fabric for 2 euros a meter, a leather pelt for 5 euros, and spools of thread for an average of 75 centavos a spool. Then later I was walking through my little barrio (neighborhood) and found a store with fabric paints. The ‘it’s almost impossible to find’ was found – by chance! My happy delirium sent me across the street to this beautiful looking restaurant where I ordered a pizza with york (sweet ham) and pinas (pineapple). Sadly my happy delirium was quickly turned to vapor – as the restaurant filled with smoking patrons and my pizza tasted like moldy mineral water with bursts of salty sugar. Don’t you worry though - I know how to cheer myself right up! Yes, yes……the sexy Argentinean man who sells gelato. I went for a little visit – and a little dulce de leche ☺ All better!