Fruits and Jewels

Today was a slow start, we eventually started moving around 11am when we headed to Mercat de Boqueria, a food lover´s paradise. Mostly fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses, there were a few pastry stands and places where you could buy spices. The fruits were a sight for sore eyes. So far most of the food here has consisted of sandwiches loaded with meat and cheese which is fine if you like it but not so much if you´ve been told you´re allergic to half of it. My favourite sandwich name is the ´bikini´ and I haven´t bothered to find out why they call it that, if I knew I might not laugh so much. There was every imaginable fruit under the sun in this market, and every stand was packed with colourful fresh juices on ice. I downed a strawberry and then chased it with a blackberry banana. There were also little cartons of fruit salad and it all tasted like it was grown next door, no California hothouse strawberries to be found.

Next we made our way over to the Palau de la Musica Catalan which is consistently described as ´jewel box´and ´garden´. It´s a music hall built on the grounds of what used to be a cloister so the buildings around it filter out much of the natural light. To compensate for this the hall was constructed using as much glass as possible and the overhead light is let in through what is called ´a drop of light´, a giant, intricate, stained glass skylight which drops into the auditorium. The acoustics were lovely as demonstrated by the organist playing ´Jesu, Joy of Man´s Desiring,´ in a short, impromptu concert. The rest of the building is magnificent, a little more ornate than my personal taste goes for, but you can certainly appreciate what they accomplished in creating it.

Dad went back to the apartment to wait for my brother to show up while I accompanied Mom on an emergency trip to the dentist. My dentist office does not look like this one. We entered a cavernous, modern and very sleek reception area, and were then directed to the waiting room. We sat on leather sofas which rested on marble floors in front of high-def TVs and a huge, marble fireplace. Two hours later we were on our way and reunited with Andrew who had just arrived from the airport.

We were going to go up Montjuic this evening to see the fountains on display after sunset, but baby was ti-erd, so we opted to show Andrew La Sagrada Familia and then settle in for an early evening. The problem with doing these whirlwind trips is that you knock yourself out trying to get everything ready before you get to the airport, and then you force your body to adjust to a whole different time zone while walking miles in the heat to see everything you can see. It´s a pretty great place, but I now know why I hate being a tourist and why living in a city and seeing things at a slower pace is so much more desirable.

Tomorrow will be an early morning as I have to get to the airport and make my little detour up to Copenhagen for a few days. The group I traveled with in 2002 is having a reunion and it timed just right so that I could make it. I haven´t seen most of these people in almost 9 years so it will be the first time we get to reminisce as a group and I am so looking forward to hearing how people interpreted the experience. It´ll also be a nice break from the heat as well so perhaps I won´t look like an oil slick for a few days.

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