The Events of Sunday, April 3, 2011

                Our guidebooks prepared me to expect only one bathroom in each European home. However, I did not read anything about the inconsistent temperatures of our showers. This morning, Pam began her shower with hot water, and, halfway through, it turned cold. Caitlin started with cold, and Abby suggested we check the pilot light on the water heater. Sure enough, it was out. So, I lit the pilot, and we let it warm up as we enjoyed breakfast. After that, Caitlin and Lindsey both had plenty of warm water for their showers.

                Getting to Barcelona was a colorful experience this morning. We have a two-minute walk to the Metro station, and, on our way, we were heartily greeted by a group of men outside a café. Curious about the source of their early-morning enthusiasm, I saw that one man was gently unzipping and removing the covers of several birdcages that he had set on the wall of the courtyard. Is it common for Catalunyan men to collect and display their pet birds on Sunday mornings? I may never know.

                Heading downtown on the subway, we were joined by a group of energetic youth with outlandish outfits and googly-eye sunglasses. They greeting us heartily, and I returned their greeting. As we passed the Llacuna stop (pronounced yah-COO-nah), they began to sing the Disney song, “Hakuna Matata”, laughing at their own silliness. We disembarked at the stop we thought was closest to the Picasso Museum, which was our first destination. However, when we reached street level, there were no signs directing us to the museum or to the streets we were expecting to see. Fortunately, a kind lady saw our confusion, asked where we were headed, and warmly directed us back onto the Metro to a stop quite a bit farther downtown. When we emerged here, we immediately saw signs directing us to the Museo Picasso. As we waited to cross the street, we saw something we have never seen before: three middle-aged men wearing inline skates approaching a taxi. After opening the back doors, they clumsily launched themselves into the back seat, and away they went in the taxi. Do Catalunyan men of middle age typically abort their inline skating trips and take the taxi home? This is indeed a foreign land.  

                The Picasso Museum houses hundreds of Picasso’s creations, emphasizing his early works. There is free admission on the first Sunday of the month, and our wise Spanish tour guide, Caitlin, planned today to take advantage of this event. None of us entered as huge Picasso fans, so I wondered if this might be a very brief tour for us. As has happened so often in our travels, our experience far surpassed my expectations. The museum’s many explanatory placards (in Catalán, Spanish, and English) educated us about Picasso’s artistic development. Once we focused on the details of the work, our appreciation for his artistry grew quickly. The museum exhibits’ organization and presentation worked quite effectively. Especially memorable was an animated video comparison of Velasquez’s Las Meninas with Picasso’s 58 variations on this work.  

                Our self-guided tour finished just before noon. We grabbed our bags and zipped over to the Plaça de Sant Jaume (St. James’ Square). When we arrived, we saw chairs for Agrupació Cultural Folklòrica Barcelona on the steps to the Catedral de Barcelona (Barcelona Cathedral). Their leader played a piccolo-like instrument and a timbori, a small side drum played with a drumstick. In the front row were four oboe-like instruments, two all wood and two with metal bells. Behind them were four brass instrumentalists: two trumpets; one valve instrument with a small trombone-like shape; and a fourth that resembled the American marching (front-facing) baritone horn. Finally, there was a large string instrument, the same size as a bass violin, but with three strings instead of four. The bass player was softly sawing away a version of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to a toddler who stood nearby with her parents. With his fife-like tune, the leader called the musicians back to their seats. The musicians picked up their odd instruments and began the first dance tune. The music began slow and quiet, but gradually increased in both speed and volume. The band so entranced us, that at first we did not notice the dance circles forming. On the plaza were two large circles of about forty dancers and other smaller circles, some as small as four. They were Sardana dancers, not professionals, mostly senior citizens, dressed in street clothes, holding hands, and moving their feet in approximate unison. As the kids suggested, perhaps this is Barcelona’s public Zumba class. All are welcome: just show up at noon on Sunday, and you can get some aerobic exercise in a safe community of peers. Each dance lasted about ten minutes, and, between dances, the band took a break of several minutes. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the plaza steps, watching and listening to the folk music and dance.

                (Here our guide book helped us understand that the people in this region do not consider themselves Spanish. They identify themselves at Catalunyan, and they pledge allegiance to Catalunya, a “nation without a state”. Francisco Franco’s fascist fist squelched their cultural differences. Now, under the current liberal Spanish administration and, more broadly, under the European Union’s regionalism, Catalunya proudly celebrates its culture, and so do we!)

                After about an hour, the band packed up, and so did we. Our next destination was the Catedral de Barcelona (Barcelona Cathedral), at the top of the steps. We entered quietly and heard someone giving a homily in Catalán. Caitlin quietly instructed us about the special features of the cathedral and we wandered through the rear third of the building. (The front was closed off for the mass.) We soon ran out of church to explore, so we walked outside around to the back. Here we first heard, and then watched an unusual trio. One man played clarinet and soprano sax. Another tapped on a “häng”, a reversible flying-saucer-shaped instrument that sounded like a Caribbean steel drum. The third played both the häng and the “kora”, a 20-string harp-like instrument. Together, they had an excellent good-humored rapport and played improvised folk tunes. Seated between two stone walls, they had a great resonant hall for their sound. After enjoying their concert for quite awhile, I bought their CD, so we can continue to enjoy this unique Barcelona experience.

                A bit farther on our guided walk through what is known as the Gothic Quarter, or Barrí Gotic, we found Roman ruins: some columns from the Temple of Augustus that once stood in the Forum of Barcino. And so we learned that Barcelona began as a Roman city named Barcino. A few steps more, we arrived at the Plaça del Rei (King’s Plaza). This is the place where, in 1493, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel welcomed back the victorious Christopher Columbus from his adventures in the New World. And here also we read the “Capitulations of Santa Fe”, a record of the negotiated agreement between Columbus and the royalty regarding his title, payment, and share in all future New World profits. (It seems he was amply rewarded for his troubles.)

                Caitlin next led us to a fast food sandwich joint and ordered pa amb tomaquet. (At sixty cents, it was an easy risk.) What we got was a foot-long baguette with a tomato paste and olive oil spread. We each had four and a half bites: just enough to fuel our long journey home on the metro.

                Quickly mastering the metro system now, we reached home by four pm. This allowed us plenty of time to buy some apples and onions to cook up with the pork we bought yesterday. After dinner, we searched for a news broadcast to learn the weather forecast. Of our two remaining days in Barcelona, one is mostly indoors and one is mostly outdoors. If rain is in the forecast, we’ll do the indoor sites. But before we could find the weather, we found talk shows, Disney Channel (in Spanish), soccer games, soap operas, “Scooby Doo” (in Spanish), more soccer games, and “Texas Ranger Walker”, also in Spanish. The kids had a hoot seeing familiar faces speaking Spanish. And Pam was delighted to introduce the kids to Ranger Walker’s special version of no-firearms violence. The news did not begin until 9:00 and the weather forecast was at 9:45 (small chance of rain tomorrow). It looks like we’ll enjoy another beautiful day in Barcelona.