The CARRITO!

Living in Barcelona, I am so close to the modern supermarkets, the old market and small, specialty stores that to have an auto just wouldn’t make sense.

But have you ever gone shopping for one item and inevitably find yourself with a boatload of groceries?

If you don’t have an extra pair of hands, what do you do?

You get yourself a CARRITO, better translated as a shopping cart, and something I wanted to avoid buying for the longest time.

Barcelona, 2008

Why? Now this is dumb thinking, but who said I was smart. I always associated the carrito or the shopping cart with old people who were too weak to carry their groceries.

And so for the longest time, I hand carried big bottles of water, coca cola, oil, and blah, blah, blah, dropping the groceries one by one until I got to the piso.

Along the way, I would pass at the SILLY old timers with their carrito, coolly walking with not a trail of corn flakes behind them.

And so, SILLY me now has a green carrito, just like the one you see.

Hello, Miss Kitty!

Her stride was confident, hard not to notice.

She headed for and sat on a park bench, embosomed by shadows and light and encircled in a sea of green leaves.

Barcelona, 2008

She had her purse on her lap and from it she quickly pulled out a Miss Kitty notepad, jotting down, calmly, what ever child girls jot down.

She had the makings of a full grown-up … self-confidence, poised and a mature face.

As a matter of fact,

She made LIFE look easy,

And,

She appeared to be better prepared for this world than me,

And,

I’ve been in it a far, FAR longer than she.

Hmph!

Sliding Straight to Fun

When in Barcelona, let me give you a tip. Take bus 92 from my origin point (if you like) at plaça de Gal.la Placidia.

The bus takes about an hour and 15 minutes from beginning to end and a bargain cost of a US dollar.

playa Bogatell, Barcelona, 2008

Along the route you will see these wonderful pockets of Catalan living, more colorful graffiti then you’ve ever imagined,

And,

You can hop off to see Gaudi’s Parque Quell or the Yelmo theater on carre Icaria, where movies are shown in their original version.

If you don’t want to get off or you need a sunny rest after a busy day of sightseeing and movie watching, be sure to bring your bathing suit, sun glasses and sun blocker for bus 92’ s final destination is playa bogatell.

There’s room on this bench or the world’s longest slide, depending if you are a mature child or juvenile grown-up.

Oh! What the hey!

Be both.

War Story

How many of us remember with delight the child hood stories of our parents.

My mom told me of the time during WWII, that, as a student in a private high school, she and the other girls were required to wear stockings.

However, the only stockings that were available were made of silk, and silk was hard to get.

You see, it was a rationed commodity during the war.

Barcelona, 2008

One day, as mom was waiting on line, a teacher called her name.

“Ruth! Straighten out the seam on your stocking!” commanded the teacher.

“I’ll take care of it between classes”, mom said.

But, after 10 minutes, mom, of course, lost the tête-à-tête.

What to do?

What would YOU do?

As the story goes, mom bent down, licked her fingers, wiped the line (she had meticulously drawn with an eyebrow pencil) going south to north and painted, this time, a straight line on her calf again.

Imagine that!

Now how does that story relate to this photo?

It doesn’t.

You make your own story up.

Static Artist

When I was a little girl, I met a man for a brief evening who taught me the basics of cartoon drawing.

For many weeks thereafter, I drew Porky Pig and mastered him to perfection.

But alas, canvas, paper and charcoal pencils were too expensive for my parents and I abandoned my short term passion of drawing towards academics.

Now, I am even lucky if I can tell a hue from a tone or a tint from shade.

But, it is never very late to take up the skills you left behind as seen by this young man in the photo.

La Sedeta
Barcelona, 2008

I found him and about a dozen other mature folks of about 80 and younger enjoying a beautiful, sunny, serene day painting, under the tutelage of an instructor, in the courtyard of La Sedeta, a government run program for people of all ages doing all sorts of fun things.

So, I guess, if you are trying to figure out what to do when you grow up, maybe look into what made you happy when you were in kindergarten and somehow resurrect the inner child that is within of all of us.

Hmmm … I should take my own advice...

Someday.

View barcalunacy's A Candid View of Everyday People FLCKR photoset.

Art_A_Fact

Many people, including yours truly, have been thrilled and gotten chills at seeing New York's Statue of Liberty, Chicago's skyline, Rome's St. Peter's Cathedral, and as a child riding the only ride over and Over and OVER I was ever interested ... Coney Island's Thunderbolt roller coaster .

I still get the same excitement, the same goose pimple feelings when I see this building with its winged arches, numerous construction cranes dancing over the building's roof and its Las Vegas, Gaudi like flamboyance.

I can't give you a better hint than what I wrote and if you guessed la Sagrada Familia give yourself a 6 pointed gold star.

Sagrada Familia
Barcelona, 2008

The picture here was taken from the opposite side of the pond from where I took another photo in a post called A Placid Laze.

I haven't seen any pictures taken from this location but, that is not to say there have been none.

I hope you see its beauty, feel what I feel and experience a breath-taking appreciation of true art.

Alas, just my humble opinion.

Restaurante Can Culleretes

The Guinness Book of Records says that the Can Culleretes is the oldest restaurant in Barcelona and the second oldest in Spain.

The oldest eatery being Botin in Madrid which was founded in 1725.

The Can Culleretes was established in 1786, just a mere 10 years after the American Revolutionary War.

Imagine that!

Restaurante Can Culleretes
Barcelona, 2008

This was the first place I dined when I came to Barcelona and the first time I tasted espinacas a la catalana.

What a wonderful blend of flavors. I never thought spinach could taste so GREAT!

Try their prawns with garlic flavor. You won't be disappointed.

Hmmph! I can't end this post without telling you about a desert to die for. It was trufa with wonderful chocolate melted over it. Even now I can taste it.

But there's a downside too. The restaurant hits and misses on their cooking from time to time. If you find this to be true, go back. Maybe someone had a bad night.

Also, the price is a little hefty for my taste to make the Culleretes my favorite hot spot on a consistent basis.

Here's a direct link to their own site translated into English, Catala and Castellano.

If you go there, let me know what you think!

A shadow of the man he is

Bright, sunny days are a dream for taking pictures.

Shadows and light add depth, drama and intrigue to a photo.

In the photo, a qwurky man demonstrates to a group of one the shadows sharp edges and the luscious elongation of his digit.

Barcelona, 2008

For just a moment, he seems to be containing his shadow; protecting it from the brightness of the sun.

While doing so, he shortens the distance between man and the wall by connecting himself to both sides of his shadow.

Enough of the lesson.

No matter!

The bottom line is: you can have all sorts of fun with natural elementals.

View barcalunacy's A Candid View of Everyday People FLCKR photoset.

A Placid Laze

Two weeks ago, the Democratic candidates for the United States presidency found themselves in Puerto Rico soliciting the islander's votes.

Ah! Yes!

Beautiful Puerto Rico.

The land where the blue water is actually blue and where sea horses and star fish are in abundance.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were the envy of many of those on the mainland who suffered a brutal winter in many parts of the United States.

But in Barcelona, across the street from la Sagrada Familia, behind the many stalls set up for your buying pleasure, there were trees, and an opening wide enough to peak my curiosity.

Barcelona, 2008

I looked and captured this peaceful, serene scene.

Puerto Rico it was not.

But ... not a bad spot either.

View barcalunacy's A Candid View of Everyday People FLCKR photoset.

Wetting his whistle!

A man at the beach with all the conveniences of home,

Like,

A pristine table, semi-comfortable chairs, a view of the curvy girlies many men in the Northern Hemisphere would die for, and most importantly a generous size bottle of beer that would make any football fan proud.

playa Bogatell
Barcelona, 2008

He most certainly chose a wise platform to set his belongings ... right between 2 showerheads that were functioning all the last years, but this time.

I reckon,

Since Barcelona has been experiencing a shortage of water and importing water from neighboring counties, the shower heads were not turned on this time.

Lucky him!

View barcalunacy's A Candid View of Everyday People FLCKR photoset.

Saca mi photo!

I was on foot today on the Traveserra de Gràcia, with a wonderful lilt to my walk. (My lilt can be described as a hippo in a tutu).

But,

No matter.

I was happy because I was going to see David, the hairdresser, whom I had not seen for almost 2 years.

When,

In the corner of my ear, I heard, “ saca mi photo!”

I looked to my right and I saw a smiling, young man waving to me.

“Saca mi photo!” he shouted again.

Barcelona, 2008

I obliged.

And, yes,

My haircut turned out great too!

View the Waving Waiter and others in barcalunacy's People of Interest FLCKR photoset.

Cat and mouse

Stefan watched me take pictures of the street vendors who sell purses.

He grinned as he saw them waving their fingers at me in that no-no way and shaking their heads in protest. There was no doubt what they were telling me; they just didn’t want their photos taken.

But, why not write and show you a photo.

Street vendors
Click on photo ... best viewed large
Barcelona, 2007

These squirrelly vendors are important to Barcelona as the tourist, locals, architecture, homeless and the every day clever and experienced pickpocketeer.

Prices are reasonable and the best part is that you don’t have to hang around to be waited on.

Their eyes are on YOU and simultaneously on the conscientious police who for some reason just don’t leave these guys alone. Tsk! Tsk!

Might be ‘cause they don’t have a seller’s license (who knows) or Barcelona doesn’t collect its sales tax, which is a whopping 16% of the base price.

They are thoroughly prepared with their wares on the street settled beautifully on what might appear a tablecloth with long strings connected to the material. With one pull, all the products you’ve seen are neatly bundled. Santa Claus would be proud.

So, if you happen to be buying a product from them, don’t be surprised if they scurry faster than a speeding bullet in all directions.

Most probably, they saw the diligent, capable, friendly and reliable police of this fair city.

Be delighted. If that happens, you have witnessed the friendly start of the cat and mouse game.

Enjoy!!

View barcalunacy's A Candid View of Everyday People FLCKR photoset.

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Too blue eyes

He came to Barcelona about 3 weeks ago.

It was he, Stefan, from a little German town somewhere between Stuttgart and Tübingen.

And,

Was now sitting in a squatting position on a sidewalk adjacent to a famous street called Passeig de Gràcia.

Stefan
Barcelona, 2007

He was hoping to collect some coins here and there because like me, he became a statistic. I wrote about my plight in a post called “Grant me a wish”.

Someone had stolen his identification papers and money.

Without money, he couldn’t get his passport. Without identification papers he couldn’t prove who he was.

However, in three more weeks, more or less, he felt certain he would be back to his beloved Germany and working as an emergency nurse and counseling drug addicts.

I was intrigued and felt sorry for his problem but all the while, I couldn’t keep my brown eyes off his blues.

Would you be able to?

I have a tip for anyone coming to Barcelona from the United States; first and foremost, take a time-out, go to your consulate and register your passport.

You won’t be sorry.

Enjoy!

View Stefan and others in barcalunacy's People of Interest FLCKR photoset.

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07_07_07

Seven photos here depict moments in one day in Barcelona, Spain.

Steppin' out
Barcelona, 2007

People from all over the world were asked to contribute.

Surprises await
Barcelona, 2007

I was lucky and honored to be invited to a FLICKR group of the same title of this post.

Barcelona traveler's
Barcelona, 2007

There's talk of selected photos to be bound in some kind of book with proceeds going to UNICEF.

Dazed and confused?
Barcelona, 2007

Neat idea.

Modeled to imperfection
Barcelona, 2007

Here were the group's rules:

"This is a group I have set up in advance. I'd like you to join this group and on the seventh of July this year (07/07/07) I'd like you to take seven photographs and post them to the group. I'm looking to get people to post from all around the world. Hope to see your photographs on 07/07/07."

Wishing and hoping
Barcelona, 2007

We have until July 16th to post, so I am sort of ahead of the game.

Swept under the shadows
Barcelona, 2007

If you're curious take a lot at what others did just by clicking on this link:

www.flickr.com/groups/07_07_07/

I hope you get a chance to view.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Tough call

I tried to telephone him on my camera but it was a

Jardins Eduard Marquina
Barcelona, 2007

Tough call!

Enjoy!!

View barcalunacy's A Candid View of Everyday People FLCKR photoset.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.