Setting our sights on the Mediterranean

From the first moment I laid eyes on the Mediterranean, I knew an indelible bond had been formed. I would always be drawn to this sea, always want its waves to crash around me, always want to bask in its wondrous sun beams.... just kidding. I first laid eyes on the Mediterranean through a veil of cold sideways rain. The wind was heartlessly wrecking our 5-euro-newspaper-stand umbrellas and eventually I gave up holding one at all. Huddled in our wet coats and gloves, Alex and I stood by the water, the sea and the sky both wearing similar shades of grey. The city of Barcelona stretches right up to the waters, and I am sure it is packed with beautiful people and sunshine in more favorable conditions.


Actually, wind swept through our coats and rain soaked our heads and feet the entirety of the weekend we spent in Barcelona. It made seeing and appreciating the city difficult because we were constantly shivering and stomping around in soggy shoes, seeking shelter in cafes and bars for 3 hour long 'bites to eat.' Although, during one of these lunches we enjoyed excellent paella, which Barcelona is famous for. I had fideua, a Barcelonian(?) version of paella; instead of rice it has thin noodles. I still think about how delicious this was from time to time.

We stole away from the rain in the Picasso Muesum, which was really great. It has hundreds of Picassos (if not more?). I thought it was really interesting to see his paintings from when he was still young and attending school. For example there were some self-portraits from when he was 11. They are stunning realist portraits--so different from the famous quirky, abstract Picassos we all know too well. The museum did a great job of showing how dynamic Picasso's career was;
from his younger realist works, to his blue period, to his bright, abstract paintings (including his forty some renditions of Velásquez's 'Las Meninas'). My favorite part of the museum was actually works done, not by Picasso, but by a photographer friend of his. This photographer gave the museum hundreds of black and whites he had taken of Picasso, his home, and Jacqueline, his second wife. These photos gave a window into Picasso's home life and intimacy with Jacqueline. It was cool to see his goofy smile candidly captured or a photo of him in his later years, shirtless, chubby stomach pushed forward as he slumps in front of a marked-up canvas. I liked seeing this side of him, rather than the way we are sometimes taught about artists, that is, as if they are aloof and untouchable people.

We also visited the History of the City museum which is an archaeologist's wonderland. Barcelona was first inhabited by Ibericos nativos and then it became a Roman city. The museum has countless artifacts from these periods. The best part is that they had excavated under the building that the museum is housed in, uncovering a portion of this old Roman city. You can walk through reading plaques about what different walls and rooms/buildings were. Good stuff.