Home Girl

Boy, it's hard transitioning back to the real world! My final few days in Spain were a whirlwind of sights, friends, food and fun. 

The photo above is a view of Barcelona from the 9th floor of a department store.

To the right: Michele and Katalin, my Costa Brava road-trippers. It was very interesting driving a stick-shift car down the coast of Spain, through roundabouts and other challenges. (including arriving unexpectedly at a toll booth and none of us had money on us)

There were a lot of laughs, a lot of food, a lot of laughs about food (see menu...I did not order the friend munkfish, in case you were wondering).

Now that I'm home it's basically laundry and catching up on sleep (and mail). Soon it will be preparing for school (teaching 2 classes this semester), hosting a tapas party and researching my next adventure for the summer.

Somewhere in there I'd like to finish my novel, too. The one I was supposed to finish in Spain. Yeah. That didn't happen.

Barcelona Part Dos

I left El Bruc on Sunday, taking the bus with Melissa #1 (who lives and works at Can Serrat). We had a fun time debriefing on the ride over. We made our way to the L´Eixample district to meet up with Michele (another Can Serrat resident) who was staying at our new friend Katalin´s (another Can Serrat friend, she organized a big festival that was on the property last week) flat.Can you follow the logic of all these different people and places? (Sometime I can´t) Katalin was dogsitting at another home, so she so generously offered her apartment to us. What a treat! An amazing, beautiful apartment in the heart of the city - walking distance to everything.

On that first day with Melissa #1 we walked the city as I tend to do every day and found a great veggie restaurant. We ate and then walked for what seemed like 20 miles to the beach. The water felt so good on top of the brutal heat.

Since that day I met up with a third Melissa (Kagan´s friend whom I met on my 2nd day in Barcelona last month), visited Katalin´s dogsitting gig in the Olympic Park area, went swimming at midnight, attended the MACBA (Barcelon´s contemporary art museum), ate, shopped, walked around the Gracia district (think Abbot Kinney with stunning architecture), got duped at the Boqueria buying saffron, then found it at the local supermarket for 1/15th the price (I stocked up...LA friends, get ready for Saffron), ate, ate some more, walked some more, woke up to a honking, drumming, noisy demonstration outside my ("my") window, and am now heading up the coast a little bit to see a non-city beach.

In the best way possible, I´ve been inundated with kind, generous people, offering homes, cars, directions, food and love. This Spain trip is one I will never forget. Pictures and final thoughts upon my return to the States. Thank you for sharing in this adventure with me!

Sniff-sniff

While I'm looking forward to my 4 days in Barcelona, I'm starting to feel sad about leaving this paradise. Earlier today Marcel announced that he had a surprise for me at lunch, and to join him in the kitchen at 1:30. Lunch is left for us to fend for ourselves, so I was pleased because it sounded like he might be preparing something and he is an amazing chef. When 1:30 rolled around I shut my computer and made my way to the kitchen where I was greeted with an Asian smorgasbord - is it fair or right to put both those words together? He had prepared a gorgeous Asian salad and heaps of sashimi - tuna and salmon - bowls of dipping sauces and different colored sesame seeds. Karine, Marcel, Melissa #1 and I feasted on this delicious going-away lunch. This is just a little example of how thoughtful, kind and nurturing those two are.

Last night there was a fun concert in town in the backyard of a local bar. Kids, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents all came to support the musicians and drink cerveza in the warm summer night. Tonight some of Marcel's musician friends are coming over for a jam session. Last time one of them was here, Tall Alex, he recounted song-for-song the Pink Floyd concert he'd attended in Philadelphia (even though he lives here) and then we had a Dave Matthews jam session during which I realized I barely know any of those lyrics and found myself humming rather than singing. (Lucky them) Attached is a picture of another jam session where I played this crazy speaker-looking-drum.

Tomorrow I hop on the bus to Barcelona for the last time to meet up with Michele, who is staying at a new friend Kaitlyn's apartment in the center of the city. We are thinking about taking a trip to the Costa Brava, a beach town, in the next day or two. There are still a few museums I'd like to see in Barcelona before I head back home to L.A. on Thursday. Hard to believe the month is coming to an end. What a month it's been!

Goodbye, Hello.

Lot's of goodbyes around here lately. The core group who's been here for the month of July is mostly gone and the August residents are trickling in. I'm here until August 6th, so I'll have a little bit of time to meet the new crop before I say my own goodbye.


Yesterday I went into Barcelona to see Pedro and the Sagrada Familia. I'm getting used to the bus routine... you hike up a little hill, cross the highway and hail the bus when it comes barreling down the road. Somehow it always stops! The picture above is a view of Can Serrat (this property) from the hike up. Yesterday the mountains looked very moody with layers of fog covering them.

I had seen the outside of the Sagrada Familia on previous trips, but never the inside. I was shocked at how modern looking it was. It was designed over 100 years ago. Such a vision!

The first thing I noticed in this picture was the sinister looking face that the windows form. It's like a jack-o-lantern. We sat in the prayer area talking (of course) I probably took 15 pictures of this same image. 

Outside there was some crazy demonstration/honking thing going on so the soundtrack to this crazy church was that crazy noise. What am I doing with my arms in this picture?

After stumbling across an old bullfighting arena, walking through town, walking, walking, walking... we FINALLY made our way to CAL PEP, the restaurant I've attempted to eat at at least 2 or 3 times but couldn't due to long lines. It wasn't open yet. Oy! Found a place down the street that served authentic tapas (where you pay by showing how many toothpicks you've accrued, see pic) and had a few appetizers before heading back to Cal Pep where we joined the hour (?) line. The food was amazing, albeit wayyyy tooo muuuch.


I said another goodbye and caught the last bus back to El Bruch, using the light of my iPad to guide me down the hill where I fell into bed, looking forward to my next adventure.

Madrid

I ran off to Madrid on Monday. It takes only 2 hours and 45 minutes on the speedy train and so I figured since I'm already in Spain, I may as well see the Big City. I actually know someone in Madrid. We met at Esalen a few years ago and I sent her an email when I decided to book the trip not knowing if she'd remember me. She did, but she was going on vacation that same day. There is SO much to do in Madrid, but since I was going solo, I decided to make it a museum trip.

This sculpture greeted me outside the train station - random baby face.

Took one of those 'hop on, hop off' tours to orient myself in the city. This notice was posted on the ticket booth. I did end up seeing protests, but later on in the trip.

The infamous Prado museum. Got in free thanks to the Otis card. Stayed almost 5 hours.

There were many artists set up all around the museum, painting copies of the paintings. Not sure if I was allowed to take pictures, but I snuck this one.  Some observations while at the Prado:


1. An overwhelming number of artists are named "Max"
2. One of the many renderings of Jesus portrayed him with an outie. It made me laugh out loud.
3. Goya's portrait of King Ferdinand could easily be a portrait of Quentin Tarintino.


Next, I went across the street to the Thyssen-Bornemisza, another wonderful museum. This housed everything from Goya to Dali, and I loved seeing all the traditional, classical paintings along with the Dada and Surrealists. It really made me realize what a bold, thrilling departure surrealism was. Up until then, it was all Jesus all the time! There was also a wonderful Edward Hopper exhibit at this museum.

Outdoor bookstore.

If I had to pick favorites, I think it would be the Reina Sofia, the modern art museum, housed in an old hospital. Absolutely stunning. Miro, Calder, Dali, Magritte, Picasso (Picasso's Guernica is there. It is spectacular).

Room full of Juan Gris paintings. Loved.

I took the speedy train home 2 days later. Madrid's train station is a beautiful atrium, replete with turtle pond - look closely:

While in Madrid I received an email from my cousin Adam that he and a friend were backpacking through Europe and were going to be in Barcelona, so when I arrived back from Madrid I met them for dinner before heading back the comforts of El Bruc. We had a fun dinner! Took the last bus back and collapsed on my bed in a heap of exhaustion. I forgot to mention how HOT Madrid was. Heat like I've never experienced.

The weekend there is a festival on the property that is supposed to last for 3-days. We're not quite sure how it's all going to play out as it's being hosted by the actual owners of this place (not the proprieters - still can't spell that). Whatever it is, I'm sure it will inspire more stories!

Is That a Zucchini or Are You Just Glad to See Me?

I know I keep blathering on about the zucchinis here, so I thought I would take a picture of the recent harvest so you could get a sense of the enormity. Zucchinis make it into a lot of meals around here and now you can see why! In case you couldn't tell how big they were, I put the salt shaker next to them in this picture:

Yesterday, while reading in the writer's room (after probably 4-hours of writing, I swear) these two snuck in. The cats are not allowed in the house, but these guys climbed the trellis, crawled into the open second-story window and joined me on the futon for cuddle time. 

 Luna rests her paw and head on my leg...

Awww....

Today we are heading to the next town over for their market and then a late lunch at an amazing restaurant. Photos and food descriptions to follow...


Madrid tomorrow.


xo 

Itching

I am so bitten up by mosquitos that I'm kind of going out of my mind. That, and I think I'm allergic to the detergent they use here. Lots of scratching and sneezing today.


Also find that I'm itching to travel some more. I didn't come here to travel, I came here to write, HOWEVER with Madrid only a 3-hour train ride away I feel I must go check it out. I'm looking at trains and hotels now. This after a day of major surgery on my novel and a scene I am procrastinating writing. 


Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the El Bruc public pool where I spent my day yesterday swimming - er - writing. Yeah, that's what I was doing:

So Many Goodbyes

Tonight we said goodbye to three members of the community:

 Roommate Daisy is off to travel with a friend...

 New Zealander Jill is going to San Francisco before heading home...

And Thing 1 (or is it Thing 2?) has been adopted...


Feeling a little sad tonight, but Cava helps.


5 hour day at the pool today - laps, giant ants, delicious plums, a drop of writing and more laps. Tomorrow a new writer from Singapore joins us.

xo
mc

Show and Tell

I just couldn't help myself... so much more to write!


Yesterday morning, Roger and I headed off to the public pool in town. We joked about it being postage-stamp sized and laughed about what swimming laps might look like. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful, modern and big it was - and just under those gorgeous mountains.  A group of elderly ladies was doing water aerobics but once they finished their class, we were the only ones in the pool. (until a bunch of kids arrived)


On our walk up there I was telling him the story I'd heard about El Bruc. Napoleon and his troops were in the process of invading Spain but there was someone in El Bruc with a certain kind of drum and he started beating it and others started playing their drums and Napoleon and Co. heard the sound and thought it was gunfire and retreated and therefore El Bruc was spared. It all sounds too good to be true, but as we approached the pool, Roger looked up and said, "Oh, there's the drummer boy," and when I gazed up I saw a big statue/monument of a man (boy?) with a drum around his neck, proud expression on face. It was such crazy timing. I'd JUST finished the story.


Last night was the "show and tell" where we got to see what everyone was working on. The whole evening felt like the best lecture at the best university. Everyone's work was so intelligent, interesting and diverse. I presented my Pecha Kucha and it went over well. Here are some other glimpses into the night...

 Daisy and Taro try on Jill's arm warmers.

 Rebecca talks about her performance art.

 April's wonderful artwork.

 Pamela's incredible woodcuts

Roger shows off his watercolors.

Melissa and her coat of armor.


Yesterday, after my swim, I came back here and dug into the novel that I brought here to finish. The holes/problems/concerns were so obvious. I see very clearly what I need to add, what I need to subtract and how this will all come together, which is a huge relief.


You know how sometimes in life you just know you are in the exact place you are supposed to be? This is one of those times.


xo

All Play, No Work?

I know I am supposed to be here writing fiction, and I'm sure I'll get to it eventually, but so far it's been lots of blogging, copious amounts of eating, a little drinking, lots of talking, and lots of time figuring out my trip to Toulouse next weekend. Oh, and just found out today that there are two art presentations happening here, one next week and one the week after with the community of El Bruc. I thought only the full-fellowship people were required to participate, but no, it's all of us. You KNOW what I'll be doing, right? That's right, Pechu-Kucha it is! I made sure to make my book available in Spain on Amazon in case there are any takers...


Every night the husband/wife proprieters (how do you spell that?) cook for us. Tonight it was tuna and salmon carpaccio, basil mashed potatoes, slices of zucchini from the garden (so big that one zucchini fed 12 of us) pork for the meat-eaters and caviar on toasted baguettes with fruits and lemons. I even ate it and it was phenomenal. 


I spoke at length with the other writer - Pablo. He teaches college in upstate NY and won an NEA this year. He'd applied 5 times and finally got it on the 5th try. How inspiring. As we were talking, the two kittens jumped into my lap and promptly fell asleep on each other. My leg fell asleep, too, but do you think I moved it? Of course not. Had to make sure the kitties were comfy. 


Tomorrow will be another day of non-writing as 4 of us are going to check out the Black Madonna at the Montserrat Monastery. This Jew is very excited to see it.


Have more stories about trying to get train tickets to France, but I can't bear to relive it... I'll be going on Sunday the 16th-Tues. 18th and will be on many trains and busses to get there. It will be fun to speak French and see one of my oldest friends, Mimi.

Hola El Bruc

Yesterday I was required to take the metro to some bus shed in Barcelona, find the right bus, ask the driver if it was going to El Bruc, board, get off at a bar in El Bruc and wait for a grey mini-van to pick me up. It all sounded very suspect and vague, but I managed to figure it all out. It was actually very easy.


Can Serrat, the name of the artists colony, is pretty outstanding albeit rustic in odd ways. It reminds me of Esalen in a way, though there are only 10 people here. I have a 'suite mate' named Daisy who is from SF and an artist, and befriended Jill, an artist from New Zealand and Roger an artist from Dover who looks so much like Roger on Mad Men. There is another Melissa here who lives and works here and so I've been dubbed "Mel" even though whenever anybody calls her name, I think they're speaking to me. There are a bunch more people but I'm not fully clear on who everybody is yet.


Last night we dined al fresco - I imagine that will happen every night - and the mosquitos started chomping on me immediately. It was shocking how many bites I had. I think I'll be wearing a thick coat of repellant from now on and every day.


The building is an old winery - very funky, a little moldy, cool, cavernous, communal bathroom area which is less than ideal but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I know of many friends/family who would be utterly grossed out, but when in Spain...


The resident cat just had kittens in May so there are a bunch of adorable black kitties everywhere. After dinner a bunch of us climbed a sort of jungle gym outside behind the property and upon reaching the landing this is what we saw:

 Roommate Daisy...

Incredible view of Monserrat mountains.


After dinner, everyone started setting up for Blues night here on the property. The evening started at around 10:30 pm. About 100 people came here and allegedly the best Blues band in Spain played. (That's debatable) I finally wandered back up to my room at 2:30 or so (also debatable) and shock of all shocks didn't awake until 1:45pm the next day. I think that was the last of the remaining jet lag. I feel really good today, even though the day is half over.


At some point I'll start writing? (my novel)

 Self-portrait getting ready for mischief.

The "best blues band in Spain".


Tonight we are going out to dinner in town since the chef isn't here on Sundays. Later, I have to figure out how to get to Toulouse next weekend to visit my friend Mimi.

Ramblas Ramble

Hola from Barcelona! It is always so surreal traveling abroad. After two long and bumpy plane flights I arrived this morning an hour earlier than scheduled. The hotel staff sort of giggled when I showed up at 9am. I checked my bags and starting wandering the Ramblas, which is steps away from this hotel. I don't think I've ever been to a more vibrant city in my life. There is something about Barcelona... the energy is infectious.


I ate an egg tortilla at La Boqueria market and washed it down with fresh watermelon juice. By 1pm I was starting to see double so I found my way back to the hotel intending on taking a 2-hour refresher nap, which of course morphed into a 4-hour power sleep. By 5pm I was wide awake and ready to explore. 

 Hanging meat - so not my style...

Ahhh, rows of fruit cups. Now that's more like it!


Grateful for Palau Guell's summer hours, I bought a ticket and took a tour. Guell was the man who basically hired Gaudi for most of his career. The home was stunning and so astoundingly photogenic. I'm attaching a mix of pix so you can see the flavor of the decadent place.

 Detailed ceiling, stained glass windows, striking light fixture...

View looking up - Gaudi played with light in so many ways.

Gaudi chimneys/phallic symbols/broccoli stalks on the roof of the home.


Later, I wandered around the cobblestone alleys. I followed some locals into an interesting looking building only to realize it was just a post office. Later on my walk, I followed another local crowd off the beaten path into a building and it turned out to be an art show at an art school. It was sort of like the Otis Senior Show! I stayed for close to an hour looking at the student work which was really good. Stalking the locals, I followed a few more into a restaurant and ordered some Tapas. It was only 8pm so I guess I had the earlybird special. It is now 10pm and while the city is coming even more to life, I'm back at the hotel trying to get on some sort of functioning sleep schedule.


Tomorrow is the Picasso Museum, Sagrada Famillia, Parc Gruel and plans with Jen Kagan's friend Melisa. Thank goodness for friends-of-friends! Saturday I head out of Barcelona and into a farm house north of here for a month of writing. I kind of can't believe it. I hope to come into Barcelona at least a few more times while I'm in Spain.


I'm in Spain?