Jaja, får väl se vad som händer senare ikväll då. Oddsen att jag kommer att göra nått utan en öl i handen är väl inte så stort. Men vad skulle du har gjort om det kostar dig ca 20 kr för en öl på krogen.

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Jorge Rivera

Sà jobbigt, det är ju nästan gratis att skaffa sig cancer här. Hur ska jag kunna stà emot cigg när de kostar 25 kr! 6pack för 40 kr. En alkis med cancer kanske.

Hahaha, hade tänkt och sitta här och ljuga en massa som vanligt om att jag skulle ha blivit rànad och shit. Men det är nog inge vidare att ljuga om kanske. Nä, dags att lämna blogg sidan och göra lite mer saker.

Adios puta!

Oj, ni kanske undrar om jag har nàgra sjyssta bilder att visa. NEJ! Det finns inga bilder, det kommer adrig komma upp nàgra bilder! Vill ni se bilder pà Barcelona, GOOGLA!

1o Dia : Praça do Portal da Paz - Monumento a Colombo - Palau Guell - La Rambla - La Boqueria - Catedral de Barcelona - Bairro Gótico - Igreja de Santa Maria del Mar - Parque de la Ciutadella - Port Vell - Aquário de Barcelona - La Rambla

2o. Dia : Sagrada Familia - La Pedrera - Camp Nou - Praça de Espanha - Parque Guell

Dicas :

Albergue : Melon District Poble Sec. Excelente albergue, novo em folha, sem café da manhã mas com uma excelente padaria logo em frente. Bem localizado, em Poble Sec perto de Montjuic, a alguns metros do metrô. Uma venezuelana e uma chilena muito simpáticas te ajudam com ótimas dicas. A internet no hall é free e aproveitei para saber notícias da terrinha. O quarto é pequeno, mas confortável. O banheiro é somente pequeno mesmo: o vaso é praticamente debaixo do chuveiro, numa solução nova para boxes - um conjunto inteiriço de plástico.

Caminhada : Tiramos um dia inteiro para sair andando pela cidade. Não compramos nenhum passe combinado de transporte, porque não valia a pena já que tudo é bem perto. A estátua de Colombo perto do mar e a Rambla são bem perto, e a parada para o almoço na Boqueria é obrigatória. Lembra o Mercado Central de Florença, mas a especialidade são os frutos do mar, obviamente. Também se pode ir na Catedral de Barcelona e no bairro gótico.

Aquário : O aquário de Barcelona é o maior da Europa, vale a pena se conferir, é incrível. A entrada é 14 euros.

Parque de La Ciutadella : Num dia de sol fica incrível. Lindo lugar, com lagos e jardins, cisnes e maritacas que ficam se refrescando no esguicho do jardim. Detalhe que cada pássaro tem um número, devidamente controlados pelos administradores do parque.

Sagrada Família : A igreja que já está em construção há mais de 50 anos ainda faltando mais pelo menos 20 para ficar pronta é uma obra de arte gigantesca que deve ser visitada. O pagamento é usado para se completar a obra. Fica perto da Pedreira, também de Gaudi.

Camp Nou : Fica mais longe, mas também pode-se ir de metrô. Veja bem em qual estação descer, porque saímos na errada e precisamos andar bastante. O estádio do Barcelona é incrível, com a história recheada de brasileiros contada nos mínimos detalhes. O Museu conta a história desde a fundação e se entende bem porque esse clube é tão querido. Trabalhadores no auge da crise espanhola deram dinheiro para a construção desse estádio, que por isso não deve ser demolido, apesar de ser bem velho.

Causos :

Teleférico de Montjuic : Liga a praia ao alto de Montjuic. No primeiro dia deixamos de fazer esse passeio por 5 minutos, já que chegamos exatamente no horário que fechava. Ainda tentamos pedir para fazerem uma última viagem mas não adiantou. Nem falando que é da terra do Ronaldinho ! Mas foi bom, acabamos indo pro Aquário.

Camp Nou : Aliás nem no campo do Barcelona se ganhava desconto pra entrar no museu sendo brasileiro ! Acho que eles estavam já meio fulos com o Ronaldinho, que só queria saber de ir pra boate e logo depois foi pro Milan. Eu tentei ! Mas rendia mais falar do Romário. Interessante foi na saída do estádio, pois no caminho do metrô passa-se pelo estacionamento da Universidade de Barcelona. Alí, pelo que vimos no chão, é um dos lugares mais "calientes" da noite de Barcelona !

Aquário : Chegamos em cima da hora, faltando uma hora pra fechar. Na entrada falaram que precisaríamos de pelo menos 1 hora e meia pra visitar com calma. Como era "agora ou nunca" fomos assim mesmo e correndo um pouco deu tempo tranquilo.

Clima : Barcelona lembra muito o Rio de Janeiro, com a sua praia, a alegria das pessoas, a noite sempre animada e o futebol. E calhou justamente de estar nessa cidade na final da Copa dos Campeões entre Chelsea e Manchester. Já tendo começado o jogo no caminha do hotel convencia a patroa a parar num restaurante paquistanês se não me engano para jantar, só porque tinha uma Tv nos fundo passando o jogo. Escolhi a mesa estrategicamente e lá ficamos. Pior que foi pra prorrogação e demorou, mas ainda bem que ela entendeu que era final ! E a comida não estava ruim.

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Aquí ens mostra la Rambla d'Egara i el primer que en destaca és que és cara i suposo que és deu referir a que els comerços venen els productes una mica cars, però si és així no entenc el que és vol aconseguir amb aquesta afirmació tant poc "comercial".

Destaquem del dibuix que la urbanització de la Rambla és similar a l'actual (al menys abans de fer-hi el metro), tot i que el tamany dels plataners era aquí molt petit, en comparació amb els actuals.

L'altra imatge ens mostra de nou un teatre, aquest cop el del desaparegut Recreo. El que no acabo d'entendre és la insistència d'aquesta auca per mostrar-nos tots els teatres i cinemes de la ciutat.

Prima di iniziare la descrizione del tour vorrei fare una riflessione sulle prime impressioni che abbiamo avuto della città: ordine e pulizia da primato, efficienza e rispetto per il prossimo come in poche altre parti al mondo.

Tutto ciò si sovrappone a una sensazione di velata preoccupazione per la delinquenza che pur essendo diffusa è sotto controllo anche se questo controllo si ha la sensazione arrivi si' ma sempre un po' dopo il fatto avvenuto, quindi bisogna stare attenti, avere due occhi davanti e due dietro, diffidare di chi si sta avvicinando... è meglio di fidarsi... cosi' facendo, certo stando sempre attenti e anche un po' in tensione forse si rischia meno ma alla fine paga: la città è enorme e la varietà di culture e razze è talmente grande che controllare tutto e tenerne l'ordine è arduo ma la sensazione è comunque in generale di tranquillità apparente !

Premesso cio' eccovi di seguito il resoconto della bella passeggiata nel centro storico di Barcellona.

All'uscita di casa tiriamo dritto verso Placa Reial, bella, rettangolare e pedonale come tutto il barrio gotico. Sotto i porticati un'infinità di ristorantini, pub, discoteche. L'aria mattutina è intrisa di una calma fuori dal comune per Barcellona che da queste parti comincia a vivere nel pomeriggio fino a notte tarda. Usciamo da un vicoletto, non prima di aver fatto delle foto alla bella piazza e ai fanali progettati da un giovane Gaudì... ci addentriamo quindi nel Barrio, stradine strettissime, lastricate ancora mantenute all'originale bellezza eccetto il fatto di vedere dei portoni sfregiati da estemporanei fregi realizzati con le solite bombolette spray...

Persi per il Barrio Gotico ma volontariamente perchè mappa alla mano arriviamo al Palazzo della Generalitat (della regione Catalunya), alla sede del Comune (Ajuntament) in pratica siamo a Plaça Sant Jaume. Bell'aspetto imponente, folla di taxi e naturalmente stormi di tedeschi in bici-tour e giapponesi a fotografare tutto...

 Ci fermiamo a Pla de la Seu dove svetta la mole gotica della cattedrale dedicata alla Santa Cru e San'Eulalia dei Catalani (guarda caso anche a Palermo esiste una ex chiesa nel quartiere della "vucciria" dedicata alla Santa spagnola...). Esternamente in restauro, per entrare occorrono 5 euro, ma ne vale la pena perchè vista la Cattedrale si puo' far a meno di andare a vedere altre chiese a Barcellona, la visita comprende il chiostro e i giardini.

Una breve sosta per compilare e mandare le classiche cartoline ad amici e parenti e via verso Plaza Catalunya. Nel breve tragitto vediamo gruppetti di turisti che si fermano di tanto in tanto ad ascoltare band musicali estemporanee che propongono musica popolare, country... latina...

Arrivati in piazza cerchiamo l'ufficio del turismo che si trova sotto la sede stradale con accesso dal centro della piazza tramite scale mobili... breve fila e decidiamo di acquistare delle tessere turistiche chiamate Barcelona Card che ci consentiranno per 3 giorni di utilizzare mezzi pubblici gratuitamente e l'ingresso free in alcune strutture tipo musei e scontato in altri.

Appena fuori non possiamo che fermarci all'HARD ROCK CAFE'... un giro al pub, acquistiamo delle magliette ricordo, le foto di pramatica con lo sfondo le chitarre piu' famose e... via verso la Rambla... non prima di aver visitato il grande centro commerciale del Corte Ingles sull'altra parte di Placa Catalunya, dove un fornito supermercato ci incita ad acquistare del pane caldo e degli insaccati e formaggi locali per farci un buon panino imbottito all'italiana !!! Lo consumiamo in appartamento per far sbollentare i piedi dalla prima lunga camminata...

Appena rilassati via di nuovo fuori a spulciarci tutti gli angoli della piu' turistica strada di Barcellona, La Rambla.

La Rambla è una strada bellissima, chiusa al traffico di giorno solo per bus e taxi, al centro è popolata da suoni, colori, sapori talmente intensi da rimanere impressi in maniera indelebile nella memoria del visitatore.

Poi il palazzo della musica catalana, un vero gioiello dell'arte modernista, e via di nuovo sulla Rambla per visitare a fonto il "mercat del la boqueria".

La giornata finisce con lo shopping sul "passeig de gracia" e con una "paella" alla marinara al Chipiron, al MAREMAGNUM

Sugar-coated whole Almonds in almost every colour imaginable; from pink and pastel blue, to shiny-shiny silver.

The chance to see at least a dozen species of Primate, Panthers, Lions, Leopards and Cheetahs - Amongst countless other astonishing creatures at Barcelona's Zoo -, followed by an evening of hard rock*, a mountain of Beef Brisket and "Onion Fries"; that has to be up there as a pretty epic way to spend your 21st birthday, yes?

*A visit to Hard Rock Cafe was how we full-stopped our trip to Italy at Easter, and I know that the place does nothing for sharing in the unique character of Barcelona, but I love it. As much as I enjoyed my first real Paella - a rip off though it was - the atmosphere inside Hard Rock really floats my boat.

But it wasn't just the Paella that was rather un-sportingly overpriced either; we perused the menus of restaurants across the City (and I do mean right across), and €8-10 for "Chicken and Fries" is frankly, quite disturbing. Plus, the last time I checked, Pizza was not indicative of authentic Spanish cuisine.

Nor was "No Sandwiches!" the proper way to speak to customers before they had even ordered, because sandwiches wouldn't make your business enough money over a busy lunch time. Dissapointing. It was rather fortunate that we were more than happy to remain satiated with beautiful, crusty bread filled with Chorizo, Ham, or the unashamedly blunty-named Tetilla Cheese.

Stall-holders at the famous and well-loved 'La Boqueria' in Barcelona, insert beautiful green leaves between these layers of sumptuous Peaches.

Since this was an almost-budget-less trip, it was so important that we made use of every single hour, from the airport and back again. Loosely translated as "Sandy Riverbed", most likely because of the current of people that flow constantly up and down it, 'La Rambla' was our first truly memorable port of call after passing the Sagrada Familia - which was impressive, no doubt, and not something I could imagine seeing in the same way, without those huge Cranes around it. For the record, I actually love the Cranes.

Not that it ever will, but could you imagine this street in the snow?

We got to see a myriad of street performers; Flamenco dancers, painters, puppeteers, and of course, the living statues. A poster for the Gran Teatre caught my eye on the Metro, and given the time and money, I'd have loved to have gone.

La Rambla runs for just under a mile (just over 1km) up to the Waterfront, where you can sit and look at the shoals of big, striped fish, or watch the expensive ships coming in. Going the other way, the street is enclosed on either side by Florists and souveneir stalls; but about half way up is what I really came for - 'La Boqueria'!

Meat, vegetables, and confections of all shapes and sizes, but La Boqueria is a celebration of the most astonishing display of gorgeous fruit that I've ever seen.

If you've ever been, then I don't need to tell you how addictive those little fruit drinks are; Mango and Pineapple, Strawberry and Papaya, the list goes on, but I couldn't help but be defeated by the simplicity of ice-cold Coconut. At €1 a pop, if I lived there, I'd be seriously out of pocket!

Just while I remember: Are the Spanish doing this the right way round?

Anyway, here's some more from the market.

They're just a bit bigger than Walnuts. Aren't they a great colour?

I think she may have noticed me...

I know you can find these anywhere in the world, but they're still pretty cool.

Dried fruit, nuts, and even more sweet things.

That's that then! Barcelona is such a unique, almost a bit wacky sort of place, and La Boqueria on La Rambla really fits the bill, don't you think? Exciting stuff.

You will see a variety of pots scattered throughout the suburban Surrey homes of my family - they can't help themselves. Every visit is punctuated at some stage by 'can we go to a pot shop!' so we are forever hunting out new and exciting suppliers.

To date, we have two favourite spots. La Rambla is a whole town dedicated to ceramics in the south of the Cordoba province as is Purrullena, east of Granada.  Admittedly, there are a lot of bright, colouful offerings which would look out of place in an urban, contemporary setting but every visitor always goes home happily clutching a personal find. I'm a big fan of the earthware oven dishes, olive oil and vinegar sets and garlic pots, oh and the ridiculously low prices of course.

Happy Shopping

Estava descoberto o quartel general para os dois dias e meio seguintes!

Hey, look a pufferfish! The Dean would be so excited.

Here's a better picture of the Columbus statue.

Mom and I bought some souvenirs from local vendors and then we check out the mall. We decided to take the long way back to the hotel when we stumbled upon some cool things, like this submarine.

It is a replica of the acutal one build in 1862.

After the sub, we continued walking throught the streets of Barcelona looking for a gold ring for my mom. We weren't able to find one, but we did find the Santa Maria De Mar.

After lunch, Mike and Mom went off to do their thing, while Dad and I checked out some ruins from Roman times. No photography was allowed, so I didn't take any pictures inside. Here is a photo from outside.

The ruins were of an entire city block that was found when they started to dig the foundation for a building in Barcelona. It was really cool because they had put a catwalk about 5 feet above what used to be the ancient city. The audio guide describe what were were looking at and how it was used.

When we were done, we stumbled upon some more musicians.

And this recycling guy.

We watched the game from a bar on La Rambla.

The energy, especially when the ball got near the goal, was incredible. There were probably 200 people just at this bar. All of La Rambla went crazy when the goal was scored.

When the game ended, it was madness.

Mike, are you having a good time?

People were climbing on everything.

Potty break...

OK, back to the action.

I wonder who she was rooting for?

Let's get our faces painted too.

Mayhem I tell you.

They set off flares and fireworks in the crowd.

And video.

Breakfast was ok, nothing special, but with enough choice in the buffet. I sticked to yogurt with fruit mix, rolls with chorizo, cornflakes, cookies, a coffee with milk (took without milk the rest of my stay, coffee wasn't very strong) and orange juice (didn't take that on the other days, it's waaay too sweet).

The staff at the reception informed me that today museums would close early, and after checking which ones I really wanted to do, I decided to do the MNAC.
Since I passed by it the previous day, I took the Funicular de Montjuïc, strolled through the park again, helped another tourist to find the Fundació Joan Miró, and was at the ticket desk of the MNAC a bit after 10 AM.

The Palau Nacional that today houses the MNAC was originally built for the 1929 Worlds Fair, and the monumentality of the palace sure manages to give an impression you're not gonna forget.
The museum demands that you leave any bags and alike at the lockers or cloak room (lockers work with money, which you get back, cloak room is free) and if you desire to take pictures, you do it without flash... tricky for taking pictures.
But you do get a free audio guide!

For some reason, I had decided to wear slippers that day (aka flip-flops, but "nice" leather ones, not the rubber ones who can give men testicle cancer). At first I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but after a while I found out it was a very bad idea.
I did the museum slowly, taking my time to observe the art, and a bit after 12.30 PM I had finished the entire upper floor: Renaissance, Modernism and also a couple smaller "departments" for Drawings and Prints, Coinage and the very inspiring room devoted to Photography.
I was worn out after all this because of those slippers, they just weren't suited for the smooth marble floors of the MNAC. I was very grateful to find comfy sofa's in the big Dome Room (the hall underneath the center dome of the palace, first floor, all exhibition halls are positioned around it, also available for rent) and I "unceremoniously dropped myself" in one of those sofa's for half an hour.

I went to visit the exhibition halls on the main floor when my feet recuperated a bit. I had kept those halls to visit last, because they were displaying artworks from the Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque period, which, despite their importance in the European History of Art, don't interest me as much compared to what was shown in the exhibit halls upstairs. I did like the Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architectural pieces shown in those halls though.
I had to force myself to speed up my pace, because the museum would close soon, and my slippers were starting to kill my feet pretty fast, despite the half hour rest upstairs...

Somehow I managed to finish everything on the main floor within 1.30 hours, leaving enough time to spare for a bathroom break and a rest on a bench in the Oval Hall, located at back of the palace.
My feet kept protesting with every step, so not even that second rest in the Oval Hall was sufficient, and after leaving the MNAC I took some more rest on one of the many shaded benches surrounding Montjuïc.
It was a relief for my feet! I stayed on that bench for almost an hour, taking the time to put on some more sunblock, write some postcards and take a snack (cookies and yogurt I took along from the breakfast room that morning).

With my feet feeling much better, and after a small detour to take a picture of a nice statue I saw earlier on my way towards the MNAC, I went towards Plaça Espanya, to take metro L3 heading towards Plaça Catalunya.
I didn't do much there, just walked down La Rambla a bit, and walked into an ice cream shop called Maximum (La Rambla nr. 77, across the Liceu). Many flavours were shouting out to me, all coming in their own colour, promising refreshing my body, and I really felt like one, so started my order. Sadly for my wallet: I didn't notice the price system right away.
Apparently, unlike any place I'ld been to so far, small cones had small balls of ice cream, listed at around € 1 per ball, middle sizes cones had middle sized balls at around € 2 per ball, and the large cone... well I'm sure you can guess how I ended up paying almost € 9 for the ice cream I ordered.
It was very tasty though!

There wasn't much time left before Raul and me arranged to meet, so I just hung out a bit on the fountain of Plaça Reial, and then took the metro to Drassanes. I was right on time, but he was already there :)
Happy reunion! Hugs and kisses! YAY!

We went to a pub first (Bar Shilling, Carrer Ferran nr. 23), both of us needed a drink. It was the type of pub I liked going to: diffused lights, deep colors, bit rustic but still classy... (I took Raul to a similar style pub -Patrick Foleys- in Ghent before, though Shilling is more classy then Patrick Foleys)
We didn't need long to finish our drinks ;)

He played guide after that, showing me some interesting places in the old part of town, called El Born, telling lots of history with it, of course I was listening with an eager ear...
He really knows what interests me :)

When we reached the edge of the El Born area, he suggested going to the beach, but warned me it might be crowded since it was Sunday and the weather was fabulous. I didn't mind, but when we took the metro and arrived at Port Olímpic, the entire metro station of Vila Olímpica was crowded, with waiting lines to get into the metro! Raul explained this was normal, since it was the metro station to go, or leave from the beach.
But I wasn't complaining with the sight of all those cute Spanish guys wearing just their swim shorts ;)
(geez I'm terrible, aint I?)

We hung out for a while there, chatting, laughing, sharing ideas and opinions, looking at what was happening on the beach...
One of the places I had researched in advance were nice and inexpensive restaurants, and one of those was not too far from where we were. We started to walk towards it, but Raul (who is a bit bigger then me) could see from a distance that particular place wasn't open. Still, there were enough similar places open, and we sat down on the terrace of one of them.
At this point, my slippers started to really annoy the crap out of me, and after our mussels and fried fishies, we went to my hotel so I could put on shoes. I had to, when we were walking to the bus stop that would take us to my hotel I simply took off my slippers and walked bare, it was getting too painful.
(the next day I had a small blister on one of my toes where the leather strap had been, ouch!)

Sangria! I wanted some, so we went to a place that was between my hotel and the Plaça Espanya, since I wanted to see the Font Màgica, which is between the MNAC and Plaça Espanya.
We chilled for a while, and were happy the Spanish football (soccer) team managed to win the quarter final against Italy!
(all around us car horns were going off, everybody was happy Spain won from Italy, a rare event. Spain would win the European Championship exactly a week after that)

Sadly, the show at the Font Màgica was almost over when we arrived there, but it didn't bother me much since I was so happy to have spent several hours with Raul *hugz*

End of day 2, went to bed around 0.40 AM, completely wasted from a fabulous day!
Flickr photo set for Day 2

After a little break, we went back to La Rambla.

We stumbled upon yet another amazing market with fresh everything, fruit, meat, poultry, and fish. There were so many little shops.

When we were done with the market, we went back to La Rambla and continued south. We ducked down an alleyway and found yet another amazing square. Later we came upon the square by accident from another direction and ended up eating dinner at one of the resturants.

La Rambla ends at the water. There is a monument to Christopher Columbus because this is apparantly where he first set foot after discovering America.

We checked out the waterfront for a bit.

We walked across this bridge to a mall and did a little shopping.

At this point it was dinner time and headed back to the hotel. On our way back we stubled upon that sqaure again and ate dinner. Mmmm, olives.

First, this is from dinner last night. Our wine and "Agua con gas."

Today we went for a walk around the hotel and down La Rambla. La Rambla is a street throught the heart of Barcelona with cars on either side, foot traffic through the middle, vendors, and street performers.

There were many street performers who were "living statues" and came alive when someone gave them money.

Being from the United States, I am used to automobile traffic everywhere. It didn't really occur to me that older cities have entire areas that are only accessible by walking. Also, the streets can be very narrow. This street reminded me more of an alleyway, but had amazing shops on either side.

Then the alleys open up into plazas, such as this one.

We stumbled upon some musicians on the street. This group was particularly interesting because of their unique instruments. The man on the right was playing something similar to a small harp. The man in the middle is playing a percussion insturment similar to an inside-out steel drum.

After that, my dad wanted to see what this building with the colorful roof was.

I'm glad he did because it turns out that it was a fantastic little marketplace. I wish there was one of these in PB.

In a bit we're going back to La Rambla and eating dinner. Keep an eye out for the post I'm putting together on the cars of Barcelona.

 Debido a las  inclemencias del tiempo se suspendió la salida prevista por Asociación para la celebración del San Jorge , por lo que aprovechamos la ocasión para hacer una descubierta a la Rambla, donde estabamos invitados a visitar los viveros de Mª Luz, la madre de Clara. Después de una tournee por varios pueblos La Carlota, La Guijarrosa, Montalbán (para que luego no digais que no os llevamos a ver mundo), llegamos a los viveros donde los chicos de la asociación "Ntra. Sra. de la Esperanza", nuestros guías, nos fueron explicando con todo lujo de detalles como se cultivaban las patatas, melones, tomates, calabacines …

Todos tuvimos la oportunidad de arrancar patatas, de coger tomates y de plantar pinos...

Después tuvimos la comida donde pudimos probar las estupendas patatas que habíamos arrancado y que asamos en el microondas (Curro, las próximas son para comerlas con nuestra tortilla de espárragos).

Cómo el tiempo lo permitió, estuvimos jugando un rato al beso salvaje (niñas hay que animarse y darle más cañita) y a la cebolla,etc... y el tiempo se nos fue volando. A las 16.30 cogimos el autobús de vuelta, vinimos muy entretenidos cantando éxitos como Oliver y Benji, El Rey León, etc…

Queremos darles las gracias a los "chicos de La Ramblapor todo lo que nos enseñaron y por la paciencia que derrocharon con nosotros.

 IR AL ÁLBUM>>

I was happy to wake up.  I slept better than the night before.  When I got up and looked out the window there was just under an inch of snow on the yard, on the rooftops and cars, melting on the roads.  I showered, packed and got ready for class.

Kerry drove me to the Sitka Center today.  The day was clearing, opening like a summer rose, actually.  I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.  The snow had melted by the time I got to the center.

We began with a welcome and talk with the editor of Highlights for Children, who was there as a writer in residence.  She expressed interest in getting stories and articles from the northwest, and listed off areas where they could use submissions.  When she left, we all shared ideas for submission and our instructor is challenging us to start pitching and submitting immediately upon returning home.  I was excited with a list of ideas that I wanted to work on.

Today, from the prompts Stafford challenged us with, I wrote about: something I noticed on the way to Sitka; something I'd like to tell a child (including a list of topics to submit to Highlights); and trees.

After we did these writing exercises, we talked about books and writers, including Gary Snyder, Maxim Gorky, Kim's father, William Stafford, among others.   One of the highlights was listening to Kim Stafford read a poem, The Seafarer, in Old English.  It reminded me of why I loved being an English major, how much I loved the medieval literature, including the Gawain poet (who also was linked to writing the haunting poem, Pearl, which blew my mind as a twenty-one year old college student).

We went outside and took the class photo below.  I was happy to record this precious group digitally, to have to look at fondly, remembering one of my best weekends ever.

When we returned to the class, we returned to writing.  I wrote about:  trees; what you can have and what you can't have (a list); and a special place.  When we went around to share our work, I suddenly got teary-eyed.  Several of us were getting emotionally involved with each other's work.  Anyway.  I had to stop and asked my new friend, Margaret, a seventy-something with a beautiful, soft face and long, lovely, silvery hair, to finish.  She kindly obliged, but then came to the line where I wrote of burying my grandmother, to which she was then moved to tears.  So, I pulled it together and shared the rest of my work.  I was humbled by my writer friends' kind reception of this very sentimental work.

At the end of class, Kim sang to us a lovely song.  He had a silver coiled voice, like the strings of his stunning guitar.  The gifts we warmly bestow are more than the giver could ever know.

I went for a walk after the workshop.  It was bittersweet to say good-bye.  I was so full of creativity and grace.  I wanted to run wild into the hills and breathe in the coastal views.  I took my camera out and captured what I was feeling - green, tall, generous.

Kerry picked me up and we were on our way home.  We stopped in McMinnville for dinner at La Rambla, a Spanish tapas restaurant on the quaint downtown main strip on 3rd Street.  It was packed!  We sat at the bar, ordered a glass of wine and enjoyed a few seafood courses, to keep in the spirit of our time at the coast.

I was happy to see my kitties and looked for Shadow, who hasn't been around.  I am worried about him.  The food I have left out has been consumed, but there are other strays out there who have found their way up at my doorstep before.  I paused and hoped that where ever he was, that he was safe, warm and with a fully belly.

Kualihkan pandanganku ke luar kaca jendela. Memperhatikan orang-orang berlalu lalang di areal pedestrian atau di Indonesia lebih dikenal dengan trotoir. Hampir di sepanjang areal pedestrian orang-orang begitu sibuk dengan dirinya sendiri. Ada yang berjalan begitu tergesa-gesa seakan-akan dunia ini mau runtuh. Tangan kiri memegang tas jinjing sementara di sisi lain tangan kanan sibuk dengan mobile phone nya. Begitu antusias dan bersemangatnya sampai tak mempedulikan keadaan sekitar. Barangkali pembicaraan tentang prospek bisnis beromzet besar. Bus melaju perlahan saat kulihat di seberang jalan orang-orang bergerombol di halte menunggu datangnya bus dari arah yang berlawanan. Sepasang anak manusia tampak asyik berbincang dengan intim memanfaatkan momen untuk berdua. Memang tak jarang waktu untuk menunggu bis datang dimanfaatkan untuk sekedar berbincang-bincang. Mulai perbincangan dengan topik-topik serius hingga sebuah perbincangan dan perkenalan singkat yang tak jarang berlanjut menjadi sebuah jalinan hati. Bermula dari sekedar teman yang setiap hari bertemu di halte hingga akhirnya saling mengenal dan memahami.

Begitu beragam keindahan terhampar pagi ini. Di ujung jalan, seniman-seniman jalan terlihat menikmati dan menghayati pertunjukkannya. Seakan-akan kota ini menjadi sebuah panggung besar pertunjukkan Broadway. Melihat apa yang terjadi anganku melayang membayangkan kota ini bagai La Rambla (La Ramblas) di boulevard Placa Catalunya (Plaza Catalonia) Barcelona, Spanyol. Eksotika sebuah kota yang bertepi di Laut Tengah. Seakan diriku terbuai menyusuri dan menikmati indahnya La Rambla. Sebuah jalan yang namanya berasal dari bahasa Arab "ramla." Jalan sepanjang dua kilometer yang memiliki area pedestrian selebar dua puluh meter itu seakan dihadirkan untuk memanjakan para pejalan kaki.Pejalan kaki akan disuguhi sebuah "dialog peradaban" tentang perpaduan karya arsitektur Gothik dan modern. Hal ini seakan memberi bukti dan mementahkan anggapan bahwa peradaban dan hasil masa lalu tidak layak untuk bersanding dengan modernitas. Bahwa "masa lalu" itu tidak harus dihilangkan serta dilupakan begitu saja. Bukti sebuah perjalanan peradaban manusia.

Seakan sudah menjadi takdir pula bila La Rambla yang membentang dari Plaza Catalonia hingga Patung Columbus dan terbagi dalam lima seksi, Rambla Canaletes, Rambla del Estudis, Rambla Sant Josep, Rambla Caputxins serta Rambla Sant Monica menjadi surga pejalan kaki. Dari titik awal Plaza Catalonia pejalan kaki akan disuguhi pemandangan yang memanjakan mata, melihat bagaimana orang-orang asyik nongkrong,duduk-duduk atau sekedar memberi makan ribuan merpati. Taman-taman di sekitarnyapun memberikan nuansa lain dengan bunga-bunganya yang beraneka warna. Sebuah awalan yang membangkitkan selera dari plaza seluas lima puluh ribu meter persegi yang dibangun tahun 1927 oleh arsitek Francesc Nebot.

Banyak tempat menarik yang bisa dinikmati. Dari kejauhan air mancur Canaletes seakan begitu menggoda untuk didatangi. Air mancur ini merupakan tempat para suporter kesebelasan Barcelona merayakan kemenangan timnya. Konon barangsiapa meminum airnya akan selalu teringat dengan keindahan air mancur ini dan selalu ingin untuk mengunjunginya kembali.Saat berjalan ke arah laut pengunjung disuguhi "alur cerita indah" lain. Diawali dari sebuah pasar tradisional bernama Boqueria kemudian berlanjut dengan lukisan mural dari Joan Miro dan "memotret" kota ini melalui sejumlah museum. Mulai dari museum erotika yang berkesan "panas" hingga museum bahari yang berkonotasi "dingin". Tidak hanya itu kehadiran sisa-sisa peradaban lampaupun dihadirkan melalui Katedral Barri dan gedung Opera Liceu. Sebuah gedung opera yang menyimpan kisah tragis. Gedung berasitektur neoklasik yang didirikan tahun 1848 namun dua kali harus terbakar ditahun 1861 dan 1994. Tahun 1893 gedung ini menyimpan kisah memilukan karena dibom oleh kelompok Santiago Salvador yang mengakibatkan 20 orang tewas. Di ujung jalan patung Columbus (Mirador de Colom), orang Eropa pertama yang menginjakkan kakinya di Benua Amerika menjulang tinggi seakan menyampaikan kata perpisahan. Menyusuri La Ramba seakan diajak membaca kembali catatan sejarah perjalanan panjang sebuah kota dan peradaban yang jejaknya masih bisa dinikmati hingga saat ini. Begitu eksotis dan menariknya koridor kota ini hingga Fariz RM salah satu musisi berbakat negeri ini mengapresiasinya dalam balutan nada indah, Barcelona.

Dalam konteks dan latar belakang berbeda pemerintah kota selaku perpanjangan tangan masyarakat berupaya menata ruang kotanya. Memang ada kendala pada perbedaan budaya antara Indonesia dan Spanyol. Namun hal tersebut bukan menjadi penghalang karena spirit dan keinginan untuk memberikan yang terbaik bagi masyarakat selaku "pemegang saham" mempunyai nilai yang sama. Keduanya menempatkan kepentingan warga kotanya pada level tertinggi. Hal ini terlihat dari bagaimana pejalan kaki sudah tidak lagi dianggap sebagai warga kelas dua yang hak-haknya bisa diabaikan begitu saja. Sebuah sisi manusiawi dari kota yang mulai tumbuh dan menata peradabannya kembali.

07.30
Bus yang kutumpangi berhenti sejenak karena lampu tanda penyeberangan menyala...

Mimpi bukan hanya sekedar mimpi
bunga tidur yang terkesan mati
mimpi adalah harapan
mimpi adalah angan-angan dan tujuan

"Selamat Pagi..!"

und ich denke das es unsere Situation vor dem Spiel ganz gut beschreibt.

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"der Schalker"

En la primera postal (dels anys 50) podem observar una vista de la plaça Clavé (avui Portal de Sant Roc) on s’aprecien molt bé les escales que portaven als urinaris i als serveis de dutxes públics que hi havia instal·lats sota terra. L’Edifici de l’estació dels catalans apareix aquí perfectament retratat i s’aprecia també la font que hi havia a l’extrem que donava a la Rambla, així com la parada de taxis de l'època.

En la segona postal podeu apreciar la cantonada de la mateixa plaça amb la Rambla i comprovar on estava ubicat el bar “La Polar” i un element que m’ha fet molta il·lusió tornar a veure, el guàrdia urbà (vestit amb la seva americana blanca) i que dirigia el transit des de la rotonda (si us hi fixeu el veureu parlant amb un conductor d’un 600). Les dues postals m’han estat cedides per en Ricard Font.