on the shores of years

November 8, Tuesday - Barcelona, Spain

An absolutely fantastic day.

Last night was how i imagined eating in Spain. An American, a German, an Argentinian, and a Frenchman all sitting around using the universal language of slang and hand signals, eating a meal of soft white cheese, chorizo, calimari, mussels, fresh bread, cherry tomatoes, and the ubiquitos bottle of wine. How delicious can you get?

Today was given over to the Museu Nacional DÁrt De Catalunya. And what a grand museum it was. Absolutely huge in scale and scope, the museu sat atop a hill like a castle, overlooking the Olympic grounds and the entirely of Rome. The collection was extensive, though focusing solely on Catalonian artists. It began with a series of frescos from the 1100´s from churches like Santa Maria in Taull, depicting the Christ and the apostles, with events from the Epiphany to some heinous interpretations of the Last Judgement. It then went on to feature so much religious art that it would make your head spin. Of note was the Caravaggio exhibit, who´s work was absolutely stunning, especially ´Sant Jeroni Penitent´, and ´Flagel-lacio´, whose work reminded me of my friend, the late Harry Antis. Harry would be proud to know he could have had his art sitting next to Caravaggio and the big C would´ve been asking Harry how he painted what he had.

The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets of Barcelona, getting lost, trying to figure out how to ask for directions in Catalonian (which I found to be the primary language here, not Spanish), and exploring the colorful and strange open air markets that sell everything from figs to goat heads. And despite my attempts, I couldn´t get the merchant to explain to me what one would use a goat´s head for.

Tonight shall be the Mediterranean, and stars, and wine, and fellowship of travelers on the beach to celebrate a union of wanderlust and one small birthday at midnight that I almost forgot about.

Cheers and goodnight -

Before midnight, of course, I remember - Happy Birthday, friend Dave!

- C