Our last full day in Barcelona - July 4th 2007

Check out this vending machine! It's HUGE...it was in one of the metro stations in Barcelona
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Well, today is our last full day in Barcelona. I am very sad...I could spend a month just living here getting to know the culture. Tomorrow we pick up the rental car and head north to Cadaques.  Cadaques (kah-dah-KEHS) is a small fishing village near the French border. Salvador Dali was raised in near by Figures and lived in Cadaques as an adult with his wife Gala. We plan to tour Dali's house while we are there. We will spend two days in Cadaques laying on the beach and basically doing nothing.

At Gaudi's La Pedrera on Passeig de Gracia. Gaudi's last major work...
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We are hoping the 'busiest' (most touristy) part of our trip will have been here in Barcelona. We have had an amazing time here. Last night we went to hear the most talented and considered the best Spanish music specialist in the world, Manuel Gonzalez play for maybe 150 people in a small intimate cathedral setting. We arrived early and we able to be seated in the front row. He played alone, no orchestra, just spanish guitar...what an experience it was. I cried... I think because it was just a bit overwhelming for me. How often do you get to experience this sort of thing in a life time? He played for an hour but it felt like 15 minutes... it went by too fast. At times when he played the guitar it sounded like chirping birds, and other times it sounded like drums beating or a music box...it was such a wonderful experience to hear a master play the spanish guitar in his own city where he lives and was born.

He played alone, no orchestra, just spanish guitar...

Up on the roof of La Pedrera...
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Today we woke up near noon and after a light breakfast of fruit and coffee at home, we took a walk to this great little place called Taverna Basca Irati. For about 1.20 euro each you can sample many different hot and cold Basque pintxos, which are like open faced sandwiches speared with a toothpick. You walk in, ask the waiter for a plate and start eating, when you are done the waiter counts the toothpicks, charges you according to how many toothpicks are on your plate and you are billed accordingly...we had marinated tuna with garlic on top, deep fried jamon con queso (ham with cheese), sardines with green olives, salmon, chorizo sausage, duck with marmalade on top...too many to remember. I had a glass of sidra to drink which is an apple wine, we also sampled the rioja (red wine) and the Basque white wine, Txakoli. We ate till we couldn't eat any more and the bill was less than 30euro. We won't eat again till tonight around 10pm and still have to decide where to eat our last meal in Barcelona. It will be a tough choice.

The exterior of La Pedrera looking up from the street below...
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After Cadaques we plan to meet up with Dana's brother Tristan and his friend Anne whom we met on our last trip 5 years ago to Paris. We will spend a couple of days with them in Nimes and then make our way over to Pamplona on the 11th for the running of the bulls or San Fermin as it is called. I don't know when I will be able to write again but I will try to write soon.

Happy 4th of July!