Costa Brava...

...just like Galveston.

Festa Major - Vilanova i La Geltru

This was nuts.

The major festival of Paul's town.  At about 1030PM, all hell broke loose.  About 20 sections of dragons, demons, and freaks parading through town down the narrow streets with their own rhythm section.  Mixed with GIANT fireworks.  As we were walking to the center of town, it was hot as hell, but all the locals were clothed from head to toe and wearing straw hats.  I couldn't figure out why until the first parade section came through.

One would think this is a Catalan tradition passed down the generations.  Then Paul told me all of it was started in 1992.  Oh well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKGvh4oCdqM

Bacardi

 Did you all know that the Bacardi family is originally from Sitges. Hence, the Bacardi museum just north of the church in the center of town!  Senor Bacardi left Catalunya for the Cuban frontier where he developed his vast empire, starting with cheap labor and sugar cane. 

The museum is a must, especially for the Mojito crowd (Anthony Ledakis).  The original recipe written by hand is hung on the wall.  We sampled the different distillations of rum, and at the end of the tour, we all set at the bar and made our own mojitos.

A great way to start the night!  And yes, Brian, my shirt is tucked into my underwear...

Aguadulce..farewell to la escuela

Our last language class was Wednesday and we were very sad to see it end.  We spent over 60 hours this summer with Loli and Leyla, so we became friends and almost family.  They have seen us at our best and our worst. 

We got together for dinner in Aguadulce, a community surrounding the port of Sitges.  Aguadulce is on the far east side of sitges and is the "luxurious" part of town, with awesome smaller beaches and great dining. We dined Argenitine style, enjoyed some nice music, wine, and conversation.  Ronny, Leyla's mate, is a Swedish artist and Leyla is a model and singer. 

We will remember many things about our time here in Spain, but the people we have met (both native and transplant) will always be in our memories.

Mas comida...

Dali

Dali was a genuine Catalan artist, born and raised.  But his allegiances to Franco and his extreme narcissism are kind of a turn-off.  Additionally, the Dali museum in Figueres was a let down.  Packed and poorly layed out.  More show than substance.

More interesting was the Toy Museum down the street from Dali.  There, we learned about the Catalan obsession with scatology.  They even include an ornament in the nativity scene!

Before the museum, we had lunch at a Moroccan cafe.  The dudes who ran it spoke Arabic, but our dialects were so different that we just spoke Castellano instead.  Interesting, no?

Montserrat

Everyone told us to go visit Montserrat for this reason or that reason.  It's only about 40 minutes from Barcelona.  The best part about Montserrat is the approach.  There is nothing like it.  It is a mass of rock alone in the woods with the most unique jagged facade.  The hill climb was challenging for the Opel, but we persevered.  On the mountain is a very old monastery built to preserve and protect the Black Virgin found there centuries ago.  Legend has it the the statue was hidden in the mountain to safeguard it from the Moorish invaders.

The line to see the statue was too long.  So we just took pictures from really far away in the church.

A funicular took us to the very top where there were hiking trails and serious views.

Monjuic

Montjuic is a hill in southwest Barcelona.  It boasts incredible views of the sea and city.  But more than the vistas, it boasts some incredible history.  This was the site of innumerable executions, murders, and other tragedies.  Along the southern face of the hill is an enormous cemetery with the most grandiose tombstones I have seen. In 1992 it was the stage for the Barcelona summer games.  There is so much to see in Monjuic.  We have visited two or three times and seen a third of it. 

This past weekend, we scored a sweet parking spot right across from the Miro Museo and the entrance to the teleferic.

The Miro museum was amazing, without huge crowds, but with a very accessible collection.  On the 3rd floor was the most perfect library.  Roman and I spent about a half hour together there reading in silence.

Our wonderful neighbors in Houston, Bill and Larry, made us promise to visit the dancing fountains at night, so we will return to Montjuic again this week to keep our promise.

Lo siento

Sorry for not blogging in a while...

The Dishes

JonCarlo likes to do the dishes.

Independence Day

We celebrated the 4th of July with the Burkes.  Paul grilled burgers and I baked fries.  About the meat here, it's almost all local raised and grass-fed.  The red meat is actually red, even after it's cooked.  We dined on the terrace overlooking Vilanova and the nearby hills.

The Catalans know a lot about independence.  They were once a powerful and wealthy nation of their own with their own identity and language.  Unfortunately for them, they were bocadillod between Spain and France.  The have been suppressed and marginalized for decades.  Speaking or teaching Catalan language was even illegal for many years.

As an aside, Finn had these old school Irish Legos that were passed to him from Jenn.  The Native American ones were honestly some of the most down-right offensive representations of that culture I have ever seen.  More representative of the Village People than of the Cherokee nation.

Festa Major de San Pere de Ribes

Every town has a festa major, the town party that honors their patron saint or something like that.  San Pere de Ribes is the town 2 minutes from our house and had the typical festa.  In Catalunya, els gegants (the giants) are ever present.  We've been here long enough now where we actually recognized people there we knew!

Museu de Mamuth

We accidently ran into the place on the way back from Parc de Ciutadella.  It was very small and the sign outside said that visitors could touch and handle the exhibits.

Well, on the way out, I reread the sign! DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF THE EXHIBITS! Oh well...

The only thing the kids didn't touch was the pristine baby mammoth because it was behind glass.

Graffiti

The best graffiti I have ever seen anywhere...is in Barcelona.

French Catalonia and the Pyrenees

What the hell, we rented a car and drove to France.  Catalunya extends into France on the opposite side of the Pyrenees.  Although they identify themselves as Catalan (the flag of Catalan independence is flown everywhere), I don't think many speak the language.  The French were much more successful at suppressing their independent states than were the Spaniards!

The car had 5 speeds.  My favorite was neutral. So, mi mujer did the driving.

The Pyrenees are only 2 hours by car.  We passed by Girona and Figueres on the way.

We booked this bed and breakfast the night before by chance.  AWESOME!

Giant park next door, pool, trampoline, tractor, etc...  The town was Prades.

It is weird to drive so few km and end up in place where no one speaks english or castillian.

Lugares que visitamos:
 - Animal nature park (400m up, 5km long hikable zoo)
 - Villefranche-de-Conflent, a town inside and medeivel walled fort

Extra credit for anyone who can identify the biker dude in the picture in front of the store

 - Otros lugares