Friday, February 27

Mark left the ship first, off to England for a couple of days. Thankfully, my attendance is not required at his pub reunions with old friends, so I'm spending 2 nights in Barcelona. I had a smooth departure from the ship, and my hotel let me check in right away, even though it was only 10:00 a.m. So I spent a good hour or so just lying on the bed, mentally shifting gears. I pored over my maps and made a plan for the day.

My hotel is near the upper end of Las Ramblas, so I started my day by walking down this famous boulevard. I soon encountered the bird market, where street stalls operated by numerous vendors sell parakeets and other birds – plus rabbits, turtles, hamsters, fish, etc.

Tourists like me were snapping pictures like we were at a zoo. But it’s an open-air pet store where locals come to buy their pets. I saw one vendor put a canary into a little cardboard box, which she then placed in a plastic bag and handed to a father and daughter. I couldn't help but imagine that panicked little bird riding home on the subway with them....

I have no idea how long these critters live in these cages. And even though the vendors seemed rather unsentimental about the animals in their care, I didn’t see any abuse. Still, I started to get uncomfortable about the whole thing and had to move on. It was making me very homesick for my own pets anyway.

The next group of vendors on Las Ramblas specializes in flowers, which was pretty and uplifting. But woven in between all these stalls are street performers in very elaborate costumes. They do the standing-perfectly-still thing, but will interact with you if you approach. You can also pose for photos with them if you throw a Euro or two into the hat. I found them most entertaining, however, when they broke character and took a smoke break – still in their costumes, of course.

And so I arrived at La Boqueria, the enormous Barcelona food market – covered, but open air – that is just steps off Las Ramblas. I embarrass Mark on every vacation when I take pictures of butchers’ windows. I’m a carnivore, and I have the usual mix of denial and hypocrisy about where my protein comes from. That is: I couldn’t do the slaughtering, but I’m happy to do the eating. And I’m kind of fascinated that meat is displayed more, um, bluntly in Europe than it is at home. Wait, wasn't I just feeling sorry for animals about 5 minutes ago?

Anyway, La Boqueria isn’t just about meat. There are fruits (fresh, dried and candied), vegetables, nuts, mushrooms, spices, chocolates, eggs, and dozens of varieties of seafood – all piled high in hypnotic displays. The place is an ever-changing, noisy, smelly, colorful work of art. I loved it.



I stopped at a sidewalk café for a “bikini” sandwich (grilled cheese with ham), then walked over to the funicular and cable cars that take you to the castle on Montjuïc. Once a place where Francisco Franco threw independence-minded Catalonians in jail, the castle is now part of a huge city park. The Olympic stadium is nearby, as is a Miró museum. But I headed the other way, toward the cliff that overlooks the port. Through the haze I saw our ship, loading up a new set of passengers. Hope they have strong stomachs.
Walking a path that hugs the edge, I meandered down to another cable car. This one crosses over to the port, then continues to Barceloneta – a neighborhood I wanted to explore. But on this day the cars were only going half-way. I plunked down my 7 Euros anyway. By the time I had taken the ride and walked back to Las Ramblas, my dogs were barking.

I stopped at a grocery store (any excuse will do) to load up on supplies for a hotel-room picnic, and spent the evening in. Yes, I did decide to pay €13.95 to watch Step Brothers on TV. Yes, I did attempt to do German homework after consuming wine. Yes, I was asleep by 9:30. I’m sure many of you had a similar evening.