I woke at first light, said goodbye to G, and headed for the Dam, where I had a breakfast of apple pastry and chocolate at Delifrance. At the central station I got into a smoking carriage by mistake. Never mind, it's only a short trip.
It was a very informal flight. Instead of hearing a weather forecast over the tannoy, we were handed a clipboard with handwritten info and told to pass it down the plane. My neighbour was from Madrid but worked in Barcelona. I asked him about art and architecture. France was hidden under a sea of clouds, some rearing up like icebergs. We overshot the Catalan coast, which was backed by a wide plain with mountains in the hinterland, turned around and landed at El Prat. The Olympics had been staged the year before so the airport and train were new and shiny.
The train to Sants passed dilapidated neighbourhoods. I emerged from the station, dazzled by the street architecture, like nothing I had seen before. It was my first glimpse of Spain, although a graffito Català única lengua oficial showed that this wasn't exactly Spain. Catalans have been bringing back their language from years of suppression under Franco.
I enquired at 3 places in the Gracia neighbourhood, finally settling on the Pensión Norma. (This was in the days before the Internet so travelers relied on recommendations in guide books.) I got a clean room with bath. It was late afternoon before I set out to explore Barcelona. El Corte Ingles (a Spanish department store chain) was closed for Saturday afternoon, besides it was May Day. The Olympic mascot on the façade is Cobi, a Catalan sheepdog.
I noted that Catalan has a digraph l·l e.g. in Paral·lel and Col·legias which is distinct from the Spanish double ll.
I walked along trendy Carrer de Balmes and picked La Creperie Brétonne for a dinner of a crepe with huevo, jamon (egg, ham) & Béchamel. In those days I didn't know that Béchamel was a standard sauce and thought that it was a regional speciality.
Cinemas were showing the latest releases: Un Abril Encantado (same as the one on the plane), Regreso a Howard's End, El Juego Lágrimas. I'm sure you can work out the English titles.
Shop windows were full of beautiful goods; the chocolates and pâtés were very enticing.
Viajes Meliá, a chain of travel agencies I recognised from my Spanish lessons, was selling holidays in Cuba.
There was more traffic in the evening than in the afternoon. The city was really jumping. Restaurants were blaring rock muzak, had the TV tuned to football, and advertised piscos. Catalonians dress well going out. The women were elegant and I caught whiffs of their perfume as they passed Boys strolled with girls, boys with boys, girls with girls.
These restaurant tables were on the median strip. But the fast food restaurants were also doing brisk business. Besides the Maccas, the KFCs, the Pizza Huts, there was a local chain Pans & Companys, selling subs. (Companys is a Catalan name, so it's a bit of a pun.)
It was all sensory overload for me so I had an early night in anticipation of the next day.
The train to Sants passed dilapidated neighbourhoods. I emerged from the station, dazzled by the street architecture, like nothing I had seen before. It was my first glimpse of Spain, although a graffito Català única lengua oficial showed that this wasn't exactly Spain. Catalans have been bringing back their language from years of suppression under Franco.
I noted that Catalan has a digraph l·l e.g. in Paral·lel and Col·legias which is distinct from the Spanish double ll.
I walked along trendy Carrer de Balmes and picked La Creperie Brétonne for a dinner of a crepe with huevo, jamon (egg, ham) & Béchamel. In those days I didn't know that Béchamel was a standard sauce and thought that it was a regional speciality.
Shop windows were full of beautiful goods; the chocolates and pâtés were very enticing.
Viajes Meliá, a chain of travel agencies I recognised from my Spanish lessons, was selling holidays in Cuba.
These restaurant tables were on the median strip. But the fast food restaurants were also doing brisk business. Besides the Maccas, the KFCs, the Pizza Huts, there was a local chain Pans & Companys, selling subs. (Companys is a Catalan name, so it's a bit of a pun.)
It was all sensory overload for me so I had an early night in anticipation of the next day.
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