Thursday, November 12, 2015

Catalan.....Barcelona and Valencia

The next stops were Barcelona and Valencia, cities within the region known as Catalan, which recently voted for complete independence from Spain. It will be interesting to see how Spain, or at least the government, reacts. Thus far, they have declared the vote and results illegal and unconstitutional.

Barcelona


Barcelona has a huge market in the central district, enclosed in something of the size of a football stadium. It was fascinating and crowded, I could have stayed for hours. 





Just outside one of the entrances was a small shop named 'Churros and Chocolate', the title of the book for a Spanish class I once took. The chocolate was thick and rich, much denser than what we usually think of when we think hot chocolate. 


A bit later we had lunch at a out of the way cafe with outside tables, as most restaurants there have. The waitress was friendly and talkative, at least until I ordered. Turns out she's a vegetarian. 


I liked Barcelona, the people seemed friendly. And everywhere was the Catalan flag, I don't remember seeing the Spanish flag at all. 


A place I'd be happy to go back. 





Valencia



















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9 comments:

  1. Robbie GreyNovember 12, 2015 at 5:38 PM

    Ha! I too had Churros y Chocolate in school.

    My daughter went to Barcelona on her way to Italy to see members of her mother's family, and fell in love with the place. It was what got me to start cooking Spanish and gave me my love of tempranillo. A preservationist of my acquaintance calls Barcelona a magic city. It's on my list.

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    1. Should Fish MoreNovember 12, 2015 at 6:08 PM

      It's a great place pal, spend a month or more, long as you can. The cool thing about living over there is the shopping, every day. Bread, fish,meat, whatever. It's fresh, it's there everyday. Would I have it to do over again, Cary and I would have been here in 74', and called expats.

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  2. CatalystNovember 12, 2015 at 6:09 PM

    OMG! You are a swine, Michael. We ALL want to go to these magic places but you, only you, get to go. But thanks for the peek, anyway. I love the look of that table d'hote at that "out of the way cafe." Oh. Oh. Oh.

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    1. Should Fish MoreNovember 13, 2015 at 4:30 PM

      I've been exceedingly lucky, that's for sure. I'm sure you, and your friend Tom have been to places like this.

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  3. Geo.November 12, 2015 at 11:34 PM

    Delightful photos and descriptions, Mike! But remember, Spain has not considered elections legal in California for quite some time. Maybe Catalan has a shot?

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    1. Should Fish MoreNovember 13, 2015 at 4:31 PM

      It will be interesting to see, for sure. The Catalanese, if that's the word, certainly think they do.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 13, 2015 at 5:13 AM

    Enjoyed your visit. I was there many years ago.

    Steve

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  5. Secret Agent WomanNovember 22, 2015 at 1:10 PM

    I heard a piece on NPR the other day about Catalan's decision to separate out from Spain. Not that the rest of Spain agrees, of course.

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