Spain

Early rise, breakfast and coffee in our room before heading out by bus (a new experience) to the modernist side of town to see the buildings of famous turn of the century architect and inventor Antonio Gaudi. Casa Battllo, our first stop, is a family house turned into a museum. We wait in line and pay 18 Euros each to get in. Seems expensive, but what a worthwhile introduction to an amazing man, his intellect and his works of form, function and fantasy.

We followed that up with lunch at Cacao Sampaka, the XO cognac of chocolate shops. The nearby La Pedrera is an apartment building renovated by Gaudi in 1905 which provided our afternoon entertainment. Then an early supper as our final stop before returning back to the Hotel by Metro subway. We had to rest for our big evening of Opera.

There is a dark side to Barcelona, and you can find it in the metros and all places where naive tourists with big fat wallets convene. The Metro is an underground place of hustle, bustle, and people of all shapes, sizes and economic status all coming and going in and out of fast trains. Some of those people are opportunists.

Elenore and I learned our lesson a few years ago in Athens. I naively exposed my wealth, and the location of my wallet while buying train tickets. I was pick-pocketed and lost all my money, Id, visa and bank cards. Fortunately at the time, Elenore had my passport. It was a violation that resulted in a painful loss of innocence, the scars of which resulted in travel wisdom. Expensive lessons are the most remembered lessons.

Well, it was our friend Stefan’s turn to be educated. As we entered the subway train, a commotion occurred, a young well dressed man dropped his cell phone, people bumped into each other as the doors of the train beeped loudly while trying to close. Then all of a sudden the commotion was over, two or three people in the doorway were gone, the door was closed. Our first clue that something was wrong was Annette’s untypical shout, “Damn!” The train was moving and Stefan’s wallet was gone.

The post crime activities and costs are extremely inconvenient and rarely documented. They involve phone calls through foreign operators to cancel credit and bank cards, arrangements for replacements, the expense of replacing hotel keys, and a lock smith to open and replace safety deposit box keys, transportation to and from the police station to fill out reports, time waiting for translators. If travel documents are involved it becomes even more expensive and complicated.

Elenore and I went to the opera alone; Annette and Stefan hoped to join us for the second act. The two of us got back on the horse and took the Metro downtown. Thousands of people mingled on La Rambla, our path to the Liceu, one of the world’s top opera houses. What a beautiful theatre! What a beautiful performance of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, enhanced by English subtitles displayed on a small monitor at each seat. Wonderful to understand what’s going on in this four hour production (5 hours including intermission). My one disappointment was that the tenor Richard Margison was replaced at the last minute. He is an acquaintance from my days at Manitoba Opera and the main reason we chose this opportunity. It was still a great cultural experience and I am glad we were motivated to go.

Our friends showed up for the second act in good spirits. They were chuckling about the police officer who’d exclaimed that if only they’d told him sooner, he would have gotten them there in time for the first act. The opera is that important! I give our friends a lot of credit for moving on past their hardship.

The next few days in Barcelona were wonderful with more exploration, good food, street music and great sights. For art lovers, the Picasso museum is a must. Another Gaudi fantasy is the Sagrada Familia, a church that is still being built after over one hundred years.

We left Barcelona the way we came, by Renfe (train) using our last two bus tickets.
Barcelona is a city of contrasts the old and new, the rich and poor, the Gothic churches and fantastical Modernist architecture, Renaissance art and of course Picasso’s cubist view of the world. It is a place close to our hearts. We will return.