Whew, I am dragging today. I am definitely not used to late nights such as Saturday's trip to Valencia. In class today, we talked about the trip to Valencia and I mentioned that the paella I ate with my companions (the giant paella pan for five) contained at least one rabbit leg and that we did not care for it much. My teacher, Diego, then proceeded to tell us that he has a pet dwarf rabbit. He said that it chews everything in his house, books, paper, cords, and even nibbles on him. Then he asked us if we knew what a correa is. It turns out it is a leash and he has one for his rabbit. He described walking the rabbit on the beach and having to pick it up to protect it from dogs. It was hilarious. I really enjoy Diego's stories.
It was a bright sunny day today in Barcelona, even though my weather app predicted rain. However, the wind blew very strong all day, so it did not feel as nice as it might have. My original plan for the afternoon was to locate a couple of the libraries that I will be visiting. However, the school tour for the day was of La Raval, a part of Barcelona that I have not wandered through yet so I did that instead.
La Raval is a relatively newer part of Barcelona and historically famous for nightlife, prostitution, and crime. The area is home to a diverse immigrant population and has been one of the poorer areas of Barcelona but it has undergone urban renewal in recent years. There has been a big effort to clean up the area by locating many social services there, building parks, new buildings and open areas. The Contemporary Art Museum is located there and the Palau Guell, one of Gaudi's earliest works is also there. We saw the Gothic Antic Hospital which currently houses the Catalan National.
In this area is a giant cat sculpture by Columbian sculptor Fernando Botero. Our guide told us that the cat is a symbol or mascot for the Raval and later we passed by a fenced in area that was a home for cats--a yard full of cat houses, cat beds, cat tools, and of, course, cats. He said the cats there could be adopted. We saw many examples of renewal such as plazas and wide streets. We also visited the Boqueria, the big market which has its main entrance off the Rambla. We entered from the back from the Raval. The market is full of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, chocolate, all sorts of fresh food. Most of us bought a glass of fresh squeezed juice for one euro (Mine was strawberry and orange juice--muy buena!).
By this time, it was after 6 pm and I planned to hike home, so I left the others to the metro and headed up toward my street. On the way I stopped at a Tabacs shop which in addition to all the other things it sells (yes, tobacco too), it also sells stamps. I had two postcards ready to send to my granddaughters; postcards of the Fallas of Valencia. For a mere 1.9 Euros, I can send 2 postcards to the United States. The mailbox was around the corner from the Tabacs, so I mailed them immediately. At least it is not like most vacations where I might be home before the postcards arrive. These will arrive long before I do!
I have fortified myself with a little wine and some salad and now I am ready to do my homework. Tough life, right?
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