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| Sagrada Familia, Boqueria Market and the Quest to find the location of our proposal |
Boqueria Market
Every choice in life involves trade-offs. When you stay in a well situated apartment in the center of town across from a historic church with bell towers you enjoy proximity, prime people watching and the constant awareness of the time. However it also requires you to endure the sounds of late night drunken conversation, garbage collections and the regular intervals of bell ringing that make sleeping in challenging but necessary. Needless to say, our second full day in Barcelona got off to a late start.
We hit the ground running with a trip to the Boqueria Market on Las Ramblas. This large market is the most famous in Barcelona. It has both small eateries with prepared bites as well as fresh produce, meat and seafood. We went with the intention to buy ingredients to prepare a meal while in Barcelona but ultimately the decided the kitchen in our studio apartment was too small to prepare a decent meal and that there was not adequate time for one with our current schedule of reservations. Alas, another time.
Every choice in life involves trade-offs. When you stay in a well situated apartment in the center of town across from a historic church with bell towers you enjoy proximity, prime people watching and the constant awareness of the time. However it also requires you to endure the sounds of late night drunken conversation, garbage collections and the regular intervals of bell ringing that make sleeping in challenging but necessary. Needless to say, our second full day in Barcelona got off to a late start.
We hit the ground running with a trip to the Boqueria Market on Las Ramblas. This large market is the most famous in Barcelona. It has both small eateries with prepared bites as well as fresh produce, meat and seafood. We went with the intention to buy ingredients to prepare a meal while in Barcelona but ultimately the decided the kitchen in our studio apartment was too small to prepare a decent meal and that there was not adequate time for one with our current schedule of reservations. Alas, another time.
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| Collection of photos from the Boqueria Market in Barcelona. Not sure why I am making that face in the bottom right. I blame Sean always trying to capture awkward moments. But the octopus in the bottom right photo is incredible! |
The market is roughly organized by food product with all the fruit and
vegetable stands together, the meat together, the spices and dried goods
together, etc. Jostling shoulder to shoulder like the crowded Pike's Place
Market in Seattle we explored the offerings and partook in a street-food
brunch. We started out with fruit cups from a stand. Fresh cut pineapple,
watermelon, kiwi, papaya, coconut, strawberry and melon. A much needed source
of fiber economically priced at 1 Euro each. Next we split an empanada from a
Latin American dumpling stand filled with diced ham (~ 3 Euro). Finally we
ended our journey by sharing a cup of boiled octopus from a seafood stand (~5
Euro). Grand total of 10 Euro for two people! The octopus by far was the star
of the show. We made a few laps of the market before making our purchases and
each time I found myself eyeing the octopus. During our last trip to Los
Angeles in December we went to the Grand Central market and had some incredible
boiled octopus ceviche. Octopus is notoriously difficult to cook. It requires
slow preparation to break down the meat and runs the risk of having an
unpleasant rubbery texture if under-cooked and a soggy texture if over-cooked.
When well prepared Octopus is one of my favorite undersea proteins. The
Boqueria market did not disappoint. The Octopus was perfectly cooked and
tender. Lightly dressed in a lemon herb vinaigrette. It was chilled and
refreshing.
We also picked up a kilo of fresh cherries for 2.89 (~ $1.50 per pound) to enjoy later. Once again we are reminded about how inexpensive locally grown produce and food is in Spain.
Sagrada Familia
We also picked up a kilo of fresh cherries for 2.89 (~ $1.50 per pound) to enjoy later. Once again we are reminded about how inexpensive locally grown produce and food is in Spain.
Sagrada Familia
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| Collage of the Sagrada Familia. June 2018 |
I struggle to write about the Sagrada Familia; not only because there are no words that can do it justice but because the mere attempt to verbalize the experience feels hollow. No poet could adequately describe it. No photograph can hope to capture its essence. Not even video can recreate the magic of walking into a church truly unlike any other.
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| Three Photospheres taken at the Sagrada Familia. One exterior (the Paradise facade) and two inside. |
Our trip last year to Italy was a tour of food and God. We visited more
churches in three weeks than I had visited over the course of my whole life
prior. I had meticulously packed clothing with sleeves. I had mapped out the
locations of some of my favorite pieces of art. So often in Italy, I was drawn
to a church not for the space but for the art it contained. It was like a
special type of museum. The Sagrada Familia does not feel like any of those at
all.
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| Sagrada Familia: Sculptures from the Passion of the Christ Facade. June 2018 |
The overarching vision is credited to one man but the execution has
evolved over the 130+ years it has been under construction. It still will not
be completed for another decade or two (the tentative completion date is 2026,
on the 100 year Anniversary of Gaudi’s death but likely finishing touches will
take another decade or so). This is a church on the scale and grandeur to rival
any in Italy but it has all been constructed in recent memory. Its history
shaped by the Spanish Civil War, two world wars and advancements in engineering
and technology. The artists and craftsman working on it are still alive and
producing. The technology used to produce it has evolved, where Gaudi would
sketch and then build models aspects in plaster, today they design with
computers and 3D print their models.
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| Sagrada Familia: Current construction and active workshop June 2018 |
I still intimately remember seeing the Sagrada Familia during our last trip to
Barcelona in 2011. We woke up early to get tickets for the day and were some of
the first people inside that morning. It was a weekday in September, overcast
and we had much of the grounds to ourselves. When I first walked into main
chamber, I started to cry. Thinking back on that moment now, I find myself
fighting tears. It was the most beautiful creation I had ever seen.
Visiting this time was very different. Security had been increased. It was difficult to purchase tickets on the day of entry and it was substantially more crowded. The location of the entrance had changed from when we last visited as one façade had been completed and construction is now occurring on what will become the main door. Parts that were being worked on in 2011 had since been completed and other areas were closed. The ubiquity of smart phones and proliferation of selfies had transformed the space into a massive photo booth. And yet, it is still one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
Visiting this time was very different. Security had been increased. It was difficult to purchase tickets on the day of entry and it was substantially more crowded. The location of the entrance had changed from when we last visited as one façade had been completed and construction is now occurring on what will become the main door. Parts that were being worked on in 2011 had since been completed and other areas were closed. The ubiquity of smart phones and proliferation of selfies had transformed the space into a massive photo booth. And yet, it is still one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
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| Sagrada Familia: Collage of Interior Shots. June 2018 |
The cavernous interior is lined with columns (none straight) each gently
curving in parabolas and hyperbolic arches that branch upward like trees in a
canopy. Each column is unique in terms of type of stone, shape, adornment and
branching.
The space is bathed in light, the walls covered in stained glass windows with deep saturated colors towards the ground that get ever fainter as they approach the heavens. Unlike most stained glass which attempts to use the colored panes to depict an image, these windows only serve to exhibit form and function. There are no saints personified or stories told. There is only a simplistic beauty that radiates out from the walls.
The space is bathed in light, the walls covered in stained glass windows with deep saturated colors towards the ground that get ever fainter as they approach the heavens. Unlike most stained glass which attempts to use the colored panes to depict an image, these windows only serve to exhibit form and function. There are no saints personified or stories told. There is only a simplistic beauty that radiates out from the walls.
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| Sagrada Familia: Collage of Interior Shots. June 2018 |
Spiral staircases curl along the four interior towers each imbued in a single
color like the four stones in the Fifth Element. Just standing within the
massive color-filled space feels like being inside of a kaleidoscope. As the
sun moves through the sky, the interior transforms and the space feels
completely different after even an hour.
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| Sagrada Familia: Collage of Interior Shots including Spiral Staircase Top Right. |
In 2011, our visit lasted much of a day as our ticket included the main
cathedral, the towers, cloisters and crypt. This trip we opted just for the
main cathedral and museum which meant we finished our early afternoon visit
right around tapas o clock. In Spain, breakfast is an espresso and pastry.
Lunch is served only between 1:30-3pm
and is the primary meal of the day. Tapas which are small bites and snacks
typically enjoyed with drinks (much like happy hour) is between 5-6:30pm.
Dinner, typically which is usually a light affair is served between 8:30-10pm. Eating
outside of these windows generally results in having street food/snacks or
diner cuisine.
From the Sagrada Familia we walked a few blocks to El Petit Porquet, a small brightly lit café that specializes in charcuterie. We shared a board with a variety of freshly sliced cured meats including Jamon Iberico. This tender flavorful ham comes from wild pigs whose entire diet consists of acorns), chorizo, salami, and cured pork tenderloin. We enjoyed these mouthwatering meats with traditional Catalan bread which is slightly toasted bread smeared with tomato, olive oil and salt. And of course there was vermouth.
From the Sagrada Familia we walked a few blocks to El Petit Porquet, a small brightly lit café that specializes in charcuterie. We shared a board with a variety of freshly sliced cured meats including Jamon Iberico. This tender flavorful ham comes from wild pigs whose entire diet consists of acorns), chorizo, salami, and cured pork tenderloin. We enjoyed these mouthwatering meats with traditional Catalan bread which is slightly toasted bread smeared with tomato, olive oil and salt. And of course there was vermouth.
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| Collage of Images from El Petit Porquet |
The
Quest
With 9pm dinner reservations at Restaurant Montiel, the first tasting menu Sean and I enjoyed together the night we got engaged we had several hours to hunt for the location of our impromptu betrothal. We tore Barcelona city map out of the Lonely Planet Spain book and set about defining the scope of our search. In 2011 we stayed at the NH hotel, we marked it on the map. That afternoon we had gone to the Picasso museum (marked) went back to the hotel before we set out to get drinks before dinner at Montiel (marked). We were able to narrow the search to the El Born neighborhood, a rectangular area about 1000 m by 600 m. Our goal was to find a small corner store with outdoor seating (our collective memory suggested it had a wooden deck which was quite unusual in Spain). This small corner shop was located in a small square a few streets off from a much larger square with many restaurants. I had a very good memory for the path we took from the big square to the small one. So if we could find the big square, we could find the place we got engaged.
Map in hand, we set out among the winding streets of Barcelona. There was an excitement, an electricity in the air. Whether we found it or not, the act of looking was exciting. On our way from the Gothic Quarter to the El Born neighborhood we stopped briefly at an unusual shop that sold only rubber duckies. I took this as a sign.
When Sean and I first moved in together, my little sister came to visit us and hid dozens (at least 50) tiny rubber duckies all over our apartment. Even years later we would open a random cabinet and find one. When we moved, I meticulously gathered them all and they now live collectively in a vase in our game room. In honor of this whimsical tradition of rubber duckies, our wedding cake was adorned with a large bride and groom rubber ducky. Now as we prepared to search for the place where we got engaged, there was a rubber ducky store. I turned to Sean and said “I think we’re going to find the spot.” I also went inside and bought a rubber ducky decorated like a Gaudi lizard in honor of Barcelona, it only seemed right.
Rubber ducky in hand, we continued across the city until we reached the Northern boundary we had drawn on the map. We cross off street by street marking tiny Xs on our paper map as we used our phone GPS to track our location. When we came upon the modernist Catalan concert hall Petit Palau, an unusual red and green building surrounded by modern art we were certain we had not traveled this far North in 2011. We made note of the building as something worth checking out in the future and then redrew the boundaries shrinking the area by a few hundred meters. We set off again, determined and meticulous. Systematically going through the area like an underwater rover mapping an uncharted sea bed (or searching unsuccessfully for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight). The area looked a lot different than we remembered it. While this area has always been a notably eclectic and a cultural hub, there had been significant gentrification over the last 7 years. It was a lot more polished and some streets had succumb to a more hipster aesthetic compared to its former unconventional flare. Maybe it was naïve to think we could find it given how much things in our own city had changed in 7 years. If the business that was there had been transformed into something else, would we recognize it? We weren’t sure.
We came upon one of the handful of squares depicted on the paper map. It was modest smaller than our collective memory of the “big square” but similar enough that we marked the map with a question mark. If this was the “big square” then the small square would be nearby. We walked down each of the side streets that lead out from the bigger square but none of this looked familiar to me. There was a smaller square but it looked nothing like my memory. That couldn’t have been the big square.
By now we had been walking over an hour. We were no longer confident we could recognize the big square much less the smaller one that contained our spot. Our memories of that evening different in terms of which details we remembered. I had a very clear memory of our path from the big square to the little square. I had a clear memory of what the big square looked like. But the small square and even the shop itself was hazy. We both agreed there was a wooden deck (which was unique) but we hadn’t seen a single wooden deck this trip. Sean was very certain our spot was in a smaller square but I didn’t remember it being a square at all.
Looking across from our question-mark big square, I saw another street in the distance, larger with motorcycles driving through. I had a memory of motorcycle parking and the street along the square having traffic. Maybe it was over there. When we crossed the street we entered into a square. This was the big square! It had to be. It was on the correct side of the busier street, it had motorcycle parking, and it was the right size. I could feel my heart beat quicken as I turned around to orient myself and confidently declare that we needed to walk down two blocks and turn left. Sean’s memory of the directions were not that good but my mental map was clear. 7 years ago, hot, and thirty it felt like we were on a quest. I remember walking around and searching in futility for a place to get a drink and sit down that wouldn’t expect you to order a meal. With it being dinner time and a busy Saturday night, it was difficult to find a place that met those specifications. We walked down the two blocks and there was a yellow arrow on the side of the building pointing left. “See Sean, it knows where we are supposed to go.”
We walked down to the left half a block and the buildings parted into a small square. Sean was right. It was in a square. Kids played soccer in the dirt square. Two old men sat on a bench talking. We looked around and declared this was it. On the corner was an ice cream shop whose interior was pristine and suggested it had been recently renovated. There were tables in the courtyard but no wooden deck. Still, this had to be it. The business next door, a corner shop was closed. But we were at least 90% certain this was it. We dropped a pin on google map to mark the location. We took a selfie on the corner much to confusion of the locals. Another yellow arrow marked overhead.
We were a few doors down from Montiel. Neither of us remembered it being that close but when we walked around we decided that after we got engaged we walked around and came to the restaurant from the other side which would make it feel a few blocks away enough though it was on the same block.
A lot has changed in seven years. I asked Sean if he had planned to propose while on the Barcelona trip in 2011 and he said he didn’t have a plan. He knew he wanted to get married soon and making it official just happened. Because there was no formal proposal or ring, I had always downplayed that moment in our relationship. Only through the experience of being happily married, learning and growing from/with your partner have I come to look fondly on the start of that chapter. Like so many stories in history, the mythology developed long after the act itself. It felt good finding the location. The mutual desire to go look for it, a testament of how much we love each other and how much that moment, one of many had come to shape us. We found the location using the same set of skills we had in deciding to get married: excitement, compromise, communication, teamwork and a lot of luck.
With 9pm dinner reservations at Restaurant Montiel, the first tasting menu Sean and I enjoyed together the night we got engaged we had several hours to hunt for the location of our impromptu betrothal. We tore Barcelona city map out of the Lonely Planet Spain book and set about defining the scope of our search. In 2011 we stayed at the NH hotel, we marked it on the map. That afternoon we had gone to the Picasso museum (marked) went back to the hotel before we set out to get drinks before dinner at Montiel (marked). We were able to narrow the search to the El Born neighborhood, a rectangular area about 1000 m by 600 m. Our goal was to find a small corner store with outdoor seating (our collective memory suggested it had a wooden deck which was quite unusual in Spain). This small corner shop was located in a small square a few streets off from a much larger square with many restaurants. I had a very good memory for the path we took from the big square to the small one. So if we could find the big square, we could find the place we got engaged.
Map in hand, we set out among the winding streets of Barcelona. There was an excitement, an electricity in the air. Whether we found it or not, the act of looking was exciting. On our way from the Gothic Quarter to the El Born neighborhood we stopped briefly at an unusual shop that sold only rubber duckies. I took this as a sign.
When Sean and I first moved in together, my little sister came to visit us and hid dozens (at least 50) tiny rubber duckies all over our apartment. Even years later we would open a random cabinet and find one. When we moved, I meticulously gathered them all and they now live collectively in a vase in our game room. In honor of this whimsical tradition of rubber duckies, our wedding cake was adorned with a large bride and groom rubber ducky. Now as we prepared to search for the place where we got engaged, there was a rubber ducky store. I turned to Sean and said “I think we’re going to find the spot.” I also went inside and bought a rubber ducky decorated like a Gaudi lizard in honor of Barcelona, it only seemed right.
Rubber ducky in hand, we continued across the city until we reached the Northern boundary we had drawn on the map. We cross off street by street marking tiny Xs on our paper map as we used our phone GPS to track our location. When we came upon the modernist Catalan concert hall Petit Palau, an unusual red and green building surrounded by modern art we were certain we had not traveled this far North in 2011. We made note of the building as something worth checking out in the future and then redrew the boundaries shrinking the area by a few hundred meters. We set off again, determined and meticulous. Systematically going through the area like an underwater rover mapping an uncharted sea bed (or searching unsuccessfully for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight). The area looked a lot different than we remembered it. While this area has always been a notably eclectic and a cultural hub, there had been significant gentrification over the last 7 years. It was a lot more polished and some streets had succumb to a more hipster aesthetic compared to its former unconventional flare. Maybe it was naïve to think we could find it given how much things in our own city had changed in 7 years. If the business that was there had been transformed into something else, would we recognize it? We weren’t sure.
We came upon one of the handful of squares depicted on the paper map. It was modest smaller than our collective memory of the “big square” but similar enough that we marked the map with a question mark. If this was the “big square” then the small square would be nearby. We walked down each of the side streets that lead out from the bigger square but none of this looked familiar to me. There was a smaller square but it looked nothing like my memory. That couldn’t have been the big square.
By now we had been walking over an hour. We were no longer confident we could recognize the big square much less the smaller one that contained our spot. Our memories of that evening different in terms of which details we remembered. I had a very clear memory of our path from the big square to the little square. I had a clear memory of what the big square looked like. But the small square and even the shop itself was hazy. We both agreed there was a wooden deck (which was unique) but we hadn’t seen a single wooden deck this trip. Sean was very certain our spot was in a smaller square but I didn’t remember it being a square at all.
Looking across from our question-mark big square, I saw another street in the distance, larger with motorcycles driving through. I had a memory of motorcycle parking and the street along the square having traffic. Maybe it was over there. When we crossed the street we entered into a square. This was the big square! It had to be. It was on the correct side of the busier street, it had motorcycle parking, and it was the right size. I could feel my heart beat quicken as I turned around to orient myself and confidently declare that we needed to walk down two blocks and turn left. Sean’s memory of the directions were not that good but my mental map was clear. 7 years ago, hot, and thirty it felt like we were on a quest. I remember walking around and searching in futility for a place to get a drink and sit down that wouldn’t expect you to order a meal. With it being dinner time and a busy Saturday night, it was difficult to find a place that met those specifications. We walked down the two blocks and there was a yellow arrow on the side of the building pointing left. “See Sean, it knows where we are supposed to go.”
We walked down to the left half a block and the buildings parted into a small square. Sean was right. It was in a square. Kids played soccer in the dirt square. Two old men sat on a bench talking. We looked around and declared this was it. On the corner was an ice cream shop whose interior was pristine and suggested it had been recently renovated. There were tables in the courtyard but no wooden deck. Still, this had to be it. The business next door, a corner shop was closed. But we were at least 90% certain this was it. We dropped a pin on google map to mark the location. We took a selfie on the corner much to confusion of the locals. Another yellow arrow marked overhead.
We were a few doors down from Montiel. Neither of us remembered it being that close but when we walked around we decided that after we got engaged we walked around and came to the restaurant from the other side which would make it feel a few blocks away enough though it was on the same block.
A lot has changed in seven years. I asked Sean if he had planned to propose while on the Barcelona trip in 2011 and he said he didn’t have a plan. He knew he wanted to get married soon and making it official just happened. Because there was no formal proposal or ring, I had always downplayed that moment in our relationship. Only through the experience of being happily married, learning and growing from/with your partner have I come to look fondly on the start of that chapter. Like so many stories in history, the mythology developed long after the act itself. It felt good finding the location. The mutual desire to go look for it, a testament of how much we love each other and how much that moment, one of many had come to shape us. We found the location using the same set of skills we had in deciding to get married: excitement, compromise, communication, teamwork and a lot of luck.
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| Select images from our Quest! Bottom Left: Map of our search of the El Born Area (as much as Google could easily track via my phone). Top Middle: The Rubber Ducky Top Right: Our Wedding Cake 11/11/11. Bottom Right: The spot. |
Up Next Our Meal at Montiel (Recent Recipient of a Michelin Plate!)
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