Crowdsourcing.<\/p>\n
Felice now prompts me to write about our adventures, delighting in the feedback of my readers, who e-mail me the straight dope.<\/p>\n
Having written about Barcelona, my inbox was instantly filled with recommendations, more than I could explore in weeks.\u00c2\u00a0 But the one that intrigued me most said:<\/p>\n
\n"And make sure you and Felice get to the ESPADRILLE STORE… It’s closed for lunch and siesta (that 104 degree heat !! )… But the espadrilles are gorgeous-men’s and women’s… Some made by the store owners, some not.<\/p>\nPrices excellent.\u00c2\u00a0 Whatever you may think of Pablo Picasso, if those espadrilles were good enough for him…<\/p>\n
Your hotel will know all the above places."<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
I’m fascinated by Picasso.\u00c2\u00a0 Not for his mistreatment of women, but his constant reinvention.\u00c2\u00a0 Imagine if Madonna had musical talent.\u00c2\u00a0 A better example might be the Beatles.\u00c2\u00a0 In any event, Picasso created a trend, milked it, and then created a new one, again and again.\u00c2\u00a0 (Give Madonna credit, she saw trends and blew them up again and again, if we stop calling her a musician and refer to her as a businesswoman or a performance artist, I’m willing to give her an A+.) Sure, there are some who mine the same territory over and over and somehow continue to maintain our interest, like AC\/DC, but usually today’s artists are victims of the trend they ride to success, it passes and so do they, they’re suddenly nostalgia.\u00c2\u00a0 How about that guy from New Zealand who sang "How Bizarre"?\u00c2\u00a0 Or Jimmy Ray, who asked if we knew him in the eponymous "Are You Jimmy Ray?"\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, one can’t say either of these performers truly invented a trend, never mind getting stalled there.\u00c2\u00a0 Unlike Georges Braque, who was right there with Picasso with cubism and then…could never move on.<\/p>\n
Speaking of artists, we started the day off at the Miro museum.\u00c2\u00a0 And then took a taxi to the Palau de Mar for lunch.<\/p>\n
And it was after dining that we ventured into the Old City to find La Manual Alpargatera, which, as Amy Krakow’s e-mail stated, the concierge of our hotel was fully familiar with.<\/p>\n
You see the walls of the Old City that still remain and you’re intrigued and feel insignificant.\u00c2\u00a0 Then you see the franchises on the tiny streets and you want to puke.\u00c2\u00a0 Everything from Starbucks to McDonald’s to H&M.\u00c2\u00a0 But following the twists and turns, we eventually ended up at La Manual Alpargatera.<\/p>\n
Which had more styles of espadrilles than Bubba Gump had shrimp.\u00c2\u00a0 Truly stunning and overwhelming.\u00c2\u00a0 Made me want to buy something, even though I’m a dedicated Nike guy.<\/p>\n
I zeroed in on a couple of styles, but couldn’t pull the trigger.\u00c2\u00a0 Was I actually going to wear them?\u00c2\u00a0 I remembered the photo of Picasso shod in his in the book on my mother’s coffee table, but I didn’t think I could fill the shoes.\u00c2\u00a0 But Felice bought a pair.\u00c2\u00a0 So cheap.\u00c2\u00a0 And the experience was so authentic.\u00c2\u00a0 The walls were covered in espadrilles, some in boxes, some just in plastic bags.\u00c2\u00a0 You got the feeling this store had predated the chains and would survive them.\u00c2\u00a0 Because, like AC\/DC, they found a formula that worked and they stuck with it.<\/p>\n
And from there we ventured to La Rambla, Barcelona’s most famous street, a tree-lined Venice Boardwalk.\u00c2\u00a0 And halfway up, we sidled into the Mercat de la Boqueria. <\/p>\n
\nBoqueria Market<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\nWant to get real insight into a culture?<\/p>\n
Go to their market.<\/p>\n
Fresh fruit galore.\u00c2\u00a0 You desire something to soothe your throat and relieve you from the heat.<\/p>\n
But it was the ham legs and fish that truly got to me.<\/p>\n
You buy the whole leg.\u00c2\u00a0 Prices vary, there’s obviously a quality issue, I saw one for over a thousand pounds in Harrods. And I’m not exactly sure what you do with one.\u00c2\u00a0 Have a party and eat the whole thing, or just slice off a morsel every night before dinner, to accompany your cocktail?\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\nIberian ham legs<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\nAnd the octopus could frighten small children, all bulbous and white.\u00c2\u00a0 Many varieties of fish were for sale.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d like to say my taste buds were titillated, but it made me never want to eat again.\u00c2\u00a0 Like that line about sausage, you don’t want to see where it comes from.<\/p>\n
And from there up to the Palau de la Musica Catalana, another Modernista edifice that is frivolous to the point of exhilaration.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d love to go to a show there: <\/p>\n
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