Tuesday: a genius’ masterpiece and talk of Trump

Tuesday 

December 18

Day 8 on the road

The morning began like most mornings in Barcelona, with coffee Americano and ham and cheese Croissant. The café is directly across from the B&B where I am staying. It is listed as an organic restaurant. In any case the food is tasty and the service is lovely.

Catie and I met up at Gaudi’s masterpiece, Sangrata Familia, the amazing cathedral which has taken 100 years to almost finish. Emerging out of the subway and turning to it, I had been prepared with photos of it but it’s scale and detail was beyond comprehension. We picked up the audio guided tour and spent an hour walking through the Cathedral.

I took a few pictures but quickly stopped when I realized images would not be able to capture the grace nor the detail of this place.  

The Takeaway for me was this. I have seen products of a genius. A great painting, symphony or even a great building. What I have not seen is the combination of the visionary, creator, and architect. I mean I could almost understand one man being able to write on paper images of arches and windows and doors that had never been imagined before. But to do so with the engineering and technical skills so that the whole place actually stands up, that is light years from away from understanding.

Tonight was a special night.  I was invited over to the home of the family that Catie has been working for. What a rare and wonderful opportunity to actually spend an evening in the home of a Catalon family. The apartment was small by American standards. The mom is Polish and is teaching German while also taking classes to get her masters degree.   Daniel is a delightful young boy who reminds me a lot of Ricky at his age mainly because of his golden hair.

Over dinner of pizza that Catie made, we talked about immigration and how it’s “complicated” in Europe. Spain also needs workers to do jobs that Spaniards don’t want to do. But there is a strong cultural difference in the north Africans that are coming to Spain, I was told. Some of it having to do with attitudes towards women.   Some of it religion, language and skin color.   
We talked about Trump and they seem to graciously accept the fact that countries occasionally elect leaders like this.
Their own observation of European politics has given them examples. They didn’t hold it against the United States but rather treated it as something transitory that would pass. 

Renate speaks better Spanish than she does English so at times she would ask her husband what the English word for something she wanted to tell me was. Here was a native Polish speaker asking in Spanish what the correct word was in English. Meanwhile the little boy is learning for languages. Polish, English, Spanish, and Catalan - its own distinct language that, to my ear, sounds like a mix of French and Spanish.   

A citizen of the world.