Barcelona Part Two: Mi Familia!

The flight to Barcelona was short and smooth. Gillian and I passed through customs and got our passports stamped. No problems. In the main lobby of the airport we found a tourist information desk where we asked an employee for maps and directions to our hostel. Why did we expect our day to get any easier? I don't know. But when we were on the train "to our hostel" we discovered that we had again gone too far. We talked to a Spaniard on the train who spoke English and told us to get off at the next stop and turn around. "We're on our way out of Barcelona now" he said.
So we got off at that station and turned around. (sound familiar?) Since we really didn't understand how to use the metro line to get to our hostel, Gillian and I hailed a cab to drive us there. Our hostel was cozy and friendly. We walked to our room and I opened the door. The lights were off but the window shone some natural light into the room. "I think we're the only ones here" I said to Gillian. Then I heard someone snore. We walked quietly into the room to not disturb the three strange men sleeping at the other end of the room. Gillian and I cleaned ourselves up in the bathroom and decided to head toward my brother's concert early. We called a cab to take us to the street we knew we needed, but the concert hall was unknown to us. The fates like to play with Gillian and I because I was walking around the area thinking we were never going to find the right building to go into, given our track record that day. Then Gillian leads us into a building and I see a poster for KNOX COLLEGE CHOIR. Halleluja! Quinn's face was on the poster! Just then Laura Lane, the choir director, came into the building lobby. I had met Laura on numerous occasions and it was such a relief to see a familiar face. "Laura!!" I almost cried. She hugged me and led me by the hand to the church next door where the choir was about to rehearse and where the concert would begin in an hour. There he was. My brother. Mi familia! "Quinn!!" I almost cried again. BIG HUG
While the choir rehearsed Gillian and I found a nearby restaurant to grab some grub and some well deserved glasses of wine. We made it back to the church just in time for the choir to enter as we took the front-most seats which everyone else was avoiding. Subconsciously I sat directly in front of where I knew Quinn would be singing. I had seen many Knox concerts before and in recent years always sat in this location. After their opening song I looked at my brother while I applauded. I picked my jaw up off the floor in time to mouth the word "WOW" before he had to look back at Laura for the second song. When this song started I closed my eyes. It is easier to use all of my senses to listen when my eyes are closed and I am not distracted by light or movement or color. The music makes light, movement, and color on its own. Another of the songs later in the concert caused me to breathe with the music. It was like the music itself was actually providing life to my lungs.
After the concert Gillian and I joined the choir for dinner and bar hopping. One of the bars we went to used to be a favorite of Picasso and Hemingway. Walking into the bar was like stepping back in time 100 years. The whole wall on one side was a large, smokey mirror. The other walls were lined with shelves of dust-blanketed bottles. This was a fun night. I wish I could remember why.
On Friday morning Gillian and I woke up too late for the free breakfast at the hostel but we found a wonderful patisserie down the street. We learned an easy way to get to La Sagrada Familia via the metro. (I accidentally inserted a British pound into the ticket dispenser and it got stuck, but don't tell anyone!) La Sagrada Familia is a famous work of architecture by Gaudi which I really enjoyed seeing although it was under construction and surrounded by many tourists. I took pictures of the hidden bits of art on the building, the parts that perhaps go unnoticed if you're not looking closely enough. While walking through a park I paused to take a picture of two boys playing ping-pong. As we continued walking a group of young men was passing us and the last boy in the group jumped out in front of me. With threatening, wide eyes he hissed loudly at me then continued walking by. I stood frozen for a moment then asked Gillian if she still had her purse. We had been told by previous Barcelona travelers that the city is notorious for pickpocketing. We heard that they work in groups to make a distraction. Then as quickly as they came, they leave with all your stuff. We were both safe, but stressed. Ice cream helped to calm our nerves, followed by some deliciously cheesy Paella. We thought about finding the famous Gaudi park up the street but our feet were tired and the day was moving more quickly than we liked. We hailed another cab to take us to a different park nearer to or hostel. After exploring this park and taking many pictures of its magnificant fountain, we walked to the Pablo Picasso Museum.
The Picasso Museum led us through Pablo's artistic life. It was fascinating to see how his style transitioned. I loved being up close and personal with his work, close enough to see every stroke of his brush. After exploring the museum Gillian and I were tired and in need of a nap so we started back to our hostel. The street we took was packed with interesting shops and patisseries corner to corner. I could not wait to go back the next day to do some shopping. Shopping! I needed cash! Gillian and I both stopped to withdraw cash from an ATM before retiring to our beds for a rest.

You will not believe what happened next... (to be continued)