Calcotada - The Way of The Onion

Last weekend, I went to a calcotada, a festival that is typical in small towns in Catalunya in February and March. The festival involves calcots, which are a kind of sweet onion (bigger than a green onion, smaller than a leek) that is grown here. The onions are cooked on an open fire and then served up with a special dipping sauce.

We had been trying to get to a small town to experience the calcotada, but we couldn't seem to get co-ordinated. And then Jesus (looking tough with me in the picture below) mentioned that there was one happening a square about 2 blocks from my house. My neighbourhood is awesome. It was an amazingly sunny day, so a few of us wandered down to enjoy the event. The square was packed, and we waited for quite a while to get our food, but the sun and beer made the time pass pleasantly...

Eating a calcot is a messy affair. First you have to peel the charred skin back to expose the cooked onion, then you dip it into the sauce and drop it into your mouth. The onions are sweet and soft, and very tasty. We also had plates loaded with butifarra (blood sausage), pan tomate (a traditional Catalan bread rubbed with tomato) and some other stuff. Between the five of us, we shared two plates of food and left contented and full -- with black fingernails and messy mouths.

The event was actually organized as a political event that had something to do with the okupas (squatters). There was music and speeches, but since my understanding of Catalan is pretty poor, I wasn't exactly clear on the message. But I did understand the song they sang about a certain idiot in Washington...

It was a fantastic day with sun, beer, food, and excellent company.

In sadder news...

Due to a visa problem, I am actually going to have to leave Barcelona at the end of the month. It came up unexpectedly, and I am now scrambling to decide my next move.

I'm sad to leave, but I'm taking a longview of the situation. I have really had an amazing experience these last few months and have done more than I expected to do, so there are no regrets. And Barcelona is not over for me -- I will be back.

For the moment, I will be on a train to Zurich next weekend, where I'll spend a week clearing my head and regrouping. So you can look forward to future entries about chocolate and political neutrality...

A Religious Experience?

When you sit in the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, you can understand why people would feel religious fervour... the place is impressively stunning (see the link for pics). And Wednesday's performance of Mozart's Requiem in the Basilica was probably the closest I will ever get to a religious experience.

The performance itself wasn't spectacular (the choir lacked the necessary power, and the pace occasionally raced like a runaway train), but the combination of the location, the acoustics, and one of my absolute favourite pieces of music made it completely worthwhile. It was especially poignant because I've been listening to that requiem a fair bit since my grandfather passed away a few weeks ago.

I usually get strange looks when I go to the symphony, because I bob my head to the music as if it were a rock concert. It's probably terribly uncouth of me, but I can't help it. I was delighted to discover that Luca's friend Jesus, who was sitting next to me, did the exact same thing.

I resisted the urge, however, to pump my fist in the air and make devil horns with my fingers... Do you think it would have been too much?

Lazy Sunday, Spanish Style

Elena and I had a couple of people over for a Mexican fiesta lunch. The weather was amazingly co-operative and the sun was decidedly Corona-worthy.

We woke late (there was much music-playing and general reveling last night), and were worried that we wouldn’t get our act together in time. Elena acted as chef extraordinaire, and I served double duty as sous-chef (a.k.a. veggie-cutter) and dessert chef.

After some unfortunate mishaps with the tortillas (and sending one of our guests running to the store for replacements), we managed to crank out some mean quesadillas, guacamole and black-bean-tomato goodness. One guest supplied the Corona and Negra Modelo and the feast was complete!

We topped the lunch off with a fruit salad, garnished with sliced chirimoyas (a tropical fruit that I had never seen until I got here – tastes like a cross between pear and apple), sugared dried figs and Lindt chocolate. In the photo below, Luca is halfway through his dessert, and already eyeing mine!

After lunch, Elena and I decided that we needed a walk, so we hopped the metro to the beach. It was actually my first time at the beach, and despite a late-afternoon chill, it was wonderful to see the sea. We sat on the boardwalk, drank coffee, chatted and watched a spectacular sunset that made the sky and water turn a variety of breathtakingly unnatural colours.

Now it’s back to work, hitting the books and planning for a long day of classes tomorrow. Oh, auxiliary verbs and question tags, what would my life be without you?

My Kingdom for a Horse

Today was the fiesta de Sant Medir (apparently the patron saint of horses) in my neighbourhood. The festival is intended to bless the horses, so local riding associations take to the streets to celebrate.

After being woken by the Spanish version of a 21-gun salute (more like 35 guns, I’d say), my roommate and I wandered the barrio to catch the festivities.

Every street was filled with groups of drummers, people on horseback, and trucks filled with people throwing candy to the spectators. Children and adults alike were filling huge bags with the candy that they caught.

We stopped in a bakery to get breakfast, and the bakers had a pile of candy that they were throwing out the window at the trucks. As we stood there, a group of drummers came marching toward us – right toward us. They then marched into the bakery and back out the other door, much to our amusement. Fortunately, the horses didn’t follow suit.

After wandering around, collecting candy, we went to a plaza for a nice lunch, and then to market to visit my favourite dry-goods stand (the lady there is very patient with my ignorance of baking vocabulary…).

We’re now sitting in another plaza, enjoying the late-afternoon sun (and balmy temperatures), having a tea, and taking advantage of the available Wifi…

Ah, this is the life.