Llywindatravels 2026

La Mercé: Great big giant heads, parades, fireworks, music, dance…

From the title, you get the idea. La Mercé is the annual festival of Our Lady of Mercy, one of the patronesses of Barcelona. It spans a week, this year Sept. 18-24 and there are more events than one person could get to. We went to see the giants and the giant heads before they emerged. They don’t march in a parade, they dance down the street.

The attendants are “Big Heads”

Music is provided courtesy of the Middle Ages, a chorus of oboes, bagpipes, and other loud and squealing things.

Maybe that’s why she carries a pig. It was part of the band!

This was the first parade. The next parade was monsters and devils. We saw some of them in advance:

They looked more threatening at night in the street:

Several of the dragons, including the angry dolphin, squirted water on the crowd.

There was a drum group with almost every dragon, a group of 10-16 people, more than half of them women. They made a wall of sound and danced at the same time, some groups more choreographed than others. Impressive.

Museums and Modernism-Modernismo 9.16.15

Barcelona’s wonderful museums include many that focus on artists and architects of the early 20th century. We are starting to make the rounds and may make return visits to both the Picasso Museum

http://www.museupicasso.bcn.cat/en/

and the Miro Foundation.

http://www.fmirobcn.org/en/

A great deal is made of modernism, but what that is remains puzzling. Definitions suggest that it was a movement that wanted to break with the past. In Barcelona, that meant a rejection of classical and Gothic architecture OR its reworking. Modernism include everything from Gaudi’s extravagant organic shapes to the boxy, white cubes of the Fundacio Miro designed by Spanish architect Josep Lluis Sert.

That’s a lot to put between one set of brackets. I’m starting a page of Barcelona architecture that I will add to from time to time that includes images of interesting things that I see–not all will be modernist, but many will be unusual. Take a look.

The Miro museum doesn’t allow photography in the indoor areas. The collection, donated by Miro, his wife and close friends, is spectacular. Really unusual. Some of Miro’s earlier pieces have emotion jumping off the page (joy, anger, disgust) in a way that I don’t usually feel from looking at art in museums. It’s startling to look at a painting and get a sense of what the artist was feeling at the time. It was a wonderful visit. Before we got to the museum, we made a brief stop (between subway and bus) at the Joan Miro park, where one of his pieces is installed. It is wonderful, really tall and overlooks the entire park. Though there are apartment buildings around most of the park there are a couple of places where you can photograph the sculpture with the sky as your background. The title is Woman with Bird.

Subway, train, bus, and on foot

I commented on the events of Catalonia Day, but there’s more! Riding the escalator to the subway the next day, what did I see, but a left over arrow from the demonstration. This lone survivor (dark pink, for equality) is now living on the wall of our apartment. I am very happy with my artifact of the demonstration. The tens of thousands of its companions (see previous post) have probably been recycled already.

To learn the suburban train system we took a trip to the beach, visiting Caldes d’Estrach, a town about 40 minutes ride northeast of downtown Barcelona. Getting there was the easy part. It took us almost as long to find out where to purchase our “Tarjeta Dorada” (Golden Card) that gives us a 40% discount on all train tickets all over Spain just because we are over 60. With that and assistance at the ticket machine to find the tab to use it (Other), we bought round trip tickets for 4.90€ each. We managed to miss the train while finding the platform, but the information people were helpful and showed us that another train departed the same place only 15 minutes later. Trains along the coast are rarely more than 20 minutes apart. The train station in Caldes d’Estrach is a few hundred yards from the beach.

The beach on a Monday.

The sand is full of tiny shells, miniscule limpets, mussels, scallops and sea urchins smaller than a drop of water. They look white in the sun, but at home, some were pink, lavender and striped in shades of tan and brown.

Yes, it turned out to be a nudist beach but no one minded us. It was Monday and even nudists were thin on the ground. We had our picnic, bought drinks and chips, beach combed, read books. It was great. I even went in the water, briefly. (Our chairs and umbrella cost 15€).

Beach combing (my favorite sport) is somewhat different here. This beach appears to be groomed every day, probably to make the beach less steep, but this churns up the shell. Most are small. I look for beach glass with the added bonus of beach ceramics here in the Mediterranean where people have been throwing debris in the sea for thousands of years. I threw back far more beach glass than I saved, but found some interesting bits. I also found a small rectangle of tile that we brought home to use as a soap dish. I saw a similar one in a museum shop for 7.50€ (score!).

Catalonia Day 9.11.15

It was a great day in Barcelona. Open house at the Born neighborhood cultural center shared its extensive archaeological exhibit on life in Barcelona in the 1700s. Outside the Center, castellers built human towers. This is a Catalonian tradition that requires solidarity–groups create a huge base of people pushing toward the center and upward.

Group members climb over one another to create a tower six people high. Two children or small adults climb to the top of the tower, change sides and descend. The goal is to get the tower all the way up AND all the way down without collapse.

Applause greets both the highest point of the construction when the two smallest members pass one another and erupts again if the group succeeds in disassembling the tower without any collapse. Teams wear colored shirts, and other teams and members of the public help support the base level.

Perhaps most remarkable to us was the fact that the spectators aren’t cordoned off from the castellers. We stood at the base of the tower builders to watch.

We followed this with a cup of chocolate at the Xocolateria. It was so thick I couldn’t finish my small cup–me! We also got the last two croissants available today, important because these were voted the best croissants in Spain in 2014. They were excellent and my eating most of the cream-filled one probably had something to do with not being able to drink all my chocolate…..

Catalan government buildings were open for visitors and many people took advantage to file through or take their photo with door guards in ceremonial dress.

Street crowds were thick.

Many people wore white shirts because they planned to participate in the demonstration in support of Catalan independence. At 5:15 pm a major street Av. Meridional, was lined with thousands of people organized by region or neighborhood. Sections of the crowd held colored cards that they raised when a lead car drove down a center lane. Each color represented a political goal such as diversity or solidarity. It was an impressive sight, estimated to have included as many as 2 million people.

Barcelona’s waterfront from the sky

The aerial tramway from Barceloneta to the Montjuic hill is a great intro to Barcelona. You can see a little of everything.

First you have to wait to go up to the tramway in a very small elevator.

The views are spectacular.

There is sculpture, a walkway across a swing bridge, and a big mall.

Notice that the W hotel overlooks the superyacht harbor. We saw a crew of about 15 cleaning one yacht. I wonder how many passengers there were? Our yacht would have had to park in the “non-super” marina.

This schooner moors by the World Trade Center.

From the air, the main tourist destination of shaded shopping street, La Rambla, appears as a line of greenery.

Cruise ships like this one stop in Barcelona frequently, as do long distance ferries like the one below that is departing for Italy (Genoa, Livorno or Rome).

Beyond the tram line is a fringe of palms along city beaches that are still packed all week in September.

Some Details: The tramway runs from 11am-5:30 pm through Sept with shorter hours in the off season (It may also not operate from 2-3 pm–lunch hour). One way ticket is 11€ one way and 16.50 € round trip. Only young children are free of charge. It is possible to travel one way by bus. The 13 bus goes up the Montjuic hill from the subway at Placa d’Espanya. The entrance to the tram is a short walk away, in front of the Miramar hotel. On the other end of the tramway, the 64 bus stops just a short way down the street from the tram tower. These connect with the Rambla, and everywhere else in the city.

Barcelona is full–of everyone

We arrived in Barcelona after a very long trip from LA via Miami. We were delayed several hours by stormy weather in Miami and as a result didn’t arrive in Barcelona until 11:45 am local time. Our host Joan was waiting at the apartment and we settled in rapidly. I still have plenty of jet lag, but we went for a stroll and shopping at the Carrefours across the street before I lost all oomph. We began to see some of the famous and delightful antique architecture.

Barcelona is packed, jammed, full to the brim and approaching pandemonium (not really, but it’s a great word). There are more languages spoken in the street than in anywhere this side of Hong Kong. Tourists fill every street and store to overflowing. If you want to know the exchange rate, just listen for a minute and some American will be explaining it to the other members of his party. Cheapest bottled water in the grocery store? Same thing. Perhaps exchange students are moving in for the semester, perhaps cruise ships are in port, but this Saturday was a bit of a mad house.

After a stroll to salute the statue of Columbus looking out to sea, I was happy to return to our quiet 3rd floor apartment (elevator!) where none of the street noise can be heard.

This is Jeopardy!

Driving in from the north to Pasadena we missed most of the rush hour traffic and arrived around 6 pm. Unloaded most of the car at Amanda’s house, since she and Jimmy are the inheritors, willing or unwilling, of our miscellany. They are rewarded by getting our leftover kitchen ingredients and picnic supplies, and stuck with disposing of the oddments they may not want. Jimmy is taking some of my collection of abalone bits from the beach and showed me a pendant he has already made (since last weekend when they visited).
Jonathan voted for a visit to Oinkster for dinner for the best pastrami in Los Angeles, and the line was much shorter than usual, so we dined on the patio. Definitely a place to visit if you are in the Eagle Rock, Glendale, Highland Park area.
Since the young folk have day jobs we were on our own the next day and I had gotten free tickets to a taping of Jeopardy. Haven’t we all wanted to be on Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune? Studio audience tickets are free. We met our friends the Riggall’s for lunch in Pasadena and then set off for beautiful Culver City for the taping. You show up at 1:30 pm and by 2:30 pm you have gone through a metal detector, handbag search, standing in line and filing through the exhibit of memorabilia to the auditorium. When the two shows we watched air on Oct. 8 & 9 we’ll be in the rear of the audience on the right side of your screen. I think they pan across us. It was a lot of fun.

In LA all activities are judged by traffic or potential for traffic, so our afternoon was a success because we did not get bogged down for more than a few minutes. That was important because we had to rest up for our dinner at Racion, a Spanish-inspired restaurant in Pasadena where until recently, Amanda (our oldest) was the pastry chef. Amanda and Jimmy Woodhead, his mom Connie, Jonathan and I probably had the largest table in the restaurant. This was my second visit, Jonathan’s first, and dinner was excellent as usual. The menu is tapas style, with the size of the portion increasing from the top of the menu page to the bottom. We sampled anchovies in tomato sauce, the most delicious octopus, beef tongue bunuelos, lamb meatballs, crispy prawns, milk-poached asparagus, and the divine chicken croquettes. Chef Teresa came out to say hello and brought us a cool creation she has been developing, cucumber granita with a froth on top, a sprinkle of dried creamy bits and eucalyptus powder. My description doesn’t do it justice, but take a look at the menu and visit if you are in the area. http://www.racionrestaurant.com/

Racion: 119 W. Green St., Pasadena, CA

Mendocino to LA, via the Monterey Aquarium

We left our wonderful house in Little River, CA (thank you Eckhart, Birdie, Jenna and VRBO) to head south for LA and then Barcelona. Down by a couple of boxes, the car was still packed to the doors. I gave up on the bird feeder–after the raccoon visit it was held together with fishing line. I’m not sure how items expand to fill a Prius. We were like clowns in a VW bug.

Our first stop was the Centrella Inn in Pacific Grove (Monterey). The Centrella is a fabulous Victorian house B&B. I lay in bed admiring the complex light fixture with its pipes, glass shades and ornamental brass details. When I mentioned it at breakfast I was told that they are original to the house, early dual fuel lighting—the shades that curve upward were gaslights and the shades that curve down were electric. Can you imagine the work involved in installing these?

My chat with a woman at the desk led us to exchange stories of beach combing. She recommends the beach at the end of Tioga in Sand City. I wish I had time to stop in.
Our goal in stopping overnight in Monterey was to visit its world famous aquarium. It’s $39.50 for a regular admission ($34.50 for seniors over 65…), but lives up to its reputation.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

886 Cannery Row Monterey, CA 93940

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Guide books recommend planning at least three hours for a visit. We had to leave at noon or risk sitting all evening in LA traffic so we found a compromise. We only visited exhibits with live creatures, skipping all the video and photographic material (Sorry, exhibit developers). We may have seen all of them. We couldn’t spend time on the outdoor terrace where you can observe whatever is passing, including sea otters. I did pet an abalone at the touch tank, watch the keepers feed and do some training with the sea otters. It is a very wonderful place. Tore ourselves away at noon and headed for LA.

Sea otter.

I was about to pat the abalone.

The aquarium also has a wide variety of seabirds. The tall bird center is an avocet.

Mendocino area highlight reel

Best trail: Anyplace on the California Coastal Trail

Best day hike: Pygmy Woods/Upper Fern Canyon loop, Van Damme State Park

Best guidebook: The hiker’s hip pocket guide to the Mendocino Coast, by Bob Lorentzen

Best coffee shop: Moody’s, Lansing St., Mendocino

Best beach for collecting abalone: Van Damme State Beach, Little River; Mendocino Headlands, Mendocino

Best beach for collecting driftwood: Navarro Beach, south end.

Best beer tasting: North Coast Brewing Co. taproom, Ft. Bragg

Best wine tasting: A Taste of Redwood Valley (June and October)

We didn’t eat out very much, but had a nice dinner at Mendo Bistro, Main St., Ft. Bragg.

Best fish: Whole salmon caught the previous night, purchased Noyo Harbor, Ft. Bragg

Best pizza: Piaci’s, Redwood Ave., Ft. Bragg

Best barbecue: The Q, S. Main St., Ft. Bragg

Best bread: Ft. Bragg bakery (There is no bakery storefront–the bread is available at the grocery stores and farmers markets.)

Farmer’s Market: Wednesday 3-5 pm, Ft. Bragg; Friday noon-2 pm, Mendocino. Expensive but local and freshly picked. Try the strawberries.

Best fruit: Organic apple farm, just outside the entrance to Hendy Woods State Park

Best pick-your-own fruit: Himalayan raspberries and/or California huckleberries, anywhere along the California Coastal Trail, or try the east side of the main street through Leggett, CA.

Best summer music festival: Mendocino Music Festival (July)

Best botanical garden: Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Ft. Bragg

Best garage sale: Pack Rat Sale, benefit for Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (July)

Best benefits: Art in the Garden (first weekend in August), Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

also, Bob Fest, benefit for Mendocino Environmental Center (August).

Best bird watching: Audubon society walks through the Botanical Garden on the third Wednesday of each month at 8 am.

And Away We Go

Mendocino has been a blissful environment, yet tomorrow we leave. Yesterday, I put some of my beachcombing shells back in the water.

In addition to packing, we spent our last day beachcombing on one of the best beaches yet, the Mendocino Headlands. I found a lot of abalone pieces, but left them in place for the next person.

This final beach had the biggest, strangest tide pools, including several giant chitons.

Giant chitons curl up when you pick them up.

Under water they stretch out.

Sea stars, sea urchins, hermit crabs….

It was a wonderful afternoon.

Jonathan appeared as a ghost.

Amazing that we had never been to this beach before. It was a great end to this visit of exploration. We’re on to Barcelona on Friday.

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