American Còmics in Catalan

This morning while reading LaVanguardia in the Catalan version (to practice my Catalan and because my significant other prefers his native tongue), I paused at the comics page. I  normally skip over this page, but an illustration of a spider sitting on his web with a menu in Catalan caught my eye. Comic strip, Lio, by comic artist Mark Tatulli, shows a spider holding a carta de vins with his two front legs as his prey who is caught in the spider web looks away flustered at his captor's fancy taste to eat him and have some good wine.

Then I read the comic right above it, Calvin I Hobbes, and chuckled at the fact that I never took the time to read a comic strip that I  read every day without fail in the L.A. Times newspaper when I lived in California. In retrospect, I think it was finding Calvin and Hobbes in Catalan that put me off. It some how didn't seem genuine to me. It wasn't my American comic strip in my native language and felt that this new and strange language only spoken in a small region of Spain was stealing my identity, my culture, and my language. And now look at me, I now try to expose people to bits and pieces of this beautiful and enriching language.  Adeu!

Festa Major de Gràcia

The temperature today reached 35° C, and I deliberated with a neighbor in our small kidney shaped pool, if it was worth suffering the heat to go into Barcelona. Today was the last day to enjoy a neighborhood street festival in Gràcia, one of Barcelona’s 10 districts.

It’s a celebration that takes place every August in which neighbors decorate their street by hanging themed decorations. The festival begins August 15, on Assumption Day, and continues until August 21.

This year did not have as many participants as last year, yet streets were much better decorated than last summer. Thought and time was heavily invested in the street sculptures as was imagination. 

I tend to visit this festival during the early afternoon to avoid evening crowds and excessively happy people with one too many happy drinks. It's the best time to take pictures and avoid a thousand and one cameras trying to get the same shot you're shooting for. 

Democracy will not make us free

"Do not make noise in Gràcia"  

This is a window to a crafty jewelry store, see the round earrings on the left and the tablet necklace on the right. 

Estelada--independent flag of Catalonia.

Yup, that's Mozart on Mozart Street.

Church reflected on mirrored windows; picture taken at ferrocarril station.

Cargols and Their Poo Poo

The funniest thing happened this morning. Eusebio and Marcos decided to search for cargols while waiting for me to return from my errand. I was off early this morning, and upon my return I saw the famous Eusebio with a yellow mesh bag in his hand and Marcos straggling behind him. Behold all cargol lovers, snails picked straight from the wild.

Nicely bunched together

They went to an empty and overgrown grassy lot and hand picked cargols de mongetes. "The best" he claims because they are found in the wild and not farmed. Eusebio says he is going to teach me how to wash and cook them, yeah!

Step 1 : Purgar-- purge their poo  poo by feeding them flour to cleanse their digestive system or just let them poop for three days without feeding.

They must be left hanging for three days so they can get rid of their "caquetes," in other words they eliminate their stools.

p.s. They call me Patri, Catalan for Patty.