Friday, August 14, 2009


I did begin to admire Picasso, after his museum in Paris. I could see that he was trying to show the inside of things, or even sometimes (it seemed to me) the nature of form itself. I hated the displays in The Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona though. Aside from one piece about Fascism and another inspired by Guy Dubord, they seemed purposefully obscure, self referential, pretentious. Hey, I'm an American--my ignorance does not prevent strong opinions.

tourist in Barcelona


9 July
Fighting my way through The Rambla crowd (Lorca once said this was one street he wished would never end, but surely it was different during Lorca's time) to the subway, on my way to #1 must see tourist attraction: Goudi's Church of La Familia, when I turned back and found my way, finally, to this small cafe where I sit now, at a table by the window, drinking a glass of wine and listening to the other patrons talk. I do think there is something sweet about tourists, fascinated by places, examining maps, photographing each other next to beautiful buildings. I want to go home and be a tourist in Oregon, as George says BĂ©atrice is, in Paris. Nonetheless, I truly cannot go to one more tourist attraction, no matter how attractive. Four people sit at the bar, young, European, mostly English, talking to the bartendar. They are quizzing each other in their knowledge of Catalan. Now talking about a bullfighter who was killed by a bull. Whether this was a good or bad thing, they disagree. Janis Joplin on the stereo.