Monalia’s World

The following photo of my dog, Quixôte posed on a sculpture in front of the new Hotel W in Barceloneta says it all, as to the latest turn of events in my life: Living in a state of Bliss

We recently bought a “fixer upper” attico piso located in a great spot in Barceloneta, so my blogs will be from a new point of view of my adopted city. Although we plan to keep Gracia as our home base, we bought this steal of a piso simply for the location and for the affordability . At 149 thousand euros, the price was half the going rate of most pisos in Barceloneta. And we could fulfill our goal in the process of having a little slice of sun or “trocito de sol” as they say here.

It has several real drawbacks, the most obvious being there is no elevator so its a 6 floor climb to the top and the second being that although we are in an ideal spot, our view of the ocean is obstructed in all but one spot. Here is a photo of our one view of the ocean so you can see how close we actually are:

View from our new beach shack using a zoom lens

We have been living in Gracia for three years now, and charming as the neighborhood is, it doesn’t have much sun. By buying this little fixer upper, we now have our little place in the sun. My life has suddenly become even more magical.

Although my cadaver gloves make it hard to see, in these photos taken March 5, we got the keys to our new piso and I dangle them for the camera, with Mark and then with the realtors who sold us the place.

The first thing we needed to do was replace the water heater so we can at least spend the night there, as is. We hired our friend of 15 years, Isi. He came in, replaced the water heater, gave us a great estimate for the work to be done, which involves knocking down walls, adding window doors with electric persiana blinds. He’ll move a wall too, as well as moving the water heater outside. He will do the whole job with his comañero, Jose for six thousand euros which includes the windows and doors. I sure hope he’ll accept some tips, because his estimate is really low and he is a very thorough and reliable worker.

Before I go on, here are some before photos of the labyrinthian 50 meter piso attico – before we start knocking down walls and adding window doors to the decks, replacing the existing windows.
These shots are not of all the rooms, but you get the idea…

Rosalia and Albino are the elderly Catalan couple from whom we bought our place. Although they lived there for 30 years and raised 3 kids there, it now looks like a mad scientist labaratory, as evidenced in the above thumbnails.

1) This will become the master bedroom, with a glass door instead of a window. 2) The glass door will lead onto this sunny balcony.

This is the first wall to get a hole punched it, a defining moment that our reformas have already begun.

Our reformas team are intense, capable, efficient

When our team took its 3 hour lunch break I took a bike ride with my dog while Mark lounged and napped in the sun. One of the things I love about Barcelona is the socialist Bicing bicycle stations placed everywhere. For 25€ a year I am able to bike around the city by simply swiping my card at any station and then riding off wherever I might want to go. Bicing stations have become ubiquitous. There is one at the end of our street in Barceloneta. Quixote and I wnet for a ride, direction Geary golden fish sculpture. There was a bicing station near there, so I turned in my bike and went for a walk along the beach with my puppy. After about a half hour of that I checked out another bike and headed in the direrction of the new Hotel W. As it were, there is a brand new paved walkway and a convenient bicing station at the end, so I again checked in my bike and proceeded to explore the grounds of the new Hotel W Barcelona.

Hotel W seen from my boardwalk, then explored up close by foot

1) My dog is a natural poser, but here in this close-up you can see his real feelings 2) That’s my tiny dog posing on that W!

The grounds of the Hotel W feel Olympian and I am one of the few who think it is a wonderful exhibit of grande architecture. It gives a fresh point of view from which to look at Barcelona, the enchantress city.

What we have bought into with all this, is the lifestyle. Our place is modest and here the ugly truth that obstructs our view. If it weren’t for this one building we would have a great beach view:

1) the big, ugly building which obstructs our sea view. 2) Our beach, as seen from as soon as we descend and walk a half block.

Our immediately reality, even as a fixer upper we are enjoying the experience of owning a slice of heaven. Here’s a self portrait with iPhone plus one of Mark and Quixôte relaxing in the sun.

1) The Barceloneta Beach lifestyle suits us 2) The place already has a nice, big bathroom which is in fact one of the nicest rooms in the place.

We plan to spend Easter in our new Love Shack.

MAY 8, 2010 – THE DAY IT SNOWED IN BARCELONA

It never snows in Barcelona. I hear the last time it snowed was 25 years ago. So when we woke up on Monday, May 8 it was a drizzly day, so we set about our morning errands with umbrellas. It was so chilly I mentioned in passing to Mark, “if it drops another 3 degrees we’ll see snow,” never for a moment thinking this would actually happen. About 10 a.m the first flurries started falling. People everywhere looking up, in wonderment.

THIS IS A LITTLE MOVIE WE THREW TOGETHER WITH MY NEW VIDEO CAMERA.

Barcelona being hit with a huge snowstorm covering the streets and people with a blanket of white and bringing the kids out to play, some of whom have never seen the snow in their lives.

I have been documenting some of the tangible signs that the global crisis has hit my own little neighborhood of Gracia, and I say with sadness that Mark and I are part of the trend of what can only be described as the changing of the guards. We are lucky to have lived in Gracia for a full year before the crisis began to hit. Many multi-generational small Mom and pop businesses went out of business. My favorite drogueria, where we used to buy everything from cleaning supplies to rat poison to bizarre but useful impulse purchases, is now a boutique, but the new store has left the drogueria sign up, even though that funky store is no longer there. Entering the old drogueria always felt like stepping back in time. I do miss the nostalgic feeling I would get from just entering the place. But now it is spanking clean inside. This was one of the first signs that things were changing in our neighborhood.

This new dress shop was once filled with everything from household cleaning products, cosmetics, to rat poison.

The tienda (store) next door to our house was a uniform supply outlet called “Climax”. They had been in business in the same space for 2 generations. It was a company that sold helmets, gloves, workers gear, uniforms. When workers began to get laid off, the domino effect was that their products were no longer in demand. Mark and I were able to take advantage of living next door, as the lady whose father had established the business over 50 years ago, liked us and helped us lease the space for under 400 euros a month, which is quite a steal, even in the recession. Here is a photo of the store we took over with its old sign, and next to it the same store, but now it is our Partners in Rhyme headquarters. We are part of the tipping point in Gracia…

1) Climax uniform shop goes under 2) to be replaced by the new Partners In Rhyme sign 3) Mark at his desk at the new Partners In Rhyme storefront 4) We had this Florentine “giglio” painted on our security door.

Paquita, the namesake of a store on the corner of Plaça Villa de Gracia, closed shop because after working there over 30 years the lease on the space was up because they doubled the price to renew her store lease. She is entitled to her “jubilacion” (paid retirement), so she is now looking forward to her freedom. She lives in Gracia, has many friends already in retirement here, and is not sad to let go of her shop. Although I always found the outfits in her store to be dowdy, she catered to all the elderly who still reside in Gracia and I’ve always appreciated the charm of this. I am now speaking Catalan, and she tells me in Catalan that she always watches me throwing sticks for my dog in the Plaça and has admired how well behaved my perrito is. She says she will still come to the plaça for some sun, and looks forward to seeing me there.

1) Modes Paquita has been a fixture on the corner of Plaça Rius y Taulet (recently renamed Plaça Vila de Gracia) 2) Paquitas 3/4 liquidated 3) You can see Paquita herself at the counter of her empty shop 4) The store is now vacant.

Gracia is starting to turn “piho” (upscale). Here’s a nice car parked on our street but also a homeless man just 2 blocks away:

Many of the tiny multi-generational shops are going under, which is sad because they were part of the fabric of this neighborhood.

Here are some more photos of various shops in my neighborhood in a state of liquidation:

I’m going to miss Casa Mas Joan Alimentacion Supermarket and liquor locker. I’ll be curious to see who takes over this big space.

This shop is also a corner store on Plaça Vila de Gracia. It used to sell “trastos” (knick knacks) and used furniture. I am curious what products this new “La Moda” store will sell.

Some more nearby shops in a state of change:

Some more shops in a state of transition

Many quaint businesses in my neighborhood have survived the times though, so fortunately, the charm of this district is intact. In the future I will dedicate another blog to my neighborhood, Gracia, and how vibrant and traditional it remains despite the slow morph from a fiercely Catalan neighborhood to a slightly more tolerant, multi-generational barrio.