Barcelona: Inspiration Around Every Corner

After a week in one of the most amazing cities I have ever visited Monica and I are slowly settling into our comfortable life here at home.  Time will blur some of the details but the impact of our trip to Barcelona will stay with us forever.  We packed our days there with a number of things we were excited to see and experience, and we were worn out by the end of it all.  We would have gladly stayed for a few more days, but sadly the date on our return ticket did not magically change.  We spent our first day back at home laying around with our beloved Ripp and Bella while the two cats seemed just as unmoved by our return as one would expect.  To be sure, they were happy to have someone to annoy again though they are always too detached to exhibit any real emotion.  I have spent much of my time going over the 1,500 photos we took so that we might all eagerly relive the experience with our fellow travelers while we are still glowing from our adventure together.  Hopefully I will be able to begin breaking our trip down for all Pounderers next week before "normal life", or that which happens between adventures, digs its claws into us and time warps us right into the holidays.  This time of year always seems to speed up and life becomes a long series of commitments you barely have control of before year's end.  We will think back to our trip to Spain and remember what it was like to be surrounded by beauty, art and architecture, friends, churros and drinkable chocolate all within a few minutes' walk of the Mediterranean Sea.

We all made several new friends in Barcelona.  The organizers of the Day of Doom Festival took such good care of us that we could never express our gratitude in a way that could adequately describe how much their efforts meant to us.  This trip was unlike any I have ever taken and their hospitality had as much to do with that as anything else.  Being older and more appreciative of good fortune was also a factor, as was the fact that all of us have been an extremely close bunch of friends now for over a quarter of a century.  We really savored this opportunity knowing how special it was instead of taking for granted that there would be another chance like this in a couple of months, and another soon after that.  Being able to share the experience with Monica was amazing, and watching her walk around on the verge of tears from all of the inspiring things we saw was incredibly rewarding.  She and I both found ourselves barely able to contain our emotions there.  It may sound corny to read, but there was so much energy and emotion invested in this trip that when it all paid off, as it did time after time, it was overwhelming.  We will never forget what we felt in the streets of Spain.  Samo, Jose and Pep, we could never thank you enough.

I am posting just a few teaser shots for you all.  Tomorrow marks the beginning of another work week, and I plan on "clocking out" of any and all responsibilities as soon as I finish this post.  Monica and I will finish out our weekend the same way we try to every weekend, with graphic violence and nudity.  Hell, we may even watch a horror movie!  In the meantime I hope that I can whet your appetite with these photos.  Barcelona was a city full of inspirations, old and new.  I found myself reflecting back to my days hunched over a desk for hours, drawing until well after I should have been in bed, or remembering how moved I was when I heard Trouble's first album and all the things that discovery set in motion.  I had a truly bizarre moment when a man in front of me in the metro station looked exactly like my grandfather and for a few precious seconds I was with him again.  Everything else faded slightly and I just stared at the man until I couldn't take it anymore.  Lots of little things kept pointing to profound connections in my life, and to be surrounded by people who had profound connections to our music for so much of their own lives made this trip magical. So raise your devil horns to Barcelona, the Day of Doom Festival and whatever inspires you to do what you do!  I'll be back very soon with more stories from our adventures in Spain. Salud, amigos!

Soundcheck

Wait a minute... how does all this work?

Park Guell

Antoni Gaudi's fairyland overlooking Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea

Catedral de Barcelona

Completed in 1420, this is but one of the many gothic treasures found in Barcelona's ancient city center

Dali Museum, Figueres

A must see for any fan of surrealist art only an hour and a half from Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia

This one of a kind structure feels more like a spaceship inside than a cathedral.  There is no way to describe the experience without walking through the doors yourself. Incredible!

Got a Chocolate Tooth?

When you need to plan the rest of your day, why not do it with a pastry in your hand?  Churros and dipping chocolate you can drink?!?!  I miss it already






Alright... are you curious yet?  If you don't like music, art and chocolate maybe you should go back under whatever rock you slithered out from underneath and leave the fun stuff to us. There will be more to come in the next few days.  Next time you click on The Poundry one of those plates of chocolate covered pastries will be empty and you'll see me sacked out on the floor behind the display!  Until then, enjoy life and the people you are around.