Crazy about Culture!

Merriam Webster says it's the beliefs, customs, and ways of life of a particular society. Culture, that is. I can tell you that discovery of the culture here in Barcelona has wreaked havoc with my sleeping!!

For the first few nights I had serious trouble sleeping. I wasn't sure what was happening. Jet lag? New bed? None of that! It was the light from the city. You can see we have these glorious sliding glass doors out to a lovely balcony. That lets in a LOT of light all night long. I woke up one night when the bright sliver of moon became a piercing light exposed by passing cloud cover.

Notice the sheer curtain I've highlighted in the far right box? Who hangs only sheer curtains over big windows? Really?!! But alas, I can now hang my sleeping mask on the rope pulley that controls the heavy shutter that comes down and blocks almost all of the light. Whew!

Turns out that these kinds of shutters are quite common in Europe. I discovered it out of desperation when I was trying to figure out if I could hang the bedspread over the curtain rod!

And that's not the only thing curious about our experiences here...

We've been walking all over the city at various times and often find the stores shuttered, very similar to what you might see in any American city. Sometimes the graffiti is belligerent and sometimes it is obviously a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach. But there don't appear to be regular store hours. Maybe they practice siesta? I don't know. It feels random and confusing!

We did read that dinner isn't usually until nine or ten at night (past my bedtime!) so we have avoided that altogether and opted for late lunches, which fits nicely with my work schedule. Most of the restaurants in our neighborhood have pre fixe menus for lunch, so we choose our first and second course and have dessert. Then we have no appetite for dinner so it's a bit of fruit and bread in the evening.

The best bit? They sell small bottles of wine. I have rediscovered the joys of wine paired with cheese, bread, or a sweet treat.

Another thing. Not so many people speak English. Even in the most touristy part of town. So we have to get far out of our comfort zone. Order food blindly. Use hand gestures. Smile and nod. A lot.

It's a good thing Rich knows how to de-bone a fish!