Monalia's World

It is a 3 day holiday weekend here in Spain, celebrating the Santissima Annunziata Purissima Virgin Mary. We have been invited (with dog) to spend 3 nights in Viladrau with our friends Sara and Ricardo. They are excited to share the Mercat medieval experience with us.

Today is an icy morning. The drive from Viladrau to Vic takes us past frozen winter fields. It is easily 10 degrees colder here than in Barcelona, maybe more. We are bundled up in layers, like “cebollas” (onions) wearing mitts. I wear my fox fur collar and wooly hat. We manage to find one of the last FREE parking spots, which makes Ricardo very happy.

The Mercat Medieval in Vic is probably as authentic a medieval experience one could hope for in this day and age. Downtown Vic claims to have the most Catholic churches of Catalunya concentrated in one small area. Walking through the narrow streets I can appreciate the unique architecture of this region. The many churches and convents of Vic have given it the nickname “City of Saints. (“CIUTAT DELS SANTS”)

Strolling down the narrow, crooked streets I am enraptured by the rich artistry in the architecture. This unique festival transforms Vic into its medieval past, with costumed vendors and programmed events like jousting, activities like camel rides, and passing parades. The architecture and decor are rife with Arabic influences. Merchants and craftsmen come from thousands of miles away too sell their wares and goods.

As we enter the mercat we are overwhelmed by aroma, color, sounds, movement … all our senses activated at once. I am like a little kid at a smorgasborg buffet, my camera in one hand, my NAGRA digital recorder in another, getting bumped into by passersby. I must look like a complete parody of myself as I both record the sound of a medieval parade passing by, nervously fumbling for my camera with my left hand, then making the inner executive decision to stay with the aural recording and take photos later.

Vic is the perfect location for the Mercat Medieval; with its San Pere Cathedral, its Roman temple and the Main Square with its grand porticos – the setting lends itself to the theme. I toss Mark my camera to take a photo-stich series of pix which he can later manipulate with shake and we’ll add stuff later with a green screen. He’s good at creating worlds out of elements, made a lot of money doing just that for Peter Jackson for so many years…and now he gets to do it as a hobby. How cool is that?
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The knife sharpener man goes by…

One of the more distinctly old world qualities of living here in Gracia is the local knife sharpening man, who with his bicycle and his wares attached walks by, sounding his distinct pan pipe. For 5 euros he will sharpen your knife. I was sitting here in my living room when I heard him approaching so I recorded the moment to share with you. I live near Plaça Reloj (clock plaza) and you can hear the bells ringing as well.

butane_man

This is the butane man, who has just now passed by selling butane cannisters and using them percussively to attract the attention of neighborhood clients.

EL BUTANERO

Monday night Mark, Nicole and I attended a chic and ultra artsy event/opening of the new Indochine restaurant. The original Indochine, at another location, has a magic, charm and intimacy that makes dining there not only the most exquisite culinary experience but also not overly expensive considering the quality of food and ambience. We were all curious about this new location. Our friend Nuria had been working behind the scenes at this opening, and I had been having a hard time visualizing what she was describing, other than a lot of the word “demasiado” (too much) followed by “pero”, (however).

Now his new opening in upscale Eixample, which Nuria has been talking about for months now was finally coming to fruition. Lee (the inspired and brilliant owner/creator) has designed a space that is beyond flashy. It is huge, almost too big, with lots of plants, nice gardens and areas to sit, lit by beautiful candles. There is an unusually long bar that leads to a glassed off exhibit of his cooks in progress as they prepare the many unusually delicious Indochina dishes (they specialize in Thai, Cambodian and Vietnamese food).

photos above = Nuria and me, kitchen, plants, profile of crowd

The scene is full of fur clad women and dapper men. Waterfalls, harsh light, ancient looking Cambodian tableaus on walls. The cooks are in a huge glass exhibit, dressed chopping,preparing and delivering tasty morsels of teaser food. They look like an exhibit in a zoo, almost unsettling. The elegant crowd is multi-generational, eccentric conservatism at its best; sharply dressed characters, men with hats, goatees, eccentric hairdos women wearing their furs and jewels, clinking drinks, laughing. Mark is tall and distinguished looking. Mark wants to people-watch but is having a hard time because everywhere he looks people are staring at him. Nicole is also tall in her heels, and very glamorous.

photo below: me and Nicole plus detail from Indochine interior

We fit in, swim with the sharks, circulate, like everyone else. The back of the restaurant opens up into a wide area that is basically a large indoor pond. There are wooden walkways through the pond and sunken tables jutting out from the walkway into the water. To sit at a table you have to climb down off the walkway and fit your legs under the table (the only area that has no water) once seated you are surrounded by water, literally sitting in the pond. If you lean back too far you’d get wet, if you drop your mobile phone accidentally it will go into the water. These seats are both alluring and alarming.

The pond itself is filled with huge tropical plants and colorful exotic flowers everywhere. How they keep these alive inside of the dark cavernous restaurant is a mystery; we can’t even keep our rosemary plant alive! There is also a center area with a few normal tables that are not sunk down into the pond, like a terrace that one would see in Vietnam. The whole effect really does transport you to another world and I felt at one point that I was back in Vietnam.