With the new US President - welcome to the new normal

      

The  'Bubble Man' at Hotel de Ville. The 'bubble' pops in no time

        4 days ago, the 45th US President, Donald Trump was sworn in at Capitol Hill.  There have been numerous articles and posts on the disruptive President who capitalised on the US citizen's anger at the effects that globalization has on US workers and how standards of living has dropped over the last few decades for the American citizen. The so-called American dream has become a nightmare for many, and Mr. Trump has promised to "Make America Great Again MAGA"

     Such talk has alarmed the world's political leaders. References of Trump's administration to the Nazi Germany National Socialist party are uncalled for. One great switch in outlook in my humble opinion, is that the US President appears to be inward looking and talking trade protectionism whilst President Xi Jing Ping has now started championing globalization (at the Davos World Economic Forum ; tagline : to make the world a better place)  and its good effects in alleviating poverty worldwide. 

    We truly live in uncertain times. Populist Governments pursuing populist policies for short term benefits will be detrimental in the long run. I am just a small fry but the New World Order or whatever it is evolving into is not comforting to me and many hundreds of millions of people in US and all over the world.

   May 2017 be a watershed year. Sacred cows will be slaughtered, the international press may not be independent after all. 

Super Talented Ed Sheeran - Castle on the Hill.

What more can I write that has not been written about this young man. He is class personified. True genius. I hope he stays true to his musical gifts which he is so blessed with and continues to enthrall us mere mortals with songs such as these.

Bodega La Puntual - El Born, Barcelona

The rather unassuming entrance to Bodega la Puntual 

Carrer de Montcada 22,

08003 El Born

Barcelona

Tucked away in the El Born district lies the gem of a tapas bar and restaurant, the Bodega La  Puntual. I can wax lyrical about this all day, but the food there is simply, excellent. For the price of about EU 40 for 2 persons, you can dine very comfortably with 5 tapas and a couple of vermouths. 

We tried the following 'house specials' which were in a word fantastic. We came back for a 2nd round the following night, it was that good !. Spain is famous for its Iberico 'black pig' (they take about 2 years to rear, and then they are slaughtered and the meat is cured for up to 5 years! ) and the ham is really exceptional. Do try the following specials :

* Bellota cured ham hand cut   EU 16.70 for about a dozen slices

* Iberian cured ham croquette  EU 2.00 (for 2)

* Rice with Iberian pork

* Vermouth 

* Bodega Salad

* Coca bread with tomato 

Coca Bread with tomato and the Croquette 

Dinner is anytime from 7pm onwards although the Catalans like to dine later. I would rate this 4.5 stars out of 5 for the taste, 4 stars for the service, 4.5 stars for the ambience and overall satisfaction 4.5 stars out of 5.

Fried potatoes with spicy sauce

Will we go there if we are ever next in Barcelona, definately ! The vermouth while very dry is sweet and the Rice with Iberian Pork dish is something to remind us of home. Salt content is definately on the high side, so it is best to treat ourselves to gems like these only once every few years.  

I'm having an 80s moment

     The '80s for me was in 2 words, independence and freedom. I had turned 21 in the early '80s and while the Singapore economy was booming from the late '60s till the early '80s, I played no part in it, as I was still a 'dependent' and living off my parents' goodwill. To be honest, I lived a very fortunate life, having had additional exposure to music at a young age (I was taught the piano for 8 years), was disciplined through swimming training  at the Singapore Swimming Club (for 6 years), as well as taking part in rigorous martial arts of karate (at the Palmer Road YMCA) for at least 5 years. 

     The funny thing is that, I have revisited my 'hobbies' of my early days and now am playing tunes on my Yamaha piano, practice karate at least once a week and occasionally swim. I am grateful to my parents for imbibing in me, through these hobbies, a sense of truthfulness, perseverance, and a love for music which is another whole sphere of language - which is universal - and a never say die attitude. 

    Seize the Day.  

     

Take it to the Limit - My Favourite Eagles song ; In memory of Glenn Frey

There are times when I question my mortality and the collective conciousness which shaped my growing up years all of the people, the activities and music of the  70s and the 80s. It seems like so many of them are gone in a flash. A real wake up call to all of us Baby Boomers. Life has been good, but let us reflect and see what we have truly contributed to this world, it could be children, some good you have passed on to the next generation, some art works, music, the list goes on. I rarely remember the many good acts, small and large by people and the nasty behaviors of people stick out. My 2017 goal is to be more magnaminuous and look beyond the petty. 

Money is nothing more than a commodity for us to live and exist.   More of it may improve our happiness and the lack of it will surely impinge on our so called 'quality of life'. Stop and look around you. 

Are you alive ? 

Barcelona La Pedrera

The magnificent La Perdrera at Placa Catalunya 

The La Perdrera is the centerpiece architectural work from Antoni Gaudi at the turn of the 20th century. He was a brilliant architect who eschewed (see I learned how to use this word !) the clean lines of the minimalists such as Frank Lloyd Wright and many others and worked his brilliance by fusing nature and the wavy lines all in one building. Built at the turn of the 20th century, La Perdrera was supposed to house one family, that of his benefactor, but in the end, because of cost overruns, it housed several families.

The inner courtyard of the building which let in natural lighting

     The layout of La Pedrera is that of a building complex and every corner does not end in an apex. So, it is rectangular but not rectangular owing to the wavy curves with no start and end. On top of that he infused alot of plants and plant like sculptures together into the building facade to create some kind of cave outlook. I cannot adequately describe it owing to my architectural illiteracy but the end result is something out of this world from the outside yet homey on the inside.

    Capped at the rooftop are these foreign looking structures from Star Wars (I am sure George Lucas took inspiration from this to form his storm trooper helmets !) but are no more than the traditional chimney with an out of space chimney top !  Inside the building there are rooms fitted out in the 19th and turn of the century 20th century furniture, cups, saucers, pictures, place mats giving the person a walk-through time machine. 

   There is a museum showing Gaudi's works and life as well as his influences and end days. He was an eccentric man who died while attempting to cross a busy street. He was hit by a passing tram and was brought to the local hospital where he stayed for 3 days in the poorest ward because nobody recognised this great architect from the ordinary peasant farmer. He was recognised by Barcelona mayor who immediately transferred him to the best ward and best doctors but it was too late. He died soon after, and the whole city, and Spain mourned for the great man who was just left to die on the street and he did not complain or protest for his mistreatment. What a tragic irony

   My rather stoned looking face after almost 14 hours of flight and our first day in Barcelona

   The rooftop of the building (at the 6th storey) housed these strange Star Wars looking chimneys which are one of Gaudi's signature pieces of work. Again, he eschewed the straight lines of the typical chimney and created these fluid rather alien looking chimneys.The building has many curves and there is never a straight line where one can take any reference from. The view from here to the Sagrada Familia is also one of the main talking points for all tourists.

    I will show more in the next posts.

Barcelona 3 Parc Guell

Open courtyard of Park Guell

     Situated in the neighbourhood of Vallcarca, lies the iconic Parc Guell, this was another of Gaudi's massive projects which unfortunately for the funder, went bankrupt before it was officially opened. We took the Metro to Vallcarca and walked uphill (it was a massive steep walk by the way).  Fortunately there were escalators assisting us up the hill.

Barcelona Metro Lines 

    At the top of the hill, there was a blues guitarist doing some busking work. That memory of him doing his thing and singing in the winter sun is something really special. His name was Robert (no last name) and he had cut a CD taken from his gig at the Harlem Jazz Club in Barelona. I have it in my car's CD and it is exceptional. 

The steep road up to Parc Guell

The panoramic view at the top of Parc Guell 

   Antoni Gaudi, the most famous architecht in Spain lived most of his life in Barcelona, and his 3 most iconic works are the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and La Pedrera. Parc Guell is by far the largest and most ambitious work of his. Below are some of his eclectic and eccentric houses, and courtyards which try to fuse the natural beauty of nature and modern design.

  As belligerant tourists, we were captivated by the fact that such a renowned and forward looking architech had died a pauper, and an unknown knocked down on a main street by a tram. Great vision and design is seldom appreciated during most geniuses lifetime.      

Uniquely designed house 

We were fortunate to arrive in Barcelona when the weather was generally fine (out of the 5 days we stayed there, 4 days were sunny). Parc Guell is well worth a visit, firstly to see the entire city from the hilltop (I will post a picture in another post) and secondly to see the curves on his buildings which he was so famously renowned for.   

Would we go back to parc Guell ? I think 1 visit is sufficient. 

If you have 4 to 5 days in Barcelona, do check out the following in order of importance (according to this belligerant tourist ! )

1. La Pedrera

2. Sagrada Familia Church

3. Montjuic (we went to see Joan Miro Musuesm which was absolutely fantastic)

4. Parc Guell

5. Barcelonetta Beach

6. La Ramblas

The chic distric of El Born was another of my favourite walking tours (plenty of small boutique shops selling all kinds of things from arts and craft, clothing and of course tapas).

I had the misfortune of having my phone stolen from right under my nose, that unfortunate incident aside, the city is beautiful, with its residents warm and inviting.

Service in the tapas restaurants was excellent, again highlighting the distinct lousy service provided by Singaore F and B joints generally.