Last Week in Canet, Spain
Hi all,
It's been a while since I wrote an update and while I'm actually back in the US now, I'm going to attempt to remember and share what the last few weeks of the trip were like -- just as much of a way of keeping you all informed as to document and store the memories for myself so that per Claire's recommendation I can come back to these posts and remember what happened!
So, the last week in Canet after Kaitlin and Larry headed out was peaceful and low-key. I spent a lot of time by myself and played around with walking out the door only with a loose plan and seeing what happened.
Highlights from the week:
- I went back to a Japanese restaurant Kaitlin, Larry and I had been to the week prior -- Sake Tasca Japonesa -- to treat myself to their shoyu Ramen. As before, I was one of the only people in the restaurant and got to chatting with Mio, the owner and her coworker Nyadeh. Mio had a super interesting story -- she was born in Japan and moved to Great Britain at 18 where she learned English, then moved to France where she picked up French, working at restaurants all the way. In France she met an akido master who she ended up marrying and moving to Canet de Mar with 15 years ago, to continue training akido, learn Spanish and open up a sushi restaurant. Mio lives off the grid in a home she renovated herself, up the hill in the next town over (Arenys De Munt) with her daughter, aging mother, a pig, and several dogs, cats and goats. She and her husband live separately (he did not want to live off the grid, and she didn't want to live with a partner) though are still very close. I really enjoyed chatting with Mio and appreciated her serving me Asahi beers and sample sushi rolls on the house. Mio and Nyadeh were nice enough to invite me to come back the next night to join them in their end of shift tradition of locking the front door, flipping the "open" sign to "closed", lighting up a cigarette, pouring a glass of wine and chatting before heading home. Now that I'm back in the States and reflecting, this is one example from the theme of people being welcoming, open, generous and kind in ways that I wasn't expecting when I went to Spain solo but was and am deeply grateful to have experienced. Thanks Mio and Nyadeh!
- I went for a long run! I left the apartment intending to explore something new and found myself angling back toward the path up the mountain I'd hiked with Kaitlin & Larry a couple of weeks prior. This time I went past the scenic overlook (Pedracastell o Creu de Canet) and ended up on a twisting, turning dirt path across the hilldside which eventually led me over to Arenys de Munt, and down to Arenys de Mar where I treated myself to a Damm Lemon beer from the grocery store which I drank in probably one minute, and swam in the ocean before walking back. The total route was 13.6 kilometers based on the map and was my longest run in Spain.
- I did some professional networking by meeting Marc Sabas with Ship2B Ventures. Marc is a director of investments at Ship2B, which is managing the largest climate technology fund (50 million Euro) in Spain. He and I met and chatted at the Ship2B offices about promising emerging climate technologies and the ways Ship2B finds to invest in them. Hilariously on the way up the 4th floor walk up, I made a wrong turn and bumped in to an older nearly naked man who asked if I was there from maintenance because his shower was out. This is how I learned that occasionally office buildings are also apartment buildings in Barcelona!
My last evening in Spain I spent visiting a new friend Ariana who I was introduced to by my housemates and friends Eli, Jack, Joyce and Sarah. Ariana is from New York and went to Oberlin for undergrad. Her mother is Spanish, from Barcelona and so visiting Barcelona was a big part of Ariana's upbringing. Now she lives there full time and is pursuing work in arts administration, in complement to her existing career as a performing artist. Ariana showed me all over her neighborhood Gràcia where we shared some great eats including a cheese plate and wine at Viblioteca , and tapas + dessert at Soma -- a restaurant owned by some young friends of Ariana's which serves creative Catalonian dishes. I also have Ariana to thank for turning me on to C. Tangana who is a Spanish pop / rap star and produced this Tiny Desk Concert which I've been listening to regularly since.
After crashing on Ariana's couch (thanks for having me Ariana!), I spent the next day wandering down La Diagonal which is an arterial corridor running through much of Barcelona -- stopping here and there to sit in plazas and have snacks. Eventually I made my way to the Barcelona Design Museum (Museu del Diseny) which is situated in Plaza Glories. The museum was a thought provoking and intriguing experience -- I particularly enjoyed the sections on the evolution of fashion & beauty (as reflected in clothing design) over time, and manufacturing processes for consumer goods using recycled materials. There was also a section on the evolution of graphic design (the invention of the Macintosh computer was catalytic for this field) that featured a series of posters from none other than Moog nightclub which I learned has been around since at least 1987!
^ passed by Sagrada familia one more time on my way to the museum
^ greywater supplied toilet
From the design museum I caught the metro to the aerobus to the airport and hopped on a flight to Florence, where I soon reunited with Kaitlin, Larry, Lauren and some other friends.
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