In September 2004 my bride & I traveled to Barcelona to celebrate Marti's birthday.
A few days later we drove up into the mountains of Catalunya to chill out.
Our first stop following BCN hotel check-in was our favorite seaside restaurant
in Barceloneta: Cal Pinxo, where strolling musicians serenaded us during lunch.



Marti found the perfect pinked-out setting for a snapshot:
a recently-vacated ice cream parlor that had been
tricked up for an advertising photo shoot.



That evening we hooked up with our pal Philos & went to dinner at Cal Pep,
another of our Barcelona gastronomic haunts.



We've been going to this restaurant ever since I discovered it in 1997. I wrote about it in Relix,
then returned to show the owner his photo in an American rock magazine! There's no menu. You wait
your turn, then sit at the counter & watch the cooks prepare killer tapas for you.



I love the spinach-ham-garbanzos thang. The fried peppers ain't shabby, either.



The next day, heading for the Passeig de Gracia, we strolled through a little park
at the Palau Robert, which was hosting an exhibition about trains in Catalunya.



Gaudi's masterpiece in the Passeig de Gracia: the Casa Mila.
We'd already toured this landmark, so Marti & I
made a beeline for the gift shop. I quickly found a couple
of items for the birthday gal.



On the Passeig de Gracia.



Modernist architect Lluis Domènech i Montaner's splendiferous Palau de la Musica Catalana.
Marti had read about it in Robert Hughes' excellent book Barcelona.



We also visited the beautiful Church of Santa Maria de Mar in the Bari Gotic. We had been
shopping till we dropped, so it was a relief to sit in a pew & watch somebody's wedding.



We were guests of La Familia Martos, our dear "second family,"
for dinner that night. I first met their son Sergio at a 1997 rock
festival in the Pyrenées. We've all been tight ever since.
That's Sergio next to Marti, along with his beautiful girlfriend
Sarai & our BCN bud Francisco.



Carmen & Antonio, our hosts, are the kindest, most generous people we know.



Reports were that Carmen had been cooking all day in our honor. Believe me,
it showed. This was hands-down the best meal we've ever had in Spain!



More of our Barcelona extended family showed up later in the meal. Besides
Francisco (next to Toni Martos), our pal Dani arrived just in time for dessert.
It was a delicious feast & a delightful evening.



The next day was Marti's birthday. We explored the picturesque Gracia district, stopped for a bit
of shopping, then had lunch at Sant Yago, an excellent neighborhood restaurant. I gave Marti
a necklace & a pair of earrings I had bought her in Washington DC during our August visit.
Next up: Marti's Barcelona birthday party!

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