I now have such a massive jones to revisit Barcelona. Few things are as delightful as a friend visiting a place you deeply love, and getting it, absolutely.
When we were outside Prague in 2007, visiting the little town of Kutna Hora.
We demurred.
Work on Sagrada Familia has continued during the near-ninety years since Gaudi stepped into the path of a streetcar, and is planned to continue for many more years to come.
Athletically-inspired fashion tends not to catch my eye, but now these are sneakers.
Note that of course a gentleman's socks should always match his oriental carpets.
The shoes I found at a delightful design and clothing store named Suspect, in the Passatge del credit, in the Barrio. I also much liked their coathangers.
The store that stood out most for me, however, was Caelum, which sells only products produced by monasteries: fine sheep's cheeses, tonics to alleviate menstrual cramps, liqueurs made from eucalyptus or gold.
And, sugared egg yolks. They taste better than you'd expect.
And, weirder.
So far as I know, you can get them no other place in the world.
How eldritch would H.P. Lovecraft have found Barcelona?
Let's run down the list.
Rugose? Check.
Squamous? Check.
Batrachian? Check.
"Bupkis. I got bupkis."
Ghoul-haunted? Check.
Cephalapodian? Check.
Possible human-fish hybrids in recent past? Check.
Innsmouth look? Check.
Forms reminiscent of horrors even more terrifying than the purely Cthulhoid? Check.
How eldritch would HPL have found Barcelona?
1) Enough so to prompt the writing of a short 78,000 word letter to Clark Ashton Smith. 2) Worse than Iggy's Clam Shack, just outside Warwick, RI. 3) "Howard Lovecraft awoke one morning to find himself transformed into a resident of Brooklyn."
