Food, Wine, and Pride

July was here and then gone in a flash. For our second 4th of July in Barcelona, we were invited to the Democrats Abroad pool party! (Our friends have a great little apartment with their own pool in the back. Amazing!) I left all of my red-white-and-blue garb in the states, and honestly, I'm not sure how much I'd like to wear it walking around BCN, so I just wore a red t-shirt. I also had to go buy a new swimsuit, and I was amazed to find one in just a few tries at Decathlon. 

In the middle of July, we attended the Barcelona Pride parade with our Dems Abroad friends. I wore my "Free Mom Hugs" t-shirt, and gave out a few happy hugs to parade walkers. Instead of walking in the parade, we put up our DA banners and stood on the street waving signs. We all decided that we liked that idea better than walking the whole parade route... we got to see everything! There were 50 flatbed trucks with people dancing and waving and using water-guns on the crowd. So many different groups in costumes, gorgeous drag queens... it was super fun. One of our friends made a sign that said "Trans Lives Matter" (for her daughter) and she got more waves and thumbs-up than all of the rest of us combined. (She just kept having to hide her sign from the people shooting water everywhere!)  John even went shopping earlier in the day to get a rainbow hat to wear for the occasion. (Isn't he cute?) I realized at some point that this was probably my first Pride parade... how can that be? It definitely won't be my last. The nicest thing was that, right after the 50th truck went by, the street cleaning crew was waiting to follow, and all of the debris and detritus was gone in a flash. 

Then, in case you didn't see the news, SPAIN WON THE MEN'S FOOTBALL WORLD CUP! Our neighbors are from
Argentina, so when their team won the semifinal, we could hear the yelling. After the final, they were a little quieter. And everyone was really tired at work the next day. :)  I wonder if there will be a baby boom in 9 months? (Ref: this cute Hyundai commercial.) 

John suggested that we go out every once in a while and try a new restaurant, as there are about eleventy-gazillion of them around town, and we only go to two or three of our favorites. I'd been looking forward to trying a place called En Ville - it's a totally gluten free
restaurant, and it's right down the block! Our reservation was for 7:30, right when they opened, but I was glad we got a table, because it really filled up around 8pm. Everything we tried was delicious - we had patatas bravas (which are GF anyway), but also pork gyoza, cannelones, and amazing desserts. It was nice to be out, even if we were surrounded by tourists. Sigh, Summer in Barcelona, not much we can do about that. 

The next week, my office had our team-building retreat. There were almost 40 of us. They drove us about an hour north to a golf course, but we weren't there for golf, we were for a 'coupage' exercise - that is, mixing your own wine from a selection of varietals. We got split into teams and had to mix the wine, come up with a team name, and create a label and a marketing presentation. My group included my boss (Albert) and the head of the department (Mariona), my co-worker Carolina, and two other guys. When it came time to pick a winery name, the department head looked at me and said, "where are you from?" I said, "Austin" - but that doesn't sound right for a winery, so I said, "but my family is from Ventura" and they all liked that one better. Then Albert and one of the other guys ran off to create our label, while the rest of us did the actual mixing of varietals. It ended up being mostly Cab, with a little Merlot and a white varietal (I don't remember which) mixed in. The funny thing was, they made me one of the taste-testers... and I hardly drink wine at all any more, and never drink red! Oh well. The guys came back with our labels (PRINTED! They convinced someone in the golf course clubhouse to let them print? All of the other groups had to use the art supplies provided.), and they used AI to come up with a story. It was so good, I almost cried. 

 In 1974, farmer Sam Fratkin planted three rows of
Cabernet Sauvignon along the shoulder of Highway
101, more out of curiosity than ambition. The marine
fog that rolled in each morning off Rincon Point settled
over the vines the same way it settled over the asphalt
below — and by harvest, the grapes carried a salinity no
oak barrel could imitate. Three generations later, his
granddaughter blends that same hillside Cabernet with
valley Merlot, keeping the elevation, the fog line, and
the miles that tie the vineyard to the sea.
— — The Fratkin Family, 101 Cellars

We did our marketing presentation - mostly I read the back label - but we didn't win, although they told us later that we had the best tasting wine. I brought it home, so if/when mom and dad come to visit, we can drink it. But here are the beautiful labels, and me holding the bottle. 

 
 

 After the wine exercise, they took us to the factory that makes washing machines - industrial sized ones that hotels and other large customers use. I wasn't expecting it to be as interesting as it was! 

August is vacation time in Barcelona - everyone goes away for some portion of the month, if not the whole thing. We are off to South Africa on to go on safari - stay tuned for the travelogue!