Yolanda in New York, the city of her birth |
Yolanda L. Comedy is a world traveler and an independent
consultant who works on science and technology policy issues while chipping
away at the possibility of a novel writing career. Somewhere along the way, she
has learned that she has so much to say that can’t be captured in her technical
papers and policy speak. However, she has had a wonderful career with
opportunities that include: a Ph.D. from Indiana
University in Political Science and Public Policy; an American Association for
the Advancement of Science Fellowship; and working at the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy and at IBM, and starting her own consulting
business.
Love
at first sight is one of the more inexplicable of human emotions. Why we
gravitate to certain people and to certain places is perhaps a mystery, perhaps
a culmination of who we are, where we’ve been, what we feel inside. I fill my
life with a lot of things. I love music and art, I’m a crazy tennis fan, I
surround myself with beauty and love long walks on a beautiful day. And I live
to travel. I have been all over the world, sometimes for days, sometimes for
over a year. Most places I visit, I’m glad I did and I return home with new
memories, new experiences, the continual building of my character. But some
very small number of places capture me and I come home feeling nostalgia, such
a longing. When I leave these places I feel as though I’ve left my home not
returned to it. Barcelona was such a place.
One of the floats ( a shooting star) at the Three Kings Parade. The parade went right past our hotel! |
Barcelona
has a heart and a soul and a vibe that is just wonderful! The lifestyle that I
saw included such a dedication to friends and family and food. I went to
Barcelona this past New Year’s. Fortunately, they have a big Christmas
celebration and parade in January as well.
I
loved the dedication to food in Barcelona. A normal day in the life of food: I
settled into my seat around two o’clock, my friend across from me, and a room
full of people, filling the tables and bar seats or waiting for a seat
anywhere. The windows were large and expansive, bringing the busy La Rambla
area inside, even on a crisp January day. We ordered our carafe of sangria
within minutes of sitting down. We explored the menu of tapas, looked at them
through the behind-glass displays, and my friend and I negotiated carefully on
our shared dinner, making certain we tried new things and felt the comfort of
foods we already knew we loved. And then we dined…for hours. We laughed and
talked with each other, our waiters, and people next to us. We coveted the food
of others when our stomachs would allow us to eat no more.
Overlooking Barcelona from the La Sagrada Familia |
And
then we opted for a Barcelona favorite. We went out on to the streets and
lingered at shops and stands. We watched people. We admired the women smartly
dressed. We smiled at couples, young and old, strolling hand in hand. We
wondered why so many people sold birds and wished we could take back some of
the beautiful bouquets of flowers that we saw. We bought irresistible scarves
and hats—nothing like we see at home. The energy of the crowds carried us, and
we walked for much longer than we had planned, hoping to walk off some of the
food we ate. We’d now barely have time to get back to the hotel to bathe and
change for dinner!
Yolanda at Gaudi La Pedrera |
Art and artists fill the streets of Barcelona. I would have never said
that I liked the famous architect Antoni Gaudi before visiting Barcelona. What
I saw in picture books looked strange and, yes, gaudy. But after my visit to
Barcelona I quickly learned to love and appreciate his incredible vision, his
refusal to be ordinary, and the dreams that must have inspired his art. I got
tired of the word wow, which I seemed
to say over and over again every time I saw his work.
A Roman Catholic church,
La Sagrada Família, a hundred-year work in progress, is worth the long lines to
get inside, even on a cold day. I wanted to explore every nook and begin to
understand the passion it took to design La Sagrada Família as well as the
perseverance
it has taken to try to complete Gaudi’s vision. Gaudi’s apartments, La Pedrera in the center of town, are alluring and fanciful, while still livable within its extreme character.
it has taken to try to complete Gaudi’s vision. Gaudi’s apartments, La Pedrera in the center of town, are alluring and fanciful, while still livable within its extreme character.
La Pedrera, Gaudi's Apartment building |
La Sagrada Familia |
A restaurant at Port Olímpic on New Year's Eve |
I want to be back in Barcelona, feeling the pulse of the city, eating good food, walking and exploring, seeing the ocean and just living life the way I think it was meant to be lived—with passion and togetherness and the heart and soul of people and history and beauty.
I feel the same way about Spain in general, but particularly Seville. I haven't spent enough time in Barcelona, though. One day soon....
ReplyDeleteI love Barcelona, too. My visit there was short and a long time ago but I remember the art and artists well. I'm still planning to go back.
ReplyDeleteYolanda, I've long wanted to join one of your fabulous international adventures, and now I feel like I have. Only now I'm hungry for more! Thanks for sharing one of your favorite places with us. Where to next?
ReplyDeleteYolanda...you make me crave to be a world traveler as well! Your final lines fill me with hope as I believe the world would be so much richer if we all embraced the passion and togetherness that you did in such a wonderful city, Barcelona. I have never been there, but feel as if I have tasted its food, people, and art through you. I can't wait for the next adventure as I live vicariously through you...for the time being.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that George Orwell described La Sagrada Familia as hideous, but that's okay I have been enchanted by Gaudi's work and Barcelona since the Olympics held there, thank you for showing another beautiful aspect of Barcelona!!!
ReplyDelete