Pulse

8 December 2021

Barcelona has a slow heart rate. Measured. It won’t be rushed. You bend to it. It won’t change for you.

I love it. It slows you down.

“The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community, from the mere animal biology to an act of culture.” - Michael Pollan

Barcelona wakes up late. It is an unemployed twenty-something that parties every night. It staggers awake at 11.00 am. Blurry eyed. Breakfast is lunch and it needs a drink to face the day.

It naps around 3.00 pm. Feels better by 5.00 pm and has a very late lunch. Time for a wine. This late lunch drifts into night. Dinner at 10.00 pm. Unrushed. More wine. Barcelona calls it a night at 2.00 am.

Repeat.

No one is rushing anywhere. People just move about their business. Meals are lengthy. Lubricated. There is always a gentle murmur of conversation. People seem well mannered. There is no need for rudeness if there is little stress.

People walk with their heads up. No phones.

People conversate over meals. No phones.

No phones.

There are dogs. Dogs make people happy.

Another productive day.

We have found a great coffee place to start the morning. Satan’s coffee.

Their sign reads “No bullshit. No wifi. No decaf. No vanilla. No fun for children. Fuck Yelp. Fuck Tripadvisor”

Perfect.

"The nine-to-five is one of the greatest atrocities sprung upon mankind. You give your life away to a function that doesn't interest you." - Charles Bukowski

We walked to a shoe store. Her shoes need replacing.

Late lunch at a tapas bar. Tuna. Aubergine. More jamòn.

Wines with lunch-

2018 Bodega Vinyes Singulars PIM PAM

2018 Bodega Testuan Xirà

Siesta. 

Wake up at 7.00 pm

Dinner with friends at 8.30pm

Barcelona time success.