Fantasy vs. Reality

In little tucked away corners, an old city like Barcelona is filled with magical surprises.  Sometimes, these surprises are... actually magical.  So it is with El Bosc de Les Fades (The Fairy Forest), a small bar hidden around the corner from the bottom of Las Ramblas.  First, you see this inconspicuous sign

 And then the enormous wax museum, with a creepy wax woman beckoning you in.

 Please note that the guardians of the Wax Museum sign are superman and C3PO:

 And then, down a little alley to your right, you get a hint that you're on the right path:

 Now, it says Cafe-Bar, but what it means is All Day Experience of Wonder and Delight.  When you step inside, a forest greets you:

 Families with little kids ooh and ahh over the decorations, but it' not just them - everyone sort of wants to see the place.  A line of curious explorers, from teenagers to the middle aged, pick their way through the tables to see the little ponds and pools that decorate the walls and, as a rite of passage, to walk the little path through the forest.  This features one miniature castle:

 A pond fed by a little waterfall featuring its VERY OWN FAIRY (not me)

 and a little bridge for you to cross.  It's very corny, but very cute.
And hey, once you've acclimated you can order a drink at your very own forest bar.

 On the way out, be sure to check out the attached Wax Museum Gift Shop.  The glass walls are decorated with thousands of origami animals; each section contains a different color and species.

 My next stop was a bit more commonplace: El Corte Ingles.  And not just any El Corte Ingles (I have to have seen at least eight around the city), but the humongonormous one at Plaza Catalunya.

At the top of this towering building is a cafe that just happens to offer panoramic views of the city.  While the elevator system is baffling at best (just grab the first one and ride it until it starts going in an upward direction), the rest is easy.  There's only one room at the top, and it's the enormous cafe.  Pop over to the windows and, if you're famished, grab a bite to eat.  Or, if you're like me, slink your way around to the prettiest views and snap a picture for posterity.

 On my way home, I stopped to gape at the beautiful Cases Antoni Rocamora, built in 1914.   

 On the Moderniste Highway of Passeig de Gracia, this beautiful structure dazzles with it's orange domes and general beauty.  It has a little bit of Gothic and little bit of Medieval and a little bit of whatever the architects (Joachim and Bonaventure Bassegoda... I think it's a good idea to hire an architect whose name means "good adventure") dreamed up.
On my way home, I had another adventure, this one highly unexpected.  There were police cars everywhere, as well as police men donning helmets and handing out shields and batons.  And then I heard it.  The chanting.  There was a massive protest coming down the street.

 The protesters gathered outside a building that had never caught my interest before, but is apparently government related.  The protest, one of many around the city, were in response to further cuts by the government.

This morning's newspapers mentioned the strikes.  They also mentioned that half of the Spaniards claiming 600,000 euros of income or greater have disappeared in the last three years, presumably because they moved to other countries and not because they were killed for their immense wealth.

Spotted: The Crisis

In addition to the protests, signs of the crisis are everywhere.  Mostly not on the main tourist drags, but at the fringes and in the residential neighborhoods.  Signs of "Liquidation Sale, We're Closing" fill up many windows.  It's a sad reality that's easy to forget as a tourist but strikingly real for the city's residents.