The Creative Juices were flowing at 7th and Montana this morning as Ace Photographer Kovar announced an exhibit of his work on Monday night from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Salon Nesou (1914 Wilshire); The Screenwriter Brothers scored a positive review for their new movie Cop Out in today's Los Angeles Times; and word spread that Kathy has auditioned to be a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune." Not to be outdone, the Local Loon known as Rigolatte -- famous for locking himself in the men's room at Our Favorite Starbucks and belting out opera tunes for hours on end -- appeared to be auditioning for a role of his own this morning. His heated monologue seemed sure to land him a part in the highly-anticipated Sci Fi spin-off, "Babble-On 5: Men in White Coats."
It was a Long Day's Journey into Flight this morning as I was caught smack in the middle of the French Air Traffic Controllers Strike which caused hundreds of flight cancellations across Europe, including my own to London. Because of the strike, nearly all of the flights leaving Barcelona -- except for those from Air France -- were prevented from flying over French air space. The only way I was able to leave Barcelona was to quickly scramble behind-the-scenes at 5:00 a.m. to get myself on a flight to Paris via Air France and then from Paris to Los Angeles. In other words, I flew right into the belly of the beast as far as the Air Traffic Controllers' strike was concerned. Speaking of Beastly Bellies, the whole ordeal seemed to be too much for the person sitting next to me -- a man I'll call "Chuck" (pictured above) -- who couldn't stop bellyaching about all the inconvenience the strike was causing him. Shortly after takeoff, he proved his point by up-chucking like there was no tomorrow, filling up two-and-a-half Barf Bags. Thank God they weren't serving any Bone Marrow Omelets for breakfast or things might have been a lot worse ...!
It was Four Cats for dinner last night in Barcelona ... and boy was I hungry. Just to clarify, the name of the restaurant I went to was called 4Gats, which means the Four Cats in Catalan Spanish, and it's something of an institution. It opened in 1897 as a comfortable, local bistro and immediately began attracting local artists who hung out there every day. Foremost among them was a 17-year-old Pablo Picasso who held his first exhibition in the backroom and designed the restaurant's menu (pictured below). As for the food, it was whisker-lickin' good ...!
If you're into architecture, Barcelona is the place for you. Like many European cities, Barcelona is steeped in history and you see that reflected in its buildings. But, unlike anywhere else, Barcelona was also the birthplace of an architectural revolution -- the "modernist" movement in the early 20th Century -- which paved the way for the Art Deco movement in the 1920s. Architects in this period began to experiment with space, turning buildings into works of art. The best known modernist was Antoni Gaudí, who took what he saw in nature and translated it into his designs. His masterwork (pictured above), the Sagrada Família, a Catholic Church that Gaudi began in 1882, rises above Barcelona like a series of giant, graceful tree trunks. It's the most amazing building I've ever seen -- complete with colorful, religious imagery throughout -- and it's still under construction. Gaudi knew he would never live to see it finished. When asked about the unusually long construction process, he said, "My client is not in a hurry."
One client who was in a hurry, however, was Pere Mila -- a wealthy developer who commissioned Gaudi to build the apartment complex pictured above, now called Casa Milà. I toured Casa Mila, taking-in one of the apartments, the attic and a rooftop patio and it was amazing. 
Walking around the building was almost like being inside a giant beehive. Each space flowed naturally to the next, with one room leading almost organically to another. The patio, pictured above, featured air vents that looked like a collection of hives. Today, the building is World Heritage Site. 
Everyone associates Gaudi with the best of Barcelona architecture, but in my opinion, one of the nicest buildings in town was designed by one of his competitors, Lluis Domenech i Montaner. The Palau de la Música -- a concert hall -- is one of the best-kept secrets in Barcelona from an architectural perspective. It doesn't get the same attention in all the guidebooks as Gaudi's work and that's a shame. I think it's a victim of its location: The Palau is hidden away from public view on a virtually unmarked street in the old section of town, where the streets are narrow and the buildings are huddled practically on top of each other. But that's also what makes Domenech i Montaner's work so striking. He surrounded the concert hall with colored glass, bathing it in light and giving it the appearance of an indoor garden. The walls are covered with mosaic flowers and sculptures; pillars -- also covered in mosaics -- resemble trees and the ceiling features a bright gold, stained glass sun in the shape of an inverted cupola. Unfortunately, the Palau doesn't allow visitors to take photographs and a pesky security guard was watching me like a hawk. But here's a link I found on Trip Advisor to a whole series of photos from someone who got a little luckier than I did: Forbidden Photos of the Palau de la Musica.
Naturally, I popped-in to another Starbucks -- this one near the Palau de la Musica -- to torture yet another unsuspecting Barista. This one listened closely as I ordered a Grande Half Caff, asked me to repeat my order twice, then gave me an Americano without blinking. I think they're getting wise to me ...!
The Invisible Man, a quiet character who wore a pair of sunglasses and a hat that seemed to be floating in mid-air;
A disembodied head on a plate, who stared up at me from a pile of Paella and shouted "Welcome to Barcelona!;" and last but not least ...
A "Living Statue" who sat on a toilet, reading a newspaper and watching passersby. Judging from the pile of Plaster of Paris by his side, I think he had the runs. 
La Rambla culminates in a monument to Christopher Columbus which stands atop the very place where Columbus returned to Spain to report to Isabella and Ferdinand after his first voyage to the Americas. The statue of Columbus (pictured above, on a 130-foot column) is supposed to be pointing to the New World but, in reality, it points East, towards Columbus' home city.
I walked along the banks of the Mediterranean for a while, before turning inland to check out a few more sites, including:
La Seu Cathedral, a church which dates back to the 13th Century but incorporates elements from earlier Roman ruins in the area; and
The Arc de Triomf, built in 1888 to commemorate a "Universal Exhibition" in Barcelona, welcoming other nations to the city.
It was Many Happy Returns today as I arrived at the Starbucks in Amsterdam, intent on playing my usual games with the Barista. Every time I'm here, I make it a point to order the same thing I always get at 7th and Montana -- a "Grande Half Caff" -- just to watch the Dutch Baristas squirm. Usually, they look at me like I have three heads before telling me that they've never heard of a "Half Caff." You see, they don't drink a lot of decaff around here, so the notion of mixing regular and decaffeinated coffee is entirely alien to them. Today, however, my Barista was One Smart Cookie. She figured out what I had in mind and whipped it up in no time. I wasn't as lucky when it came to dinner. For 15 years, I've been going to the same restaurant in Utrecht, the Taj Mahal, a quaint Indian restaurant in the shadow of the Dom Tower, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, dating back to the 1300's. I've been there so often they remember me. "Hello, Chicken Tikka Masala," they always say, "Your table is waiting." Well, my table wasn't waiting today and neither was I. I remembered that there was another Indian restaurant nearby, the Restaurant Gandhi, so I decided to give it a try. "Will you be having the special?," asked the waiter. I glanced at a sign hanging on the wall in front of me and couldn't help noticing that the special was something called "Mango Lassie." Gandhi was known for a lot of things, but his appetite wasn't one of them. I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala and it was pretty good. Who knows, maybe I'll return tomorrow for a little hair of the dog that bit me. Rin Tin Tenderloin, anyone ...?!?
Love was in the air this morning at 7th and Montana as an Anonymous Lovebird hired a skywriter to deliver a high-fallutin' Valentines Day message: "J Loves J." The word "loves" was depicted by a heart and the message was punctuated with a smiley face. Who exactly are J and J? No one at Our Favorite Starbucks would fess up. But one thing's for sure. It's not the couple who live upstairs from Genevieve. Neither has been heard from since yesterday's creepy incident.
Valentines Day came early today for Spa Dog Einstein, the lovable Bichone Frise who holds court daily at 7th and Montana, and his new friend, Duke, an energetic Jack Russell Terrier. Shortly after meeting each other in front of Our Favorite Starbucks, the pooches embraced each other like old friends and waltzed up 7th Street in perfect lockstep. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, tensions are mounting between Genevieve's argumentative new neighbors -- an annoying couple who have been screaming at each other virtually round-the-clock for more than two months. Things apparently came to a head last night when the man -- known among insiders as Mr. Tattoo -- went on a drunken rampage, destroying public and private property and ranting about all the SOB's who live in Santa Monica. His girlfriend vanished shortly thereafter. Hours later, he was spotted under cover of darkness wheeling a Mysterious Load of Trash to a dumpster two blocks away, following which he ran from door-to-door frantically begging for a "jump start" so he could hit the road. He hasn't been seen since. Genevieve and I quietly paid a visit to the Dumpster-in-Question this morning and found: A new-but-discarded Mattress Pad, a Coffee Urn and an Umbrella. I think I've seen this movie before. It was called Rear Window. Happy Valentines Day, folks ...!
It was an open casting call at 7th and Montana yesterday as Barista Tyler did an impromptu audition for Tom Hanks' new movie in production, How Starbucks Saved My Life. Rumor has it that Hanks' production company, Playtone, is currently casting for the movie -- about a man who finds salvation through a job at Starbucks -- and Tyler's hope is that they're looking for a real-life Barista. To emphasize his point, he struck a pose not unlike John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Who knows ... if he doesn't get a part in the Starbucks movie, maybe Neighbor Tom will have something for him on Dancing with the Stars. Speaking of movies, the Screenwriter Brothers' movie, Cop Out -- starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan -- opens on February 26.
It was hair today, gone tomorrow at 7th and Montana this morning as the man known locally as Tommy Toupee for his obvious attachment to a synthetic hair piece made the scene wearing his signature weave, a revealing, auburn number that only he could pull off. "He's not just ready for the Red Carpet, he's wearing it!," I said. "I think there's a line showing," said Mel. Rumor has it he's a hair's breadth away from winning an Oscar for Best Costume Design. An Oscar Madison, that is ...!
Look out, Hugh Hefner, there's a new Playboy in town and his credentials put yours to shame. On paper, that is. His name is Flat Stanley and he was created by Bob and Joyce's grandson, Colin, as part of a school project. If you've never heard of Flat Stanley, you don't know what your missing. The character originated in a children's book about a boy named Stanley who became flatter than a pancake when a bulletin board fell on his head. In 1995, an enterprising school teacher in Canada created a Flat Stanley Project whereby elementary school students all over the world create their own Flat Stanley cut-outs and see what sort of adventures the character can have in a one-month period. If today is any indication, Colin's Flat Stanley is not just a cut-out, he's a cut-up. He started the day with a cappuccino at 7th and Montana, went for a brief swim in a puddle on 7th Street, slipped-in an Acupuncture Session with Dr. Feng and then it was off to Vail, Colorado on a Private Jet with Howard and Cathy. Oh, and in between all of this he found time to get married. The bride, a Colorful Character known locally as Crystal Crayola, celebrated the nuptials by dying her hair to match Stanley's florescent orange pants and tie ...!
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