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The Best of Spain 2022

Maggie and Rose Anne Strazzo

In 2019, I made arrangements to take the "Best of Spain in 14 Days" tour with my mom. Our tour was supposed to have occurred in October of 2020. Oopsie! As soon as Rick Steves' Tours reopened for 2022 travel, I signed us up again.

 

My mom is Rose Anne Strazzo, and she is 94 years old. My name is Maggie Strazzo, and all I want to say about my age is that I have been able to qualify for Medicare for several years. Mom was a registered nurse, raised four kids, and still lives by herself in Connecticut with a little help during the day, as she no longer drives. I live north of Seattle, work part time as a physical therapist, and am a single mom of two adult children.

 

Covid was tough on healthcare workers. Healthcare became a political issue, which it should never be. We had no masks nor other PPE, so I made masks for myself, my colleagues and my patients. I had to review proper hand washing techniques with patients and their families, and also teach them how to wear a mask properly. And yes, I did get pushback. After two years of Covid, I felt depleted, and when the restrictions were lifted I was ready for travel and a change in culture and scenery. The trip to Spain would be our fourth Rick Steves tour.

 

My mom and I always take a local cooking class at the beginning of our tours, so we arranged to arrive a few days early in Barcelona. I grew up in an Italian family. Food is our love language, and if you are not at least 30 pounds overweight, we worry that you suffer some sort of terrible disease. We will first cook for you, then go to church to pray and light a candle for you.

 

The cooking class Mom and I chose was how to make paella. Depending on where you come from, the recipe for paella will have different ingredients. If you live by the Mediterranean Sea where Barcelona is located, your paella will have seafood in it. If you live in the middle of the country, the protein of choice will be chicken, pork, or rabbit.  According to our chef, you NEVER combine seafood with meat. Most Spaniards can't agree on which version is better, but many simply assert that the way their abuelita (grandma) made it is best. One thing everyone does agree on is that a good paella begins with good soffritto which is the base for the rice, consisting of a combination of tomatoes, onions, peppers and seasoning. And the rice should be crispy.

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The recipe we learned is shared below:

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After our cooking class we head over to Parc Guell, which is one of Barcelona's largest parks and green spaces. Antoni Gaudi, the architect of the park, was commissioned by Eusebi Guell.  Originally conceived as an upper class community housing site with gardens and an area for a market, the project failed and became instead a public park, and later a Unesco Heritage site. The park and the buildings are an example of Catalan modernism. I see it as organic and earthlike, with Moslem and Baroque influences.

As the contractor and builder of my first house and remodeler of my second (I don't advise it), I wonder how the architect came up with the plans. How was it built so that neither the buildings nor outside seating area have collapsed?  How does one integrate the colors and shapes with the hillside? When I look at the park, it makes me think that art, music, architecture, and dance are the best contributions that we humans give to the world. (Am I starting to sound like Henry David Thoreau or maybe Walt Whitman?)

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