Exotic Animals in Barcelona: Pyxicephalus Adspersus

The exotic animals market in Barcelona is a prosperous business but I am not here to denounce anything. Many things are not right in this world. It is just this stupid obsession we humans have to collect things up. I will merely show you the frighten face of this beautiful Pyxicephalus adspersus or African Bullfrog. Check this other bullfrog image by Phil Bishop found via CalPhotos database. I had to look at several pictures to find the correct name since I foolishly forgot to take it down properly. Well, in fact he doesn't look scared but I imagine he must be under stress in the hands of this disgusting pale being that curiously comes everyday and feeds him. Here is a comprehensive database on amphibian species: AmphibiaWeb.

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Under the Archway, Carrer del Bisbe, Barri Gotic, Barcelona

Walking in slow motion under the archway at Casa de los Canónigos in Bisbe Irurita street, if you really concentrate you can manage to stop time for a couple of seconds, while you bathe in the bright light of the sun. You should stay there, spreading your arms in the way only a child can do, stretching your head back up to face the backlit figures, the same sculptures that have witnessed the existence of so many souls. Quiet now, you almost hear them murmuring. They have this melancholic expression and they are whispering: "I am with you my son, please don't worry, people come and people go, you don't need to hurry. Some have left, others will come, but the flame is always burning. The world is cruel, there is pain, the flesh hurts but I am here to save you from your demons, I will sacrifice myself for you. Go and cross this bridge now, you will not remember me, but I will always be with you". And then you'll feel a sudden cold breeze and a little pain on your neck and shoulders of looking up so intensely and you will ask yourself: "What the heck was that?

Please, this is only a fiction, do not block the archway. Wear some protection, looking directly at the sun may hurt your eyes badly. Do not ask passerbyes if they also heard that. They know but they will act normal and pretend nothing happened. 

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Jamon Serrano Tastes Better At The Source

One of the most representative Spanish products is jamón serrano (cured ham). Like any other traditional product, serrano ham's quality may vary according to many factors, the breeding farm conditions, the swine diet or the curing process. The same happens with cheese for example (exclude the pig). It is not the same to buy an imported Italian cheese than to go and visit the town where it was made and try it on site. First of all, there it will be cheaper and you would get a higher quality product. So the same story applies to our cured serrano ham, even for us inside the Spanish market. It is not the same to buy a Jabugo serrano leg at La Boqueria market (today's picture is taken there although it doesn't seem to be Jabugo) than to visit Jabugo town in Huelva mountains. I know what I am talking about, because I've done it myself. Of course you can buy one here for Christmas at a higher price, but you know in your heart that the leg you are buying may not be as good although it carried the Jabugo stamp on it. The same happens with olive oil. When on holidays I buy olive oil in Candon, Huelva or Priego, Córdoba. I can find similar stuff sometimes in El Corte Inglés shopping center, but my tongue tells me it is not the same. I don't know, maybe it is due to storage problems, transportation, hot weather, intermediaries, lower quality lots destined to major dealers, who knows. The point is, jamon serrano tastes better at the source (not the pig farm of course). Besides there's the external factor, the good beer, the nice weather, the tapas and the friendly people who cuts it for you. Even in Jabugo or any other town famous for selling good products, you can fall in the typical tourist trap and buy to the wrong stuff. Where am I getting at? Well, what I mean is that quality can be lost along the way and that you'd better visit those local markets to find cheap gourmet delicacies, Spain is still full of them. Visit them before they disappear forever.

Recommended readings: 

• All about jamon 
• Introduction to Spanish ham - Serrano and ibérico