London Bar - Barcelona Spain

When my fiancee and I get married in June of this year, we are basically leaving our reception in order to be whisked away to Barcelona, Spain. I'm beginning to get really excited about travelling to Europe, and so I'm going to periodically torment you with pictures and links of places we will be visiting while there. This is the first entry in the series, I suppose.

"London Bar" is a swank old place where people like Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso used to hang out, which instantly makes me want to go there. The good thing is that it's only a short walk from where we will be staying in Barcelona's famous Gothic District.

From The Barcelona Tourist Guide:

London Bar is basically a pub, but a pub that has been open since 1910 and used to be frequented by the likes of Dali, Picasso and Hemingway. The décor has been kept the same which lends an old school glamour to the place.

Source: Google Maps

Hemingway, Man for All Seasons

Ernest Hemingway is about as divisive a literary figure as can be found - mainly because of his portrayal of women in short stories and novels, but that's another post altogether - but his literary exploits aren't necessarily what draws a lot of people to him. Though novels like The Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls have made him a prominent 20th century literary figure, he was, as much as anything else, an adventurer and sportsman, and his legend grows with each successive year.

The Art of Manliness has blogged a wonderful piece about Papa's exploits around the world, including one about his talents as a boxer:

Hemingway had practiced the sweet science since childhood and at one point was a successful amateur boxer. Following one of his victories in a fishing tournament in Bimini, the locals who had participated became angered at his ability to better fish waters they had fished their entire lives. Seeing an opportunity to combine his passions, he offered the locals a chance to win back their lost money. The terms were simple…go toe to toe with old Papa in the ring for three rounds and win, and the money would be theirs. The first challenger, a man who locals claimed could “carry a piano on his head,” made it only a minute and a half before the 35 year old Hemingway put him on the deck. The next three challengers suffered a similar fate, and Ernest went home with his prize money.

You can read the entire article on The Art of Manliness.