I’ve been in a funk these past couple weeks. Worrying about a job and money and other miscellanea has made me miss a simpler time when I was traversing Spain and my biggest problem was remembering how to conjugate past present tense on the fly. I was going through the pictures I had taken when I realized I hadn’t posted this Barcelona gem: El Ingenio!


I heard about this place via my trusty Lonely Planet Barcelona guidebook. I half expected it it be hokey and overpriced and not even really want to go in once I saw the storefront. But I was pleasantly surprised to find it was hokey, overpriced and made me want to be a circus performer. Or a mascot.

It’s always fascinating to go into one of these supply stores that are meant for a certain profession, whether it’s dancers or circus performers or even artists. I love getting to peek behind the curtain, to see  what goes into their toolbox.  In El Ingenio, it seemed like everything was handmade and harkened back to the time when circuses were terrifying.

Barcelona, you kooky city, you.