Spain, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and another storm

Friday night before the movie, we watched the No Reservations episode on Spain. The food looked simply incredible. I've been saying for some time now that I was prepared to fly to Spain simply to have dinner at El Bulli, but now I am convinced that I need a much longer culinary visit to that country. Perhaps during my sabbatical next year....

Last night, we went to see Woody Allen's latest film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. Javier Bardem was absolutely wonderful. Penelope Cruz was the psycho girlfriend from hell that you would never be able to resist. Scarlett Johansson was as delicious as always but with more depth than usual. The scenery was magnificent, the cinematography was flawless, and now I want to go to Spain more than ever.

Unfortunately, as the credits rolled, I felt unsatisfied. I think the reason is that no one really changed during the course of the film. Everyone entered a certain way, engaged in life-changing activities, and then despite those actions left more or less as they began. I don't need or want an shoot 'em up plot from a Woody Allen film, but the characters should change as a result of their experiences.

Yesterday, I wrote about the wonderful storm that hit us. Another dropped buckets of rain on us today, and I was out driving for part of it. Despite the normal tension of driving in rain so heavy you can't see more than four or five car lengths ahead of you, I nonetheless enjoyed this storm almost as much as the first. I hope we get more soon.