Margaret Mitchell | The Fighting Couple

Kissing Capitals: Barcelona

By The Fighting Couple on September 22, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Best places to kiss in Barcelona

“Her lips on his could tell him better than all her stumbling words.”-Margaret Mitchell

Are you looking for a few good places to kiss? We are here to help. We are launching a series of the best places to kiss in the world. We are calling it the best of the kissing capitals. Our first nomination is Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona with its warm ocean breezes, Eclectic art scene, and Latin vibe is well deserving. The Entire Catalonia region of Spain is steeped in romance. Kiss in Catalan is pronounced petó. Peto has a number of different meanings…we will leave that between you and Wikipedia.

Lets begin our kissing tour at the top literally.

Montjuic

Overlooking the entire city of Barcelona is Montjuic. It is more of a hill than a true mountain, but the vistas night or day are dramatic. Nestled on the banks of the hills are wonderful walking paths that meander through gardens. Montjuic is a wonderful place to pack a picnic, or take an evening stroll. Montjuic came to its prime through development during the Olympics. Many of the Olympic events were held at venues on the Mont. Montjuic continues to be a favorite of both locals and first timers.

Sunset is truly the best time to visit Montjuic. There are a number of benches and stops along the trails up and down the mount that offer great places to watch the sun go down and steal a kiss or two!

Magic Fountain

At the base of Montjuic you will discover a wonderful display of water, light, music and magic. We give you our next stop on the kissing tour: the Magic Fountain of Barcelona. A little history on the fountain, it was erected for the World’s Fair that the city was playing host to in 1929. The original plans by designer Carles Buigas were initially cast off as an overly ambitious impossibility. One year later, thousands of workers completed the fountain ahead of schedule.

Today the fountain continues to wow its crowds.

You will need to time your visit when the Fountain is in full splendor:

Winter: (October to April)

Fridays and Saturdays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Music sessions: 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 8:00 PM 8:30 PM

Summer: (May to September)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 pm to 11:30 pm
Music Sessions: 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM 11:00 PM

Park Guell

Could we have a tour of Barcelona without a Gaudi location? Impossible! Antoni Gaudi, the Catalan master of art and architecture designed a number of unique attractions throughout Barcelona and the Catalonia region. One of his most expansive projects was an entire housing development for Barcelona’s well healed. Located on a hill just outside the city is his vision of subdivision living. Fortunately for today’s visors, Gaudi’s vision was a little deeper than the pockets of prospective investors. Today, the entire development has been transformed into a public park and greenspace. It is a masterpiece.

You and you lover can walk on trails criss crossing the entire development. Climb the famous “lizard” stairs, and arrive at the main terrace. It commands excellent views of another Gaudi masterpiece the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. The terrace is surrounded by cozy benches that are designed to a tee for couples. These unique benches are actually in the design of a sea monster! Park Guell is a wonderful place to kiss your sweetheart.

On the tram to Montserrat

Clinging to the crests of cliffs outside Barcelona is the Monastery of Montserrat. For those couples demanding a little more adventure in their smooching venues, we highly recommend the tram to Montserrat. The highest summit of Montserrat is called Sant Jeroni (Saint Jerome) and stands at 4,055 feet above sea-level. The tram ride up to the top is truly an experience that cannot be fully described or missed! Visiting Montserrat can be a full or half day venture depending on your interest level. Don’t get conned into taking a special tour bus ect. There is train service to the tram station. It is a very affordable side trip for any stay in Barcelona.

How did we do? Did we miss any special places in Barcelona? Where do you nominate that we discuss next?

My Pilgrimage to “Gone With the Wind” Mecca

By The Fighting Couple on May 27, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

There are three literary pilgrimages that are required of every romance loving, third wave feminist, book obsessed woman: Jane Austen’s home in Chawton, England, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s home in Prince Edward Island and Margaret Mitchell’s home in Atlanta, Georgia.

Now, I’m slightly infatuated with Gone with the Wind. I started watching the film when I was eight years old. I’ve seen it 28 times: every second of the 238 minutes. I checked the book out from the adult section of the local library when I was 10 (with my mother’s permission of course). I have a room in my home dedicated to the movie and book. It’s the Gone with the Wind room pinned with Scarlett Barbie dolls, collector plates, numbered art, and of course green velvet curtains.

Even if you don’t know Scarlett O’Hara’s first name (It’s Katie, by the way) or couldn’t care less if Rhett gives a damn or not, seeing Margaret Mitchell’s home (apartment) in Atlanta, Georgia is an absolute must see for a visit to Atlanta.

Margaret Mitchell’s Home

990 Peachtree Street

Atlanta, GA 30309-1366

Phone 404.249.7015

Web: http://www.margaretmitchellhouse.com/

In the urban sprawl of the high rise city of Atlanta, the house seems out of place. But thank goodness it’s still standing. Arsonists have tried to burn it down twice! Margaret Mitchell never liked it much either. She called her apartment, “the dump.” But preservationists have done a magnificent job of recreating the apartment.
The museum focuses on the house. Guests used to start at the visitor’s center and then shuffled to the house, but that changed a few years ago. Now guests enter the house on Crescent Ave, like Mitchell would have, and go immediately to view Mitchell’s apartment for a guided tour. You’ll see the apartment almost like it was when Mitchell lived there. Be aware, very few things in the apartment are original. However, even being the same the room where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind is a rush for an enthusiast like me.

Next you’ll learn about Mitchell’s life, her newspaper career, philanthropy efforts and most of all her spunk. I’m embarrassed to say, I didn’t know a lot about Mitchell before I visited the museum. She was part of Atlanta’s affluent society, a serious beau died in World War I, and her mother died during the flu epidemic while Mitchell was returning from college (GWTW enthusiasts will recognize the similarities of Scarlett not being there for her mother’s death as well). Mitchell was a strong writer, and began working at the Atlanta Journal (something society women did not do). In an industry dominated by men, the petite Mitchell was one of the first female reporters to earn her way from the society columns to hard news reporting. But it was a sprained ankle that changed her life and the world. Her second husband John Marsh got tired of lugging books back and forth to the library while Mitchell was recovering and bought her typewriter and encouraged her to write a book. And Scarlett (although she was named Patsy during writing) was born.
My favorite part of the museum is the Making of a Film Legend: Gone with the Wind exhibit. The museum is full of artifacts from the movie, including Tara’s doorway from the movie set and the giant of painting of Scarlett in the blue dress that Rhett throws his drink at during the movie. There are also original costume sketches from the film. The best part of the exhibit is you can read copies of the movie script and act it out. It’s a literary pilgrim’s dream come true.

Whether you are in Atlanta for the day on a long layover, a couple of days on businesses or leisure see the site which created a worldwide sensation: The Margaret Mitchell House.