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Other entries in Barcelona

Buenos Ding Dong Diddly Dias!

Finally. I have many times wished to go to spain and now im here. its really quite nice. plus its much more slow paced than Italy but doesnt have the great food. but thats a trade off i can take. Not only is it great to be back in a place where i can speak the language but its also cool to be in a place where ive wanted to be for a long time. and of course, its a short stay so id better make the most of it.

Pops and I arrived via overnight train from Milan the morning of the 11th. the train was fine and much more comfortable than the overnight trains ive taken previously on this trip (Bolivia, Vietnam, India) because i actually fit on the bed, the sheets were already made, and the compartment wasnt overflowing with passengers. in fact, we had more room than most people because one of the four was an old, small Chinaman (ok, is this considered a pejorative still? i hope not; its fairly descriptive and flows well off the tongue. well, im not using it as such so dont any of you read too much into it). now i thought being in foreign lands not speaking the language was hard but this guy made it look damn near impossible. im still trying to figure out how he even got on the train. he spoke no english and definitely no italian or spanish. when the train attendent came by and tried to communicate with him, he seemed to not understand anything. all she was trying to explain was that he was on the top bunk. when my dad and i tried to make small talk, that was completely out of the question and when it came time for bed, he was as lost as a fish in a forest (a forest without lakes or rivers mind you). first he tried to put his luggage on his bed as a pillow. then he laid down in all his clothes but facing the wrong way. later he started making noises and gesjures to Dad across the cabin from him and we eventually figured out that he was pointing and talking about the blanket Pops was using. he hadnt realized that all beds were equipped with one, he was simply lying on top of his. once we had him firmly tucked in, he was asleep within moments but he wasnt done making noises. he was tossing and turning and shouting and barking and growling. he really made a racket so the night was not so smooth. but other than our confused and noisy friend, it was ok. i really wanted to follow this guy off the train to see how he was going to survive in the city. but then i thought that might be interpreted as stalking so i decided against it.

Barcelona, or i should say, Barthelona, is located on the coast so its quite cool and pleasant. walking around in the morning required no jacket and made for a good start to our visit to spain. we ambled with our luggage for a while and then stumbled upon a hotel. i inquired about availibility and was told that they thought they had a room, were pretty sure so sit tight. after 10 minutes, i was told they did have a room, it just needed to be cleaned. so we decided to have breakie at the restaurant which was an excellent decision because it the most complete breakie buffet id seen in ages. we're talking cereals, juices, breads, cheeses, meats, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, fruit, pastries, quiches, sandwiches, and a coffee machine for the adults. while diving into our feast, we were told by the waitress that we didnt have a room. our hearts dropped because we were both so happy with the sight of such a glorious meal. i went back out to try and figure out the problem, was told by the front desk they were still cleaning, go back and enjoy breakie, itll all be fixed soon. the waitress didnt understand, we had a complicated english/spanish/maybe some catalán in there conversation and eventually settled on just paying for the meal and dealing with accomidations later. we gorged, and then gorged some more and then were put up in a room. we showered then mapped out our plan for the day that included but was not limited to: laundry. we asked but found no knowledge at the front desk so like Magellen before us, set out in search of new territory. we also took this opportunity to explore the neighborhood we had randomly chosen to live in. we really got lucky with this hotel. its in a great spot, about 10 minutes walking from La Rambla (the main pedestrian drag where street performers and restaurants abound), near subway stations, museums,  and monuments, has a great breakfast buffet, free bottled water at the end of the hall, clean rooms with BBC and CNN, and best yet, free high speed internet access so i can get my fix daily. it also was located about 3 1/2 minutes walking from a lavandaria so we were in great shape.

after dropping off about 8 kilos of clothes, we walked back and stumbled across the Pablo Picasso Museum. this was a well endowed museum with many of his early works including a detailed multilingual (spanish and catalán) description of his development and tuitilage. everyone knows him for his surrealist and abstract works but this museum mostly had portraits, scenery paintings, and small art class works made on fired clay. they had it set up in chronological order so you could trace his progess and improvement. very cool place.

but after that, we both were feeling slow from our long day of dropping of laundry and seeing one museum. just kidding, we had also been drinking heavily. haha, again i jest. it was the lack of sleep from the train ride and the many steps taken to achieve our level of success that day. we returned to our hotel and rested for a while before interneting and then going out to La Rambla for dinner. we ate at a fantastic tapas restaurant in a back alley while they screened the original King Kong. after dinner it was definitely time for beddie-bye but it was a great first day in the country.

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