Raised In Arizona

Was in Barcelona for one day during my travels. Just one day. But that didn't stop me from practicing my Spanish. Well, I didn't actually have Spanish to practice as I had never taken a day of Spanish before. I knew my food. Paella, queso, carne, etc., but couldn't even say paella right. I knew vaya con dios, adios, and vamos, which makes for a nice rhyme but not much else. That, however, did not stop trip companions Megan and Lauren from appointing me as designated Spanish speaker. What resulted was a lot of "Por favor, habla inglés?" (Though Lauren always said, "I don't get why you can't just ask them if they speak English in English, if they don't then they will obviously not answer in English." I like at least making an effort.) "Cuánto?" And my favorite, "Donde está la policia?" I really had to ask that because Megan was pickpocketed. (Though she accidentally told her parents she was mugged, causing much distress to the already anxious parents.) Too bad none of the people I got directions from habla'ed any inglés but we still made it there ok. That's the problem with asking things in Spanish, it gives off the wrong impression. Namely, the impression that I speak Spanish. But hey, I made it back to Eddie Bert, didn't I?

I enjoyed the city very much, but it's hard to pick a favorite reason why. Could have been the farmer's market. The crazy Gaudi architecture. Getting ripped off for dinner, however well cooked those four bites of food we had. Delicious tiramisu at a pastry shop where once again, my Spanish skills fell short. Watching the horrendous Harrison Ford/Anne Heche disaster Six Days, Seven Nights on Spanish TV. Or maybe coming down the stairs of our room the next morning to find bloody bandages on the steps. Oh, who am I kidding? It's the bloody bandages.















Gaudi's wavy museum. We didn't go in, but I imagine it was pretty cool on the inside. Gaudi is pretty crazy and brilliant.















La Broqueria, the big market where fresh produce abounded; and Lauren. Oh, fresh produce.















We stopped by the city library because we were in need of a restroom that wasn't flooded and libraries are known for their free, clean, and quiet bathrooms. Anyway, it was about 3pm in the afternoon and the library wasn't open, so I had to use an equally-clean-and-free library cafe bathroom. When I came out, there was a line of people waiting for the library to open. Folks lining up in the middle of the afternoon to use the library, now that's something you don't see every day.