The Smell of Punic Air

Another song with Queen, I got permission from EMI though Laura, I asked where you were and they said they just wake you up for the staff meetings.



I’m currently sitting on the tracks somewhere outside of Cordoba and will be more than 5 minutes late to Seville, so this portion of the trip will be refunded. Since I have a railpass, I assume they’ll only give me the supplement I paid, but still, that’s 24 euros, so I’ll take it. Hopefully we’re not too late, otherwise I’ll miss my train to Granada.

I left Pamplona around 7 and got to Barcelona by noon, spending an hour in Zaragoza. I didn’t really know what to expect from Barcelona but I had heard a lot of good things. Barcelona is said to have been founded by Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, a Carthaginian general whom I’ve found great interest in during my life. Hannibal is the one who led his army (famous for including elephants) over the Alps and into Italy during the early 200s BC (or I guess it’d be late 200s, it was like 220-205 BC), starting the Second Punic War. Although I’ve been to Italy, it was cool to think that Hannibal probably spent time there recruiting some mercenaries before heading onto Massalia and then the Alps.

My hostel was really close to the train station, which was great, and it was nice and clean. After grabbing a bite to eat, I headed out on foot to explore. For some reason I felt like walking, so I probably ended up walking over 10 miles that afternoon (in flip flops), including up and down Montjuic. First though, I headed to Plaza Espanya and up to the Royal Palace of Palau, the pit stop on my race around the world! (this was one of the locations for Amazing Race):



If I remember correctly, they showed the contestants huffing a puffing as they reached that point, but there are escalators people. I would have owned that show. Behind the building is the Olympic Stadium (1992) and grounds, which were pretty cool.



Further up there was a castle overlooking the entire city on one side and Mediterranean on the other.

The architecture of the city is very beautiful. The second day I got a pass on the Bus Turistic that goes all around the city to the major sites and has audio explaining everything. It’s an open top bus and was really nice to see all the buildings. Antoni Gaudi, an architect from Barcelona who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s, designed many of the buildings and the main cathedral, the Sagrada Familia. In fact, it isn’t finished yet, even though construction began in 1882. Completion is anticipated in the year 2026. He also designed the Park Guell, on another hill overlooking the city. In all his works, it seems like he has a ‘melting’ theme, here are some pictures:


Sagrada Familia


Park Guell



Barcelona is a major port, and I saw the Brilliance of the Seas docked there yesterday. In fact, I spoke with a guy who was on the ship, they just returned from a 12 night cruise with stops in Nice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, and Ephesus (may have missed one). I was thinking, how cool would it be for a family reunion to go to Pamplona, run with the bulls in the morning, and then take a train to Barcelona to start a cruise like that? What a sight to see us all running down the narrow streets, I think everyone’s true colors would come out in that situation.

Back to Barcelona, they have a main touristy street called La Rambla with a lot of street vendors and performers. On the first night, I found a restaurant and sat outside, eating seafood paella (of course) and people watched. The second night I attended a concert in the very old Esglesia Santa Maria del Pi, named after a nun from the 11th century, who miraculously recited pi to the 1000th decimal during easter mass. The concert was only two people playing Spanish guitars (is there a difference?) and it was really cool. The selling point for me was that they would play, amongst other things, pieces from Bizet’s Carmen, which I like. They were very good and it was quite enjoyable.

Barcelona is a very cool town, it just seems hip. The beaches are great too and they have a very famous soccer team, if I spoke Spanish, I’d consider living here for awhile.


Christopher Columbus monument

As I pass through Spain, I gotta say, it ain’t no Switzerland. It’s dry and very flat (at least in the middle). The occasional medieval town gives it some charm though. And whatever it lacks in landscapes it makes up for in its women, at least its train stewardesses. As I head into the more hilly south, I’ll agree with mom that it is very reminiscent of California, especially since they also have the Sierra Nevadas and they speak Spanish.

NON TRAVEL COMMENTARY: I’d just like to take this moment to vent about a few things European. First of all, everyone smokes, a lot. I think I’m allergic to it because I start sneezing and have a runny nose when I’m around smokers. I’m curious why Americans don’t smoke as much, they have those death warnings on the boxes here too, and it seems that Americans are always labeled as the unhealthy ones.

Second, the youth have absolutely no sense of style. Well, I’ll say the girls dress well, but the guys wear the weirdest clothes. And, most of them have that long, straight, brushed over the face hairdo, like a male version of Zac Efron. I mean, maybe that’s the style now, but I think they look ridiculous.

Finally, man capris. I remember this epidemic last time I was here and feared its infiltration into the US. Now, I admit I have worn and still wear some things that I thought I never would, things that quite frankly were influenced by women. I’m talking about a purple shirt, a pink tie, or argyle sweater. But I am sorry, there is no way on Earth I will ever be caught dead in man capris. Please don’t let this spread to the US.