Barcelona, baby!

After a 2 day climb to get to the pass of Port d'Envalira at 2408 m, picture below, I spent 3 hours zooming down to the town of Andorra, where I stayed at a camping. Incredibly boring place, all touristic and sterile. Lots of construction work and people in ski suits.

As I will meet my mother in Murcia, quite a bit south in Spain, I made the decision to take the train to Barcelona, and southwards, to maximize the time in this wonderful city. Major sell-out! But worth it. Scrambling on the couchsurfing network, I tried to get hosts to stay with, but with no luck, so a backpacker hostel was the solution chosen. I happened to chat to a good friend at home, and chance would have it that she knew somebody in Barcelona. And I could stay with them! I thanked my lucky stars, and spent a weekend in very good company, before moving to the next host:

At a party I met a friend of my friends of my friend at home, and I could stay with him as well! Once again I rejoiced in good company, and we discovered together the way people eat and drink in Catalunya. The way they traditionally drink wine needs special mention. A bottle with a thin spout (the "porron"), making a fine "line" of wine, which you're supposed to hit your mouth with, with the bottle an arm's length away. Very fun and messy!

I spent a lot of time just wandering through the town. The different facets are fascinating. Gothic quarter, functionalistic Barceloneta, the vivid Ramblas, and the in-between-square-blocks built in the 1800's. I guess everybody want to write something about the Familia Sagrada, so I won't, but I know I'll see it again, perhaps when it is finished, in half a century.

To top it all off, I missed my train, so I had to stay an extra day. But hey, somebody I just met on the street during a photo shoot of some commercial, saved me with his couch! And we actually had the same music taste as well!

Enough rambling. I had a very good time. Now I'm in some golf resort in Murcia, being sherpa and dish washing machine for my mother and 3 of her friends. Life is like a box of chocolates...

And why do they build a Burj al Arab in Barcelona?