Friday

On the flight out from Atlanta there were a lot of empty seats on the plane, including the one next to me. That let me stretch out and get some rest (I thought). Arrival in Barcelona was just before 9:00 AM CET (Central European Time). I made it to the hostel ok, but it took a little work just like the first day in Rome. From there I just decided to walk down La Rambla and get used to the public transit system. This took a lot out of me, and by 3:00 I was gassed. Until you get your bearings it takes a lot more work to get around only having one set of eyes to look for things and one brain to try and process it all (the fact that all the signs are in Catalan and only some are in Spanish doesn't help). During that afternoon I did try the quintessential Barcelonian dish- paella de mariscos. Think fried rice with fish, squid, and prawns instead of egg.

After that almuerzo I came back and took a nap until six before heading back out with renewed vigor. Got to look around in one of the big Spanish department stores "El Corte Ingles" and the highlight of the day: Mercado de la boqueria. It's a huge fresh food market, full of colors and smells and people. The only thing I bought was a Valencia orange...from Valencia! It was a good part of breakfast this morning. Today the plan is Montjuic, including all the Olympic intallations and a big castle overlooking the city and the port.