| QUICK UPDATE Where are they now? |
| Spain |
| 10/29/2002 Barcelona Another problem with living in a house is we tend to sit around too much. To resolve this problem, I contacted my local Hash. That is the local chapter of the Hash House Harriers running club. They get together to run, drink and have a picnic lunch. This run happened to be on the 24th in a rural village about half an hour outside of town. I went for a very enjoyable 5 mile run through the fields, over the hills, down the creeks, through farms, and generally all over the darn place following a trail of flour dots left by the �hare� who laid the path that morning. We the pack, or the �hounds� attempted to follow the trail, stopping along the way for nutrition (a.k.a. beer). Monica read a book and talked with some other Americans who were there for the day. Many of the runners are from other countries (the Spanish don�t run unless there is a bull threatening them, and then only with a cigarette), and there were several Americans who were in town following a dream. They never appear to make much money, but they seemed happy. We stopped by the Sagrada Familia church this morning, and to my shock, there was progress made during the last two years! They have been trying since 1881 to finish this thing, and it isn�t anywhere near done, but at least I could tell that work is progressing. Take a look at the Web site, it is facinating! I found a can of carburator cleaner at a motorcycle shop today. That may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is a BIG deal to me! In a country where they want you to pay a moron to do everything for you, finding a professional-strength solvent for the 1981 VW�s varnish encrusted carb is almost like getting a pair of Vise-Grips in the mail after staring at a rounded-off bolt for two weeks. OK, I�m wierd, but you knew that. 10/23/2002 Barcelona Being situated in a civilized residential area, there is no convenient internet access bay at the house. Luckily, there is plenty in central Barcelona, but getting in the time to do this has been a chore. Really! What with all the work we have to do... ;) We have our second stateside visitor of the trip confirmed. Nancy Stehle, a friend of ours from Oxnard, will be spending about 10 days with us here at the end of November. The weather should still be good, just a bit colder than most Angelenos are used to, but anyone from the Bay Area would recognize it instantly. It gets a bit cool here, but the sun still shines most days during the winter. This makes Barcelona, and the costal areas south of here, the winter retreat for most of Europe. Spain hasn�t changed much since I first visited in 1997. The town of Barcelona has been pouring money into mass transit, and getting around town is very easy. While Spainiards have many annoying habits which detract from the overall quality of life, the real charm is still in the architecture and the atmosphere (in spite of the residents). They gripe about the �garbage� culture they and their children are exposed to from America, yet they embrace it at every turn... Levis, Marlboros, etc. are the symbols that create status in their minds. Prices across the board have risen in the last five years, most likely the result of having joined the European Union; yet the overall quality of the retail offerings is still very low. It is as if California annexed baja California, and suddenly a $.50 cup of coffee in Tijuana became a $3.00 cup simply because of the new status. They are trying way too hard to be �cool�, and are failing miserably. Fortunately for them, the weather, charm of the city and bargain prices (relative to Rome, London, Paris) keep the tourists coming. We were shocked to discover that a hostel-style room that we would pay no more than $20 for in Sydney, Bangkok, or even Los Angeles, is $51 here. So much for our plans to tour Europe for 3 months! 10/13/2002 Barcelona, Catalu�ya We made it to Spain! Now all we have to do is get used to not having to worry about when to pack our bags next (al least for a while), or if we have enought clean underwear. A trip to the store loaded the refrigerator with all kinds of local goodies like sausage, ham, cheese, vino, melon, etc. The weather here is spectacular! Brilliant clear fall days and cool nights are making things very easy on us. The first two nights were filled with lightning and thunder during a masive storm, which also closed the airport for 2 days after we arrived. Good luck on our part, or we would have been camping out at Gatwick. |