| Barcelona |
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Spain |
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We ended the 2005 Med Cruise in Barcelona and began the land portion of our trip. It marked the halfway point for our trip out in 2005. After 5 days on a ship filled with coworkers, we were rested and ready to start our trans-european trip back to Rome. Barcelona is a funky city. It's unlike anywhere I've been before. The city is a weird fusion of traditional european history with fucky post modern influences. The Goudy buildings that speckle the city blend in and stick out at the same time. It's hard to explain. You walk down a city lined with square block buildings and you don't even realize the funky Goudy rounded smurf house in the middle until you're standing right in front of it. I suppose fusion is a good word to describe Barcelona. You have Arabic/Muslim influence, European influence, spanish influence, and Greco-Roman in there as well. Then you have a nice dash of Dali-esque on top of that. The Folks in Barcelona sure love their Dali, and that's something we had in common. I liked Barcelona for the most part. It has alot to offer. The train system isn't anything to write home about though. The rail system is top notch in europe and one quickly grows accustomed to it's solid predictability and reliable schedules. The trians in Spain seemed at the lower end of the spectrum though. They were dirty, often late and very spartan compared to other systems in europe. We took a Hotel Train from Barcelona to Paris and booked a 1st class suite. It was very tight, with a flip up sink and a shower stall that really made you wonder if stinking was a bad thing. The toilet....well lets just say there was a little hatch in the corner with a small ceramic chamber pot inside. We were affraid to touch it. They eat late in Spain too, so if you roll into Barcelona hungry, you better be able to wait till 8 or 9 to eat dinner. |
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