International Delight - Part 2

I did the tourist thing today and rode a sightseeing tour around the entire city.  The architecture is extraordinary, the landscape is breathtaking and the tourists are a-holes. In other words pretty much same shit different city.  The bus helped me hon in on a few things I want to see more thoroughly. With this being holy week and my trip a short one, I won't be able to visit many of the churches.  Then again, I don't make it a habit of visiting churches during less holy weeks, so I probably don't need to start that here, or now. 

I have to admit that traveling solo is lonely.  Few restaurants have actual bars that you can sit at to eat, so I'm forced to ask for a table for one and they inevitably seat me in a busy section. Last night I got to eat my paella amongst large tables of families and two tables of soccer players. Fortunately, the Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich game was on and in soccer crazy Spain everyone was focused on that. 

In lieu of being able to be a barfly at dinner I found one great little bar, with a small tapas menu and a fantastic bartender that speaks fluent Catlan, Spanish and English.  After a day of touristing around, it was great to sit down with a cold beer and have a conversation. I've barely spoken today, other than to say excuse me, as I was attempting to battle my way down an incredibly crowded Las Ramblas today.

Tomorrow I'm checking out attractions, Saturday I'm planning to rent a bike and ride to as many of the five beaches as I can and Sunday is still up in the air.  A lot of things are closed on Sundays normally and this Sunday is Easter, so I've been told that there will be a limited set of options. My only hope is that it keeps many of the people in too. I could really do with smaller crowds. 

Until next time...

XOXO