Barcelona Day 2

I am really enjoying Barcelona.

The Spanish people are very friendly, almost everyone speaks English and the ones that don’t understand me when I speak Italian, or they are able to understand my charades, so communication isn’t a problem.

There is vegan food everywhere and the clothes are cheap.

Yesterday afternoon I walked and walked and walked and now I am almost crippled!  My legs ached like bastards last night, but I managed to get to sleep – albeit early – but then I was awake at 2am and hungry starving with not a crumb to eat in my room.  I will fix that today in case it happens again. 

The crowds are amazing, where all the people come from is a mystery but there are hoards and hoards of people walking the streets from around 4pm on.  Like people in Italy, they go into shops and look at and touch everything but don’t buy.  They sit at café tables and drink water and sometimes coffee, but they don’t eat.

Coffee is cheap, I have been paying around 1 euro for a cappuccino, that’s around $1.40.  Food is cheap too.  Either that or Australia is ridiculously expensive.

Yesterday was cold, I saw a sign saying it was 13 degrees, but it’s an icy 13 degrees.  The sun shone for about an hour so that was lovely.

Yesterday afternoon I managed to weave (push) my way through the market just off Las Ramblas, it is a very popular place with hoards of people going through it.  Only half the stalls were open because it was a public holiday yesterday, something to do with Jesus or Mary.  Most noticeable for me were the strawberries dipped in chocolate.  They were on skewers and looked lush, except, it is winter here and strawberries are not a winter food so who knows where they have come from.  Probably from Australia. 

I had forgotten how much the Europeans smoke.  Walking beside them or walking behind them and I am passive smoking.  It stinks, and I hate it (reformed smoker I guess).  Last night when I woke at 2 ridiculous ‘clock I couldn’t breathe because of it.  Between that and my aching like bastards legs and the tossing and turning, no wonder I couldn’t sleep.

I have also noticed that the people here like to share.  Germs.  They don’t cover their mouths or any of their facial holes when they sneeze and cough.  Freaks me out man.  I can’t help it but I feel my face snarl. 

Today I had a brunch booked but that was cancelled yesterday because the chick didn’t have enough people booked.  I would have thought me on my own would be more than enough but apparently not.  So, starving, I  went to the breakfast room of the hotel to get my money’s worth.  Unless I manage to get those coughing and sneezing germs in my gob.  Then it won’t be worth it.

I went on one of the on/off buses today, don’t ask me why but I sat up the top on the outside in the freezing.  For two hours.  With a dumb arse couple with a baby.  On the outside in the freezing.  The baby was screaming because idiots, it was freezing!

I sat on the bus for a couple of hours and got off at the end at the Christmas markets.  Heaps and heaps and heaps of stalls with Christmas crib figurines.  I didn’t buy any because I don’t have a crib and probably won’t ever have one.  I bought a bauble instead.   

Some of the things I saw today ...