¡Barcelona Scores!
One of the great things about traveling is the unexpected experience. We have enjoyed a few of these during our journey in Spain and yesterday was one of those times. The day started with a lazy train trip from Valencia. The rather early start meant that most napped along the way but were snapped awake upon arriving by the bustle of this 24 hour a day city. We managed our luggage one more time through the turnstiles of the Metro and arrived in the heart of the city checking into the Hotel Continental that overlooks Las Ramblas. A street as busy if not more busy than the Champs Elysée. Seasoned travelers that they are now, the group quickly adapted to a change in the schedule and jaunted off to see the Picasso Museum. The wonderful part of this collection is seeing the development of Picasso’s styles from his early realistic portraits as a young artist, through his blue and rose periods, and his development of cubism and other abstract styles.
After walking the old part of the city, we returned to the hotel to find a TV crew setting up in the lobby area in preparation for the events of the evening. Barcelona was playing Manchester for the European Cup in futball (soccer). The hotel put earplugs in everyone’s room and gave each of us a VIP sticker to identify us as hotel guests. This certainly foreshadowed the possible celebrations that could follow. About eight in the evening the bars, restaurants, and our hotel lobby all became cheerleading sections for Barcelona. After some 90 minutes of play with 3 minutes of added time, Barcelona erupted with blaring horns, fireworks and cheers as the home team won 2-0. (All of this happened even though the match was in Rome). That’s all for now. We’ll hit the streets later today to start seeing the sites.
Kent
