Back in the Saddle

Magic Fountain in Barcelona, for about 2 hours an amazing show is put on with many colors to the sound of classical music.

So I'm in Barcelona now, but a lot has happened since I was in Paris. I went to Venice and Milan last weekend (9 days ago) with Veronica and that was a great trip. Our main goal for that trip was to eat great food, and we succeeded entirely. There were a few sights to see in Milan, but it was mainly a quiet city from what we saw. The hotels were cheap and the people were entirely friendly...

Venice was the exact opposite. Everyone that worked in Venice in any sort of customer service position, from our experience, were entirely rude and terrible at their jobs. It was obvious that American's are not welcome there, even though we are practically throwing money at them. But I'm sure they understand that service is not required, because people will come anyway.

We came anyway, and the city is breathtaking. If there was ever a city to get lost in while walking, it's Venice. I must have walked at least 10 miles over the 3 days I was there. So many gelato shops and little cafes to stop at. I didn't spend any money on sights or attractions, all of it went into food, and it was a great investment. I think trophi pasta with pesto sauce was my favorite experiment.

The Beach! In order to get to any of the other islands you have to take Venice's equivalent of a metro system, the metro boats. It is about a 45 minute ride to Lido, the beach island, and riding over the waves like that was almost as fun as the beach itself. The sand was the perfect consistency for sand castles and the water was perfect. Everything was perfect actually.

For all of you Indiana Jones fans, we went and saw the church that was used in 'The Last Crusade' because we are both I.J. fans. It was kind of depressing when we found it tucked away in a small corner. We later found out that the image of the church was cropped into a coastal view on the edge of Venice in the movie. But it was still cool to see, kind of like a pilgrimage in the name of our Ford, Harrison Ford that is. But seriously, I never saw the 4th one and don't plan on it.

Well I have to change hostel rooms now so I will relate the harrowing Barcelona tale at another time, as it is almost time for me to go to the beach.