Another country on the life list. I’m adding Ireland (Erin). You’ll have to decide if this is a valid addition or not. We booked Aer Lingus for our return trip from Barcelona to San Francisco. The price was good. The flight was broken up with a transfer at Dublin, but a straight shot from Dublin to SF. The only catch was that the layover was in the neighborhood of 9 hours. Arrive around midnight, depart 9 am. Something like that. I was not sure how this would work out because it didn’t seem to be enough time to get to a motel, sleep any reasonable amount of time, and then return to the airport. Worse yet, they wanted us back 3 hours before departure – which mean returning at 6 a.m. Which meant leaving the motel at 5:30 a.m. which mean getting up at 5 a.m. And, of course getting off the plane, and catching the shuttle to the motel, which would put us there about 1 a.m. that’s about 4 hours, sleep and hardly seemed worth renting a motel room for that.

But when we got there we were tired. There were a number of motels listed with a free phone. Prices started at about E80 ($120). But most were booked up. The Crown Plaza was ready to rent at E125 ($190). It took me about 20 minutes of trying other places to get reconciled to that price. There really wasn’t any other option.

Did I mention that Aer Lingus did not book our bags through to SF as they said they would. Instead in the Barcelona Airport it turned out that the counter was handled by someone who seemed to represent a number of airlines with few flights each day. They said the bags could not be checked through, and since they were not actually Aer Lingus, there was no one to argue with. So we have our bags, we do not have the tickets for the continuation of our flight for the same reason we do have our bags – the Barcelona people couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. So we have to clear customs again etc.

Oh yes, did I mention that the hotel shuttle did not run at this hour of the morning so we’d have to take a cab? There was a long line of cabs outside, and we hailed the first and got as far as the driver opening the trunk. But when we told him where the destination was, he assured us that there was a shuttle, some distance away and said we should go there. Maybe he was right, we thought, and went through another building following the signs out into the deserted parking lot to where a couple of shuttles for other hotels were parked. One of their drivers assured us that the Crown Plaza shuttle was not running. So, back to the cab stand. Meanwhile the hours available to us for sleep are being used up.

Back at the cabstand our helpful driver is gone. The airport police who run the stand say he just didn’t want the short trip, and they find a driver and tell him that he’s got to do it. He doesn’t want to either, but they cut a deal that when he gets back he can go to the head of the line of cabs so he won’t be any worse off for the short haul. It’s about E11 ($16-1). We climb in, and start our stay in Ireland.

Now I agree with you that just walking about the airport between planes does not count as actually having been in a country. But we left the airport, in a taxi, and went somewhere. Our driver was a water polo player who had toured Europe with the Irish team when he was younger. Friendly guy, short trip, and we arrived at the Crown Plaza.

What we saw was a bunch of cop cars, lights flashing, and a crowd by the front door. It turned out that the pre-St. Patrick’s day celebration at the hotel had gotten a bit rowdy and several fights had broken out, which the local gendarmes where there to sort out and settle peacefully if possible. Judging from the demeanors and volume of commentary from the adversaries, it wasn’t clear what the outcome would be, but we dodged the scene and got to the desk to check in.

The room was wonderful, and I speak as a seasoned motel stayer. It had a bathtub and a shower, a huge TV, wireless internet, coffee and tea – Mary Alice reported the tea was very good when she tried it at 6;10 am the next morning. Yes, 6:10 a.m. We decided that a bit under 2 hours was plenty of time to get to the plane.

Sleep was immediate, and deep, if brief. The wake-up call ring was loud and abrasive, which was good because I would have slept through anything more pleasant. Most hotels have breakfast ready in the morning. In Barcelona they had a buffet for E17 ($25). I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast, so $25 seemed a bit high. We bought cereal and yoghurt at a Super Mercado and ate that in the Barcelona hotel. At the Crown Plaza breakfast was free, which it should have been at the Montblanc in Barcelona. I threw on clothes, dashed down and got a bowl of muesli and milk, walked back so as not to spill it, and enjoyed breakfast as the tub ran. At 7 we were on the front steps awaiting the shuttle. So were others, and by the luck of the draw, they gotten first, and filled the shuttle. Management said they would get us a taxi. So we were standing there in the bracing coolness and slight breeze of an Irish morning. Across the lane was a huge green park; a lake with ducks and a swan, the sky was partly cloudy but a fine blue between them. It felt good to be there.


A picture I took while waiting for the shuttle in the Irish morning

About 20 minutes later the taxi showed up, we made it to the plane with several minutes to spare, and took to the air on Aer Lingus, bound for SF.

I say we’ve been in Ireland. Not perhaps for as long as we’d like, and we haven’t seen all of it yet (it was dark when we rode to the motel) but enough to get our passports stamped, and that’s the Irish government itself saying that we’ve been there. And, if you look at the dates on our passports you’ll see that not only were we there, we were there on St. Patrick’s Day.

Postscript: We had dinner with a friend in San Francisco after our flight back to the US, and got a bit of fun out of telling people we had been in Dublin that morning - everyone was in green at dinner, quite naturally. Possibly from envy?

We ate at the 4 Gats (4 Cats) restuarant tonight, the very place that Picasso used to hang out at a century ago. Of course the neighborhood has changed, and no doubt the menu, prices, and clientelle too. Still it was historic, and close to the hotel.

This time I had the duck with a pear instead of l'orange. My sweetheart loves cod, and had it again. Both of us found the food to be excellent. This means that 2 out of 3 Barcelona restaurants we have eaten dinner at, have had first rate food. And, those same two, by some coincidence, have had very pleasant waiters. So, I'm kind of ready to take back what I said about Barcelona serivce, except that its been true at a dinner restaurant, and at a lunch bar in the food market, and my guide book mentions it in relation to certain other restaurants.

Just as on the cruise ship, we fell into a conversation with the couple seated next to us. British, they were, on holiday from London. We had a great time reliving the 60s and all that. Its a good thing they didn't arrive until the meal was mostly over, or I would have no cuisine report at all. We could hardly break off the talking in time for us to get out of the restaurant before midnight.

As for the day prior to the meal (which lasted from about 10pm until almost midnight,) it was quite good also. Up in the morning by 9 a.m. we braved the subway system and got to our first Gaudi houses. Gaudi, for those not following Barcelonian archetecturial history, was a turn of the century genius who made the most extraordinary structures in a way that has never really been repeated. Barcelona has quite a bit of striking archetecture, but Gaudi blows everyone else away.

We visited an apartment block he built -



and his designs went far beyond the building, to include designing furniture for the residents.



. I guarantee you've never seen anything like it, and its over 100 years old. Here's the rooftop of the building - these are ventilation and furnace vents.



Gaudi spent a couple of the last decades of his life building a cathedral, the Sagura Familia, or some spelling close to that. He died long before it was done - in fact they are still working on it with years of work to go. it will surely be the last of the great cathedrals. Already the visiting public lines up to see what has been built. Again there is no description that will do it justice. Let me say that the pelican sculpture on the cathedral destroyed in the Spanish civil war has been replaced by a japanese sculptor, and he also did the corn and strawberry sculptures so visible above the building. You'll have to fill in the gaps yourself until you actually see it.



We had lunch at a Catalon restaurant, which also had friendly service, now that I think about it. Probably because I was weating the shirt I bought in the Born.

Ever been to New York? I mean downtown New York, like Manhattan? Notice that service at restaurants there was matter of fact? Same here. Barcelona feels like Manhattan in several ways. The main street of old town (and that's the only place we've been) are filled with rushing traffic day and night. And the wait staff in the restaurants, are professional, but not friendly. That's been true of every place but the Renunion, which had a Phillipine staff. You get what you order, just sort of tossed onto the table, but you get it. Perhaps it is because there is not a tradition of tipping here? There wasn't in China either, but everyone was really friendly. It is the Catalan way?

There are some differences, other than in ambience, between eating out in America and in Europe. For one thing, they charge you for bread here. The waiter asks if you want bread. Sure, you say, wondering why they didn't bring it in the first place. Then you get the bill and the bread is on there like an extra course. I've mentioned the forks. Also people eat late here. We got to a nearly deserted restaurant at 9 p.m., by 10 the joint was jumping. This late eating has been explained to me as a consequence of siesta. Could be. The food is good.

Also they serve cokes with a slice of lemon in the glass. Here's one I had at a late lunch in a Catalan cafe.



We found an incredible food market in the Born district. There was such an abundance of food, and types of food, that Safeway would close down in shame (even the Marina Safeway in SF) if they ever saw it.

This is quick.

When the ship docked, 800 of us tried to get a cab at the dock at once. Didn't work well. Took 90 minutes.The port must be used to this because they have a long covered space for waiters to stand in with traffic control rails, and two cops to direct the cabs to safe loading spaces.


(This line goes down the block, then up the other side)

The hotel Montcalm remembered me from the internet and we have a room. What a relief. The desk staff speak a kind of English. Free internet, and at last I can upload pictures. Take a look at the last several postings now that pix are added. The hotel uses what is essentially an analog version of the usual digital hotel key. Its about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide and has a bunch of holes in the end you put into the door slot. When you get thruough the door there is a slot for your key on the wall. if your key is not in that slot, no electricity for the room. The hotel in Guilin, China was that way, and my sweetie thinks perhaps the hotel in Santiago was too. It strikes me as very sensible, in an ecological sense, and very low-class at the same time.


Mary Alice in a typical street in the Born district of Barcelona. There's miles of them.

Went for a walking tour of the Born section of the city this afternoon. Tight narrow streets with 5 and 6 story walkups lining them. Full now with upscale shops, and the Picasso museum, which is on tomorrow's list. The museum of textiles is closed for months. That's the 3rd museum we have encountered on this trip which was closed.

Spotted the Guadi cathedral while standing on top of another cathedral.

Heard a choir of high schoolers sing in the cathedral. Great space for voices. Gradually dawned on me they were singing in English - the drum solo should have tipped me off that they were from the USA. A private school in New England, one of them told me. I would have realized it earlier in the concert but I was tripping out on the singing of "My soul is a witness:" about how sad the Gnostic idea that our essence is a tiny spark of the divine fire which is trapped in our earthly bodies, yearning to return to the unity of the divine. What a depressing idea. (The song is not about that but, there was no doubt it was in English, or American English, and unaccented at that, which is what tipped me off that they had to be Americans)



View of roofs from roof of Cathedral (cost E2 to get up here)

The water tastes bad here.

For lunch I had a " bomb". Potato stuffed with some meat and covered with a spicy sauce like french salad dressing only better. Great. I took its picture.


A "bomb"

Dinner at 10 pm at the Reunion, around the corner from the hotel. One of the best meals i have ever eaten. But the forks were laid out upside down on the table, on purpose. Must have to do with the weird way Europeans use forks when they eat. I was tempted to have the duck with turnips, just to say i had done it, but good sense triumphed and i had duck with baked apple. Coconut icecream with bitter orange sauce. Yum.

We had the house red. Very good and a taste not related to any red I drink in California. Did I mention that the wine in Grenada did not come up to the level of the Denson house red, which is Two-buck Chuck? The hotel gave us a free glass of "cava", the local sparkling wine, and it was good, too. You'll note that the wine was not "complementary" because despite attempt to high-class the idea of free, a complementary wine would be one that could talk. it would say "what lovely lips, I'm so pleased to be passing thru them." and "What great teeth, do you brush often?" To quote Koko Taylor, "Ain't you glad things don't talk."

Lots of people on the streets in old-town Barcelona. Many of them young - like college age or the decade after. Perhaps their residences are small. At 11 p.m. the crowds had thinned but there were still plenty of people on the streets. The street our hotel is on is filled with traffic late into the night, also. It has a vibe like New York.

The prices here would be ok if they were in dollars. Given the Euro is now about $1.60, the cost of everything will take your breath away. To get more bang for the buck I'd suggest Argentina, or China. Of course if you want to see Europe, then you have to bite the financial bullet.

We're going out soon. More when I get back, and some pix.

As I write we are about 1 hour from Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. This will be the final posting from the ship. We’ll sail this evening at 8 for Barcelona, tonight and tomorrow morning will be a madhouse as we pack, debarque, find a cab, and with any luck, discover that the hotel I booked on the Internet both exists and remembers that I have a reservation. I’ll let you know how it went later.



Yesterday we stopped at Malaga, and took an all day tour to see the Alhambra. What I want to say is that on the one hand history covers a disappointingly short period of time in the West. It’s difficult to find a building more than 1000 years old, and most of Europe’s cities were founded after Christ – indeed even the Greek cities go back only 3000 years or so in the historic record.

On the other hand, too much history can be a burden. In the US we are blessed with a history that only goes back to 1620 at best. That’s because the native inhabitants died from disease or were destroyed in conflict with European settlers. It is not so in Latin America. But Spain, whew, what a mess. The history of Malaga starts with ruins of the Phoenicians, a prehistoric people, then come the Greeks, the Romans, the Visigoths, the Arabs, the reconquest or the Spaniards, 1492 (Columbus, the last Moorish kingdom falls to the Christians), Napoleon, and finally a horrible civil war in the 20th century. The poor tour guide has to explain all of this history in a fairly brief time. In the US we have a national story. What story could explain Spain, or anywhere in Europe?

Our guide, who is a medical doctor in his other job, loves linguistics. He tells us the origins of place names. Gibraltar is a corruption of the Arabic for the Hill of Tabrik, the Arab who conquered it in the 800s. The Spanish prefix “Guade” is a form of the Arabic “Wadi” meaning riverbed. He likes cultural transmissions, too., The Arabs who ruled here for 800 years, are fond of enclosed gardens – a Spanish tradition now, also. I love this stuff so the ride to Grenada was very pleasant for me. Some people slept.

All of our place names may be Spanish with Arabic overtones – there are 8000 Arabic words in Spanish – but the Alhambra owes its fame to an American writer, so there.
What it is, is this: the Moors who ruled Grenada for 800 years, built a series of castles up on this hill. When the Spanish finally retook the area (1492) they moved into some of the castles and built one of their own there, too. The 3 they moved into were kept up, the others went to ruins. Later the capital was moved from Grenade to somewhere, and the king moved too. Alhambra goes back to ruin. Napoleon marches thru, most ruins.

Then Washington Irving comes to visit Grenada in the early 1800s. He is taken with the romanticism of the ruins and writes a book Tales from the Alhambra. It’s a hit. The ruins become interesting. Restoration occurs, but not properly since the romantics have odd ideas about how the Moors constructed things.

Now its today. Re-restoration is going on. Eight thousand people a day pay 13 Euros each to tour the Alhambra. Including us. One consequence: mobs everywhere. It is almost impossible to take a picture of anything but the sky without getting a lot of people in the shot. The place is really interesting. The construction unlike anything we have today, the image-free decoration filled with symbolism, not to mention some Arabic writing which is just like design elements to me since it’s not based on the Greek alphabet. If it were not for the extensive number of gardeners required to keep the place up, I’d replicate the gardens at home. Lots of ponds, fountains, flowers. I’ll see if I can get any pix up – no luck with pix uploading for days.