Swompdonkey

Barcelona. Oh, Barcelona, you seductive enchantress, you! This is one sexy city. About five minutes after my arrival here last night I knew that giving Nice the bum´s rush had been the right choice. It is clean, elegant, cosmopolitan, and best of all, CHEAP! I had tapas and a couple of beers at a local bar for 7 €. In Venice, I would have had to sell my blood for a crust of bread.

On the trainride from Montpellier to Barcelona (Incidentally, the scenery around Perpignan and the border... WOW. Moutains to to the West, seaside cliffs and beautiful little towns to the East) I met a couple of Canadian girls who were doing all the major European cities... trouble was, they were only spending about a day or two in each. I mentioned Kontiki. Blank stares. They are doing the Eurorail thing and appear to be spending half of their trip on trains. To each his own, I guess. I suppose the "big overview" trip has its merits. It can help you determine what you want to see more of the next time you come to Europe. The girls told me they were on a very tight budget. They also told me their last stop would be Ibiza. Ibiza, with its 30 Euro cover charges and 12 Euro cocktails. Best of luck, ladies!

Heard from my man Dave, who has reached Slovenia, I think.... or some other part of the former Yugoslavia where all the women are absolutely gorgeous. He was surprised that Emily and I vanished in Venice, until I fired off an apologetic e-mail telling him that we had gone Donavan Bailey to catch the train for Nice. Along with Em, Dave has been a great travelling companion. He is the kind of guy who takes things in stride. He wouldn´t say shit if he had a mouthful. Another mild mannered and polite Englishman perpetuating the stereotype. He is on a much longer trip than me, and it is taking its toll on his skinny ass. Don´t forget to eat Dave! ;-)

I realize that providence brought me into contact with some amazing people over the last couple of weeks. Best of all, we all "travel" similarly... that is to say, we were interested in seeing similar sights and doing similar things. I just spoke to a Canadian guy in my hostel here who is travelling with a friend. There is some tension because the friend wants to chill out in out of the way places, while he wants to see the big cities. I guess compromise is really critical under those circumstances. This just confirms why it was good that I did this on my own. I think I might have bored some people to tears with my obsessive scrutinizing of Roman ruins!

Trying to keep up with the playoffs... Go Calgary. Lord Stanley´s cup needs to come back to a Canadian city.