worse than Lyon

so it´s now Saturday afternoon/evening here in Barcelona. We had a not unadventurous journey to get here, that´s for sure.

on Thursday, we took an afternoon train from Milan that got us over the border to France and into Nice (just past Monaco and Cannes, so the Riviera) for the night. We´ve talked a lot about eating ¨le chinois¨on this trip, and we finally made it happen at a Chinese place right by our hotel. Wandered down to the rocky beach and saw all the disaffected youth out on a Thursday night before packing it in.

Friday/yesterday was the big day of travel. We took an 1114 train to Marseille, where we left the train station just long enough to eat lunch before boarding our next train. This one we took as far as Montpellier, though it continued on to Bordeaux. Both trains were pretty full, so finding a seat was a bit tricky and sometimes physical. Arriving in Montpellier at 1640 or so, we had only to cross the platform (about five feet) to reach our next (and final) train.

We had reservations for this one, which went all the way to Barcelona, although the car had plenty of standing people who were going shorter distances. As I was putting my bag in the overhead compartment, the girls behind us spotted my Rice Class of 2005 T-shirt. Of course. We knew it would happen eventually. Turns out they played soccer in high school with a couple of girls on the Rice team (Ash Hess and Vanessa for the Owls among you) and were, like us, graduates touring Europe. Although they were doing two months and are almost done. So we talked a bit with them once the car thinned out. Turns out one had played soccer at Tulane. So I named a person I knew from Morristown who had gone to Tulane, who they didn´t know. About 10 minutes later, it hit us: Swack. So we asked about Wes, and ¨of course¨she knew Wes! Crazy small world. This is even better than Danny Putnam´s father-in-law. One of the girls goes out with Brian Bogusevic, the Astros´first-round draft pick. What are the odds? Gotta love Delbarton.

So we got to Barcelona at 2145 or so. Got a cab and asked him about the hotel I had reserved online Thursday. He had to look it up, and then he told us it was within walking distance. Which it certainly was, but we couldn´t find it for a good 30 minutes. We finally did, however, and things were looking up. But the guy didn´t have my name or anything and I don´t think he likes the internet much. So that was very bad. We got vague instructions as to where there were other hotels, but he said it would be hard to find a room.

And so we walked, and walked, and walked. In circles, basically, around the train station and the adjacent bay. Without finding really any hotels. Not like Paris, where there are a ton of places to stay around the train station. This went on for a while, and eventually we decided to get a taxi down to hotels near the beach. Sadly, we speak almost no Spanish. And our cab driver no English or French. So he took us to a hotel on a beach, but it was the most expensive place in town. We´re talking prices of more than €1,000 per night. Crazy stuff. So we walked around that area some more without any success. At this point, I´m about as scared as I get (which is probably a sign of my fortunate life more than anything else, but still) and I vote for sleeping on the beach, while Joe leans toward ponying up €1,000. Neither of which is actually going to happen. We finally went back to the really expensive hotel, and Joe got directions to another four-star one. Which was also full, but they directed us to probably the last hotel in the area, and they had a room. For a surprisingly reasonable rate. So, this being 12:30 in the morning, we just kicked back a bit. Great shower, which is always a must in European hotels, and we got breakfast served to the room.

Problem is, this place didn´t have any more rooms. So we were online for like an our this morning around noon, our checkout time, looking for hotels. Without success. Totally without success. Finally, after one of my schemes had been rejected, Joe found a place. It is north of town and not that well connected to public transportation, but it´s a room. For both nights.

So we took a taxi out there, then headed into town. Via bus and suburban train, which we navigated with surprising success. After landing at the Arc de Triomf, we walked looking for lunch and eventually ate at a vegetarian Indian restaurant. Where we got pizza. Are we lame or what? But we had these delicious spicy carrot donuts as an appetizer that really hit the spot. Then we checked out Gaudi´s work-in-progress church, Sacred Family, which has been under construction since 1892 and is already huge, although it´s not close to done. Pretty cool.

So that´s Barcelona and hopefully the most harrowing part of the trip. Lesson: book ahead and make sure it´s successful when you go to a touristy city over the weekend.

Next game: tomorrow, La Liga, Barcelona v. Real Sociedad
Next stop: Monday, Andorra la Vella, Andorra