Monday, October 10, 2005

Barcelona

So I´m in Barcalounger, Barcelona (I´ll be recovering on the Barcalounger in a few days...) The city is larger than I thought it would be and it has a sprawling metro and tram system which makes it easy to get to all the cool and bizarre architecture by Gaudi. Yesterday I visited the iconic La Sagrada Familia, his ginormous modernist cathedral which was started in 1882 and is only about 50% finished. Orwell thought it was hideous and in Homage to Catalonia (which you should read if you haven´t, as it´s a much more important book than 1984 or Animal Farm...) lamented the fact that it wasn´t destroyed in the Spanish Civil War but I thought it was cool. Today I saw La Pedrera and Parc Guell, the latter distinguished by Gaudi´s giant mosaic chameleon. This evening I also poked my head into Barcelona´s huge gothic cathedral, which for some reason houses a bunch of noisy white geese. I´m not entirely sure what I´ll be seeing tomorrow although there are several more Gaudi buildings that are worth exploring, such as Casa Batllo. Why don´t we have cool looking buildings like that in America?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Andy,

Perry's Nut House in Belfast isn't interesting architecture - I guess not. Quick update before you head back to the States:

Red Sox 2 White Sox 14
Red Sox 4 White Sox 5
Red Sox 3 White Sox 5

End of Series in Three Games - Was Not Pretty!

Patriots 31 Falcons 28 (Brady and Vinaterri did it again - 17 seconds left this time) - 3-2 record

Buccaneers 12 Jets 14 (oh yeah - it is now Vinnie and the Jets again)- 4-1 record

(P.S. Astros 7 Braves 6 in 18 Innings - new record for length of baseball playoff game (Clemens was the winning pitcher) - Houston won series 3-1)

See you soon!

Adam, Rory, and Abigail

Anonymous said...

Andy, this is your mother. You still haven't told me where you will be in Frankfort. Tomorrow is my last day here--we start for Montreal on Wednesday at 8am. I will try to remember to keep my cell phone on most of Wednesday and Thursday and Friday till you get here. Hope your trip back goes smoothly.

Kevin said...

Hi Andy-

quick question from Blogger novices Kevin and Solene-

on the blogger template - how can you link to recent posts? -you know like posts that you publish retrospectively, like the ones I am still trying to write for Russia but will only appear in the archives because they are back in July or something?

I just ask because I see that you have links to recent (and not so recent) posts...

Have a beer in the Glacier Bar on the Plaza Reyal for me. Many a night there. They taste better at 3 am in the morning.

Cheers!

K and S

AMP said...

Mom - I haven´t figured out where I´m staying in Frankfurt yet, probably the first hotel I can find for under 40€ a night near the airport or train station. If there´s a problem leave me a message on the phone, I´ll check it when I get in.

AMP said...

Hi Adam - I haven´t been to Perry´s Nut House for a while so I guess a return trip is due. Sorry to hear about the Bosox, but at least the Pats are above .500 again. I´m predicting 10-6 and AFC East Champs. See you guys soon! -AMP

Cohen the statistics nerd said...

OK so you say the target hotel cost is 40 Euros in Frankfurt and we KNOW the hostels east of there cost a LOT less. What is your grand total spent on the trip, and what's it come out to for an average cost per day? And what % spent on food vs lodging vs bribes for officers of the law possessing Kalashnikovs vs transportation vs ??? Biggest expense on trip? Smallest? Biggest ripoff? Etc.

AMP said...

Hi Jeff - I'll figure out exactlzy how much I spent went I get home - I had a couple of flights and train rides which added up, and Rome and Spain of course weren't cheap. I spent a large chunk of my travel budget but I think I will have some money to tide me over until I find a job. I was way under budget in Turkey and the Caucasus, about on budget in Morocco and probably about $20 per day over budget in Spain. -AMP, Frankfurt