All alone in Barcelon-a

Yes, I'm all alone. . .that means since Monday the 8 bed mixed dorm has just been lil' ol' me! Woo hoo. I like it cuz it means I'm not crampin' the style of any of the young studly travelers (not that my presence really seemed to matter anyway)

Alone but not lonely. It's quite a big and busy place and friendly. I've said it before and it deserves mentioning again, the people of Spain are a warm and friendly group.

Yesterday I learned about Gaudi, yet another world reknowned person about whom I was clueless. I visited Casa Mila aka La Pedrera, inside and out. It was an apartment building he designed mostly based on forms found in nature. Not a right angle to be fount. From there I headed out to a high end housing development he designed but it sort of flopped and is now a city park. Only a few of the lots were ever purchased-one by Gaudi and the other by guy named Guell, who was in league with Gaudi and for whom the park is now named. The final spot I visited was the Sagrada Familia. To call it a cathdral is not grand enough. Gaudi spent the last years of his life working on it. He died in 1926 and work is still continuing on the project! The place is massive and the outside facades are almost completely covered in sculpture and ornamentation.

After a full day of Gaudi, I went back to the hostel for just a short recharge and then attended. . .wait for it. . . ready. . .a Spanish cooking class! Yep, me cooking. Who'd a thunk it? To be fair, it's not like I was really in the kitchen doing anything. What this 'cooking' class is is kind of gimmicky way to give folks an excuse to drink excessive amounts with a bunch of complete strangers all in the name of cultural exchange. There were about 15 of us, (mostly Aussies). We met at a bar and took over the back half next to the kitchen. First, the way to make real Sangria was demonstrated and then we were invited to step up and give it a try. En mass 14 people arose and made for the bar where all the fixin's awaited. Being a tea totaller, I hung back a bit but I didn't want to be a complete party pooper so I inched my way to behind the bar and filled my glass with all but the alcohol parts. While the Sangria was being mixed, our Chef Carla was doing all the prep work for the main course, that being what else but Paella. About a pitcher per person later, the cooking began and it really wasn't a class so much as a demonstration with a history of the dish. At the end of the demonstration the paella was left to simmer and then soak and more Sangria was mixed. At just the right moment, Carla served up our seafood Paella and all was right with the world . . .except the shrimps still had their faces on and I don't know when the calamari was added unless it was hidden in with generically named white fish that was one of the last things added but I did manage to get a few pieces of that down at the beginning but then after a bit I wasn't hungry enough to pretend to enjoy it anymore. But anyway, I now know more or less how to make paella and since it is a very customizable dish, I can do it with faceless shrimp and no squid if/when I ever get a kitchen again!

That was Tuesday. Today was very mild especially compared with yesterday which shot my budget all to heck. I did the walking tour of the Gothic part of the city. The free tour, you see. Then I meandered back through the tour and visited a couple of the places-the Barcelona Catherdral and the Museum of the City History. Guess what? There's an old Roman city underneath the current one. Big Surprise, eh?

So that has been my time on the Iberian Peninsula. I should like to come back to here to spend more time and eat more and better places than I allowed for this time. I'd also like to spend more time outside of the big places but that's another trip. Tomorrow, I'm headed back to France for a bit as I make my way to Italy. At least I hope I am. I forgot to check with the train folks and it looks like I need a reservation to get from here to there. Ooops!