Barcelona

The first thing I learned in Barcelona upon arriving is that it is not in Spain. It is actually a part of Catalan, a state that badly wants its independence and goes so far as to keep its own language (Catalan) and government. You can liken it to Taiwan. While Catalan is an entirely different language than Spanish, it is very similar and everyone speaks Spanish anyways. It is also a pretty much smoke free city, instantly earning it my long lasting affection.

The famous Las Ramblas throughfare is incredibly entertaining. This boulevard has a wide, kilometer-long pedestrian strip that is filled with all sorts of one-man acts, pet stands, and scam artists. Sure, they have these things in other places, but not at this concentration. The competition also breeds only the very best acts, so going to this street is not unlike visiting a circus. I saw a three-card-monte-esque scam artist with a small ball and three cups. He was fast and smooth and he tricks you into thinking the ball is under a certain cup by flashing it for a split second. Almost as good as a magician. Almost. From the side you could see him slipping the ball into his hand after flashing it, and after the mark picks any of the three empty cups, he deftly puts it in another cup as he turns it over. There were also two people working with him who would keep winning massive amounts of money. But he was still able to fool some people.

Barcelona also has a few open air markets where fresh animal parts, fish, fruits, and vegetables are sold in a loud, crowded, clean, and pretty hygienic environemnt. Couple that with several large parks throughout the city and you get a very nice suburban feel in an urban environment. Throw in a few nice beaches, athletic facilities leftover from the Olympics, and wide acceptance of credit cards, and you have a major metropolitan city I wouldn't mind living in.

Barcelona also has one of the most unique architectures in the world on several houses, parks, buildings, and public fixtures. This is largely due to a guy named Gaudi who does what I would call surrealist architecture. This style has spread a little and now you can see around the city a rooftop shaped like a dragon's back, unnecessarily winding street lamps, and tortoise fountains, all done in brightly colored mosaic ceramic. It's also got a castle, but I didn't get to it, and a large signature church done Gaudi-style, but is still under construction.

I take my last overnight train (thankfully) to Switzerland, starting with Geneva.