First, an apology. It was my full intention to update the blog more frequently than once every few weeks, but without constant access to the Internet, this has proved difficult. If only I had an indestructible-yet-featherweight laptop seamlessly connected to a worldwide satellite internet network, i'd be blogging from cramped seats on crowded trains and from the back of tiny Euro rental cars. Sadly, this is not the case. So I simply have to make due with aging PCs in smoke-filled Internet cafes like this one in Prague on the second floor of a wine shop. (The logo of the cafe is a photo of Sherlock Holmes. He's smoking a pipe. Go figure.) In any case, dear reader, let it be known, I am trying to keep the posts coming and the stories flowing. So just keep checking because you never know when I'll be able to steal a few hours in front of a PC in Helsinki (our next stop).

Barcelona was a few weeks ago, but it already seems like years. After coming up separately from Alcoy, Dana, Celia and I headed out to the famed Las Ramblas to drink the night away Catalan-style in the various bars and pubs.


In short, we're supertough. (When you are supertough, it is crucial and mandatory to show off the guns to let everyone else know.)

After we were all good and toasty on Spanish beer, Amanda and Oli eventually made it over to the Ramblas from L'Example and we met up at City Hall, a happening nightclub. The mere fact that City Hall was just opening at 2am should tell you all you need to know. Good times.

Tired and drunken, the three of us headed back to our extremely fancy room in the Front Hotel Martim which is where you stay when you let your girlfriend book the room on Hotels.com. Still, Dana got a good deal and the place turned out to be right across the road from one of the best beaches in Barcelona. So it was perfect. We slept in, showered like 6-7 times in the amazing bathroom, and headed over to the sand to sun ourselves silly. Oli and Amanda made it over and we all drank and hung out and generally had a good time.


The next morning, we said our goodbyes to the Alcoy kids and headed over to the train station to rent a car. Alas, the Spanish siesta struck again and the place was closed from 1-4pm. It was a blessing in disguise however, because it gave us just enough time to grab the subway into the city and see the touristy things we'd been missing. We first witnessed the famed Sagrada Familia, Anton Gaudi's magnificent unfinished cathedral, then we trekked up the hill to Gaudi's beautiful Parc Guell, featuring lots and lots of mosaic art.


In truth, the park itself was beautiful but I wasn't overly impressed with the iguana made from bits of broken tile. Still, he was a massive hit with almost everyone else in Barcelona that day, including Dana who bought a little replica of the beast later in the day. So we were glad we got to see it.


And even the babies liked the little lizard. So maybe I'm being too hard on him.


After soaking in the view from the park for a while, we made our way back to the train station and the now-open rent-a-car office. Then we picked up our tiny-but-powerful Citron C2 and headed North to the Costa Brava. It was goodbye to Barcelona for now, but we would be back...in the next post...