Trip to Spain 2007 – Page 4 – The Bald Heretic – Short, bald dude with a goofy beard

Rugby World Cup

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I don’t know if it’s a big deal in the US right now or not, but the Rugby World Cup has been VERY big news over here. Right now we’re in the hotel room and watching the final between England and South Africa.

Keep in mind that Cynthia and I have never watched a rugby game in our lives and the rules elude us almost completely.

As of now, I am trying to sort things out watching a game I don’t understand being described in a language I don’t speak.

Cynthia’s getting bits and pieces, but basically we’re just figuring it out on the fly…which, due to our current travel fatigue, is amusing us to no end.

If you were listening in right now you would hear things like:

“What’s the deal with the green hood-headed guy?”
“Ooooo! He looks like he’s getting squished ow ow ow!!”
“They’re just kicking it back and forth”
“The referee has knee socks to match his spiffly blue shorts”

Cynthia’s rooting for South Africa. I have thrown my lot in with England.

The Magic Fountain of Montjuic

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The picture above is completely unmodified, straight out of the camera. And what you see in the picture above is simply the backdrop to the Magic Fountain of Monjuic.

This very beautiful and very large fountain literally dances and changes colors to a soundtrack of classical music and popular moview themes.

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The above pictures are taken at the street level, below the fountains.

The next set of pictures show the fountain when looking down from the space halfway up the side of the hill, approaching the building you see in the first picture which is the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona

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I must say, it was a fantastic experience to see this fountain which had it’s first performance on May 19, 1929 during the Great Universal Exhibition. Cynthia was delighted as well.

We both agreed that we LOVE Barcelona and that it’s “a pretty darn cool place“.

I mean, c’mon! It has a magic fountain!

Park Guell

We visited Park GÃ¼ell today. This park was designed by Antoni GaudÃ and built in the years 1900 to 1914.

Originally it was going to be a housing site, but when that did not work out it was turned into a municipal park.

It’s most famous for the mosaic tile work, specifically the pieces in the entry to the park. I especially like the multicolored mosaic dragon fountain.

It’s a very cool space. You can see Gaudi’s hand in even the littlest details

It’s a real joy to walk around. Even with the crowds in the main area you can still find some quiet spots where you feel quite isolated and calm.

I have some more pics in the gallery.

Man In The Park

While hiking around Park GÃ¼ell we noticed this man sitting on a bench…

In his hand he held the most extraordinary cane

He was a very kind man. He explained to us that he made this cane for his own personal use. He went on to say that he has made over 80 of these canes, all of which he uses on his walks around the city.

Boqueria Breakfast

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We’ve been eating breakfast at La Boqueria.

Cynthia enjoys her cafÃ© con leche and Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish Omelet) despite the temptation of the freshly cooked, steaming delicacy that beckons from the counter…

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House Music?

For my DJ/electronic music friends.
This is a sign for a real estate agency here in Barcelona

Barcelona – Buskers Of La Rambla

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When you first approach La Rambla in Barcelona you are immediately struck by the throngs of people walking to and fro. It’s almost too intimidating to even consider entering into the flow of this human river.

But everyone says it’s something to see so you take a deep breath and you wade in…

It’s not so bad when you get going. This time of year there’s elbow room and you can move about pretty easily.

After you pass the booths selling birds and other small animals you start to notice the human statues. If you’ve travelled to any big city, you’ve seen them. Usually someone who paints themselves silver and stands perfectly still until someone gives them money. When that happens they spring to life, usually moving in a robotic manner.

Here in Barcelona they have taken it to a whole new level. It’s not uncommon to see three or four human statues setup side by side. The amount of competition has raised the bar, so to speak, for the human statue. They have to compete with each other for the attention of the masses and some of them have gotten VERY creative.

First of all, they don’t all paint themselves silver.