Motivational Quotes of the Day
Four motivational quotations each day from The Quotations Page
Updated: 22 Nov 16:12
Thomas Fuller
07 Oct 00:00
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"Know most of the rooms of thy native country before thou goest over the threshold thereof."
Henry Ford
07 Oct 00:00
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"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."
Sir Francis Bacon
07 Oct 00:00
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"Man seeketh in society comfort, use and protection."
Hannah Whitall Smith
07 Oct 00:00
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"Let me advise thee not to talk of thyself as being old. There is something in Mind Cure, after all, and if thee continually talks of thyself as being old, thee may perhaps bring on some of the infirmities of age. At least I would not risk it if I were thee."
David Reisman
06 Oct 00:00
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"Look at all the sentences which seem true and question them."
A street character on La Rambla, Barcelona
I like Barcelona, Spain
Posted by
carolgreek
Posted on: 10/12/06
I like Barcelona, Spain
Barthelona (as they say it in Spain) -- Coming from a more rural area of Northern California, it was like a "city that never sleeps". From our balcony of the Aparthotel Silver, we could look out over this busy city with it's ancient buildings and constant life. But don't expect to find restaraunts open for dinner until 9pm, and you will also understand the reason why Spaniards take siestas. It's hot there.I loved the heat, but planning a 3 hour nap early afternoon and then staying up late enough to get dinner out might work better for some. We ended up shopping at local markets, cooking our dinner and eating on the balcony since we had that option. That was nice as it felt like we actually lived in Barcelona.
My hours spent exploring Barcelona on-line made all the difference in making our visit just perfect. Antoni Gaudi's "modernismo" archictecture throughout the city was amazing. Veiwing the tilework on the ceiling of the stone arbor at Parc Guell nearly brought me to tears. To see such beauty created as an expression for his love of God (as he must have been working on his back on a scaffolding), it was just incredible. What I didn't expect though was that the bus drops you at the bottom of the hill where you walk up 3 city blocks to get to Parc Guell. I don't think my family appreciated me very much on that hot afternoon! I'd definately recommend this one as a morning activity.
I also learned of the hop-on-and-off Barcelona tour bus which departs every 10 minutes from the plaza by La Rambla ($22 for 2 days). It hits all the major sites and then some. La Rambla was quite lively with sovenier stands, flowers, birds and street characters (for photo shoots and entertainment). My favorite souvenier, a Barcelona fan, was discovered here.
We also hopped off to go to the beach, and discovered that the water is warm and the waves (if you should call them that) are very mellow. My son and I (the non-surfers in the family) bodysurfed them.
The most suprizing discovery was the Fuente Montjuiic, also called the magic fountain. This water show only occurs on certain nights. The light show on the fountain is set to classical music. It draws quite a crowd and can be seen from blocks away. Our photos could not capture this beauty.
I wish that I could have been as successful in researching the Black Forest and Zurich. I discovered that even though I love spending time in rural environments, when you backpack through Europe (with kids in tow to boot), you are probably better off picking lodging in more centrally located places. There is so much to explore in the cities (ancient churches, castles, open-air markets). Once you've trekked a couple miles between train connections and then further to find you're lodging, not too many youngsters (my teenagers especially) are eager to take a hike into the woods.
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