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Four motivational quotations each day from The Quotations Page

Updated: 28 Feb 11:50

Julie Morgenstern

28 Feb 00:00

"If you're afraid to let someone else see your weakness, take heart: Nobody's perfect. Besides, your attempts to hide your flaws don't work as well as you think they do."

Aung San Suu Kyi

28 Feb 00:00

"The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear."

Sir George Savile

28 Feb 00:00

"In your clothes avoid too much gaudiness; do not value yourself upon an embroidered gown; and remember that a reasonable word, or an obliging look, will gain you more respect than all your fine trappings."

Bob Dylan

28 Feb 00:00

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."

William Arthur Ward

27 Feb 00:00

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."

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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Awesome! Sounds very similar to the "Peatonal" in Mar del Plata, Argentina. There's nothing like to travel to open the mind, generate a sense of gratefulness and connectedness.

By Brian Gwyn on January 04, 2007 15:55

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I like Barcelona, Spain

I like Barcelona, Spain

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