Mikhail’s All-Star World Tour 2006

As I was writing my last blog post last night, from an internet cafe, I was using my backpack as a footrest. When I was done writing, my footrest was gone. Lost: my diary, all pictures from the trip, and a number of expensive but insured and replaceable things like my camera, “backup” cash, books, ipod, extra shirt, etc. My wallet and passport were safe in a hostel locker, but I wish I’d lost those instead of the pictures.

I spent three hours in a police station, among other marks, filling out a police report and meditating on all the ways this could’ve been avoided. Big thanks to the police: they were understanding, they found someone who spoke English (and even Russian), and they helped me through all the paperwork. In the unlikely case that anything turns up, they’ll send it to me through the hostel.

As much as I’d like to heap the blame elsewhere, this one’s all mine.

I almost wasn’t hung over this morning, since I had the presence of mind to drink two bottles of water last night. I didn’t have the presence of mind to avoid all pickpockets though - they just walk straight into you. So I learned my lesson and only had half a bottle of wine with dinner tonight - much more reasonable. Let’s see if the rest of my stuff stays put. Despite all that, I still love Barcelona: it’s a modern city, and it’s alive.

I decided that I was enjoying this town too much to take off on a day trip, so Figueres will wait for another time (besides, I’d need to spend five hours on the train). Went to the Miro museum instead, and it was well worth it: his mind turned in some funny directions. My favorites were the huge tapestries, the painted sculptures, and the constellation paintings. There was also a temporary exhibition by a contemporary American artist - things like a room with a line of text all around the walls, or a screen suspended in midair playing Hitchcock’s Psycho in slo-mo. Mostly too clever for my taste, though there was one installation that impressed me - a room with about 50 TVs stacked haphazardly, playing back different clips and images.

The rest of the day I’ve just been walking around, soaking in sunlight and the city’s architecture. I like to walk a lot, so the strategy is pretty simple: walk to a corner, look around. Find something interesting, maybe a cool building or a park in the distance, and go that way until something else pulls me in a different direction. Every once in a while I pull out a map to see where I am, where I’ve been, and what landmarks are nearby. I might miss some things, but it feels more fun than a planned itinerary. My one regret is that I didn’t make it to the beach today: when is Seattle gonna get warm enough to sunbathe?

Ah well, I’m off to Copenhagen tomorrow morning. Haggled with a merchant for the alarm clock so I don’t miss my flight. Got a free battery and a third off, but still overpaid. Hard to haggle without knowing Spanish.

When I was a freshman in college, Tuan (then my roommate) pointed out my penchant for making unwarranted generalizations. For the sake of nostalgia, I will now return to that habit. Amsterdam is a city that values common sense. Paris values elegance (a kind of beauty). Berlin values seriousness (duck! the flames are coming). Barcelona values the enjoyment of life.

I’m in Barcelona now, and loving it. If I had to go back in time and cut my trip down to one city, out of all the places I’d visited I would choose Barcelona. Sure I’m biased because the weather’s been ideal (70 F and up), I just had a bottle of my favorite wine (Rioja) with an excellent dinner (civet), and spent the day exploring Gaudi’s creations: Casa Batlle, Park Guell, Sagrada Familia. In a fit of ambition, I was trying to make it to the Miro museum too (eat your heart out, Centre Pompidou) but it closed just as I got there, an hour before my guidebook claimed. The Miro museum was on a hill, and I still scored a victory by finding a view of the whole city from a vantage point nearby.

Yesterday I had just half a day after the train ride, so I walked around La Rambla and the Cathedral: plenty to see, and close to the hostel where I’m staying. Bought some T-shirts, making up for the Prague laundry debacle: Spanish people got style. (Me comment on fashion? I love the Internet!) Then I found a park where random people were playing guitar and sax, sat on a bench and sketched the surroundings until the sun set.

I only have a day left - do I go on a day trip to Picasso’s castle and the toy museum, or stay in town and chill on the beach, maybe try Miro again? Stay tuned….