Happy Mother's Day.
None of us would be here without our mother's care, love and understanding.
It's easy to take all that for granted and forget the efforts and sacrifices. Thank you mothers, we will never be able to pay back that which you have given us.
Have a great Mother's Day.
Barcelona: One day of sunshine and 4 days of rain and counting.
I'm running out of clean underwear and dry shoes.
The train trip from Paris to Barcelona was fun. Long, but OK. (or as OK as it can be when spending 11 hours on a train) The cheapest train seats are as good as business class airline seats so no big deal. Met some nice people from California.
Barcelona greeted us with sunny skies but has been cloudy wet and grey ever since. Despite the rain we have enjoyed a stylish, relaxed and friendly city. The Rambla Bistro across the street from our hotel always has a smile, coffee con letche, and the best bacon toast you could ever hope for. (there goes the diet)
Our hotel, located at the end of Diagonal Street is clean and roomy and bright. A king size bed ensures we don't kick ourselves as we did in the double we had in Paris. A bed so comfy we both slept through a fire on Wednesday evening. The 6 jet shower keeps me in the shower much longer than necessary and has me thinking its time to upgrade our bathroom at home. Our room is huge compared to the shoe box we stayed in in Paris. I've been in the pool once and was grateful for the bathrobe as it was cold coming out of the water. Who would think it would be warmer and sunnier in Ottawa?
The food in Barcelona has been excellent. Simply the best sea food ever. From cuttle fish to cod, squid and octopus it has all be wonderful. In the last 5 days I have ingested twice my normal annual olive oil intake. The ham croissants are simply the best. Why would anyone want to start their day off differently?
As the unemployment rate hit 27.2 % in Spain this week there is no noticeable evidence of that here in Barcelona. There are tones of tourists. 6.7 million tourists in 2007.
The rain continues here as I sit in the lobby bar. Rain is forecast here till Thursday. I should have packed a scuba suit...
The last two days have been warm and sunny in the city of lights. What more could you ask for? Walked around Montmartre today and yesterday spent the day lazing around the "quartier latin". Springtime in Paris, where else would you want to be? Have a great day. We are off to Barcelona Monday evening.
Brussels.
Arrived yesterday morning and already I feel like Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation". (not my favorite Coppola clan film but worth a look)
The rain showers that greeted me on the drive in from the airport gave way to mid-morning sunshine and a beautiful 20 degrees. Dinner was al fresco in a cool evening breeze. Warmest day in Brussels so far.
After a two year absence from Brussels I looked forward to seeing a renewed, rebuilt, rejuvenated Place Rogier. It had always been my hub in Brussels, anchoring the Hilton, Crown Plaza and Sheraton hotels. But as it turns out, and I guess with not much surprise, it looks very much the same as it did two years ago. An ongoing, incomplete, work in progress. Things don't always move as quickly as you like in Brussels, it is afterall the seat of the EU government and delays are part of its charm.
I'm sleepless at 2:00 am but i'm happy to be back on the old continent (better the old-continent that in-continent) and visiting with old friends. David, John it was great catching up. Thanks.
Since I'm awake so early, its a good time to charge batteries and transfer photos I took yesterday onto a hard drive. Easier said than done as I did not bring a card reader and forgot an electrical adaptor. I guess I have a few stops to make when I return from a photo walk today.
I hope to post every couple of days and hope to have more to say once my sleep deprived brain gets with the program.