5th April 2011: Barcelona Day Nineteen.

I’m back!! A good nights sleep and I’m ready to hit the town.

We got going pretty early today in an attempt to catch up on lost time. More shopping (does it ever end) and then lunch at that place in the market. When we got there Michelle said, “this is my third visit here over the years and that man serving behind the bar has been here every time” It’s a great way to eat and the food was very nice.

Michelle is constantly looking up at the architecture taking snaps and marvelling at the intricate designs and detailed works. I have to play photographer to try and capture her against some of the architecture…..with mixed success.

The afternoon was our time to suss out the cable cart and I now discover that my travelling companion is not too excited about the prospect of being dangled 100 meters above the ground in a “shoe box” suspended by a single cable. Hmmm, might be taking that trip on my own.

Michelle got over her fear of heights and made the trip with me and for all intents and purposes enjoyed the experience. This is a photo of her hanging on to the railing in the middle of the cable cart half way through the trip…..

There would be no return trip even though it was relatively cheap and the quickest way to get back; we would navigate our way home via the busses and metropolitan railway, thank you very much.

The train system is very good here but can be confusing to navigate. We had to get home to freshen up, eat and then get out to our venue for the Flamenco dancing and singing. Unfortunately, the train we caught was at peak hour and very, very crowded. We managed to squeeze in to a carriage and as soon as the doors closed a guy started pushing his way towards us through the crowd.

I was standing near the door of the train and this guy, dressed in a blue pinstriped suit and appearing to be some sort of businessman or professional worker was pushing right up against me. I tried to move away from the door as it appeared to me that he was getting ready to get off at the next station.

With his head down he periodically swayed with the train and was bumping into me. On one of those occasions when he bumped me, I thought he was trying to grope me. I had my wallet in the front pocket of my jeans and when I looked down, I discovered that whilst he was bumping me, he was slowly working my wallet up in my pocket….cheeky bugger.

I quickly put my hand in my pocket, pushed my wallet down and kept my hand there for the rest of the trip. My “friend” gave up on me and turned his back and appeared to be waiting for the next station. As he grabbed the railing near the doorway I notice he had tattoos on his fingers that would suggest that the suit and the briefcase were merely props for his real occupation.

I was indignantly telling Michelle of my experience (in a loud voice) and she cautioned me in a whisper that people like that usually work in pairs. In other words, keep your wits about you…..cheeky buggers.

That little experience threw me off centre and I was to be on the watch for the rest of my stay in Barcelona. We found our way home, ate and then headed out for our entertainment. The dancing and singing where everything I’d hoped for and Michelle and I had a great night……Ole!!!

In the space of 5 hours, we had seen the worst and the very best that Barcelona had to offer. The night ended with Michelle and I finding a very appropriate Christmas present for our fellow traveller Mark Budgen (you need to read the post about our visit to the French vineyard to understand this).