Today we caught the 8:30 morning
train for Barcelona, it one of the Spanish bullet trains so the trip was made
in just under 3 hours at around 180 mph with one stop in Zaragoza. We decided to leave later in the morning so
that we could see the countryside between the two cities. To outward appearances it looks very much
like Southern Colorado or Northern New Mexico; very arid looking with many low
growing shrubs that would thrive on little water. But I
think that must be deceptive because so much of the land was cultivated where
it was level and there are fruit orchards and occasional palm trees all along
the path. And of course there are very
old ruins, maybe religious or military.
We arrived in Barcelona just after 11:00am and got museum passes and
metro passes right at the station, after which we headed in to find the hotel I
reserved for our stay. The hotel is a
little one star so it’s fairly basic but it has a private bath and we have a Wi-Fi
connection so the lack of a television is unimportant. It’s right in the middle of the old part of
town and we’re surrounded by narrow winding medieval passages. We got checked
in and then went out and had a walk along the length of Las Ramblas, which is
the major pedestrian thoroughfare in Barcelona.
About midway along Las Ramblas, and this will surprise everyone, is a
fantastic market which is extremely large and has just about anything a person
could want in the way of meat, fish, fruits, or vegetables. It’s amazing, here in the middle of
November, they are offering fresh figs, strawberries, kiwis, rambutans,
longans, dragon fruit, grapes, you name it and it’s likely to be here. And they have vendors who are offering fresh
fish and meat of every variety as well as prepared food that can be eating
right on the spot. 
Memories of Santa Fe (chilies)
For those sheep's head delicacies
We had lunch at a
little restaurant at the back of the market that was suggested in Rick Steves
book on Spain and it turned out to be a great choice. Two courses as well as bread, wine, dessert,
and water for 13.50 euros each. The
food was very fresh and well prepared,
Deb said she liked the her salad better than any she had tasted in Spain to
date, while I had a Spanish interpretation of a caprese consisting of a fresh
Spanish Mozzarella like cheese and tomato salad with fresh basil and olive oil
for the first course. Then Deb had a
scrumptious plate of breaded and fried Whiting while I had Tuna with a
ratatouille sauce that would have been worth the price of the entire meal by
itself. We will definitely be eating
here again. 
We finished the day with a walk down to the harbor and a bit of sitting in the sun. We got back to the hotel and Deb wanted to rest a bit to try and keep on top of the cold, so I went out for a walk around our area and a quick trip to the market for fresh figs to eat in our room. We can’t wait for tomorrow and more adventures.
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