Hola Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona this morning and walked the Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter.

We wandered through a large market and snapped photos of interesting foods. Ham is a big deal here, and pigs that eat just acorns their whole lives end up as the highest priced ham. There is an age old question of who is more committed to making breakfast, the chicken or the pig? The chicken is involved but the pig is committed. We saw not just every part of the pig for sale, but also every part of the chicken, including heads. We tried the ham, but decided to leave the octopus and other exotic seafood for later in the trip.

Ham for $30/pound

Snails. They were moving.

Not as cute as the rabbit on the Cruisin' the Canejo bike ride jerseys.

Octopus and squid

Fish entrails

Eel

Does anyone know what these are?

As we eat pilgrim meals along the Camino we may be served all of these foods and we look forward to the experience. We tried three different sangria a today, including a white that was very refreshing. Dinner was seafood paella at 11:00 at night in a sidewalk cafe. Lots of Barcelonians were eating out at that hour.

In the Gothic section we saw the cathedral and some other buildings from centuries ago.

Security cameras... The modern day gargoyle.

And some more modern works,

Fresco designed by Picasso.

Adios Miami

Our Camino begins. Lauren is already in Europe, and Paul, Linda and I are boarding flights at 3 different airports on our way to Barcelona. I've left my usual business roll aboard, laptop case, business suit and heels at home and brought my Camelbak. 

We're off on a great adventure, bicycling the Camino de Santiago together.  We met each other on a bike trip across Utah, and this will be a great reunion. The Camino is a pilgrimage route and people travel it for many reasons. The journey is its own reward, and one of the blessings of this trip will be sharing the experience with fellow pilgrims from all over the world.