Le Tour de France - in Spain!

Well, the highlight of the trip (so far) came yesterday and the day before when I got to see le Tour de France come through Barcelona! It was the first time it's been here in 44 years and lucky me, I was here for it. It was SO cool! I am not the hugest cycling fan but to witness such an important world sporting event was truly remarkable - very moving and inspirational. And, they just so happened to be cycling through an area about a 10 minute walk from my place. They spent the night here on Thursday so I got to see them ending on Thursday and beginning their day on Friday. Unfortunately, I didn't have any clear Lance sitings but I was sporting my USA wristband yesterday to give him some mojo. I did take some pics but they are on my old camera (it was POURING when I left the flat on Thurs to watch them so I didn't want to risk my fancy camera) and I don't have the cord to download so...

It's been a little rainy and grey the past 3 days so that has limited my beach time but given me the opportunity to explore other parts of the city. After watching the tour yesterday I went to Las Ramblas to pick up some flowers. Everyone that talks about Barcelona mentions that area of town - basically it is a 1 mile walking street with random vendors and some performers and TONS of people. Personally I don't see the lure of the area but I suppose it is entertaining for people watching - as long as you don't take your eye off your valuables (apparently it's the worst area for crime).

I had a fabulous day today started off by going to the local mercato (mainly for water - I am going through 5 liters every 2 days!) and then the local vegetable/fruit stand and bakery. The girl at the bakery now recognizes me (since I'm there almost every day to get a baguette) and makes me feel a tiny bit like a local. I was then really excited to make my way to a bookstore I had been told sold books in English only to be slightly disappointed that they only had about 15 books in English. Not a huge deal since I'm not a big reader but I picked up the Divinci Code since it seemed the most appealing & I've never read it.

I then trekked to Montjuic - which is the area where most of the Olympic games were held in 1992. I had been there on Thursday after watching the tour since that's where they finished and knew there was a botanical park there that I wanted to check out - so I did! I took a TON of pictures so rather than try to describe it you can check them out - I absolutely loved the area and have a feeling I will be back often! (you'll see pics of some cable cars which run right from Barceloneta near my flat to the area - apparently beautiful views on a clear day)

http://picasaweb.google.com/cricketBBC08/Montjuic?feat=directlink

Now I'm settling in for a quiet Saturday night making dinner (veggie fajitas-ish) and watch a movie - I figured out how to rent movies on iTunes - verrrry exciting! Oh the little things...