Barcelona

We spent the day in Barcelona, walking around and looking at things. We ate some bread and took some photographs.

They like jamon (ham) in Spain. Being a vegetarian, I politely declined, but those in our group who tried it said it had a unique taste.

His name was Orlando Vasquez. He was a sit down busker on the streets of Barcelona. His voice was good and so was his guitar playing. I talked to him and bought his CD, and his music became part of our Spanish soundtrack.

Tiles on the sidewalk.

It's not everyday that you get to go into a music emporium. It was a great place. Full of old books and fine instruments. I bought a CD here, which featured the music of several Spanish composers. Definitely my favorite store in Spain.

A futbol player who was busking on La Rambla, which is a popular walkway in Barcelona where many buskers work.

Walking on La Rambla I kept singing the Zeppelin song "Ramble On."

La Rambla.

Painted Buntings For Obama

This post has been a long time coming. I took this photo back in February, when I first came across this sign. The painted bunting is a bird that is not normally seen in Maryland. I was intrigued. The Obama supporters who posted the sign obviously had some birding experience. I held off posting the picture because I didn't want to jinx Obama.



The months went by. I kept going back to the spot where this sign was, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive painted bunting. I brought my binoculars and waited. Sometimes there were other bird watchers there, and so I would talk to them while we waited. I never saw the painted bunting, but I did get to see Obama. It was at the University of Maryland, in College Park. He gave a good speech and I felt the tides turning. Like so many people out there, I am excited for this country to move forward. We'll see what happens in the fall. Don't forget to register to vote, if you haven't already.

The creativity of my fellow Americans has always impressed and inspired me. As I said back on one of my last bike tour posts, The View From Day 95:

This is a large and fragrant country. Our people are creative and resourceful. We are proud and free, kind and caring. We are young and old, wise but sometimes foolish, diverse but sometimes afraid to embrace our own diversity. There is great beauty and great promise here, but there is also greed and pollution. This is a large and fragrant country, hard to define but easy to enjoy.

At The Beach

We stayed at the beach for 5 nights. We were in the town of Alcossebre, which is about 250 kilometers south of Barcelona. The Mediterranean Sea was cool, yet swimable. Unfortunately, Janice had to work, and so she was only there with us for one night (our first night). But we did our best and carried on without her. And we called her from the payphone almost every night.

I really enjoyed my time at the beach. I think we all did. We could relax, and swim, and drink sangria. The beach is a great place for taking photographs--the photographic potential is infinite--and I sure made a lot of exposures.

Driving In Spain, Part 1

We stayed in Madrid for three days and three nights, and then we rented a car and headed to the East Coast of Spain. I drove. Janice read the maps and navigated. Mom, Chris, and Heather enjoyed the view from the backseat. It was a perfect day for motor touring. (120 kph is about 75 mph.)

This was our car.

We stopped in Cuenca and walked around. (Heather took this photo.)

Don Quixote seemed to be everywhere in Spain. What would Cervantes think? 403 years later and his book is still alive. Perhaps he'd be proud. I wished I had brought my copy to read.

The beautiful plaza in Cuenca.

I gave this juggler a coin that was worth 2 euro and that made him happy.

Here's Chris and an olive tree.

He picked these olives and ate one. Like I said earlier, they tasted bitter and turned his teeth purple.

Purple!

After Cuenca we got back to work. We followed the back roads and there were hardly any other cars on the road. It was great. I forced myself to stop now and then so I could smell the air and look around. Moving in a car it's hard to catch all the details.

The sun was setting and the road was still ours. We found a good station on the radio and enjoyed the songs that the DJ was playing. "Omaha" by Waylon Jennings came in loud and clear. "Frankie's Gun!" by the Felice brothers was a big surprise. The right song at the right time. The open road. The magic of radio. These are all good things.

Windmills on the horizon.

It was late when we arrived at the beach. But the Mediterranean Sea was still awake, still working it's way up and down the sandy shores. It had been a long day of driving and I had absorbed a lot. I was full of energy, full of excitement. My mind was still alert, still focused from driving mindset. The sound of the waves helped me relax.