Random city observations

We have had a few days to poke around, and I've noticed a few trends in this city.

The most obvious and incredible is the transportation. We keep saying things like, "That looks cool, but it's in this crazy location, so we will likely need to take four different buses." And without fail, there is a single bus that goes right where we want, leaving from within four blocks of us. The blocks are short: this is not NYC or DC. We haven't waited longer than ten minutes for the bus, which costs about a euro per trip per person. Buses are generally near-full, but only a couple have been packed.

The trains are apparently just as impressive, but I haven't taken one yet.

How have they developed such an amazing system in this teensy city, when Atlanta can't make a train that goes anywhere near where even a tenth of the people want to go! DESPITE having so many of the tracks needed? Well, it helps that Barcelona is teensy. And people likely never had large houses or yards here...they lived in apartments as they do now. No one had to give up their McMansions to make room. But still, Atlanta should be so ashamed of itself.

The shops in the neighborhoods would fit into my living room, barely bigger than a storefront, and many of them sell just one thing. There's a men's shirt store down the street. Really? How the bloody hell do you make enough money to pay rent when all you sell are men's shirts? Among the food shops, it is a matter of pride to display ham hocks in the window and demonstrate the ummm, porkiness of your hocks. I want to get a shirt that says, "Nice Hocks." Restaurants are also tiny, and you wonder how anyone makes any real cash.

The streets are amazingly clean, though the quantity of smokers is thoroughly depressing. No wonder the tobacco companies laughed at the lawsuits; they make more money in a blink of an eye in Europe than they ever did in the USA. People here tend to hold their cigarettes in that prissy, between-the-fingers, arm-bent-at-the-elbow way, so it blows in your face with maximum efficiency. Thankfully, there are laws about indoor smoking now, and that's pretty much the only saving grace. Otherwise I would be in asthma hell.

While the city claims an incredible diversity of a certain kind, it reminds me of Wisconsin in a way: "We don't just have Germans; there are Swedes and Norwegians, too."  There are many different kinds of people, but they are basically white. It does seem a good city in which to be gay, as I've seen same-sex couples being openly affectionate in public, which still seems rare in the States.

And finally, there's the weather, which is as close to perfect as you can get. The weather forecast will say that it is 73 degrees, but I'm pretty sure that's a statistical average of the 83-degree sunlight and the 63-degree shade. The difference between sunny and shady areas is really intense, in a great way. Hot and sweaty? Sit under a cafe umbrella for a bit. The breezes will have you on your feet again in no time.

The only real drawback to this place? No Diet Mountain Dew. That's how I know that, lovely as it is, Barcelona is doomed to the second class forever.