Home Sweet Home

How good it feels to be home!! It seems odd that we would feel that way about coming "home" to Nice, but after being away for 6 days in Spain, we looked forward to getting back to familiar surroundings.  We really are creatures of habit and given the chance one quickly adapts to new environments. No, our move to Nice will not be permanent and we most definitely will be returning home to Toronto next summer. 


As for Barcelona, it seems we all came away with a different perspective. Unfortunately, Nancy spent 2 days in bed with a cold and flu like symptoms and never quite warmed up to Barcelona. She found it to be uninspiring and somewhat "run down and grungy" and is in no rush to return. The highlight for Simona was watching Messi and Co dismantle Sevilla 5-0 with Messi and David Villa each netting 2 goals. 

Two of a kind

Maddy probably had the most fun but Barcelona had nothing to do with it. She could have been anywhere given the fun she was having with her new found "3rd cousin" Jennifer (the other Sal Rocco's daughter).  She was disappointed to learn they were only "3rd cousins" as if that somehow impacted the relationship or possible enjoyment.  The 2 were inseparable the entire time, sporting hello kitty costumes for Halloween and tried all manner of gestures to get the human statutes on Las Ramblas to move or laugh. At one point they had us all laughing as they performed a dance themselves on Las Ramblas and were rewarded for their performance by spectators who dropped coins into one of their hats. 

As for myself, I like Barcelona for what it's not. It's not an elegant, sophisticated city like a London, Paris or Rome. While it has no shortage of museums and other landmarks to visit, it lacks the glitter and polish of so many other large European cities. It has a vibe and pulse all of its own. It is genuinely raw and not afraid to bare it's soul for all to see and experience. It has no pretenses and makes no effort to mask it's defects or shortcomings. Students and pensioners, the working and unemployed, impoverished and wealthy, thieves, drug addicts, buskers and artists of all sorts, street vendors and women of the night each plying their trade and leaving their mark in full view. No matter where one goes, a walk along Las Ramblas, the Gothic Barri or Born districts, barceloneta or along the waterfront, Barcelona will generate a reaction love it or not.   

We are off next weekend for 4 days to visit Paris, a stark contrast to Barcelona.  I'm curious to see what sort of response it evokes. 

Sal