Buenos noches, estoy en Barcelona

Holas senores y senoritas!

I just got into the campsite in Barcelona, so nothing has happened yet, Thought I´ll recap the last couple of days in France. So here we go. Sorry for no pictures again. This computer doesn´t allow picture transfers, but believe you me, i wished I could show you the beauty that I managed to get down.

The last that we left off, I was in Montmartre. I went swiftly down to find the Moulin Rouge and took a picture. En route, i passed by the Sex Museum and was hoping to visit it the next day. Sadly I didnt get to visit it. Anyhow, definitely interesting to walk through the seedy side of Paris.

From there, I walked to the Galleria Lafayette and the world famous Opera house. That was nice, took some pictures and such. I was supposed to meet a travel mate at the Trocadero acrossed town so I was looking for a metro station. Anyhow I kept on walking and walking. In the end, I found that I had walked to Sacre Coeur, the basilica, all the way to Champs Elysees Clemenceau. Looking at the map, it looks like I´ve made nearly half way cross town!

Anyhow, I had dinner at the Trocadero with one of the prix fixe meals. Really awesome. Had some wine and staked out in front of the fountains with a primo view of the Eiffel tower. Definitely one of the best moments in life for me. I was so close to the Eiffel Tower that I can´t see it all without moving my head up and down. On the way back to the campsite, I stopped at the Arc de Triomphe for a nice night photo.

The next day I went to Versailles and that sucked. MOM and CINDY¨: I´m sorely disappointed. It was a waste of my time. The site was impressively grandeur, but everything else about it was a nuisance. Bathrooms were far and apart. The admission was expensive, and it was a freaking loaded with tourists. Boo to Versailles. Unless I get good chicken with it, I dont want any of it.

Got back to Paris city centre at about 4 and went straight to the Museo d Órsay, a famous museum that houses all the impressionist art. That was such a treat. The lines were long, but moved quickly. It was a formerly a train station in the 20s, so everythign is very art deco. I loved every moment of it. Looking back, I shoudl have spent more time there than at Versailles. It´s exactly the art that I love. Took some great pictures there. I´ll upload it another time.Saw a Van Gogh piece that made it to the number two position in my favorite VG paintings. Number 1 is still Starry Night.

(meanwhile, sorry for the crappy typing. I´m on a time limit and this keyboard is made for spaniards.)

After that I walked through the Jardin de Tuilleries (which links the Lourve to Arc de Triomphe) and snapped some pics of calm Parisian life. It´s lovely to see people in the outdoors, reading, painting, and loving life. People are so calm and relaxed here. Totally not rushed at all.

I also visited Les Halles and Centre George Pompidou. It´s a cheaper shopping area. There I found another H&M. French H&M is way better than British H&M. So wished I had more time to shop there.

For dinner, I met up with Alan at the Trocadero and ate at the same restaurant I went to the night before. Since it´s my last night in Paris, I tried to have as many stereotypical French food as possible. I had French Onion soup, escargot, white wine, creme brulee, and chocolat chaud. The creme brulee was the BEST I´ve EVER HAD. Lemme tell you, if I can take to the Eiffel Tower and eat it there, it woudl have been Heaven on Earth.

The next day, we spent 6 hours driving to the Beaujolais wine region in central France for 2 nights of R&R. It´s nice to have a slower day to just chill and relax as we are en route to Barcelona.

En route, we stopped by a little French town called Fountainbleau. There I found this cute little bakery and bought 4 pastries there. OH and I ate ALL Of it. It was super good. Pictures were great too.

We stayed at the Chateu de Cruix, a small winery runned by Contiki. The facilities were way better than at the Paris campsite. Most glorious is the view of the landscape. Simply stunning. OH yeah, the nearby town is also super cute with its old orange brick houses. I can totally understand why Van Gogh used such vibrant colors. It´s actually all there in front of your eyes!

That night, the Chateau hosted the themed party. The theme is the Letter P. I went as a Panda (surprise surprise). Although I´m certain i´ve been mistaken for being punched. Anyhow, others went as presents, priests, pharoahs, prostitutes, pingpong players, etc. My favorite was three girls on my tour that all went as pregnant. Nothing beats three crazy dancing pregnant women doing dips and shaking their butts!

The next day, we had a chill picnic day on a mountainside. They packed our lunches for us and all we had to do was hike an hour up to this place that they called the top of the world. It overlooked the entire wine region. Once again, stunning.

That brings us to day. We drove 10 hours to get to Barcelona. ON the way, we stopped by the Pont du Gard, which is the remnants of the old Roman aqueducts. Definitely a treat for a nerd like me to see the magnificence of Roman engineering. Beautiful and nice little short stop.

Special discussion now, about toilets. European toilets always smell like piss. I miss American bathrooms where there´s always a hint of air freshener going in there. All the bathrooms I´ve been to makes me wanna hold my breath. But I can´t because the lines to use the bathrooms are so long that I would have died three times over before I would find fresh air. Breathing it makes me wanna puke.

Second specal discussion, it was brought to my attention of the foiled terror plans in London. Just wanna let everyone know that I´m alright and I would be flying out of Rome on 8.23.06 and will definitely keep my heads up so that I wont miss my flight. Scary times we live in. I´m glad the plans were thwarted.

Super side note...I know i´m on vacation, but it scares me how disconnected I am with the world. I know the whole point of a vacation is to not have to think about strife adn suffering. It feels like I¨m in this little bubble and I dont know what is going on at all.

Super super side note: I got 5 bug bites and it itches terribly. I´ve taken pictures of it. It´s not big, but definitely a nuisance.

Anyhow, that´s the end of my post. I have a full day at barcelona and will be looking forward to see all the sights and partying it up here. I also look forward to exercising my broken spanish that I´ve acquired from two years of Spanish in High school.

So for now... Ciao, amigos! I´ve missed dinner already.