The Best Thing So Far!

In Barcelona, I took one of those bus tours that is the hop on/hop off double decker things so I as able to get out and see the sights that I was supposed to see!  And it took us up the Olympic mountain to the Olympic stadium and supposedly some of the best views of the city from the gardens in the area.   On the way up the hill, the little voice in my ear told about the dive pool complex and how it was open for swimming to the public. My ears perked at that little tid-bit! When the tour was over, I asked one of the red vested helpers about it, and she basically gave me a blank stare.  So I asked at my hotel, and the guy at the front desk said that any pools in Barcelona would be memberships that would be extremely expensive.  I wasn´t going to accept that, so I got on the internet to search it out.  Seems that the polo pool is in fact open to the public for only 5€...awesome!  So the next morning I got suited up and headed to the top of the hill.  Yup, 5€ and I was in...had to climb all the way down to the changing rooms, then up the stairs at the back of the pool to enter the complex.  Oh my goodness, amazing!  I felt like Greg Louganis, well, except that he wasn´t in the '92 Olympics...And there were only a handful of other people there, imagine this awesome resource and no one in the city even used it!
But swimming in that pool with the gorgeous view out over the entire city was absolutely the highlight of my trip.  Heck with all the beautiful architecture and cathedrals, I liked the pool!

Barca

Just about the time I figure a city out, I head to the next one. Such is the case with Barcelona. I really like the city...it is much more like a city as defined at home then the other places I've visited. Although las cocinas do stay open much later than at home! Today I did one of the hop on/hop off bus tours. It was a great way to see many things that I otherwise would have probably skipped, but it also stays on the major roads so the little hidden gems are still hidden to me. Guess those will be for my next trip :). I did get out to the futball stadium. Holy crap it is big. And not a football upright to be seem! I'm noticing that a lot...many soccer nets on random fields/parks. And I've also noticed that groups of boys (I have yet to see a group of girls) always have a soccer ball as the equipment of choice. Guess that is how you get good...always have your feet on a ball. I think my soccer coach said that in high school. Unfortunately it was too late for me. Anyway, the furbal stadium where FCBarcelona (Barca) plays...it is a fair distance from the city center so if I hadn't been on the tour bus I probably would have missed it. Granted, it cost 22€ to get in for the tour and such (do they think I'm made of money?!) but I at least got to walk around a bit and go to the official store. The non-player specific jerseys were 80€, and the good players were fetching over 100€ for a jersey. Seems they are on par with football and baseball stars back home (which, by the way, if anyone wants to get me an Ellsbury jersey I won't complain...did you see what an awesome night he had last night?!). I did get myself some soccer socks though...official FCB colors that they wear at home. They look just like Nike socks I can get at home, but I'll know the difference :).

Leaving Gran Canaria

Unfortunately I had my flight out already booked, or I would have tried to leave earlier. I must say, being in a tropical paradise just isn't the same by yourself. The hotel was fairly far from the downtown area, and not really lit well so I was a bit nervous to head to town after dark. Plus, it didn't really look like there was too much going on from what I could see from my balcony. Ah well, guess I'm learning all sorts of things on this trip.
The same guy that checked me in was working the desk this morning. And he reminded me I was there alone when he gave me a quizzical look and asked if the room was now empty. Oh, right, you're the one that was here alone.
I must say, it was quite amusing at the airport though....first off, Ryanair is "The low fares airline" which meant I had to print off my boarding pass before getting to the airport (luckily there was an Internet cafe in town cause the hotel couldn't handle it) or risk a 40Euro charge. Imagine charging $60 for a boarding pass?! Anyway, at the bag drop, everyone was weighing their bags because apparently they are sticklers for weight or they charge you another hefty fee. Luckily I had bought a 20 kg checked bag when I bought my ticket so it wasn't a problem.
Fast forward to boarding. Think southwest only without organization. Or maybe there was and I didn't catch it since I don't know what they say on the PA system. This airline actually uses the little baggage check thing to make sure bags will fit. And if you have more than one, they make you consolidate. And make you take stuff out of your bag till it fits in the little thing! It was very funny to watch these harried travelers fighting with their bags and the airline rep trying to get their bags to fit. I actually laughed out loud at what people were doing to stuff their bags in the little checker.
Then, open seating....and since I was near the end of the line, I thought I would be relegated to a center seat, but there was a lovely couple in the 8th row that had an empty window seat! Now I'm watching Africa/Morocco go by out my window. Only an hour and a half till Barcelona and civilization!

Art

People that know me know I support the arts...being a member of the ballet, the pops, the ICA, etc...but I'm realizing that I am much more into the performing arts then still art. I guess I've always known I'm not a big art museum kinda person, but now I'm realizing I'm not a big art tour kinda person as well.
In Malaga, the tourist info counter had some maps of random things throughout the city, for instance, picasso's Malaga that took you to many landmarks relating to picasso's life there. I decided to try out the "Contemporary Malaga" tour...looked interesting. I wound my way through the city to find the beginning point, the contemporary art museum. Knowing I wasn't a big museum person, I skipped that and went on to stop #2...a statue/sculpture thing. A bit weird. And stop #3 was another sculpture nearby. Interesting, but by this point I realized that I enjoy accidentally coming across random sculptures in life, but I don't really enjoy the map of where to go to find each one.
I think this trip is making my box smaller, and defining more things I don't like, rather than expanding my horizons and making me realize there is so much out there left to discover. Or maybe I need an attitude adjustment and I need to learn to appreciate things for what they are and not try to look for a greater meaning.