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 :).