Back from Barcelona! (Montmarte)

We are back! And looks like we brought the cold weather with us. This is about like a lot of the weather we in Paris and our last day in France. We had a lot of rain in Barcelona, but at least it was in the low 60s. We got back last night (Friday 7th) about 7:30--about 15 hours or so in transit--a 2 hour layover in Newark.

It was great to get to Barcelona. Now we were in a place where we did not completely have to depend on the kindness of strangers. A lot easier to ask for directions!! (but we still depended greatly on the kindness of many people). Barcelona of course is Catalunya--and it is impressive how much Catalan is in use. This is not just a secondary langauge for these folks--by law all signs must be in Catalan (and also usually in Spanish). So in some ways still a foreign language place for us, but Spanish in such common use that we were never at a disadvantage. In spite of all our travel over the years, this trip was really the first time we have been in a place where we understand so very little of what is going on. That was an education in and of itself! As Leticia will tell you, I am one to ask lots of questions--in France we would always get back a lot more in answers than we could understand. I think I mentioned the sewer tour in Paris and my questions of the guides--after a lot of talk of "melange" (I was wondering about the mixing of rain water and sewer water), the guide asks me if I understand--vou comprenez? A peu, I said. I think you got it, he said....(my best shot at a bilingual french-english joke!).


To bring this record to a close, I am going to post a few photos and the rest of the travelog.

Montmarte was one Paris neighborhood I want to mention. We saw this on our last day in Paris after we abruptly decided to head south, in the morning before heading out on the train to Avignon. A rainy Saturday morning--in the 40s--and yet full of people. But as in so many of the places we went--not just tourists. This is a real neighborhood with real folks going about their business--and thats part of what makes it so interesting. As always full of interesting little parks everywhere.

JJ and a great little street in Montmarte neighborhood in Paris. A cold day--notice the gloves and scarf! Sidewalks are too small--but street is pretty narrow too, so it works out.

Here is a great little park in Montmarte. Not very large at all--but just the right size for neighborhood use. These are all over the place in Paris!

Street in the heart of Montmarte on a cold Saturday morning. Lots of tourist shops to be sure, but also shops selling cloth, hardware, etc--and full of regular folks. And who is that lady in the brown beret that keeps showing up in my photos??