Day 1: Barcelona

Internet connectivity has been a challenge, but the theme of this trip is "No Problem," so here we are. Expect dispatches to be a day late, as it takes time to collect my thoughts after all we have seen.

We spent Friday touring Barcelona. We especially enjoyed exploring the winding narrow streets of the old part of the city. Here is our intrepid driver, Mauro, and his equally intrepid vehicle:

Mauro drove us all over the city, anywhere we needed to go, patiently explained the sights to us, and also informed us that he only acquired his driver's license the previous month! It was quite an adventure, and we will really miss this good friend.

Before the motor portion of our tour, we did a bit of walking around Barcelona. What an amazing city. Really beautiful, very historic. At left is our little group standing in front of a rather typical sight in this city: an ornately-carved medieval stone gate that looks like it belongs in a museum somewhere. This city is an architect's dream.


A wild ride through the  crazy Barcelona traffic too us to Montjuic, which affords a panoramic view of the city. At the top is the old fortress from which we took in the whole area: the port, the many churches, the wild modern architecture. The fortress was still in use in the 20th century. We literally climbed all over it.

Jeff checks out his new toy at the fortress

The walls may have been steep, but that didn't stop ZMBH from trying to get a better view

 

 

 

A safer way to see the sights

After sightseeing, we rested at Barbara Pardo's apartment, then headed off to the Zen Center for the evening dharma talk. The center is in the upper room of the bookstore pictured at right, the Libreria Santo Domingo. The Dharma talk was very well attended, approximately thirty people in the tiny room. Jo Potter gave a well-received talk in Spanish, after which ZMBH answered questions in an interesting combination of English and Spanish. 

I will post a clip or two from the talk as soon as I can. The trouble is an embarrassment of riches--there is so very much I could post that I would have no time to do anything. Thank you for your good wishes and strong energy, and for reading this fragmented report. We are all well and having a wonderful time.

Hapchang,

Mark O'Leary