Barcelona

One of the comments I hear a lot from people is “You go to such wonderful places; I want to go with you”. The first part of that is accurate, I’ve been fortunate enough to go to a lot of very neat places around the world. However, it’s business travel.

Let me try to frame it properly. Barcelona is like New Orleans to the rest of Europe. Unique culture, the language is heavily accented Spanish, the weather is warm and lovely, and it’s full of history.

I was there for 6 days. The cultural highlight of my trip was a 2 hour lunch in the old city on my way to the airport. The rest of the time, I was working. No site seeing, no long afternoon strolls down the Ramblas in the sunshine. More like 2 minute breaks to catch some fresh air between standing on a concrete floor for 8-10 hours a day.

Some of my colleagues flew their wives in and stayed either the weekend prior to after. That’s the only way to see these places, and the company doesn’t pay for your weekend. All you really do is get 1 r/t flight for free.

That said, it is a lovely city, though with a real danger element. The old city is full of tiny, narrow alleys that, even at noon, are very dark. Everyone warned us about pick pockets, though I never saw any.

I do want to go back and enjoy it one day …..