London and Barcelona

The past few weeks have been a blur of activity! I was fortunate enough to visit my friends in the United Kindgom and Spain and have a wonderful time visiting London for the first time and seeing old friends in Barcelona again.

LONDON: The city reminds me of New York City in many ways, but I was quite impressed with its Metro system 'The Tube', the politeness of the British, IBSA 'UK Bethel', double decker buses, and the 'bobbies'. London gets a bad wrap for its frigid temperatures but it was surprisingly and pleasantly mild when I arrived. The temperature only dipped for one or two days during my stay, but it was unseasonably mild during my visit. My friends stuffed with fish and chips, pints of ale, and even managed to serve me a 'typical' English breakfast. A typical English breakfast consists of crumpets (English muffins), baked beans, sausages, and eggs. Of course, this all washed down with cups of strong English black tea.

It was difficult for me to warp my mind around driving on the rightside of the car and passengers sitting on the left of the driver. It also drove me bonkers when I had to cross the street because my mind was telling me to look in one direction for oncoming traffic but I knew that in the UK they drive on the 'other' side of the road.

The city is SO clean but VERY expensive. The Euro currency is weaker than the pound currency. When I converted 500€ to pounds, I was horrified to receive only 359£ . I was ready to board the plane and head directly to Spain!

Its an expensive city but definitely a great place to visit. Also, I enjoyed seeing some old friends living there and I plan to return one of these days....now, on to....

BARCELONA: Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! It felt SO GOOD to be back home, I mean in Barcelona, lol. I admit Barcelona has always felt like home away from home. I love that city so much. When I picture the myself in the new system I always dream of living next to the sea and mountains. I love history and modernity. This beautiful, vibrant, and dynamic city offers all of those things plus a great location because its only a few hours by train or car from other cities I like in Spain and an hour or two by plane to cities I like to visit in Europe.

The sun was shining as brightly as it does in August, glistening off the calm blue Mediterreanean sea, painting the sky amazing hues of red,orange, and violet when it departed for rest in the west in the evening. Except for the chill in the air when the wind blew you could easily forget that it was January.

Barcelona is a European city rather than a Spanish city. The city is proud of its history but is looking progressively toward its future.

The friends I have there are wonderful brothers and sisters that relocated to Barcelona for one reason or another. I am looking forward to joining them in the expat community there.

If you ever have the opportunity please make a point of visiting the city of Barcelona. You may not love it as much as me but I think you will be seduced by its old world charm and/or awed by its modernity. See you there soon.