…some people say that riding a bike is not for everyone. That person apparently had a nasty wreck going downhill, skinned both knees and chipped a tooth. I would also refer to them as a wimp. We got up eager
to get back to the bike shop (KIM TOO) and get our bikes. When we got there, we found out that the bike store attendant was actually from Holland, erhh, the Netherlands…anyways, she spoke great Spanish, errhh, Castilian and ha
d a great English accent so we were waging as to whether she was an alien or worked for the CIA, and it looks like we were both wrong. Anyways, we let them know that we intended to ride up to the Park Guell. The young man in the shop went on and on about how cool it was, and about how most people that lived in the city had not taken proper opportunity to go see it..bla bla bla. The Hollander even laughed along and seemed to hype it up as well. So it all seemed like a pretty good idea. We did notice, however; that the Hollander did ask if we had mountains in North Carolina, and called me a “pro” when I suggested that I could adjust my own seat level. So we set out, but NOT SO FAST. We had to rush back to the house to take a couple of minutes to chill out. Apparently, I had made the café a little extra strength this morning (I bought it from the Jamaicans next door), and it gave Kim and me both the shakes. So after Kim downed an old episode of the office, we left. After racing through all the back alleys, and back onto the bike super highway, we landed in the middle of downtown. This was the Warfield for bikes. We battled in and out of 2 lanes with bikes, buses, taxis, and motorcycles for about 5 miles. Then we exited onto what appeared to be “the way to the park.” 5 minutes later the gradient of the road turned to about 8%. Now, this can be a challenge on a road bike, but for a cruiser with 3 gears, it can be the next best thing to getting a piece of fuzz out of your eyelids when your hands have been dipped in honey. It’s just not a good idea. Kim decided within the first couple of switc
h backs that she did not want to be a professional Cruiser. We now understood why the folks at the bike shop threw in so many hints. By the time we got to the park, Kim was still alive, however we were forced to use the shock paddles on her 3 times. We went through the park, and it was awesome. From the peak of the park, you could see all of Barcelona even onto the Mediterranean Ocean. That was easily worth all the pain and agony. Since this town is built around Gaudi, you could image that the park was built with more of his great architectural design. There were even two houses built based on Hansel and Gretel. So we got back on the bikes, and the fun began. What goes up must come down. I would like to thank Mr. Newton for
that discovery because I laid all differing ideas of that law to rest as I descended the mountain down through the city like a bat as I raced through city intersection after city intersection. I eventually ended up at the base beside one of Gaudi’s other works (remember the huge church?) Kim had told me that she would see me at the bottom so I waited until she came on down, and we went hunting…yes you guessed it…WiFi. After slapping the blog online and downloading a few more episodes of the office, we jetted and get a nice FC Barcelona jersey for Germain (Kim’s co-worker). I’m way too cheap
to buy one, so I just talked about it, and tried to get all the venders to basically give me one for free. We walked the city some more, and I went ahead and made the decision to break up with Starbucks. After I use up the last of my old gift card, I will put my “Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks” sign on the civic, and will no longer take my business to the chain. They just cost way too much to give not much in return.
The coffee taste like dirt, and you have to pay for WiFi. In fact, I paid about 7 euro the other night for low connectivity for 1 hr. That’s pretty pathetic. My Spanish friends have been giving me free WiFi for 1,50 euro and cafe. Ah, you see…We also discovered that the old people in this town keep going well after their 90s. They just move really slowly, but they never stop. Kim came close to killing an old lady today with the rear wheel of her bike. I sure thought she did not speak English until I said, “You nearly snapped her old leg bone.” She gave me a pretty nasty look that did not seem to say, “Bless You.” Sign of the day, “When playing with marbles, be sure to hang on to your dog’s leash.”
aster. Also, We've eaten nearly a pack of orbitz in the last 2 minutes. A driver left them in here last night as an excuse to come back in here today to visit Eric. The ladies like him. The thing is, since I'm this tired now, I cannot wait to drive 3 hrs home. That's when I put it on cruise control and just try not to hit the ditch. Godcontrol...not cruise control. Anyways, yes I did return home from vac
ation and have been doing the work thing for about 2 weeks now. I have come to the conclusion that work is just what you do so that you can go on vacation. Some of you thought that my breakup with Starbucks was just one of those one-time shot things...Like I got in a fight with SB, and made threats that I would not back up. I think this pictures clears the whole matter up. Done deal baby. I still fight the temptation. In fact, I fought back the desire to buy some in Ingles just last night. We all have demons to tame...mine just happens to be a looming desire to drink highly over priced, dirt-tasting coffee. Ladies, it's like when you date the loser guy who you know is going no where, and you're pretty sure that he's cheating on you, and yes...you've physically seen him do drugs, but you
tried to ignore it, and most of the time when you call him, he's on the other line with his "mother." It's so hot in this office right now, that I can feel the sweat running down my legs inside my slacks. It does not help that Eric is playing Nickelback unplugged featuring Daughtry with special guest appearance from Celine Dion with background vocals by Whitney Houston, White Snake's drummer is on percusion or whomever...or is that whoever? For a complete and thorough explanation of when to use whoever and whomever...refer to this. Hey, if you're still reading and did not click on that link...go back and do it now...Sign of the day, "absolutely no ice cream eating."
