Barcelona - and Beyond

In the spring of 2002 I had the opportunity to travel to Europe for a short vacation. The ticket was cheap and the time was right. I thought about it and then it occurred to me where I should go. In the words of the Three Dog Night song, "Well I never been to Spain, but I kinda like the music..." I booked tickets to Barcelona for the first week of March. It seemed like a short week, but we managed to see a lot in that time. Spain was a little chilly in March, but not very crowded. My friend, Howie, who I've known since we were in Boy Scouts in Seattle way back when, was my travel companion.

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Howie works the internet at the Amsterdam airport	A windy day on the beaches of Barcelona

Down by the waterfront	Postcard view of Sagrada Familia

 San Sebastian was our next stop. After two days in Barcelona we boarded the night train, and after Howie negotiated with the conductor we were able to acquire (at an additional fee) accommodations that better suited our needs - namely one with bunks and a shower. San Sebastian is a beautiful town, however, it was cool and cloudy most of the time we were there and I could only imagine how nice the beaches were like in summer.

Howie the Fisherman blesses the fleet	Flowers helped add color to an otherwise gray day

After a short stay in San Sebastian we drove into France and visited the medieval fortress town of Carcassonne.

Carcassonne, France	A drain spout on the church within the town walls

Perhaps the greatest source of enjoyment on the trip was snowboarding in the Pyrenees, in a small principality called Andorra, tucked between Spain and France.

A gondola connects two ski area	Still a novice, but having fun

Andorra is pleasant. Loaded with Brits though. I don't know if it's really that much closer than the Alps for the British, but it is a lot less expensive. Snowboarding has apparently become quite popular in Europe. Most of the people on the slopes were snowboarders rather than skiers.

After spending a couple days in Andorra we drove back to Barcelona for our final night there. On the return flight Howie wasn't feeling that great and used our four-hour layover in Amsterdam to catch up on some well deserved rest. I took the train into Amsterdam from the airport and rented a bike for a couple hours. The day was cool but sunny.

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