December 19, 2003
We drove up to Barcelona this morning for my birthday (57). Got into the very busy city at about ten. I secretly hate all the metric stuff (the speed limit is 120K, it's 15C outside and it's 335K to our destination.) When I complained to Thomas, who was driving, he smiled and said, "The Spanish think it´s amusing that we cling to the random measurement of an English King's foot."

Ouch!

Went to the Gaudi church and gardens. Really amazing and inspiring. He is, of course, the guy that we get the word gaudy from. And he earned it!

The traffic is really crazy. Get this: Rush hour is at 9 PM! I'm not making this up. They take siesta from 2 to 5, then go back to work, or out shopping until nine, when they hit the streets and go eat or go home. Last night we tried to go to a restaurant at 7:30 but nobody was open until 8! What a schedule, what a life!

"If it's worth doing too much to, it's worth doing even more to."
-Gaudi