NYC and Barcelona

When I exited JFK airport around 9:30 pm, NYC greeted me with an 89 degree blast of humidity. Apparently it had gotten up to 94 that day. I've only visited in the spring before, and my opinion of the city changed a bit realizing that it gets both unpleasantly cold and unpleasantly hot.

I took a pretty train ride up the Hudson to visit my godparents in Croton-on-Hudson, made it to a few of my favorite restaurants in NYC (Best Pizza and Joe's Shanghai), and walked all over Manhattan.

I learned about the earthquake in Morocco early in the morning after it happened. I considered either skipping Marrakech or going early to volunteer with the rescue efforts, but my two contacts in the country said the best help I could give is to go and spend money. Currently that's my plan.

My red eye to Barcelona was delayed by six hours, but it sparked an esprit de corps among the passengers. Groups formed around every sentiment: one group tried to figure out how to get Ed Bastion (Delta Airlines' CEO) on the phone to immediately rectify the situation (in the middle of the night, with what superpowers I'm not sure), another group played a "what if" worrying game designed to maximally upset one another, and I found myself in a group of young professionals who cracked jokes and accepted our fate.

I'm not sure I picked the right hostel. It's a very young crowd who stays up all night partying in the city. By the time they stumble into bed, I'm about ready to wake up in the morning. It feels a bit like a summer camp. Every day, a hostel employee leads the whole crowd to the beach, back to the hostel for a free dinner (something you'd feed camp kids—usually a meatless casserole), and out to a series of bars. They go out around 22:30, so at least it's peaceful to sleep at night.

Speaking of 22:30, I'm completely onboard with the international system for dates and times. Day/month/year makes much more sense. And the 24 hour format is also more logical. I just don't know how to speak it yet. "Twenty two o'clock" sounds pretty stupid, and "twenty two hundred hours" sounds like I'm scheduling an air raid.

Barcelona is a beautiful city. It's like LA weather with NYC transit and walkability. It's a perfect amount of density. You really don't need a car for anything, but when you take a car you're on a road away from pedestrians with few stoplights.

It had been fashion week in NYC, but everyone looks cooler in Spain. I get the impression that in the big cities, young people feel like they have to look frumpy or androgynous to be artistic. Europeans have really smart fashion sense without any of that crap.

What they're not wearing is also pretty noteworthy. I forgot that nudism was common on Spanish beaches, so when I encountered a very naked man standing on the beach with his hands on hips smiling at the world and proudly displaying his vintage equipment, I was a bit shocked. At that exact moment I looked around and noticed that dozens of other people on the beach were completely nude, and many more women were topless. I felt increasingly unhip and aware of my own puritanical cultural programming when I saw a woman at the community pool by the beach interrupting her quiet conversation with her friend to stand up, bare breasted, and call out to her misbehaving kids. I've been around plenty of non-sexual public nudity, but it was always in a counter-cultural context intended to display what could be normal. In Spain, it's actually normal.

I picked up my seven year chip at an AA meeting in Barceloneta. It was terrific meeting, so I went back the next night. I met a newcomer who's absolutely on fire with AA's spiritual message but still close enough to his last drink to speak straight from the heart. It's always inspiring to see people getting it. I hope we stay in touch.

I suppose this is a travel blog, so I should probably make an effort to organize the specifics of my travels. Here goes.

Favorite spots

La Sagrada Familia was beautiful from the outside, but I didn't spend the money to go inside. It's absolutely massive—I actually noticed it first from the plane. Having spent years aiming to reduce construction cycle times, I found the history of La Sagrada Familia (which has been under construction since 1882) mildly upsetting when I first read about it. But after seeing it for myself, I kind of get it now. It's not a for-profit project that requires an efficient return on capital. It's meant to last forever, and the construction costs and timelines don't really matter in the scale of eternity. They're building something worth building, and that's inspiring.

Montserrat is a monastery tucked away in the mountains about 90 minutes outside of Barcelona by train. I had honestly never heard of it, but when I saw a picture of it in AA meeting I decided I had to make a day trip. It's a special place. It's got that peaceful Sedona feeling that puts everyone at ease.

Favorite foods

Tapas 24 in the Gothic Quarter was pricey, but exceptional. I had a tuna tartare and an avocado salad with pesto and pine nuts.

I also picked up some empanadas from an airport vendor, and they were surprisingly good.

Dishonorable mention is paella de mariscos on La Rambla. I don't really know what they were going for. The rice was way over-sauced and reminded me of the bad fried rice at American Chinese fast food joints. I love paella, so I'm going to try again.

I'm in the airport on my way to Malaga now. I'll take a train to Granada.