Out of Spain and Into Africa

Yo!!


After a night of sending off Dave and Kim to a week in France, I dove into my 8' x 8' room and caught up on some much needed sleep. I awoke around 9ish -- packed my bags and headed for the nearest laundromat. I actually ended up going to the Exact laundry center that I'd used 6 years ago (hell, I think I even stayed in the same Hostel). Nostalgia is like leftovers -- sometimes a little dry and musty -- but sometimes better than the day they were cooked. This stop in Barcelona was definitely better than the first. Between the monastery and meeting some faces, I really felt a special familiarity with this city a bit and I was able to enjoy again some of my favorite things about it for a second time. Barcelona continues to be one of my favorite cities.

I ate lunch at an Irish bar (a little break from the tapas) -- the bread was too good to pass up. It was pretty much close to heavenly (with a Clara of course).























I did a lot of my hiking around while my laundry was in the dryer. I hit the nearest travel agent to find out how to get to Madrid and the post office to off load some of my stuff to Guy (thanks buddy -- look for the package between now and February...I didn't think you'd mind that I sent it COD -- you're the man)!

I grabbed a taxi with a couple hours left until my train was to leave -- and hit the Sagrada Familia http://www.sagradafamilia.org/eng/index.htm. We actually had time to go into the Church and up to the top last time I was here -- but this time I just wanted to be close to it. It would be a shame for me to get this close to this church without coming here again. I think I always had the view that Gaudi was on severe drugs when coming up with this church. But now I realize more and more that it truly is an artists work. He is not defacing the church or any of the ideologies of Christian faith in any way. In fact, I think of it more as a testament to this region and the beauty of the Catalans. The arches actually look similar to the mountains of Monserrat, which is amazing to me (if he'd actually planned it like that)... I'm not a huge art guy and I haven't even hit a museum since I've been here, but I'd have to say that I will continue to be amazed by this particular place/work of art. It continues to be built long after Gaudi's death and is set for completion in 2026. I'll probably be back again before its finished.

I jumped on my train in Barcelona -- a 4-5 hour journey to Madrid and found my way to the airport (I didn't even have the opportunity to go into the city).

I cant really explain how I was feeling -- but mostly it was just nervous energy (I actually was able to catch up on my blog posting the Amsterdam stories that night). I had no clue what to expect once I'd hit Nairobi -- I didn't even do much more than book a room for my first night -- but I definitely knew that this trip could very well alter my life forever.






















More to come,



Neil



p.s. I took a shot of my yogurt jar just to prove to Guy that I don't eat the fruit (even when I'm continents -- OK, 1 for now -- away from home)!!