Barcelona Stinks

Anyone who pays attention to my Flickr badge (in the sidebar) will notice that I took a trip to Barcelona. I doubt I'll bother going back.

Perhaps it was the fact that I spent more of the trip working in the hotel than seeing the sights, but I was unimpressed. Though nobody else seems to share that opinion, I think that a long weekend would be enough to exhaust all that the city has to offer a tourist.

I return with two overwhelming impressions - the smog which hung over the city all the time I was there, and the unpleasant smells at every turn: sulphur from the chemical plant, rotting rubbish, drains everywhere except the highest points, polluted mud blowing in from the sea. Yuck! Perhaps in the rainy season both these problems disappear...

Rotas do Mundo

When I went to Rome last month I picked up two travel magazines at the airport, Rotas do Mundo from the TAP free newspaper counter and another, apparently better known publication, which I bought because it had a feature on Rome. (I might review that one too, if I ever get round to reading it.)


I was intrigued by Rotas do Mundo because of its style: first-person reports from people who appear to have travelled independently, not corporate free-loaders. It's hardly of Portuguese origin, with contributions of other nationalities and is simultaneously superficial and oddly focused. Reporters on Brittany, Galiza and Innsbruck dash from cafe to cafe. Those in West Africa, India and French Polynesia try to cover too much area in to little space.

If you are a "Lonely Plant" type of traveller, as I used to be, this may be the magazine for you. Personally I am reserving judgement until I have sampled others.

Impressions of Rome

Despite being a 3x Inter-Rail veteran, I hadn't been to Rome before. It's an impressive city, especially as concerns:

• history: roman, medieval, renaissance, modern, all on show and one on top of the other (often literally) - Paris and Athens eat your heart out.
• buildings: truly massive structures, built over the centuries. Even today there would be logistical difficulties in transporting many of the columns and beams.
• pedestrians: despite the chaotic traffic, crossing the road is not that difficult. Just get out into the traffic and drivers will slow down enough not to hit you. Don't expect any nice lines of waiting cars at pedestrian crossings though.
• scooters: tens of thousands, parked in their allotted spaces and just about everywhere else.
• dirt: street washing teams clean the roads, but not the buildings which are generally very dirty. Pollution has apparently improved but cleaning facades is apparently not a priority.
• good food: considered fast-food elsewhere, pizzas are taken seriously. Pasta is the best part, with many shapes and varieties, sauces with a huge range of subtle tastes. "Bruschetta", toast with a variety of toppings as a starter, are considered a speciality in their own right.
  
• Awful beer, of the expensive, weak, German variety, but good wine at reasonable prices.
• Churches: not usually my cup of tea, the number and variety of churches is exhausting, all with some detail worth seeing. I was in sensory overload after three days.
• Tourists: if anybody can give me the visitor statistics, I'll go back when there are fewer tourists.
• Low-Tech: non-standard electric outlets even in 4-star hotels and wireless internet only if you pay for it.
  

White Rabbit Syndrome

No time for anything at the moment! No blogging, no studying, no life! Aaaaargh......

Three days in Rome last week, on business I hasten to add. Some of the pics are already up on flickr.

Now for economic theory of the week: every day off work requires the equivalent amount of overtime to be worked in the weeks before and after that day. The theory applies to holiday, business trips but, strangely, not to sick leave.

So I'm stuffed. Just another quick post and then I'll be off to study, sleep a little, get up early to face the traffic in the rain on the way to my 9.30 meeting. YUK!