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Merry Xmas and the Mr. T Dog!
Feliz Navidad from the crew at Zenit BCN! This is a fascinating company that works closely with Repsol and Movistar and handles events, promotions, and organizing al manner of things . . . . like the Dakar Rally! They also represent riders of all disciplines and some of the work they are commisioned to perform makes me think that the US is backwards when it comes to race team marketing. None of the AMA teams and factories do anything like the Europeans, and maybe someday they'll "get it". Though physically small, their office is amazing (better than Dorna's?) and I will try to post pictures and some interesting interview tidbits in the near future.
I don't know if I'll be able to post over the next few days (due to my wireless sources being closed for the holidays) but I spent the past week Christmas shopping with the masses and dodging errant baby carriages. Think the Europeans drive crazy? They SHOP crazy. What a frenzied mess the streets were and eventually I got out of the commercial areas and into the backstreets. Got some useful items for my roomates, like a windshield for a scooter, some D'ior Ja'Dore perfume, and some microwavable bowls. For myself I found a used English bookstore and got a collection of short Science Fiction stories from the greats (all around the 50's-60's era) and also found this neat little shop. They were closed so I wasn't able to *Check* anything out. I'm planning a top-secret trip in early January and I hope to be able to post up some great pictures and tales of new adventures. Once again, to everyone here at Barf and beyond, Merry Christmas, Bones Festas, Buenas Fiestas, Waht-Evaaarr!
Everyone! Thank you so much for the Christmas Wishes and the luck for the New Year. I´m off to travel for a week and although I have some cool photos to post, I haven´t had time to chop and load them. Plus, I´m not on my computer right now, I´m paying at an internet cafe. I will hopefully have some secret stuff for you guys very soon. . . . .
Weekend Update:
Well folks. . . . I´m in Lisbon, Portugal, for my New Year´s celebration. A lot is going on right now in my life but in a week things will have settled and I´ll know a lot more about my future and what it will have in store for me! Pictures and updates will be coming as soon as I can swing them and all I can say right now is that 2006 is looking to be a FUN year! I hope everyone is planning to spend time with their loved ones and I hope no one gets into any trouble on New Year´s Eve.
I haven't had a chance to really update since the places I usually go to for internet access have been closed for the holidays. Once again I'm up at 3:30AM in a hotel lobby checking my mail and keeping you guys posted. This past Christmas was great, and despite not having friends or family around, I made it one to remember. I had a roast chicken, some pink cava, and a monstrous salad. Add some fresh bread and a variety of finger foods and pate's and you have an idea of my Xmas Eve dinner! All my roomates were in Madrid visiting their families, so with nothing to do I went to the largest Catholic Cathedral in Barcelona for the midnight mass. I'm not very religious, but the Spaniards and Italians are, and they do Catholicism like nobody else. Scriptures were read out loud in Latin and the singing, man, the singing was like something out of a movie! I spent some time watching the people and not picking up anything the Priests/Bishops (who knows?!?) were saying. Lots of deep thoughts went through my head and I used the time to plan out 2006. I went home around two, stopped at Dos Trece for a drink, and promptly met the owner. He's a Mexican guy who was lonely around Christmas and we threw back a couple tequilas to celebrate the birth of Christ, the party lasting several hours after the bar had closed. I spent most of Christmas day sleeping and relaxing and used the next few days to soak up more of the city.
I'm starting to consider Barcelona to be a little small, but that's because I seem to have walked around forever and I'm finding my way around a bit easier now. I visit new places by underground train when I have to, but mostly I'm still on foot. I'm working on it, though. Here's a building I walk past a couple times a week. I know the color's bad, but it's been grey and cloudy for a while.
Shot of the roofline. I wonder if Gaudi was teased as a kid . . . . and called "gaudy"!
I visited the National Museum once again to see more art (couldn't get enough the last time) and on the way met one of the funkiest dogs ever. This little guy was casually cruising around without a care in the world, off the leash and stopping whenever and wherever he wanted. He had a combination of furs, moved very slowly, and I couldn't figure out what he was. I called him over and didn't see an owner so we hung out for a couple minutes. I think he was a mix of several things, like Furbies, Gremlins, and Yeti. Eventually I saw a guy with a leash and when he whistled the dog trotted off at 1MPH. Funky!
He had a mohawk! Not only that, his long fur was totally different than the short black fur, and it looked like he was wearing a strange winter jacket. I guess I really miss my dog, when I stop to hang with a mutt like this!
Please note teh Shocker: Primitive Barfers in the 1300's.
A long day in the museum deserved a drink! I found a heavy metal bar in the Gracia area (go figure), called the Ballbreaker. They played concert videos of AC/DC, the Scorpions, and more, all night long. And they sang along, too! I found this neat device sitting at the end of the bar. It's a candy machine for drunks!
This can of Corn-nuts was filled with the biggest ones I've ever seen. They were literally the size of grapes. And they rocked, too!
I spent the other night practicing with my camera, focusing on little things around my room, and getting ready for the New Year party I was throwing for myself. Here's my little Walkie-bit (props if you know what it is and where it's from).
