InDependentThinking

November 18 - December 3 & December 7-13 Autumn leaves & Azulejo In our first few days in Porto, our primary concern has been getting into a gym and being able to stay in shape during this time off.   Apparently Virgin now runs gyms as well, and as with all of its other endeavors as a company, the place is modern, high quality, and over and above what you expect of a gym.   The spa room is like walking into a space ship inspired by a Greek bath house.   It is awesome! Livraria Lello Apart from the gym (and yes I know that spending the majority of my time in a gym when I am traveling makes me sound like a meat head but I am not), I have had a few good walks around the city.   It is small but beautiful.   I visited the Livraria Lello- a famous bookstore, which boasts an impressive hand carved staircase, as well as a lovely stained glass ceiling.   There I had a nice chat with a man from Kansas, who now lives in Lond...

December 3 – 6 In many ways Barcelona reminds me of Paris-big, touristy, and a bit over-hyped. I am sure it is very different in the summer. But December isn’t exactly the busiest time to be there. At least the beaches aren’t crowded, though even empty you can still see a fair share of wiener in the winter (they stay true to their nudeness). Although the beach clubs are pretty fun and even in the winter you can find some cool people to hang out with at the hostel. My first night I spent exploring with two of the guys from my hostel and we walked from the gothic quarter to the beach. It always strikes me how open people traveling are.   Unfortunately I didn’t get out much.   Cataluña = Wine Park fountain-also apparently pickpocket site On Sunday I went for a walk up in the botanic gardens to the south of the city and got to take some great photos and see a huge castle. Unfortunately as I was on my way back a bird pooped on me (or so I thought). When I we...