We are entering our last couple of hours in Barcelona. I think we both woke up a little sad to be leaving, but after a full day of fighting the growing crowd as the weekend approaches, we are ready to get out of here. Although Paris may be just as packed, it will be nice to change the scenery.

Yesterday we took the train to Tarragona and though it was somehow even hotter and stickier than Barcelona, it was well worth it to get our Roman fill since we won´t actually make it down to Rome. It was basically a former Roman city and the old Roman buildings were used for various things throughout history by the Spaniards up through the Spanish civil war. Now it´s just a bunch of old looking stuff that you can tour all over the city for 5 euros (if you pretend to still be a student like we did). We even got to walk along part of the former Roman wall that surrounded the anciet town. We didn´t make it to the aqueducts (too far north and too tired) but Matt´s seen them before and I saw them on TV once, so that´s basically the same.

Today we covered two huge parks in Barcelona, one of which was designed by Guadi. The other holds a former palace, now a museum, a former fort/castle way up high standing guard over the sea, and all the stuff constructed for the 1992 summer Olympics, to name a few. Guadi´s park was cool but hard work...lot´s of up hill and stairs and completely packed with people. We also managed to navigate the Metro system today.

The way the roads look and with all the throngs of people, Barcelona looks a little bit like Disneyworld. But, overall our trip here was a huge success. I think Matt´s favorite part is Las Ramblas, the main street which our hotel room overlooked. He bought a poster of it even. I can´t choose a favorite, though I really like the quiet side alleys in the Gothic Quarter. Barcelona is a lively and beautiful place, but I´m betting Paris will win the day. We´ll see...