Columbus and the Marina

My last full day in Barcelona was intentionally very relaxed. I decided to stay near the water which was also close to my pension.

Washing Clothes with a Musician

First, I had to do laundry. I found a LavaXpres near my pension the previous day. Apparently, the laundromats are a relatively new concept, because they're advertising their franchise.

The signs indicated discounts if I bought the card. At 4€ for a load to wash and another 4€ for a load to dry, I figured it might be worth it.

It turns out that the minimum for a card was 20€. OK. So I put in two 10€, checked that it registered, and selected the option for the card. Nothing. It just went back to the original screen. The balance was back to 0€ and under it was "Out of cards." What the @#%%&!?! It ate my 20€! I tried to call the number on the wall but it would not connect. I had to email the company later in the evening. (Update: I never got a response back.)

Anyway, I had to do it without a card. The same payment machine is also where you buy detergent and liquid softener, and where you pay for the load (you select the machine number).

I was about 10 minutes into the wash cycle when a young man walked in with a small paper bag. He looked like he just woke up but he seemed friendly. He acknowledged me with that eyebrow-raising greeting. He had a charming smile that kinda made him look like that cute but annoying British actor (Hugh Grant).

"I guess I have to buy a card," he said. He sounded American. I told him about the money I lost, and I briefly explained that he'd have to pay in the machine.


Anyway, I discovered that this young man was originally from Baltimore but now calls Berlin home. He's a musician who plays a double bass for jazz bands, and he was in Barcelona for a couple of gigs, and he was heading to Verona, Italy that day for another gig. He told me how to search for his recordings.

Update: I found his website and his album on Amazon.

I told him about the music scene in Second Life, and the conversation went to how paying gigs for musicians were becoming fewer because there are so many musicians giving away their work for free. (Sounds familiar with graphic artists in SL.) Even services like Spotify pay them so little in royalties.

Anyway, after laundry was done, we said goodbye, and I took my clothes back to the pension.

Sim and Liceu

More Liceu pictures in Smugmug.

Then I had to buy a sim card for my tablet. They didn't have a data-only card. First, they tell me about one that costs 10€, then they sold me 20€ and they tried to assure me that I won't need to refill. Sure, but would I use that up in one week? I think I'll just give it away when I'm done. (Update: I used maybe 20% of the data allowance even with logging into SL several times.)

Since I was near the Liceu, I decided to go in for an express tour, which took 20 minutes. We were allowed to take pictures except the stage, because the set is copyrighted.

Columbus's point of view

More city pictures from the top of the Columbus monument in Smugmug.

Then I walked down La Rambla again. At the Columbus monument, I went down the steps for the ride up to the top. Entrance is free with the Barcelona Card. The elevator was very small, as are most elevators in a lot of buildings. At the top, the viewing platform was very narrow and wrapped around the elevator shaft tightly. Two people have to squeeze sideways to pass each other. But the view was gorgeous!

It was also a windy day and it felt like you're on a boat or in the middle of a mild earthquake. I didn't stay too long because they couldn't let too many people in at the same time.

Marina

More marina pictures in Smugmug.

Then I headed back to the cruises. There was a 1.5 hr wait for the next 1.5 hr cruise so I decided to explore the marina and the nearby mall. I had a late lunch at a restaurant by the water. Then I just sat on a bench on the pier facing the docked boats and enjoying the breeze for hours.

It felt so nice sitting by the water that I missed the last cruise.

I wanted to take the hanging cable cars. These are more like the ski elevators, but they call them "cable cars", but I learned that I would have to take a bus to get to the entrance and it was already late.

Musketeers

More musketeer exhibit pictures in Smugmug.

On the way back to the pension, I decided to check out an official-looking building with a guy in costume standing in front. I had no idea what the building was. But the exhibits looked like old flags and uniforms of musketeers and other military stuff.


For dinner, I had ice cream from a stall near the street and grapes that I bought at a little produce store on the way back to the pension.