Italy has stolen my heart

So, photos are a no-go until I get a better internet connection. My Hotel in Rome probably will, so expect pictures of Bareclona tomorrow. And information about Barcelona.

Sorry for the very few following about the lack of updates, especially about Spain. I must first inform you that I love love love Italy, and I haven't even been there for a full day nor gone to Rome. The people are a bit kinder than in Spain, and I don't mean they know more English. Though perhaps us SASers have become less touristy and less ugly American after our last port. Well, I still love Italy.

First Barcelona. I kept mostly to the touristy areas and around Las Ramblas... I probably have the name wrong and deeply apologize. It seems I'm regressing. I went and looked at some Gaudi architecture which was stunning - don't worry, I have pictures. In between I saw two castles. No monasteries yet, but I do have a picture of a chocolate monk. That's right. I went to the chocolate museum - well, how could I resist? They had figurines of almost everything in Chocolate, to a figuring of the house and main characters to Pixar's "Up", to goofy chocolate sculptures of Don Quixote. To be fair, the museum was built in an abandoned monastery.

On Las Ramblas were the buskers who act like statues. Some were very creative. We saw a Gargoyle, Jack Skeleington, a Flamenco Dancer, Flower Sellers, bicyclists, etc. There were also many tourist-y shops and restaurants with Tapas. The food was alright, though I'm more for the carb-rich pan, pasta, and pizza in Italy. I had a touch of Sangria - just a drop, I swear! It was quite good though.

Something quite interesting in Spain as how people treated their pets. A small observation to some, but almost no dogs there are on leashes. They walk with their owners, then frolic in the park. They never interact with strangers either. In Italy, it's completely opposite, where the dogs are on leashes, but go up to strangers for attention. The traffic is different to - I'll soon upload a video explaining that quite clearly.

I was there during the game as well. Though many Spainards were there, the loudest and most obnoxious people were the tourists. Not just SASers, mind you - there were many Brits, French, and Australians. Though there was an experience with that one American flasher.

Not to say I didn't like Barcelona. I'm looking forward to all the other ports as well. And if I like them half as much as Barcelona, it will be a good trip indeed. I just don't have a lot to say about Barcelona, sadly. Tomorrow, as mentioned before, I'll be in Rome and have access to a stable free internet, so I'll definitely have a larger report there.

Thanks for reading. Ciao!

Edit:

Barcelona - now in song form: