Passeig de Mercat

I've given up the search for a cheap replacement wheel for my bicycle. The city seems a little bigger now as a pedestrian. Today I felt inspired (maybe just compelled to leave studio) to seek out a few of the old markets of Barcelona. I started in Placa Universitat and took Ronda Sant Antoni to Mercat Sant Antoni. This boulevard marks a segment of the old wall that was destroyed when the Eixample was created. Mercat de Sant Antoni is a large market covering an entire Eixample block, with four entrances at each chamfered corner. Apparently there is a book market on sunday mornings, but it was closed by the time I walked past.
From there I cut over to Avinguda Paral.lel west through Placa Espana. This plaza opens up to Montjuic and the site of the 1929 World's Fair. Further down Paral.lel on the left is Mercat Hostafrancs. Much smaller than Sant Antoni, the market is a simple three aisle layout with a modern supermarket taking up the west wing. Most of the front is covered in stainless steel vending stands. I hope the inside looks better, because the exterior was nothing special.
I cut up a couple blocks to Sants Estacio and the park just east of it. The huge station has a huge plaza in front of it and a huge park to the side. Felt about a mile wide. I crossed over to Avinguda Josep Tarradellas, which connects Sants to Diagonal. Some of the traffic patterns of the eixample made no sense, especially where four lane roads start without any traffic directed into it. Half of the streets were empty, used only for their parking spaces. Av Terradellas hits Diagonal with Travessera de Gracia, which extends into the heart of Gracia.
While Av Terradellas cuts throught the Eixample, with the grid continuing through it, Travessera mediates between the Eixample grid and the outskirts of Gracia. Mercat de Llibertat is getting renovated and, similar to the set up of Eastern Market in DC, a temporary market is set up a block away. The original building is set up similar to Hostafrancs, although modern CMU intervention looks a little out of place. There was one other market in Gracia but by this point I had forgetten its name and location. Time to head back to studio.

"It Was a Stolen Bicycle..."

Apparently the theft of his bicycle inspired a teenage Cassius Clay to start boxing training. I had the rear wheel of my bike stole but found no inspiration in the turn of events. I left my bike at the intersection of Diagonal and Passeig de Gracia to catch a bus up to Girona for a class trip. We returned to the city around 10pm that night and were dropped off about two miles away. The next day (wednesday) was full of studio deadlines and spannish studying (midterm on thursday). By the time I went to get my bike, the rear of the frame was resting peacefully on the ground.
In the states people worry about locking up bike wheels if the wheels are expensive. Mine weren't. You'd need a wrench to get it off. My wheel was stolen because rear wheels can run about 30 euros. The bike was a piece of crap. I bought it for 25 euros second hand (maybe even third or fourth hand). I spray painted it, which is something thieves do to disguise the merchandise. The spanish teacher thought I bought a stolen bike until I told her I was the one who painted it. The spraypaint was pealing off, so it was mostly blue but with specks of pink and white. Hell, the pedal arm fell off about a month after I got it.
Despite all of this buying that bicycle was the best decision I've made here. I didn't need a metro pass, I got to and from studio quicker, I got exercise, I had the freedom to cruise the streets (which went well except for the occasional close call with a car or pedestrian).

Belgique

Just got back from travels through Paris and Belgium. C'etait bien. J'ai passe beaucoup de temps avec une famille qui est amis avec mon. J'ai reste a Paris pour deux jour et j'ai pris le train á Lille Jeudi. C'etait un peu cher. J'ai eu besoin d'acheter le billet a la gare, et ça coutait 80 euro pour le voyage, aller et retour. Le voyage passait rapidement (le TGV a le vraiment nom), et j'ai rencontre avec Damien, un ami qui j'ai deja rencontre a Zaragoza en fevrier. Ce jour j'ai marche en tour de la ville avec lui, et nous avons visite le muse des beaux arts. J'aime les sculptures classique main pas les peintures.
Cette nuit nous avons pris le train a Tournai, un petit ville a l'autre cote en belgique. Damien a une copine lá, et nous nous avons rencontre a un bar avec quelques autre. Le biere en belgique est forte et interessante, et a un bon gout.
Le jour prochaine Damien et moi avons visite la cathedral de Tournai et le clocher. On ne peut pas voir beaucoup de la cathedral parce qu'il y a travaux de renovation.
A samedi je suis rentre a Paris. J'ai visite le grand mosque de paris et l'institute monde d'arab. je dois montre les photos ici tôt suite

Blog Theme

I'm supposed to be following a theme with these blog entries, and I think I have found one. Here in Paris it has been a struggle to find internet cafes. Not only that, the rates are usually double what they would be in Barcelona. When I get back to Barca I will hop on my bike once a week in search of a new internet cafe. I'll mention where and how much, maybe talk about the neighborhood or the trip over, and whatever else happened that week.

Paris

I made it to paris yesterday and visited the Arch de Triomph. I was pleasantly suprised because I never knew you could go up it. It was chilly and cloudy but the view was nice and the clouds would break every so often to highlight another part of the city. Today its even coulder and raining to boot. This visit does make me appreciate Barcelona more, and not just because of the climate. Paris, for all its charm, is a city that serves cars better than people. At least the portion of Paris I visited yesterday. All the wide expansive avenues made each block feel like an island. I wasn't impressed with the Champs D'Elysee either. I understand some people are drawn to the chique shops but there is boutique after empty boutique of bizarre fashion. Hopefully, if the weather improves, today will turn out better. The first stop will be the Pompidou Center.

The real dissapointment is my french speaking abilities. I can hold a simple conversation for a while but the few people foolish to ask me anything on the street simply recieved confused looks back.