Wednesday, June 3 (Day 11)

Our last day in Barcelona was spent separately again. We've both enjoyed the freedom to wander and do whatever interests us. I had a desire to excape from the big city, so after the customary free hostel breakfast, I packed my things for the day and headed out in search of Parc de Naturale Mountsenery (or something like that). It's about 50 km from Barcelona, by a town called Sant Celona (or something like that). The information I had was sketcy, but I knew where the town was and the description of the park sounded fantastic. High in the mountains and very scenic. More importantly, not in a big city!

I took the Metro to the train station and stood in three lines before I finally got a ticket to my destination. The train ride was less than an hour, but after waiting in line for a ticket, I had to wait for the train to come. It was almost 1pm before I finally headed out of town. I think many Europeans learn patience because they use public transportation. We are so accustomed to just hopping in a car and going anywhere we want. The price of gas in Europe is about triple what it is in the US, and public transportation is much more developed. So standing in line and waiting for trains to come is just part of life for many folks over here, I think. I've gotten into the habit of having a good book along to make use of the time spent waiting.

The train ride was scenic and uneventful. We passed by some very nice mountains, but none as large as those in Sant Celona. I was so excited when I saw those mountains, but I also realized they were a long ways from where the train dropped me off. There was no way I'd walk to the mountains with the time I had! I was hoping there would be a train or shuttle that would take me to the park. There was a bus stop, but I couldn't decipher the information, and I tried talking to several people, but nobody spoke a word of English. I felt like I was really in Spain now! That was a great feeling!

So, I took a walk around town. This was very different from Barcelona. This was small-town Spain. There were old men playing dominos in a bar. There were schoolkids playing on recess. There was only one stop light in town. I tried to find an English speaker, and the best I could do was a young woman who knew a few words. I asked her about the park, and she pointed to the highest mountain peak and nodded her head. I asked if there was a bus to the park, and she said no. She looked at me like I was a little crazy and smiled. I thanked her and went on my way.
By now it was approaching 3pm and I knew I didn't have much time for the park anyway. It was a fun day's adventure. Very different from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and very relaxing. Relaxing until I tried to take a picture of the mountains. I realized I had left the memory card from the camera in the computer at the hostel the night before. So, I decided it was time to go anyway! I didn't want to lose my memory card! I quickly bought a ticket back to the station and hopped on the next train. I took the metro back to the hostel and fortunately, my memory card was still in its place!

Abel and I ate some leftovers for dinner and went to bed early. We have an early flight to Rome on June 4th - 6:25am. We plan to get up at 4am to make it to the airport on time. Our last day in Barcelona!