So much for my Spanish

Here I am in Barcelona. So far, my impression is quite good. I liked the food we ate last night (Tapas - a style of food - and paella - a dish of rice mixed with other things.) The city is clean and bright, and I can see the Mediterranean from my 19th floor hotel window.

I had hoped that some of my 28-year-old Spanish would return to me, and a smattering has. However, the common language being spoken and written here in Barcelona is Catalan, which is similar enough to Spanish to be somewhat recognizable, but it's not the same.

Did you know that, if you're in Barcelona and you bring up Google in Internet Explorer, it takes to you a Spanish version of Google? (It redirects you to http://www.google.es) I wonder what it uses to recognize your location..... hmmmm....

Oh, I might as well mention -- I'm blogging today (Sunday) because this is a work day for me. And because I think I might not get to blog for most of the rest of the week. Tomorrow's work day will be very busy, and unless I am quite mistaken, I will be far too consumed (and surrounded) by customers to get close to my blog.

Do you know how to tell your hotel room is really expensive? If the contents of the mini-bar are "free" then you're paying for them in your room rate!

When something is free when you'd normally have to pay for it, is it "complementary" or "complimentary?" Without looking it up, I'd go with the "i" version. Now, to look it up.... (If dictionary.com takes me to a Spanish dictionary, I'm not going to have much luck...)

Yep, it's "complimentary." The "i" as in "nice" -- it's nice to receive compliments and it's nice to receive things for free.

I am hoping to have some time on Monday afternoon to go see a cathedral or two in the center of the city. Today I've had time to walk down to the Mediterranean and get a few photos. And there is a drum corps doing a show in the plaza next to my hotel -- which is quite cool, since I'm not trying to sleep.

Adios!