Hey all,

Funny thing happened to me in Barcelona today.  I
wandered into the basement parish of Gaudi's Sangria
Familia, and ended up getting
locked inside there, with his crypt.  We roamed
around, and found a window looking into the museum,
and got security to get us out.  The bonus: got free
access into the church and museum.  Funny thing was
that there's a camera for museum visitors to look at
Gaudi's tomb, so people were staring at our antics for
quite a while.


Here's a quick tip I have so far:

Backpacking through Western Europe is a little
overrated.  The streets are smooth enough to roll
luggage around.  I think a sports bag with wheels is
pretty good.  I got a cheap foldable trolley at a
bazaar store, and it's been really useful - my
shoulders are thanking me.

NICE/MONACO/CANNES

Nice is well... nice. :P  I found this sweet hostel
double room that comes to $25 Canadian with a toilet
and a kitchenette - so I can finally afford a hot
breakfast by cooking eggs myself!  Thereīs also these
cool Chinese-style paninis that are good eats.  Kinda
of a mix of French-Italian-Chinese-Indian-Thai in a
fast food form I guess...

Monaco is really different from the other two cities
īcuz it's got more rocky terrain.  I spent much of the
day staring at the sweet luxury boats, and wishing for
a life of comfort.  Monacoīs kinda difficult to enjoy
right now since the Grand Prix is in effect.  The
Monte Carlo casino is really lame - the ancient Monte
Carlo in Vegas is better.

Cannes is probably the best place to be as it has
sandy beaches compared to the pebble beaches of Nice. 
The film festivalīs over, so I saw a bunch of foreign
stars I didnīt recognize.   I also left Cannes with
some good French food in my stomach (finally). 
Saffron Flambed mussels.

BARCELONA

I really like this city.  Thereīs lots of room
reserved in the middle of the streets for pedestrians,
so itīs fun to roam.  Gaudiīs works and other cool
architects really make the city fun to look around.  

I recommend finding a place to stay before heading
here, 'cuz I spent half a day finding cheap
accommodations.  Fortunately, I found this one star
place for $18 a day.  The markets here, especially one
off the Ramblas, is really good for getting cheap
eats, and keeping healthy with affordable fruits.

Foodwise, thereīs this Dim Sum kind of food called
Tapas that's real fun to try.  I drank too much
Sangria though, and ended up hurling it back on the
streets, but I remember it being good before that
happened. :P  Paella is also much cheaper here than
anywhere else in Europe, so might as well have it
here!

Okay.. gotta go.  Intenetīs pricey here!

Jesse