By the Way, I Spent the Last Twelve Days in Barcelona

My last seven posts have been comprised of four poker posts, the NFL, the top 15, and one "well-written" piece. During this stretch, there has been little mention of the fact that I have spent the last twelve days in Barcelona, by all accounts one of the world's greatest cities and a destination sought by myriad travellers and dreamers.

While Barcelona is not my personal favorite, it's obviously a world-class city and unobjectionable. No one walks away disappointed. From a tourist's perspective, Barcelona is alway enjoyable and fully entertaining. There are no disappointments or stresses here, or so it appears.

Here is a list of some of the activities we have enjoyed, accompanied by the "fun factor" (FF) I assigned to each on a 1-10 scale:

Note: It should be noted that the weather was perfect every single day of the trip. This matters. A lot, if you're me. From what I can tell, Barcelona’s weather is better than Southern California’s. This has to bump every fun factor up by at least one point, not included here:

Beach Volleyball with Barb & Phil Gordon: FunFactor 6
The conditions, particularly the net, weren’t optimal, but the unintentional comedy of playing volleyball with a hyper-competitive six-foot-ten pseudo-celebrity and his wife (a damn good player) can’t be underestimated.

The Dry Martini: 6
I don’t really like gin, but the ambience of this place made up for that. A quiet drink amongst friends is an underrated imbibing experience these days.

FC Barcelona Game: 4
The deck was kind of stacked against us here. We couldn’t really see the field properly, FC Barcelona wasn’t playing a reasonable opponent, and it was only the second game of the season. The fans weren’t firing on all cylinders. I can’t complain, the tickets were free, Ronaldinho scored two goals, but honestly right now I’m more impressed with Australian Rules football than soccer.

Hookah Bar: FF 5
Still not sure how I feel about the hookah experience. You get buzzed but not really in a good way. It’s a pleasant sensation overall but has a low ceiling. Doing it in a bar is fun, you can drink beer and listen to music, etc, but, meh.

Live poker at Gran Casino Barcelona: FF 2
Paul and I waited close to an hour to get on a table, then we got seats at different tables, then I tried to move to his table to play PLO, then they told me I wasn’t allowed to go to that table, then they took away my seat at the other table, then I was put at the bottom of a new wait list, then I told Paul I was leaving, then a drink got spilled near Paul, then we left.

I hate live poker. It sucks. It’s slow and boring and the players are big and fat and your nuts get squeezed. There are waitlists and disorganization and dealer mistakes and noise and smoke and yelling. I love playing live tournaments, but only when the money is huge or the play is shorthanded. Kudos to the EPT for playing the entire 2^nd day and onward eight-handed.

Park Guell: FF 7
Gaudi’s jawdropping park features ornate, winding walkways to the top of a hill with a stunning vista of the city. Never in my life have I seen a whole city stretched out in front of me like I saw here, and it was probably the most memorable sight for me in Barcelona.

La Sagrada Familia: FF 7
Another Gaudi creation, the Sagrada Familia is without question the most spectacular building I have ever seen. I’m not into art and architecture but any human would be awed by this cathedral.

Shawarma: 6
We had a near-daily rendezvous with the nearby Shawarma stand. Paul’s frequency was more like tri-daily. Watch out, Amber. Don’t let the Fish get near any Shawarma stands in Boulder. You might never see him again. Efficient, tasty, and just hinting of nutrition – exactly what a degen is looking for in his 5 PM breakfast.

Shithead: FF 6
Shithead is a game Paul & Truman like to play at cafes, airports, etc, while killing time. It’s a fun, “Asshole” style game with strategy that takes a long time to grasp, especially for me. Learning this game is a must for travelers. It should also be noted that I learned Bridge on this trip, a card game with more strategy and a higher ceiling than any other but poker.

It was an enjoyable fortnight, but I never quite found my stride here in Barcelona. I believe I will never really feel comfortable in large cities like this. Chances are, my experience in Barcelona was as personally pleasant as I will ever find in a city of this size and density.