We slept in this morning – beginning to get in the Spanish “sleep late, party later” mode of operation.  We mobilized around noon or so and headed to the Gotic – or Gothic district, a very old part of the city with narrow winding streets,  cathedrals and plazas now chock full of small shops selling everything from electronics to handmade goods from – of all places – Guatamala!  We had reserved Segways to tour the Gotic and the beach area called Barceloneta, and we were not disappointed.  The weather was crisp and clear, and with a few layers on we were generally OK except for Eitan who decided to wear shorts against our better judgement.  Despite that and Ruth’s hands getting cold we learned to maneuver easily and had a blast cruising through winding streets and along the waterfront.

Next we headed for the aerial gondolas to try to go up Monjeuic (Mountain of the Jews) that over- looks the city.  It was already sunset and we were racing to try to catch the last rays on the mountain. Eitan was quite reticent to walk the distance it would take to get to the base of the gondolas (we knew it was not THAT far but looked like it could be), so Andrew humored him with a bet that we could get there in less than 10 minutes on foot.  The race was on, and we nearly made it…unfortunately, when we arrived at the ticket booth the attendant – a very surly woman (the first we’d encountered) brushed us off saying she couldn’t sell anymore tickets (“all out”), closed the booth, and promptly took off.  We were shocked and dismayed – but I was proud of Ruth and Eitan for blowing it off and making a joke of it all.

What to do now?  No way we were ready to pack it in for the day so we headed to the aquarium – we’d heard it was quite good and Ruth especially loves the photo ops.   Since it is relatively low tourist season the aquarium was nearly empty – we had the shark tank to ourselves except for a gaggle of Israelis!  The exhibits were filled with some sea creatures we’d never seen before along with some old standbys including piranhas.   On the way out Andrew struck up a conversation with the guard at the exit and discovered that he could finally communicate – in FRENCH!  The guy was really nice and this gave Andrew a charge since he’d been at a distinct disadvantage so far not knowing any Spanish at all.  Viva la France!