Rachel loves that everyone walks their dogs off leash here. We even saw a weiner dog and a chihuahua walking together, the two prominent breeds in our lives. Oh, and we did see an Irish Wolfhound in Ireland.

We wandered into the Gothic Quarters this morning, in awe of absolutely everything. Canada (or maybe just Western Canada in particular) seems very dull. It’s like a bowl of spaghetti with spiceless, bland tomato sauce served without salt, while Barcelona is a fiesta on your plate! That is a weird comparison. We were struggling to think of anything better than that. Calgary is just so plain. All the new buildings are glass panels from top to bottom, and there’s not much to distinguish this condo from that one. I think my favourite building in Calgary is the black U of C one downtown that is covered in scales.

Everything here is magnificent! Almost all of the walkways are beautifully tiled and the stone buildings have an abundance of sculptures and carvings and columns.

After cruising the alley like streets of the Gothic Quarters we wandered over to the water front. There were the usual tourist vendors set up, hawking the same shit as everywhere else; fake sunglasses, Nike’s, Michael Kors bags, hippie bags and jewellry. We were going to rent some SeaDoos but they were 100 euros for 30 minutes. Whoooa, maybe not. Muscle beach was pretty awesome. A bunch of dudes trying to outdo each other with pull ups. There were big cement seats set up that directly faced the adult playground, so you could get your tan on while watching the monkeys.

Back towards our place we entered the park that is just north of the zoo, Parc de la Ciutadella. We were greeted by live music in front of a monument that had dragon like fountains spraying into the eery green water. Further back was another little pond where you can rent row boats. We sat and watched the hippies play on their slacklines and juggle their crystal balls like Jareth from the Labyrinth.

From there we returned to Rita’s for a recharge. Siestas are a brilliant idea.

In the evening we went west of the Gothic Quarters onto Las Ramblas. It was busy. Rachel was feeling sick so we didn’t stay long. Before going back to Rita’s we were looking for some food, it was 2 am or so and there didn’t seem to be much. We followed the sound of music down the street and came upon a stage that was set up in the middle of the road. It wasn’t a big party or anything, it almost looked like a private function. It seemed quite loud considering there were apartment buildings in every direction.

The food truck caught our attention. It was a little deflating realizing that the only items they offered were fries, a larger order of fries, or churros con chocolate. Fancy food trucks are all the rage back home right now, I was hoping for better food than that. Oh well.

The fluorescent lights that arced over us were so bright that it was hard to even see the man behind the counter. I ordered salchipapas grande, as that was what was written on the sign. The man had no idea what I was saying and looked really annoyed. I just pointed to the photo on the sign. The bucket of fries came with some sweet ketchup and a deep fried hot dog on a stick. There was mayo in the photograph but we weren’t served any.

So we sat and ate our fries and hot dog while we watched people dance in the street.