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Sagrada Familia

Gelatto! Barcelona Zoo:

Airbnb.com This was the apartment: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1529855

Barcelona was a great city to visit. The people were friendly and polite, the costs were reasonable, and at least the area we were in was very pedestrian friendly. The city is clean (except for dog shit, people clean up after your dogs!) and the attractions are well worth seeing. I am used to being armed everywhere I go and never once did I feel the lack of a weapon with me while I was there. The apartment we rented had a beautiful view and was ideally situated. There was a cab stand across from the door, a bus station at the next intersection, and a subway station 2 blocks away. We were surrounded by small bakeries, produce shops, coffee shops, etc. There was a large diagonal street that was primarily for pedestrians and was chocked full of restaurants, bars, and interesting little shops. At the Picasso Museum the couple in front of us in the line for tickets were from the UK. She was from Liverpool, he was from Ireland (didn't say what city) and they had been living in Ireland for 15 years. The lady commented that even their bar crowds were well behaved. She said Ireland was a lovely place, but the drunken young men were often loud, obnoxious, and annoying but in Barcelona even the drunks were quiet and polite. I didn't see anyone I would really consider drunk, so I'll take her word for it, but even the drinkers were quite well behaved. The crowds in the restaurants and on the streets were a mix of different ages that I find unusual. Usually in the US I see mostly young people here, older people there, and it's a rarity for the intermingling of college aged revelers and retirees to be drinking side by side or enjoying the same activities I found it very nice. I also liked the fact you could buy bread fresh every day right on your block, you could buy fresh seafood every day right on your block, etc. I liked how easy it was to get around without a car. The bus service confused the hell out of me, but the subway was easy to navigate. There are plenty of small parks and playgrounds, children are welcome everywhere, and they were all so welcoming and never made us feel like outsiders. All in all, I think it was my favorite city I've ever been to. I'm a country mouse, but Barcelona is a very nice city.

Home safely. A little dizzy, not sure if from turbulence/pressure changes playing with my inner ear or just fatigue and jet lag. I'm staying up another hour or so and then off to bed. I don't want to go to sleep too early, need to get back to US time biologically.

Flying out soon. Great trip, will put pictures up later.

Barcelona zoo is wow. Very nice collection, well laid out, not crowded.

From our apartment:

Barcelona is incredible. It's my favorite trip since Cyprus.

I just left the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. What an amazing building and work of art. I'm not Catholic, but this is something special for everyone. It brought tears to my eyes to see the glory and beauty inside and out. I saw plenty of Muslim head coverings, a few Sikh turbans, and masses of every ethnicity, all quiet, all respectful, and all agape at the marvel. Truly truly an incredible experience.

Sagrada Familia is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. The inside was well worth the cost to enter. Absolutely awe inspiring.

Cleanest public restroom in the world. Enjoying a poo in Barcelona.

Cosmocaixa science museum today. Not much for adults, son enjoyed it. Sweets at a local cafe. Food at home, fresh seafood purchased at market.

Yesterday: Park Guell, walked around shops and familia sagrada. Day before: Casa Batllo and street festival.

Today: Picasso museum. Beach front. Seafood restaurant off the beaten path, mostly locals. Mammoth museum.

Barcelona is awesome. I want to try every food I see. Our rental is 5 minute walk to Familia Sagrada. Lots of little shops, restaurants, etc. Street festival last two days.

Propane tanks like for bbq grill. Lots of people use them for daily cooking. Gas stove or oven. MIL has electric range and oven but keeps special gas oven just to make bread. Poor people often only have bottle gas cooking.

Veggie guy. I thought he was shouting into PA, but it's a recording. FIL says he's cheaper than supermarket.

It's 91 F or so, so pretty quick. Street vendors now include veggie guy, ice cream guy, cotton candy guy, bottle gas guy, and cleaning products guy.

Ice cream guy!

Landed in Amman safe.

Flying out today to Amman, then to Barcelona the next week.

Shortly after they put bike lanes in near my house a deaf guy got wadded up in a dump truck's front wheel well. I've not seen many bicyclists using them since.

I've wanted a Red Nichols holster ever since I saw his work on High Noon Holsters. I kept waiting for the Sigs to make the gun list, as it was Glocks and 1911s only for quite awhile. About the time he listed the P226 he stopped importing to the US through High Noon. (Red retired to Australia) I tracked him down in his semi-retirement via cyber-stalking....err, finding some forums he was a member of, and he agreed to make some gear for me. At this time he is offering his line up to current LEO's only. This is a design he calls "Beat the Devil" and is an avenger style holster. He made it to fit both my P226/P220 AND my P229. I was not sure it would work well, but trusted Red knew his craft enough that if he said he could make it work he could make it work. It works. Perfectly. Retention and draw is perfect with them both. It is truly phenomenal work. Leather body, kangaroo lining (because why not kangaroo?) and ostrich leg trim.. The pictures with the stone background are Red's that he took before he shipped it to me. The much suckier indoor pictures are my own with a real gun and magazine in them. Since Red's in Australia now, even his access to pretend-guns is limited, which unfortunately keeps his list of available guns lower than more makers. Now check this out with the belt laid flat. It's not just cut straight and call it a day. It's got a curve built in so it actually follows the line of your hips by rising slight on both sides. That's attention to detail. I really dig the "dress belt" thickness up front and the "gun belt" thickness everywhere else, it'll wear fine for suits for work or for jeans off duty. The belt slots on the holster are cut so as to leave a lot of 'meat' around them, not just a big punch out. It makes it much more resistant to sliding around, even if you push slightly forward on the gun as you draw so it 'pops' forward as it clears. It also keeps the grip in tight but allows a full grip easily. This is 100% by far the best OWB holster I've ever had. It's sexy, it's functional, it oozes quality, and I'm WELL satisfied I got more than my money's worth. Red's guarantee makes me chuckle a bit, but also shows how much he stands behind his work. Red's given me permission to pass along his contact info to any CURRENT LEO ONLY who is interested in ordering from him at this time. He's working on setting up a way to import more easily and open up to the general public, but at this point he must remain low volume and has settled on CLEO as his way to do that.

I did some practice with by backup gun today, the Ruger LCR. All horrible reloads I made in 2013 when I couldn't find powder/primers and had to improvise. 158 LSWC, Acc #5 with SPP, doesn't give a consistent burn and smokes like George Burns. I figured might as well shoot it and reclaim the brass now that I can use good recipes again. I fired 180 rounds today, 50 of those reloads left. Unburnt powder on my hand after 30 rounds: Rhythm drills at 7 yards. Target by itself is 2H, 50 shots. Next target is SHO, 50 shots. The one I scared real bad but didn't hurt much is WHO, 20 shots. 5y transition from dot to dot. Left is 2H, right is SHO. (2H = 2 handed, SHO, = strong hand only, WHO = weak hand only)