Old

So everything I said about Barcelona buildings being just like Buenos Aires.... Well, I'm going to back off that statement a bit.

I took a walking tour of part of the city yesterday. I chose the Barri Gòtic, the oldest part of town. It would probably take a solid week to walk around all of the different historic parts.

It is sad to say, but this is the first time I have every been around anything nearly this old. I was in Bangkok for a couple of days, but didn't take any historic tours and most of the city is on the modern side, so I won't count that.

Often I walk around as a tourist in a new place looking for things that would make interesting pictures, and then snap a few for the day. I am frustrated by the fact that there is rarely a building or a view down an alley that I don't want a picture of. I could snap pictures constantly all day long at every home, every church, every park. And the pictures barely come close to capturing the charm, the warmth, the colors of the beautiful old city.

Coming from a city that has a fair amount of charm of its own, I am used to seeing pockets of excessively well kept historic sights spread around the city, like the Painted Ladies of Alamo Square or the gardens and homes on the one notable block of Lombard Street. But here, it seems like every building is at least charming if not exquisite. I find it difficult to believe that every building owner in the city has this much class, taste, and money to take of their properties this well. I have to believe the city government must somehow be forcing beauty down owners' collective throats. Is that cynical? I did read that, in fact, the city recently spent on the order of two and a half billion Euros to beautify and redevelop one coastal area of the town.

Besides beauty and charm, I am struck by the sheer age of some of these sites.. Buildings that are not just museum pieces. They are everyday life. Last night I saw a local Asian family pushing a stroller into the door of a 15th century building that was across the alley from Count Wilfred the Hairy's old house, which stood there some time in the 800's.

But that's not old. That neighborhood is all sitting on top of the ruins of a Roman city that bustled here around the 4th century.

This is all a lot for me to take in, considering the oldest building in San Francisco, The Mission Dolores, was built in the 1770's. To me, that's about as old as it gets in the Western U.S., and that building is practically a museum.

I suppose that if, when I was a kid, I was able to walk up and touch historical places and things this old, I may have been more interested in history in general. It is much more fun than books.

And with all that going on, the city also has a fantastic coast line with first rate beaches. I will feel quite guilty sitting around on the beach with all of these great sights still left to see.

But I will get over it.