Barcelona

There were a million boats in the harbour and a few giant yachts parked in the harbour, tucked in behind a mall that sticks out in to the water. All around the beach are vendors selling knockoff sunglasses and handbags. When the police come by a marathon breaks out as these guys pack up their wares and make a mad dash for it. And eventually I found the actual beach. It stretched from the mall by the sea, miles to the west to the Olympic Village and then some.

I took off my shoes and walked in the sand all the way down to the shiny sculpture at the start of the Olympic Village, and back. Like the day before, I covered a lot of miles and my legs were a bit heavy by the time I returned to the hostel. I found something to eat, which couldn't have been too fancy because I don't remember it, read for a while, checked my email in the hostel lobby and turned in fairly early, even though there were a ton of people making a lot of noise in a courtyard nearby. And of course, the loud roommates and the banging of the sheet-metal walls contributed to a night of little sleep. Of course I slept in the next morning.