THE BODY CAN TAKE SO MUCH

Late August to early September, I could be seen taking stairs two steps at a time; walking up escalators that take more than two minutes to get to the top.

Now, it is October and you will find me just like the other folks: just standing there, waiting for the escalator to take me where we are all going: up!

Occasionally, the old me reappears and I will take a step or two up or down, but that energy has to be recouped by a long vacation, when I return to the USA and then to Lima.

I arrived in Barcelona yesterday evening and took a very long walk to the train station to see if there were trains to Nice, France. It appears that I would need to make two connections. I don't really need to be in Nice that badly.

So, today I bought a ticket to Milan. Cost 114 euros or dollars, I forget. Maybe I could have gotten a better deal had I searched the Internet, but just goes to show you that I am sapped. Of course, I did book a hotel in Milan.

I didn't really do the things I would normally do on a visit to Barcelona. I just didn't feel up to it. And you wouldn't believe the crowds in The Rambla area and about the Catalunya square! I need to spend two or three months in Barcelona to slowly take it all in. It really is an incredible city!

Patrick Barry Barr