Celine Dion ain't got nothing on this.

As promised, a retrospective of yesterday's events when I don't run the risk of launching into a rant about the kinship of travelers (if I got started, I would probably type until calluses formed on my fingers and my carpal tunnel had carpal tunnel. Want to hear my thoughts on that? Buy me a pint of Magners and we'll chat it over until the bar closes or the sun comes up--Whichever comes first--Then we'll continue the talk over pancakes at some 24-hour diner or something...See? I even ranted about not ranting...Moving right along)

Yesterday we were *supposed* to go to the beach...but we slept forever, so we put that off and decided to settle down somewhere off Las Ramblas, write postcards, and drink tea. We wandered for a bit before remembering that it was Friday and the Magic Fountain would be running starting at 9 in the PM.

We had heard of this "Magic Fountain" from (insert name of whoever told us to go here because hell if we remember) and it sounded a little like the fountain at the Bellagio in Vegas, a choreographed light and water show, set to music.

Now, when I was in Las Vegas...an experience in and of itself, we accidentally saw the Bellagio show when we were in search of air conditioning and still under 21. It was ridiculous and mostly set to My Heart Will Go On.

When we decided to go see this fountain in Barcelona, I told Margaret that I was going to be disappointed if it wasn't set to Celine Dion because *nothing* could be more fitting or gloriously tacky as a soundtrack to a fountain show than the theme from Titanic.

We eventually found a seat with only mildly obstructed views (there was a tree...but it was crowded and beggars can't be choosers) and settled in to watch the show. The fountain was built in 1929 as part of the Barcelona International Exposition and is one of a number of fountains in the Montjuïc area below the Palau Nacional...All of which were not running...at all...we were confused. About 10 minutes before 9, the fountains all down the Avenida Maria Cristina turned on and we knew the show was beginning.

It took a minute before the main fountain started spouting, but you knew something was churning about in there when all the pigeons flew off of it at exactly the same moment.

Suddenly: NAAAAAAAAAAAANTS ingonYAAAAAAAAAAAAAma bagithi Baba

Circle Of Life blasts over the speakers as the fountain begins flashing colors and jetting into the air. Then we realize ¡IT´S IN SPANISH!

Celine Dion doesn´t hold a candle to a MEDLY of Disney songs IN SPANISH...We may have been a little giddy...

Eventually we wandred home, tried to convince ourselves to go out, and decided to sleep instead, because let´s face it, being in bed before 7 AM is a great feeling :-]

Today we went to the beach, it was a little chilly/windy and we came home more browned by dust than by the sun, but a good time was had.

After showering off our color from the day, we decided we HAD to go out after last night´s early sleep and decided to check out an Irish pub that was a few blocks from the hostel, across from the Gaudi church. The place was packed with locals and Irish ex-pats alike and there was a man in the back corner jamming out on his acoustic guitar to an eclectic mix of pop hits, 90´s alt-rock, and real oldies...And there was cider on tap.

After the live music ended, we relinquished our stools at the bar, bid the bartenders farewell, and walked home. It will take a lot of willpower not to go back there tomorrow night...