Author Archives: juanzqui7

May 5, 2010 Geneva From the very beginning, one of my main concerns about this trip was security. I had read too many warning signs, in guidebooks and newspaper articles, about bands of gypsies and hoodlums crowding around you, then … Continue reading →

Wednesday, May 4, 2011 | Neyruz, Switzerland IT RAINED MOST of the morning yesterday and so the bits of sight-seeing allowed a view of the Swiss countryside through a misty prism as we drove from place to place along narrow … Continue reading →

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 | Neyruz, Switzerland I WENT TO church again this morning, with Isabelle and Jean-Maurice. I had suggested to Isabelle when I arrived that it might be a good idea to honor our dead friend, Rogelio Reyes … Continue reading →

May 3, 2011 | Neyruz, Switzerland TONIGHT WE HAD raclet for dinner. Raclet is a firm, buttery Swiss cheese. The way my friends eat it is melted, using a heating contraption that melts the top portion of the cheese round … Continue reading →

Neyruz, Switzerland | Monday, May 2, 2011 I’M SITTING OUTSIDE, on my friends’ patio, looking west toward the setting sun and a lovely green meadow. A small woods, or forest, as my friends call it, is about a quarter of … Continue reading →

Sunday, May 1, 2011. Barcelona SEE WHAT I mean about this city? Hungry for something — anything — to eat after wondering around all morning, I finally saw an outdoor restaurant with an available table. So I took it, only … Continue reading →

Sunday, May 1, 2011 | Barcelona MY LAST DAY in Barcelona. My last day in Spain. A bit after 7:30 tonight, I’ll get on a high-speed train that will take me to Geneva, arriving around 6:30. From there I’ll take … Continue reading →

April 30, 2011. Barcelona   AND ON THE twelfth day, he shopped. After 11 days playing tourist in Spain, I decided I wanted to play shopper instead. I had one aim at the beginning of the day, and that was to … Continue reading →

April 29, 2011, Barcelona ENJOYING A SECOND beer at an outdoor cafe. My first beer was accompanied by a jamón sandwich, which has become my favorite food in this country. That and paella, although paella is a distant second. This place … Continue reading →

Barcelona, April 28, 2011 After an uneventful and pleasant shirt flight from Granada, we arrived at the Barcelona airport around 11. At the baggage claim area, there is mass confusion among members of a group of old people who are … Continue reading →