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I arrived back in Washington DC just a few days ago. This of course was my second, extended stay in Barcelona. I loved it so much the first time that I chose to spend a second extended stay there instead of using the time to visit places I had never been. All I can say is that I wouldn't have thought it possible to have enjoyed it more than the 1st time, but indeed I did.

My trip was all I wanted and more. Of course I love the language study and just the fact of being in a foreign place that I love. Of course I loved the beaches. But above all else, I loved getting to know the people there. I mean really talking to and getting know the people that live everyday of their lives there. The people opened their arms and accepted me in to their lives if only for a short while and I have no doubt that a few of them will remain friends for many years to come.

Having been gone from work for so long, I started to become anxious about the crises and catastrophes that would await me. I was pleasantly pleased to find that all was in order. Sure my inbox was overflowing and it'll take a couple of weeks just to unbury myself, but all was ok.

But most of all, I'm happy to be reunited the BF and my little doggie. These past few days at home have just felt so right and joyful that I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else for a long period of time. I love Barcelona and definitely plan to return within the next year or two. But my home is and always will be wherever the BF is.

Gay Pride

I've only ever seen these in Europe, but think that they're so logical. They were perfect for gay pride and I used them quite a few times since I was drinking beer.

Almost nude.

The dragon was hilarious mostly because it was obviously so dangerous. See the wires protruding from the font? Every once in a while, they'd put these huge firework things on them, which would then shoot sparks up to 30 feet in all directions and send the crowd running for their lives. At the end they exploded with M80 like power. I was shocked that no one got hurt.

The picture doesn't do this guy justice. He as just completely hot!

Updates

This past Sunday was Barcelona gay pride day. Normally BCN is known to have very small gay pride festival relative to the size of the city, but this time they went all out. This was the second major celebration that occurred during my trip which I was unaware of when I first planned it.

My first two visiting friends from Washington have now departed. The first left on Sunday. He left just in time because he was just starting to become immune to Red Bull and seriously needed to catch up on lost sleep. The second departed just this past Wednesday morning. Today the second pair of friends arrived and we're looking forward to a great time together.

What's been going on?

• An older Catalan guy named Jose Luis drove us down to Sitges where we had an absolutely fabulous dinner. We then headed over to a bar to watch a show with 60 year old men in drag, which was very entertaining.
• Went back to beach la Playa Mar Bella several times where I met a slightly crazy named Nicolas. We had several beers in bar by the beach, then ordered tapas at another restaurant. Later that evening we met up at Punto.
• Attended the pride parade and the festivities afterwards at Plaza Espanya. While there I ran into Juan, and older guy and friend of Jose Luis, Jonan, a very cute and affectionate guy I met my first week here and Gabriel a very sexy student in language school.
• Spent quite a bit of time talking to a black immigrant from Columbia. He's a very good looking guy that I had met a few times before in Punto. He talked about how much he loves the openness of the city. Of course I agreed.
• Spent time with Jose Luis and Carlos and met Carlos's brother.
  Met a guy from Malaga who now lives in BCN. His name is Francisco.

Pictures

I'm not as good about taking pictures as the BF, but I have managed to get a couple.

Outside the language school:
In the stairwell of my apartment building:

It says "Dangerous Bottom", but don't believe everything you read:

In the apartment:

Stayed nude as I left the beach area on a dare:

Week in Review

Picture of the small square/plaza just steps from my apartment.

The first friend from back home arrived yesterday about 6 hours after the scheduled time due to weather problems, mechanical issues and just about everything else. He was pretty wiped out. For our first day, we walked around the city quite a bit, ate at a great pizza place (don't say it, I know) that I like and had a drink. Later that evening we went to Punto and Dietrich for drinks where we met a sweet guy named Max. Later Max accompanied us to Arena, where I was supposed to meet up with Jesi, a guy I had met at the beach. We got home at 4am and slept in until 2pm. I'm thinking we'll probably go to the beach today.

Other people I've met in the past few days...

On Sunday I met up with a guy I had met named Jose Luis at Punto. I stayed there we chatted with his group of friends. He insisted on driving me home, probably at an attempt to preserve my purity, but I declined. After an internal debate, I decided to go to Open Mind. I entered and got naked. It wasn't naked night, but nudity is always part of the dress code there. It was a lot more fun that I would've expected for a Sunday night. I met a beautiful, thin Spanish boy as well as a visiting French/Irish/English guy named Hakim. Hakim is gorgeous and fairly kinky. We put on a show at Open Mind and left together. We walked around for a bit looking for some place to get a beer. We didn't find any place, but honestly our search was lack luster since we were really just talking. At the end, we went to his hotel, which was on Avenida de Roma and just a block and a half from my school. It was daylight by the time we went to sleep. When my alarm rang in the morning, I got up to turn it off and got right back into bed missing school. Later, around noon, we left together in search of food. Afterwards he came to my place for another round. He left around 4pm because I desperately had to work. He called later that evening. Since he was leaving the next day, he wanted me to stop by on way to school.

On Tuesday I met a guy named Xavi. Xavi is a tall, good-looking and well-gifted Catalan guy although he didn't grow up in the city. We met a Boyberry, which is a story in itself. Afterwards, we left together and walked the city talking. Then we ate and had a few drinks at a quite outdoor cafe in the gay district. Xavi is full of depressing life stories. I told him that he owes me some happy stories. At the end of the evening he walked me home and stayed the night.

On Wednesday I went to naked night at La Base, which was fun as usual. I had worn my leather football pants that I had bought at IML. As if being black in this city doesn't already make me stand out, you have to imagine me taking the metro and walking the street in these things. I got stopped in the streets twice this night by people trying to pick me up. The first one was a guy named Alberto who felt me up, pinched my nipples and gave me his card. The second approached me as I left La Base at 2 AM. He said he lived across the street and invited me up. I said I shouldn't, but did. His apartment was extremely luxurious and very large. He was an Irishman living and working in Barcelona for the past 10 years.

On Thursday I met Daro. He is an incredibly cute 23 year old medical student from Venezuela. We caught a cab back to my apartment and he stayed the night. When the alarm clock rang the next morning for school, I really wasn't feeling up to it so I missed classes for the second day this week.

Germany Update: So far I have been able to find cheap tickets to Franfurt, but nothing to Berlin for under 300 Euros.

Tastes of Barcelona

I thought I'd write a post about how Barcelona differs from my hometown and perhaps many other places in the US. So here's a random sampling of the good and bad:
People here put much more emphasis on social activities and less emphasis on work than we do. Here you are expected to go out or at least spend time with friends over dinner and/or drinks. This contributes to a more laid back atmosphere that seems much more common in Europe than in the States. It's always refreshing to remember that we work to live and not the other way around.

• In school today, the teacher referenced as an aside the typical, average work day as being from 9 to 1. This brought a smile to my face. Many businesses here work from 9 til 1, then re-open from 4 to about 7 or 8.


• The architecture is completely different. First there are the older parts of the city including El Barrio Gotico, El Borne, El Cuidad Viejo and El Raval. Then there are the more modern buildings of L'Eixample that somehow remind me of Paris. There are also other styles that can be seen in some places such as other residential areas, Barceloneta an Gracia.


• The culture is hugely open culturally, with a kind of beautifully organized social chaos. People generally do what they want. On the downside this leads to such things as public urination, but on the upside allows the sense of freedom and public authenticity that somehow seems lacking in most (not all) of US cities.


• Part of being open, there is public alcohol consumption everywhere. There are even roving people selling cans of Estrella (the local beer). People drink on the streets, in the plazas, even on the beach. Even as walking home at 5 in the morning you can still see the vendors.


• The cars are smaller, the garbage trucks are tiny even delivery trucks are smaller than our mid-sized vans. Apartments are generally smaller as are washing machines and almost everything else. They seem to put a higher value on effective us whereas we tend to live by the "more/bigger is better" motto.


• Similarly, it amazes me how energy conscious they are here. For example, lights in the lobbies of most apartment buildings turn off automatically. There are buttons throughout that will turn them on for a few minutes after which time the halls will again go mostly dark. Even many power outlets have switches designed to stop the small flow of energy that escapes even when a device is turned off. Lights are fastidiously turned off at every opportunity. Curiously however, I'm amazed at how much water they use. Their shower heads, faucets and toilets seemingly use much more water than we consume in the US. Go figure.


• Owning car or even having a license to drive one is not nearly as common and public transportation is great. Also, there are bicycles and motor scooters everywhere. There's even a "zip car" -like service called "bicing" where any member can just pick up a bike almost anywhere in the city, ride it to their destination and leave it there. I've seen similar racks in DC and think they're going to try the system there too, but wonder if our mindset is quite the same. Perhaps it's a case of "if you build it, they will come".


• The nightlife is incredibly thriving. It's common for people to arrive at a club at 2:30am or even later and party until 6am. For those wishing to continue, there are after-hour places that keep the partying going through the morning.


• The atmosphere is filled with a feeling of open sexiness that I believe comes from the liberalness and openness. There are bars where you can go nude (at least gay bars anyway). Half of the gay bars and clubs have back rooms (cuartos oscuro), where play is not on allowed, but expected. A few bars are nothing but one big back room.


• People generally live a little more simply. For example, I have yet to see a Bluetooth headset on anyone. They don't even know what a TiVo is. The technologies that most people have include a modern cell phone, iPod and a computer. Many people even forgo the computer and visit Internet Cafes, which are everywhere in this city.


• Generally, people tend to dress a little more fashionably, although there are a few places in the US that I think would compare.

Barcelona Day 7

Everything has been quite perfect so far. Classes are going well. I'm learning a lot, but probably not studying (or working for that matter) as much as I should. There are just so many distractions here. Not that I'm complaining mind you.

Yesterday was another intentionally easy day for me. I had an invitation to go the beach, but didn't go. In the end all I did was do walked around the city a bit. I toured the Borne area a bit more and made my first trip over to las Ramblas. Later I spent a couple of hours with a very cute guy I had met. At around 11:30pm, I went to La Base, which is the first public place I ever took my clothes off. La Base is how I originally got into nudism in the first place. Nudists/naturists wouldn't really consider this a nudist club/bar since it is definitely sexually oriented. I left La Base sometime around 3am.

Today I was little tired for morning classes, but greatly appreciated that the school pushed the morning classes back one hour to 9 AM since I had last been there. After school, I worked for a good 5 hours, which was much needed and afterwards took a nap since I had planned to go out later that night. Late in the evening I went to Open Mind because they were having their weekly naked night. I finally left around 4AM. On the way home, a 24 y/o -looking guy (very cute), was standing in the street with his friends outside of Atame (a gay night club). We talked for about a 1/2 hour and he was very sweet and affectionate. I didn't take him home though.

Black, Gay and Visiting Barcelona

So I thought that I'd take a minute to discuss the topic of the title of this post for anyone out there reading this that might be black and considering visiting Barcelona. I wholly recommend it, however I want to take a minute to give you my perspective. Am I an expert on the topic? No. My total of 6 weeks in this city, between my 2 visits here, hardly qualify me as an expert. But nonetheless, I am an expert of my own opinion.

First, there are very few black people here. I'm not sure what the census says, but I'm guessing somewhere around 5% give or take, which is far less than the 20% (even higher in cities) that we have in the states. Secondly, the black people that are here are almost exclusively African immigrants. For cultural reasons, almost none of the African immigrants are openly gay. So the thriving gay scene is almost completely composed of whites or latinos.

This doesn't bother me and never has as I feel equally comfortable in a room full or whites, asians, latinos or blacks. Furthermore, if you haven't figured it out by now, a guy that's willing to walk through downtown city streets isn't bowed by standing out a little. In fact, perhaps I relish it.

I will say this though, I have never had a problem meeting people in this city (caveat: speaking Spanish doesn't hurt in this area). I realize that I'm somewhat of a rarity in this city and surely that attracts people, but such things don't even slightly bother me.

I guess what I'm saying is if you can walk into a bar full of people of a different race and feel comfortable, and you stand a little scrutiny because you stand out like a sore thumb then perhaps you'll love Barcelona just as much as I do.

Barcelona Day 4

Today was the first day of classes. To my surprise one of the instructors recognized me from when I attended classes a year ago. By the end of the day I had seen 3 of my prior teachers. The new building is definitely a lot nicer that the old one and, thank god, the air conditioning works much better.

After classes I returned to my room to work for a while. I should've worked more, but I quit after just about an hour and a half. I guess I made up for it though since I did work a few hours on Sunday. Afterwards, I headed back to the beach where I laid out naked and met a French immigrant named Nico. We talked for about two hours.

Amongst other things, he asked me who I think was responsible for 9/11. He said he thinks it was the CIA or perhaps the FBI. What I found curious is that I can recall exactly 4 conversations with people who firmly believed this and 3 of them were in BCN. One of them had been born and raised in Brooklyn, whom I met on my last trip. I guess my point isn't so much about what is or isn't true, but rather the differences in perspective based upon where one lives. Towards the end of our conversation the wind changed and it got a little chilly. As I left, he told me, "you're very powerful when naked". I'm not sure exactly what he meant, but thought it was a weird/interesting comment.

I still haven't heard anything from the World Naked Bike Ride people, however I did find a place from which I could rent a bike. I also determined that in past years the ride started at La Placa Universitat. I still have no idea if this is the official meet up place or of the time.

Barcelona Day 2

Today I took it easy. I woke up around 2pm and was out by 3. I had nowhere in particular to go. That's part of the charm of these vacations. I figured I'd explore the area of Borne near my apartment. Afterwards I figured I'd either walk over to Las Ramblas (not my favorite part of town) or down to the beach. I stumbled upon a festival for Borne and watched the live music for a while, then decided for the beach.

I walked to the beach. First I just walked up beach on the sand. Toward the end of the beach was the nude section as I had been told. I disputed either buying a towel and laying out in the sun or leaving and returning another day. Well I'm the "do" kinda guy so I returned to the entrance and bought a towel, which I needed anyway since I hadn't brought one with me from DC. As I walked back towards the nude section a guy was staring at me. I had noticed that he had stared at me coming and going when I had first walked the beach. We exchanged "hi"s and I set my towel next to his. His name was Jesse (Jesi) and he's an immigrant from Columbia. He didn't know any English so we conversed in Spanish. I immediately dropped my shorts and got naked before I even remembered that I had not yet reached the nude part of the beach. Oh well. We stayed there and talked for about an hour and a half before returning. We shared a bus and decided we'd go to the beach again on Monday.

Once again I was completely exhausted by 9pm so I took a nap. Perhaps I haven't quite yet fully adjusted to the time difference. I awoke at 11:30pm. I tried to decide to go either to Dietrich, where I had gone numerous times on my prior trip or to New Chaps, where I've never been. Since it was late by the time I left, I decided on Dietrich and afterwards to a club called Martins (most dance clubs don't even open until 3am). I had a couple of drinks on Dietrich before walking the 1/4 block to Punto. At Punto I met Luis. We talked (in Spanish) until closing time, which was 3am. He was supposed to meet up with friends at the club Metro, which I had gone to various times before and really liked. In the end we didn't go to Martins nor Metro but forged our own agenda. He wants to meet me again on Wednesday for happy hour at Punto.

I still haven't heard anything regarding the details for the World Naked Bike Ride that's supposed to be taking place here next week. I guess I'll keep trying.

Barcelona Day 1

So I've been in Barcelona for all of a day and already it has tired me out... but totally in a good way.

I arrived an hour early and went to the agency that provided my apartment. Things went smoothly as we signed all of the paperwork. So far my experience with the company (barcelona-home.com) has been good and I'd recommend them. I'm paying just under $40/day for an efficiency, which includes my own kitchen and bathroom. Oh yeah, did I say that it includes Internet?

After getting helped to the apartment by the cutest guy you've ever seen (from Arizona), I took to settling in. Over the next few hours I unpacked, bought a SIM card for my phone and some groceries, and walked around town a bit.

I decided this day I would visit two new sleazy bars that didn't exist last time I was here. So at 6PM I went to Berlin Dark. They have a weekday naked/underwear thing from 5 to 9. Finding it was nearly impossible. Although I wore a jockstrap, I decided not to wear it and went nude inside. There I met several people including an Italian, Canadian and a native of Catalan. The Italian (Enrique, go figure) is here on business and wants to meet up when he's back in town in a few weeks. We talked in Spanish. The Canadian was so glad to talk to me. He had been here for 2 weeks and was a little desperate for English-speaking company. This kind of made me realize that my experiences of BCN would probably be better if I wasn't conversant in Spanish. I also met several others in less "formal" ways.

Afterwards I was tired as hell and went back to the apartment to grab a nap. By this time it was already 9pm. I guess I hadn't gotten enough sleep on the red-eye flight after all. I awoke at 11:30 and seriously considered just going back to sleep. So I took the metro to Open Minds. This place was both bigger and more crowded than the prior and got busier as the night wore on. Again I brought a jockstrap which went unused. I did wear my new boots that I acquired at IML though. The place spanned two floors and included not-quite-so-private cabins, slings, lots of common spaces and a bar. I left at 4am totally and completely exhausted. I was actually spent at 3am, but decided to "look around" one more time. I'm sure you can guess how that went.

Since the metro was closed and was still an hour away from re-opening, I decided to walk home even though it is a good distance. Just past the Plaza Cataluña I passed two guys looking like they're getting on a scooter, which are so common there. One of them stares at me as I approached. My first thoughts were that they were stares of aggression. But after exchanging the 4th glance I figured there was something else happening. I passed them. The one that stared at me drove the bike a half block, parked and walked in my direction. We talked for a while. As the saying goes, I had already given at the office, but I couldn't resist when he asked if we could go either my place or his. In spite of his very slender but muscular frame, he definitely had a much larger than average member. We took turns and finished exhausted. By the time we were done, dawn had already broken. It was 6:30 by the time I arrived home.

Barcelona Begins

I am writing this from JFK airport en route to Barcelona. Although I've been looking forward to this trip for quite a while, I don't think I quite had the level of anticipation that I thought I would have. Mainly I think was caused by the fact that I had so many other things going on that I think I just never had enough time to let it hit me. Well this past week that all changed and I have REALLY, REALLY been looking forward this.

I've spent the last week trying to attend to all the details. I've made sure everything was covered at work, double checked the apartment reservation, paid the remaining balance for the language school, and researched new places that have opened there since I was there a year and a half ago. I've found a couple of places that look absolutely, positively sleazy, which I definitely will have to check out.

I'm slightly concerned about the size of the apartment (pics). I know its fine for me, but I have 4 people visiting while I'll be there albeit not all at the same time. I told each of them that it was a small efficiency of only 25 meters square with only 1 bed, so hopefully they understand. I re-read the website and the apartment does come with an optional cot, so I'll try to get one if I can.

I planned this trip to take partly alone and partly with the BF (he doesn't need the language training). Once I had the apartment I told some friends of mine that I'll be there, already have the apartment and that they are welcome to come if they'd like to. The fact that they took me up on the offer is kind of a case study on how people really do want to travel if they have the opportunity. There's also a 5th friend from Orlando that we met while in Key West last year who's coming to visit too, however he won't be staying with me because there are already people with me when he'll be there.

I was recently looking at some pictures on flickr of people going nude in Barcelona, and I don't mean just at the beaches. It is actually legal there to be nude in ANY public space. I am so determined to do this. I'd love to just walk down the street in the middle of the day buck naked. I'm not sure how I'll do it though. If I do it while I'm there alone, getting pictures to remember it would be difficult. I could wait until some of my friends arrive an co opt them to do it. Or maybe all of the above.

Saturday morning I woke up and realized that I'll be there during the traditional World Naked Bike Ride. Last year I planned to participate in Washington DC until it turned out to be the World (not so) Naked Bike Ride. But given Barcelona's nudity laws, they tend to have a nice turnout and yes... it's naked! So I've found their website and sent them an email requesting information on how to participate. I already know the date, but not the time and meet up place. I'll also need to find out where I can rent a bike so there are still a few details to take care of before next Saturday.

Summer Approacheth

Yes, the days are getting longer and weather, milder. So what's going on?

• I've been trying to play more tennis, but am now plagued by a hurt wrist, which has been bothering me for the past few days (none of the obvious jokes!) I'm seeing the orthopedist on Thursday because I want to get back on the court as soon as possible.


• I have all of my trips to Barcelona made and am really looking forward to it. I've invited several friends to come visit for a few days. Two are coming for about 5 days in early July and another just booked airfare for a week in mid-June. He'll even be joining me in immersion classes!


• Went to a pool party this weekend. Yes, one of those so don't ask! I have to say that it is so nice to be able to "socialize" (hmm) around a pool with others. God I love summer!


• A group of friends are planning to do a naked get together in the woods in about 2 weeks or so. So far I think they'll be 10 to 15 of us. The larger groups will come later in the summer. The smaller groups are so much fun and relaxing just being relaxed and naked in nature with great people. I'm really looking forward to it.


• I've made my reservations for GNI. I had such a good time last year that I just had to do it again. Unfortunately, we'll only be going for the 2nd half-week since I'm already taking too much vacation as it is. Already 4 friends have booked, so it should definitely be a good time.


• My gay cousin and his partner will be visiting us this weekend. He's pretty conservative (at least I think so), so I'll be on my bestest behavior.

Barcelona Planning (Update)

The funny thing is, one of the considerations I made in picking my apartment was to be reasonably close to the school. Well, guess what... the school has moved since I was there last! So the possibility of walking to school goes out the window. Oh well. It's still not all that far by metro.
On the positive side, the new school looks much better than the old one. It really looks to be a first class, modern structure that should add to the experience. Pictures from of the school are below.

Barcelona

Un amigo nuevo me ha mandando esté poema de Barcelona...

Es la que sueña despierta, ama y se deja querer,
tan mujer y tan hermosa, de ahí le viene su poder!

Ella tiene poder,
Ella tiene poder,
Barcelona es poderosa, Barcelona tiene poder,

Su paseo de Gràcia, es su poder!
Los niños que lloran, es su poder!
su justa palabra, es su poder!
y la flor de la rambla, es su poder!

Barcelona Planning (Update)

So I've ditched the apartment I was looking at Barcelonetta only because the agency that is renting it has a lot of mixed reviews on the Internet. I was really looking forward to being so close to the beach, but oh well. Oh... and thanks for the nude, Barcelonian buddy that contacted me to let me know that Barcelonetta is totally safe.

Below are some pictures from the newest place I'm looking at. It is a really smalling studio apartment being only about 240 sq ft. But it seems perfect from me. It has Internet, which is critical since I plan to work remotely part-time while there. It also has a private bath, double bed/futon, washing machine, stove top, pots, pans, linen and a TV (Catalan TV basically plans hardcore porn after 11pm).

So far I've contacted the agency renting the apartment twice and they responded quickly and really answered my questions, which is a good sign. The other place never even responded. My final step is to figure out how to increase my confidence in the company. Their website is at http://www.barcelona-home.com/ so once again, if anyone knows anything, let me know.

So here are the plans while there:

• Take morning language classes at Don Quiote from 8 to 4 each day
• Work from 1 to 5 in the afternoon each day
• Spend lots of time at Mar Bella, which is the nude beach. The last time I was in BCN was during the fall months, so I never got to experience the beaches.
• Favorite bar: Dietrich
• Favorite disco dance club: Metro although i really want to try some of the Arena discos this time (Update: Ever since I first visited, I keep calling dance clubs discos because that's how they refer to them)
• I want to spend at least one weekend down in Sitges
• I also wouldn't mind traveling by rail for another weekend somewhere. Perhaps Madrid, Vallencia or even Cap d'Agde although that's a little bit of a hike. Maybe even taking the ferry to Ibiza for a weekend would be nice.

Question: If you know of a place that you'd recommend or an event that I should do, please let me know.

Wide angle lens view of the studio apartment. You can't quite see this from here, but the table abuts a wall that sticks out. Behind this wall is the kitchen.

Kitchen contains: refrigerator, microwave, sink, stove, washing machine and cutlery.

Private bathroom contains a shower.

Shared terrace. Think I dare go nude here?

Street view. Born is a couple neighborhoods over from Las Ramblas. It's pretty convenient to the beach, the Don Quiote, Eixample (gay area) and metro.

Barcelona

A while ago, I decided that I would be taking another extended trip to my favorite city. I've cleared it with the BF and the job. I'll be going to BCN for 5 weeks in June and July. The BF is still trying to decide if he'll join me for the final week. I'll be continuing my language immersion classes for 4 hours a day and working my job remotely. I'm thinking to rent an apartment short-term that has Internet.

After lots of research into apartments, one of my final location picks is Barcelonetta. It is a very strange place very near to the nude, gay beach. Of course, there are no real nude beaches in Spain since nudity is technically legal everywhere as long as you don't create a scene. Hmm, I might have to think of ways to exploit this...

Barcelonetta is a little scary though. The streets are incredibly narrow and lined with 10 story buildings with the days laundry strung between them. It probably only seems scary because the building seem so close in. It's not like El Barri Gotic or El Rival, whose streets are left over from midevil times. These streets are actually in very straight grid format. Since I was in BCN in 2007 for a good while, I definitely know of some neighborhoods that I don't want to live, but am not quite sure about Barcelonetta. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE IF ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT SAFETY IN BARCELONETTA, LET ME KNOW. The only other place with holiday apartments in my price range was close to Placa Espanyol. Although PE is only a couple of metro stops away from the city center, it's not walking distance to anything I'm interested in... well except the clay tennis courts at Monjuic.

A friend that I haven't seen in about 7 years contact me last week and invited me to join him in Nicaragua in June where he owns beach-front property near a small town. I'm kinda tempted to go there for a week, before going to BCN, but I really haven't seen him in forever and he is a little... er... unorthodox. I'd probably feel better about it if we met up and re-established our friendship first, but he lives in Philly and I'm in the process of buying plane tickets. It would probably be fun though.

Barcelona

I still reminisce about my trip to Barcelona last year. I am hoping that if every thing works out, that I will be able to return this year as well. I really don't want to go for anything less than a month, so figuring out the logistics of such a trip is obviously difficult. My dream is to go for a 3 month period. Complicating factors include: my job, the need to earn income and my BF and his job. That said, if I can figure out a way to make it happen, I will.

I found the following pic on flickr. It shows a street named la Gran Via del las Corts Catalanes near la Placa Catalunya near the entrance to las Ramblas. This is near the center of the tourist district, which is a must see, but frankly not amongst my favorite places in Barcelona. My personal pictures are posted on flickr here as well.

Me Encanta a Barcelona

I had the opportunity late last year to take a little time off. There was gap of time between the end of one contract I was working on and the beginning of the next. Rather than seek additional work to during this period, I was decided to use the time off to do something that I would normally never do.

After much deliberation and hand wringing, I decided to go to Barcelona, Spain and enroll in the Don Quiote intensive, language-immersion school. It was perfect. They placed me into the house of a wonderful local lady named Paquita and I attended classes for 4 to 6 hours each day.

I learned that my life-long, accumulated Spanish was not only sufficient for me to get by on, but good enough for me to go out on the town, meet people and make friends and thoroughly enjoy myself. I was a little surprised that many of the Spanish words that I know are different in Castillian Spanish, but these were easily learned.

Barcelona is very different to what I am used to in the northeastern US. It is much more laid back and relaxed. The people of Barcelona place a much higher value on social activities and tend not to define themselves by their occupations as we do here. Going out for a late night on a weekend is not only more acceptable than in the states, but expected and celebrated. Also, the gay nightlife there is excellent. There are many gay bars and incredible dance clubs. Many of these establishments even have back rooms where you will find the most beautiful guys.

After spending six weeks there, I decided that I have at last found a city in which I could live. I've often thought about this. New York (where I am originally from) is too dirty and life is too complicated. The west coast is too dry and so decentralized. San Fransisco is beautiful, but still not quite for me, and Miami somehow seems just a little too decentralized. So here I remain in DC which is too cold, but where else would I go.

Well Barcelona, ay me encanta a barcelona! You may ask what is it that I love so much about this city. I love it because it has beaches including a nude beach right in the city. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to go because being November it was just little bit too cold. The weather there is not perfect, but it sure is a lot more temperate than DC. I love the emphasis Barcelonians place on social activities and having fun. I love the night life. The city itself is also beautiful and local Catalan people are somehow both cold and welcoming at the same time. I love the architecture including the neighborhoods of L'Eixample, Barri Gotic, Cuitat Vella, Barceloneta and even el Raval. I loved the parks of Montjuic and Parc Guell. I loved las Ramblas. Of course I referring to the street where all the tourists go, but even more so I love the other Ramblas that I encountered throughout the city which were beautiful. I loved the efficient metro system. I loved playing tennis (I played 8 times while there) even if there aren't any free courts like the in US. I loved partying with straight friends I met at the Port Olympic or near la Placa Royal. I loved going gay establishments like the Metro, Dietrich, la Base, Casanova, Boyberry and many, many other.

I loved living there like a local. Ahem... well as much as any Black-American can live as a local there. It's funny because I did stick out a bit, but that didn't bother me one bit. It surprised me how often people asked a black boy that obviously didn't belong there for directions. I loved waking up every morning at 8AM and going to work, which for me was going to school. I loved living in a non-tourist neighborhood in the house of a local person who didn't even speak any English.

I have to share one experience of many that I had while there. One night I went to a gay bar where I met several people. I don't tend to get really drunk normally, but this night I did. Anyway, I woke up the next morning in bedroom. Well, it kind of looked like my bedroom, but everything was just a little amiss. I tried to clear my head of the cobwebs of the night before, but the room just wouldn't make sense. I walked down the hall to the bathroom, er... wasn't the bathroom supposed to be on the left-side of the hallway? Anyway, I was still sure that everything would make sense in a moment. When I got back to my room, I had realized that this was definitely not my room. In a panic, I dressed so fast and ran out the door. Once outside, I had no idea where I was. The next day, I got both phone calls and email messages from my caretaker of the night before. I was too embarrassed to contact him and besides had no idea who he was or what he looked like. My BF and I have laughed about this quite a bit. I'd love to tell you what happened but I honestly have no recollection. I'm sure it would be a good story though.
But most of all, I realized what I want to do in life. My dream is to travel and learn. To really get to know the people that live there. To learn languages and experience exciting things. Do shed material possessions and live. Now I am looking for a wealthy benefactor to finance my worthy cause. If you'd like to donate, send money to...

How I Got Into Nudism

As my first blog posting, I'll describe how I recently got into nudism/naturism. My nudist birth occurred in November 2007 while visiting Barcelona, Spain.

Prior to my trip, I frequently visited a gay bar in the Washington area that hosts a weekly underwear party. In addition to simply liking to parade around in my skivies, I found that other patrons that chose to participate tended to be more sociable and easy to talk to than is typically encountered in this city. Of course before going to Barcelona, I did my homework on all of the tourist as well as gay things to do there. To my delight I discovered that Barcelona also had a gay bar that had an underwear night. I thought this would be the perfect ice breaker to meet new people in a strange land. I decided that I had to give it a try.

When arrived at the Barcelona bar on that Saturday night, they informed me that I missed the underwear night as it had occurred the day prior. The day arrived was nude night. Of course I was a little disappointed, but decided that since no-one in the city knew me... what the hell, I might as well go in. I loved it! It made me feel nervous and sexy and vulnerable all at the same time. As a footnote, another difference between these bars in Washington and Barcelona is that the Barcelona bar had a lot of sex occurring, but that's material that I'll cover another day.

I was hooked, so I returned the next Saturday as well. After all, after going nude, who needs underwear? On that next Saturday, I met an English speaking guy who mentioned that he too used to live in Washington, DC as recently as just a couple of months prior. He asked me if I had ever attended the nude parties in DC. Since the nude parties take place at the same bar as does the underwear parties, I had heard of them, but always declined whenever invited to participate.

When I returned to DC, I googled for nude gay groups in the area and joined ReNudePride. My BF and I attended a party that they sponsored and again I loved it. The funny thing is, I've always assumed that nudism/naturism implies some deep philosophical belief about something like the environment or the natural state of the human condition. One of my big revelations at the party was that they are just people, and that I am one of them. Yes I care about the environment, but that's not why I take my clothes off. I take my clothes off because it is fun and I enjoy it.