The Impromtu Thief

Tonight as we lay enjoying some sort of ill-begotten tv show or movie, we heard outside in the alley a tumultuous, clang, clang, clang. I sprang the the bed to see what was the matter. There was a dude in the alley who rose such a clatter.

There, standing in front of the gate of next door's shoe shop was a villain. Ok, not a villan but at least a petty thief, one who was apparently not terribly gifted when it came to planning. He had removed the cover of an electrical access panel in the alleyway and was using it to bash at the hardened steel lock which kept closed the gates in front of the shoe shop.

I stepped out on the balcony and saw him bring the awkward metal square down on the lock one last time sending metal shards and glass flying, but the lock held. Disappointed he replaced the cover and quickly walked away disappearing down an alley. Now when I say he was bad at planning, I meant it.

The would-be-thief was wearing bright white pants! Not exactly inconspicuous. I called the girls out on the balcony to see the aftermath of his attack. Just as we were heading back in, he appeared again. This time, presumably, to finish the job. I had my camera but decided since we are on the first floor and in the dead of night, the clicking of the shutter might give me away. Lets be honest, trying to do the right thing is great but if the thug discovered me he would know where I lived. So we, heroically, ducked inside.

The really funny thing is that he was trying to break into Rana's favorite shoe store. They very store where they have a expensive set of boots she wants. She was temped to yell, "steal me the green ones and we won't call the police," but I convinced her otherwise.

Once again, planning, buddy. What are you gonna do steal 100 pairs of shoes and try to hock them on the corner? I think it might arouse a little suspicion when you're caught with Manolos that aren't your size.

First Night in Barcelona and subsequent days

I arrived after a considerably long trip (41 hours), in Barcelona, on Halloween eve. I took the metro and met the lovely Rana and Başak. They took me back to their apartment and we immediately started to brainstorm costumes. This is what we came up with:

Van Dyke and Foo Man Choo went out with Monsieur Devo (french mustache not here pictured) We had a wonderful time trying to remember how to order in spanish all the while sporting sweet mustaches. Rana and Başak had class so I spent the next few days just exploring.

I checked out La Rambla where you can get

your bag stolen for half the price of a normal mugging.

The shoreline where you can take an expensive gondola

over the harbor so you just might find Nemo.

Along the Rambla del Mar. Ohhh pretty boats.

People feeding Seagulls near the Christoper Columbus monument.

My arty shot of the day. A local resturant

with the menu in Catalan.

So far I love it here. The people are wonderful. The food is fantastic (althought I make most of it at home) and the atmosphere is one of life, art and excitement. I would love to stay indefinitely.