Public readings

As in all of Southern Europe, as far as I know, Catalonia has few people reading books regularly. To remedy this situation, the regional governments of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, the regions' booksellers' associations, and the regional transport authority of Barcelona distribute free leaflets in metro stations (next to the ticket-vending machines) that contain the first pages of a novel or a poetry book. Such a leaflet gives you a taste of the book, and you might end up buying the book (-or checking it out from a public library-), and reading on. There is a double aim: to promote reading in general, and to have more people reading in Catalan. The book thus introduced changes every week. To interact with other readers, there's a website: www.quellegeixes.cat (what are you reading.cat)
I doubt the measure's efficiency with non-readers but find it a great way for readers to spend their time on the metro or bus (apart from reading the free newspapers, distributed widely but a little thin on substance) and to get to know a wide range of novels and poetry.

Barceloneta

Though I wrote about the bad state of Barcelona's beaches a few weeks ago, I did not mean to say that I do not like the old quarter of Barceloneta and its adjoining beach. Barceloneta is quite small and full of narrow streets with rows of low four or five story buildings that are being renovated or have been renovated already. There live a lot of older people and immigrants; on a recent stroll I saw a "halal" butcher and a Chinese-run fruit and veggie store.
It is also very interesting to go to the beach, though just not for the quality of the sand or its installations. The interesting thing about the beach is watching people. Tourists from all over the world, of course. Illegal immigrants, mainly from Africa, sleeping with their few belongings around them on the beach. The typical locals are old-timers that sit around with few clothes on all year round playing domino. Others, equally exposed to the elements, walk up and down the beach. There are people in suits, women with stiletto heels, but also punks. Then there is a group of middle-aged men who look like unemployed truck-drivers who exercise their muscles on some basic fitness equipment; alas, the most protruding part of their bodies will always be the belly. Sometimes, young, athletic female joggers interrupt their running for a few moments and join the unemployed truck-drivers for a little muscle flexing; immediately they get all the attention, and the men get a lot more serious about their exercises...

James Bond "Casino Royale" - the worst ever

Until last night I had a slight weakness for James Bond movies, especially the not politically correct ones from the 1970s, and saw more or less all that they put on television. Then I watched "Casino Royale" which I had taped from Spanish public television TVE. It is the most disgustingly violent I have ever seen. And for a few minutes, James Bond is driving around in a Ford Mondeo, a Ford. Then he is asked for the brand of his watch: "Rolex?" - "No, Omega." Ridiculous. Maybe it contains some lessons for poker players. Towards the end, Bond's fighting around with a small army of well-armed opponents brings down a Venetian palazzo. The denouement takes for ever; and I do not know how the movie ends - though I imagine that James survives - because TVE started the movie later then scheduled and put in so many commercials that it did not fit on a three-hour cassette - ah, yes, I am still using an old-fashioned VCR. No more new Bond movies with Daniel Craig for me!

Public bicycles

Some cities have begun putting bicycles at the disposal of their citizens. With previous registration and for a fee of 30,- EUR per year (in the case of Barcelona,"bicing"; "Sevici" in Sevilla), you can hire a bicycle at bicycle parking areas (docking stations) around the city with a user card, use it for 30 minutes at a time, and then leave it at the same or another parking area. The time limit makes it a convenient means of transport for point-to-point rides and prevents the system from putting commercial bicycle rentals out of business. With bicycles available all over the city you do not need to buy, store, and maintain your own bicycle. Problems in the case of Barcelona are that the system shuts down at night at the same time as the subway, and that often downtown in the morning you do not find a parking space, and in the afternoon you do not find a bicycle as everybody wants to go in the same direction at the same time. Another general problem of traffic in Barcelona is that there is too little space and very few, often inconveniently placed bicycle lanes. Apart from the user fees, the systems are paid for with licenses for the commercial exploitation of bus-stop (and other) billboards (by the likes of JCDecaux) and publicity on the bicycles (as you can see in the picture).
Thanks to an old article in The Economist (September 22, 2007) I learned that the great competitors for urban bike-operations were JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoor, and that at that time there were already rental schemes in place "in more than a dozen cities including Vienna, Lyon, Brussels, Seville ... Cordoba... Barcelona, Oslo, Stockholm and Rennes." Bologna also has them.

Seville in the rain

Here is my personal impression of Sevilla, capital of Andalucia, Spain, tainted by unusually bad weather and influenced by the company of a two-year-old, at times in a carriage. In general I would say that Seville is overrated. The historic center is comparatively quiet, full of nice buildings and (uncomfortably) narrow streets. Many of the broader ones are lined with orange trees that were full of over-ripe fruit.
Really worth seeing are the "Real Alcazar", an old palace with spectacular Moorish architecture and sprawling gardens full of magnolias, palm and orange trees [www.patronato-alcazarsevilla.es], and the cathedral, the third biggest in the world, with "La Giralda", a former minaret by its side.
We really liked our hotel, "Petit Palace Canalejas", a centrally located two-star hotel belonging to the "High Tech" chain: all the rooms have broadband internet access, a laptop computer, a static bicycle, and there is a buffet breakfast, not too common in Spanish hotels of this category [www.hthoteles.com].
As to museums, my fellow travellers did not let me see any. From reading a tourist guide one gets the impression that Sevilla is a great place for sitting around in cafés or bars, drinking, and watching people. With 15°C and grey skies or rain, that was not really an option for great spans of time. And two-year olds do not like it, either.
Families with small children might better abstain as we found only four playgrounds in as many days - and not in strategic locations. Another problem with children is "street hygiene" as the young ones like to pick up things from the ground and touch walls - and the streets of Sevilla are very smelly...
As we went during off-season, the number of tourists was still bearable. I would not like to see the crowds during Easter week and for the "Feria de Abril" - and would not like to pay hotel rates, restaurants, etc. during these times.
Ryanair flies to Sevilla from various European locations so you might want to have a go on your own - if you can bear the bad conscience for the "carbon footprint" you leave behind. There are high-speed trains from Madrid and Barcelona, too.