TechEd 2008 is being held in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona is on the beautiful Mediterranean coast, and is a city of many changing faces.
Take the weather, for example. Upon my arrival yesterday, I thought I had arrived in the tropics during the Monsoon. Yet this morning, the sky was clear blue, and the temperature was moderate. Perfect weather for a walk, I thought, so walk I did. In the process, I saw many of those faces first hand.
Barcelona is a City of Construction
Almost everywhere I looked, I saw construction - old buildings coming down, new buildings going up. Street renovations, you name it, they were building it.
Barcelona is a City of Life
In particular, my impression of Barcelona included palm trees and parrots. Quaker parrots (also called monk parakeets) were everywhere, filling the role played by starlings in other cities. Noisy, omnipresent. But being parrots, they lend the city a touch of the exotic.
Barcelona is a City of Pride
The path I took included a huge pedestrian square. On one end, stands a monument that looks eerily familiar, but different as well. It is the Spanish Arc de Triumph. It strongly resembles the one in Paris, which you have probably heard of, but it is a bit smaller, and made of red stone instead of white. Never the less, it is quite impressive, and well worth adding to your list of things to see.
Barcelona is a City of Beauty and Culture
At the other end of the square is a huge garden park. The park has walkways, plantings, and all of the other trappings you would expect, but it is also much more. The park is flanked by a series of museums, and the side opposite the Square leads you to the Barcelona Zoo. It is an excellent example of an urban zoological park, with a fine collection and evident concern for education on the environment and species conservation.
Barcelona is also Much, Much, More
This is just a sampling of what I saw wandering the streets of Barcelona. Of course, there is much more to this city than I could possibly see in a few hours. And I saw far more than I can describe in a single article, but I hope this has given you a taste, and whetted your appetite for more.