Barcelona has really hooked me. So much so that I have changed my itinerary so that I have a couple more days in Barcelona to see as much of the city as I can before I begin a three day travel binge that starts on Friday and will take me from Barcelona to Madrid to New York and finally to Los Angeles on Sunday. I’m scheduled to be at my desk at the office the day after I return and I will be there barring any unforeseen disasters. Suddenly I’m reminded Of some lyrics from a song by the Scottish folk singer Dougie Maclean,

I don’t know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
These last few days I’ve been afraid
That I might drift away

I do feel changed, but in a very interesting way. For a long time I had struggled to conform to a set of expectations that were not mine. I failed often and got little praise for succeeding. After a month on my own, setting my own agenda, doing what pleases me, seeing what excites me, passing on what bores me, traveling in a way that satisfies my soul and own sense of order, I’ve come to begin to learn that who I am and how I choose to live are are just fine. All one need do is stick with the people who accept you, and steer clear of those who do not. There are plenty of both.

The decision to extend my stay in Barcelona came after a visit to the Basilica de Sagrada Familia, a wondrous structure designed by Antoni Gaudi. If you know about Gaudi you know why I’ve stayed to see more of his work, and I won’t try to explain Gaudi because I have so very much to learn. If you’re interested in learning about him and his work Google him and prepare to be amazed. And if architecture and art are a snooze for you, then chalk up my change of plan to the caprice of a a man-child who just knocked a hole in the piñata of life and is making a dive for all the candy he can get.