[mycleverid]

Tonight was my first night out in Barcelona. Operating on the general theory that Sunday sucks in Europe, I didn't go out fully loaded for bear, but instead just wanted to get a feel for the city.

Once again, I crashed hard after my flight. I did this in Prague after Paris, too.

I'm down right in Las Ramblas, and issue #1 about Barcelona is obvious. Every third motherfucker near Las Ramblas is propositioning you something. Rolex, weed, cocaine, pussy, man-pussy, cold beer, water (those last two I respect), go this club not that club, etc, etc, etc.

All I can pray is that whatever respiratory illness I contracted in Prague is now seeping into these motherfuckers and ruining their morning as I type.

Seriously, could the cops in Barcelona please arrest just one fucking panhandler? No, they arrest the hookers, who frankly are the least aggressive when you tell them to fuck off.

Grr . . . anyhoo . . . fucking tourist trap fucking Ramblas.

So, after a hike of Paris Death March proportions past the godlessly large marina, I finally made my way to the beach near Barceloneta around 1am.

for the most part, the beach itself was dead. Police were clearing people out while the sand and beer cans got the zamboni treatment.

Walking back, I noticed a lot of open air bars were open for Sunday in Europe. I wasn't feeling game for game, so I didn't go game. Somehow hacking the last couple ounces of phlegm from Prague onto some big brown-eyed Barcelona girl just didn't seem the thing to do.

Instead, I walked up the beach, consumed my first gelatto ever (not sure about sweet ice cream) and kept ongoing. Rescued a poor fat white girl from a rather insistent black Brazilian guy who clearly is a fan of cavemanning. Kinda gamed a couple black girls who were doing the beach hippie thing with some musical friends.

Coming back past the marina I walked past a pair of girls who were sitting on a bench. By this point, like 3:30am, no one is out. Caught my favorite vocab words as I walked past: low whispers of "es guapo". Probably should have followed up, but I was in full sickly death march mode and just wanted to find some hot food and a drink.

Collected my food. Got propositioned by a transvestite hooker. 20 Eur and I could have gotten a blow and touched her dick. Told her what I tell all prostitutes: "What fun is there in paying for it?"

Back to hotel. Eat, business . . . now typing.

Signs are looking hopeful. Please gawd grant me the clarity of lungs to party this town as hard as I did Paris and Prague.

[thegmanifesto]

mycleverid -

Barcelona rule #1:

Avoid Las Ramblas.

If you are staying there, get out.

Rule #2:

Read my Data Sheets.

They are from May of last year, but they should still put you in the right direction.

[iknowexactly]

Drink a lot of fluids-not alcohol, it reduces immune function. A REAL lot, like a glass per hour. You've got to clean that respiratory system out as you defeat the infection. Try to sleep more.

Thanks for the strange but evocative report.

[Dash Global]

I have the impression Spain is hard to pull ONS. (in comparison to south america)

What you think of that statement?

[Gunner]

(09-05-2011 09:37 AM)Dash Global Wrote:  

I have the impression Spain is hard to pull ONS. (in comparison to south america)

What you think of that statement?

Agree.

[mycleverid]

(09-05-2011 09:17 AM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

Drink a lot of fluids-not alcohol, it reduces immune function. A REAL lot, like a glass per hour.

Ack. The water here is all piss warm. And apparently proper ice chests were outlawed in Barcelona, because everything is an open-air freezer case setup. So even the store-bought drinks are cool, not cold.

@dash: Vocab question: ONS? What is ONS?

@g: I was warned by a lot of folks. But, proximity to metro lines is my bread and butter when I travel.

Also, to be honest, I didn't think Las Ramblas would be this bad. Everyone warns you about all kinds of shit in Europe, and invariably the reports are worse than the ground truth. Las Ramblas are probably worse than the reports reflect.

So, let's talk Catalan chick behavior . . .

When Catalan women make eyes at you, it's like junior high school. They sneak a glance and they look away almost the instant you catch them looking. What is this shit? I thought we were all adults here.

I suppose in a city with a real prostitution problem, sustained eye contact probably isn't a win for Catalan women.

Of course, after the land of Prague, where every woman apparently desires to be overtly raped, every woman I ever meet is going to seem conservative.

As for the girls themselves . . . a lot of cuties. A lot of real bruisers. Not that the bruisers are bad-looking. But, I could assemble several good women's rugby teams and a couple decent volleyball teams every time I go down the street here. If 5'10 160 is your thing, Barcelona might work for you. Not a lot of dainty women here (140 is about my limit, simple because there comes a point where it feels like wrestling with your brother).

I have four days. Any recommendations? While I like physical game, I tend to work my best game in cool, small clubs and bars.

[Dash Global]

ONS = One Night Stand

[thegmanifesto]

"@g: I was warned by a lot of folks. But, proximity to metro lines is my bread and butter when I travel."

I would still move.

The beauty of Barcelona is at most, no matter where you are you are only 5 blocks from a Subway stop.

It is literally impossible to be lost in that city.

'I suppose in a city with a real prostitution problem"

I think that may be overrated.

I was there for a month last year and can barely recall any hookers.

I remember more when I was there as a kid, but nothing more than normal.

I am not sure where "Barcelona has a prostitution epidemic" comes from.

Maybe some guy who visited from rural Utah.

That being said, a lot of those Utah girls go to work in Las Vegas.

[Dash Global]

What are the strip clubs like in Barcelona?

And can how hard is it to pull from them?

[Lumiere]

(09-05-2011 09:37 AM)Dash Global Wrote:  

I have the impression Spain is hard to pull ONS. (in comparison to south america)

It's not that hard in Madrid. Had a ONS there and turned another down on another night as I stupidly stuck with a chick that I met earlier that night that was not as hot.

Was not too impressed by the women in Barcelona compared to Madrid.

Go to the north of the city if you want to get into the richer Barca girl circles.

[Dash Global]

I find rich girls not to be too good in regards to ROI (given time constraints)

The south is poorer?

[Lumiere]

(09-05-2011 12:01 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

I find rich girls not to be too good in regards to ROI (given time constraints)

The south is poorer?

Yeah but good for social circle and getting into high end clubs and getting good contacts.

There is a large rich spanish clique that hangs in the northern part of the city.

They dont seem all that snobby however and if you are a cool guy you can get invited to a bunch of parties.

[thegmanifesto]

(09-05-2011 11:39 AM)Dash Global Wrote:  

What are the strip clubs like in Barcelona?

And can how hard is it to pull from them?

Never went. Can't even remember seeing too many.

"The south is poorer?'

Maybe. More working class and tourists. It is not like a "barrio" in Bogota or anything.

Barcelona has really been cleaned up. The old town used to be kind of sketchy years ago. Now it is full of "trendy" bars and restaurants.

Lumiere gives some good advice with:

"There is a large rich spanish clique that hangs in the northern part of the city.

They dont seem all that snobby however and if you are a cool guy you can get invited to a bunch of parties."

That basically the scene I infiltrated there.

The rich/fashion/modeling set.

[thegmanifesto]

Barcelona is the kind of city where you will get a lot of conflicting reports I have learned.

The hostel/Las Ramblas/going out at 8pm guy is going to expereience a very different Barcelona from the guy who is Custom Suited/eating at the sickest restaurants/hanging out with the fashion crowd/going out late at night guy.

The blogger "The Rookie" has some stories on his blog of the former.

I have some stories of the latter.

Like John Edwards said, "There are two Barcelonas"

[mycleverid]

OK, so in that regard Barcelona is not dissimilar from Paris. If you club between the Tower and Champs, you get that particular experience (awful). If you go deep into l'Opera and the Bourse and even the right parts of Bastille, you run into a much more local, more affluent crowd.

Clothes: I need a fucking tailor to take in all my clothes at this point. All this walking in Europe has been winnowing me down like nobody's business. I'm out of belt holes to work with. By the time I fly back to the US my ass is gonna be hanging out like an old rap video star. I'm kind of NFL big (260 at the start of the trip). I think I'm gonna be down to NHL big before this thing is over. I knew I was a bit pudgy over the muscles, but holy shit I didn't think I had this much to lose. The last time I was this thin was high school. I never really thought sub-200 was obtainable for my size, but . . . maybe so.

North in Barcelona? Where would that entail exactly? I look at the map and it's like a Midwestern city, just endless grids.

[Aliblahba]

@Mycleverid- Google "big and tall England". Some websites come up that should have your size on the shelf. It should be cheaper than a tailor. I highly recommend London for the diversity of women. IMO, it's the best city start your first Euro tour. Find which wimmenz you jive w/ and head to that country. For example, the Spanish chicks I met there convinced me that Spain wasn't worth going for pussy. France too. I can also recommend two great hostels w/ clubs. The drinks are cheap and chicks are all over the place. I pulled ass from both places.

Try a glass of Tinto Zamora if you find it. Great table wine.

[mycleverid]

A lot of folks this trip have recommended London. I have to admit, prior to this, London barely registered on my "go there" meter.

Barcelona's my return ticket come Friday, so I'm not going to wander off. I was thinking about maybe an Edinburgh/Scotland/London trip in the future.

With the stack of invites I have to work from, I believe my next trip outside the US is likely to be northern Brazil. I have a friend whose wife's family hails from somewhere vaguely in the north.

The counter-argument is that London flights are dirt cheap from the eastern US.

[mycleverid]

I pulled off my coolest approach FUCKING EVER!!!!

Not a Spanish flag. I apologize there. Still seeking the red and yellow bandera with two days left.

But, let's set the scene. I was out drinking at 3am at Opium Mar. Not really digging it because it took them forever to open the dancefloor and then it took forever for anyone to figure out the dance floor was open.

So I went out for air.

What should appear? These two Swedish girls go racing across the beach, tear off the dresses and underwear and dive into the Mediterranean.

I said to myself, fuck it. This is the night I'm going to be the coolest motherfucker on earth. If you can't approach two girls drunk, naked and dripping wet, when can you approach a girl, right?

I go over clapping and holler at them, as they're trying to get dressed, "That was awesome!"

We chat, they get dressed. The one girl, the shorter, less Swedish looking one says to me, "If you wanna see anything you gotta get in the water, too!" Oh, ho-ho-ho, motherfucker!!! (As a side note, I am almost 100% sure my lingering chest cold from Prague has progressed to full-fledge pneumonia.)

Play, relentless IOIs, conversation ensues. We walk up the beach and the conversation goes as fucking green light as you'll ever get. "Where are we going to eat?" "What hotel are you staying at?" "Wanna split a cab?"

I very well may die from this trip. But, should I die, I die knowing for one night I was at my top performance level for balls-out coolness and Game. My first threesome. Too cool.

[UKM]

So you got both these Swedes in the sack - for full action, my man?

[mycleverid]

(09-07-2011 03:01 AM)UKM Wrote:  

So you got both these Swedes in the sack - for full action, my man?

Only the short one was full-on. Funny thing is, she wasn't the one I really liked. But, she was far more aggressive.

That's an on-going European phenomenon I would love to figure out. In America, girls do a very good job of cutting out their aggressive friends. In Europe, everyone is so goddamned social that the most aggressive girl in the group invariably wins because no one will cut her out.

If there's one lesson from last night, it's the simple power of "see and do". I'm proud of myself because this was a huge leap for me. This was the kind of go-big approach I needed to validate everything I've been building.

[Wizard]

(09-07-2011 04:14 AM)mycleverid Wrote:  

(09-07-2011 03:01 AM)UKM Wrote:  

So you got both these Swedes in the sack - for full action, my man?

Only the short one was full-on. Funny thing is, she wasn't the one I really liked. But, she was far more aggressive.

That's an on-going European phenomenon I would love to figure out. In America, girls do a very good job of cutting out their aggressive friends. In Europe, everyone is so goddamned social that the most aggressive girl in the group invariably wins because no one will cut her out.

If there's one lesson from last night, it's the simple power of "see and do". I'm proud of myself because this was a huge leap for me. This was the kind of go-big approach I needed to validate everything I've been building.

I agree a threesome with two Swedes is a hell of a validation tool. Good job!

[mycleverid]

^ ^ ^

It's funny, because it was just the moment of Zen-like clarity.

I'm good at a lot of things. And what I've found is those things I'm good at, when I finally start peaking, I have that natural, clear, effortless intuition about exactly how to go from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible.

This was that first moment with women that I ever had that. I have a good sense of what I'm doing, but I often trip over my own inner bullshit or I let sets evolve without steering them (see the Norwegian girl and politics story from my Paris thread) or I just fail to plow through hard enough (Prague).

Honestly? It feels like when you're learning to shoot a basketball or catch a football. You practice technique and you're watching your hands and your elbows and your feet. But, your not really good at it until you stop watching those things and instead just effortlessly get everything where it needs to be without trying.

Ah . . . so giddy. Of course, tonight will have hell trying to match last night.

[mycleverid]

Officially done with Barcelona and back in the states . . . my thoughts follow . . .

1. I'm sorry, but Barcelona is littered with hookers, beggars and drug dealers. I know g wants to defend a place he favors, but it needs to be noted that the main tourist areas are nightmarish for street-level crime being pushed hard.

Las Ramblas are awful with them. I got to the point I simply stopped looking at black women because every single one was a West African hooker and they were downright physical. I had to threaten to hit several to get them off me.

Same goes for all the beaches and the clubs nearby. Only, add West African drug dealers to the list of pushy people.

2. The entire beach area is rendered useless by the above. Traveling to Barcelona to enjoy the beach, especially the clubs there at night, is pointless.

3. If I do Barcelona again, and that's a big if, I would try to hew closer to g's advice.

4. Barcelona is a sweaty city even if it is 65 degrees out. Some areas are downright unlivable.

To be honest, I don't see the point of a seaside city where you can;t go to the sea. Barring a noted change in police enforcement against the street people, I am likely not doing Barcelona again.

[alb3]

(09-09-2011 11:14 PM)mycleverid Wrote:  

Officially done with Barcelona and back in the states . . . my thoughts follow . . .

1. I'm sorry, but Barcelona is littered with hookers, beggars and drug dealers. I know g wants to defend a place he favors, but it needs to be noted that the main tourist areas are nightmarish for street-level crime being pushed hard.

Las Ramblas are awful with them. I got to the point I simply stopped looking at black women because every single one was a West African hooker and they were downright physical. I had to threaten to hit several to get them off me.

Same goes for all the beaches and the clubs nearby. Only, add West African drug dealers to the list of pushy people.

2. The entire beach area is rendered useless by the above. Traveling to Barcelona to enjoy the beach, especially the clubs there at night, is pointless.

3. If I do Barcelona again, and that's a big if, I would try to hew closer to g's advice.

4. Barcelona is a sweaty city even if it is 65 degrees out. Some areas are downright unlivable.

To be honest, I don't see the point of a seaside city where you can;t go to the sea. Barring a noted change in police enforcement against the street people, I am likely not doing Barcelona again.

I got that impression of Barcelona as well. I spent a week there in July. Luckily for me I have some Colombian friends that live there and have been for the past 6 years, so they know the city very well. Was not impressed with Las Ramblas and many other areas of the city. That being said, since my Colombian friends know the city, they took me to the places practically void of tourist. Had a good time but it helped that I was with people that know the city. Also spent almost two weeks in Madrid the same trip. I preferred Madrid. More to do, a bit more of a sophisticated crowd, and not nearly the numbers of tourist (although there are many) but it's a different type of tourist.

[Pilgrim37]

I've been recommended Barcelona many times,but from your description ,and some travel correspondents I've read the authorities are allowing a beautiful city to be over run with street crime and illegal immigrants.
That's not what you want in the tourist areas of your city!
I live in London and they need to do something here too.
They need to wash it down!

Still want to visit sometime though.