Hello from sunny Palma!

Currently on the vintage train heading from Palma to Soller. Taking the day off from the conference, partly because we only got home from the gala at like 2am, so had a late start this morning. Thegala itself was kind of meh - we got there late and there wasn't a table for us, and the food was all meh. The view was spectaculor though, and the little dace party after was kind of fun.  To finish off Barcelona. After the cathedral, we had lunch at one of the buffets nearby - fun because there was a huge salad bar, refillable drinks, and also, I had gotten coupons for it waiting in line for tickets to Sagrada Familia. afterthay we wnt to Parc Guell, for the fantastic view and Gaudi's famous mosaic worth. We got off at one ofthe nearby metro stations, which is where everyone said to get off. It meantz.s walking up a hill thats only partly services by escalators, and then a fair walk to get to the more famous parts of the park. On our way back we discovered that there was a bus that pretty much went from really close to the fancy stuff to our hotel. Next time. After that, back to our room for a siesta and a quick shower, then off for dinner. We had been planning on just doing one of the restaurants down the street, but just kept walking, passin the plaza D'Espana and hitting the old city before grabbing food and coming back.  The most notable things about our second day in Barcelona was the weather and then the flight delay. In between, we visited the cathedral, passed through a Sunday market in the old city, and  during the worst part of the rain, ran from the port to the nearby maritime museum to dry up and get some shelter. Not to mention getting my dad boat themed souvenirs.  Our stay in Palma had been good so far. We ended up missing the game getting to our hotel, but had goals announced asthey happened on the plane, inthe airport and on the bus. We made it to out hotel just in time to join in the celebrations. Our hotel was kinda awesome. On a main street - intact closed of to cars for the game - but at the same time totally soundproof. After wandering around plaza Juan Carlos and Passeig born, we grabbed a pizza and called it a night.  The past two days in between conference activities - and the programming is ridicous, starting at 8:30, and me leaving at lunch means not leaving till 3:30 - we've managed to explore some f the old city and see the port. The welcome reception was in city hall, which was really impressive inside, and the gala I mentioned before was on the waterfront so all in all saw quite a bit. Still though - super excited for the day off, and being able to see outside of Palma. If we get to go to the beach even better.  ---- Posting now because heading to the airport soon to go home. Will write in the air, and post when I find wifi.