The Beginning

Barcelona's beginnings, like those of so many cities, are a trifle murky. Romantic historians propose there are two explanations for how the city got its name:
(this is cribbed off Wikipedia)
1. In a condensed form - deriving from the name of Carthinagean general, Hamilcar Barca, who founded the city in 230 BC.
2. The explanation I much prefer - and which seems so much less likely - but so much more lovely: another historian attributes the foundation not to the boring old general, but to Hercules, some 400 years before the foundation of Rome. During the fourth of his labours, Hercules joins up with Jason and the Argonauts, in search of the Golden Fleece, travelling across the Mediterranean in nine ships. One of the ships is lost in a storm off the Catalan Coast, and Hercules sets out to locate it. He finds it wrecked by a small hill, but with crew saved. The crew were so taken by the beauty of the location (apparently unruffled by coming so close to disaster..)that they founded a city with the name Barca Nona ("The ninth ship").

This is also my beginning in Barcelona - I've been here three weeks so far and at the moment everything seems so very exciting. So this is is going to be an entirely self indulgent account of my time here..sorry. But then surely that's the very point of blogs? Self-indulgence? Hmmh.

Flatmate's got his piercing whistle on, making it entirely impossible to concentrate...so more later.