Poop. I realize that many of you, if not all of you, weren’t expecting this topic on my blog today. I should be clear, I want to talk about poop and Barcelona. Several years ago, we spent a fantastic week in Barcelona (if you haven’t been, you should go!). On our last full day we were a bit tired so we spent the afternoon on La Rambla enjoying some sangria and paella.
Shortly after we finished our meals, a young couple sat at the table next to us. The man looked peeved. I assumed that they were in the midst of a lover’s quarrel and decided to suffer through a quiet, but tense lunch. An artist approached their table and obviously didn’t notice the mood of the couple. He started making a cutout of the young woman. When he finished, he asked the man to pay for the piece of art. The man refused. The artist crushed his work and threw it in the trash before storming off.
About this time, another man with a large dog walked by our tables. The man seemed to be in a hurry or pretended not to notice that his dog was pooping. Maybe he didn’t have a bag and thought ignoring it would be the best solution. For those of you who haven’t been to La Rambla, it’s a busy place.
A few seconds after the dog and owner left, someone stepped in it. I know it isn’t kind, but the better half and I started laughing. I’ve been the victim of careless dog owners so I understand how much it sucks to step in it. Let’s face it, it’s funny to watch someone’s reaction when they step in dog poop.
Soon there was another victim and then another. That’s when I realized that the couple next to us was laughing. They noticed that we were also enjoying the scene and all of us started talking, when we weren’t chuckling. As it turned out, they were brother and sister. And they weren’t fighting. They had just arrived from Australia and were exhausted. The guy commented, “Why did that artist think I’d want a cutout of my sister!” To be fair to the artist, the siblings didn’t look anything alike and I assumed they were a couple. I didn’t mention this of course.
We talked with the siblings for about an hour and then all of us went on our merry way. I never thought I would have a bonding experience with strangers because of poop, but it happened. Traveling constantly offers me weird opportunities and I find myself laughing quite a bit on my trips.
Some random photos of La Rambla that have nothing to do with the story.
50 Year Project 
Great story!
Thanks Lindy.
Poop always makes me laugh. Any kind of poop. Why just yesterday I almost stepped in some deer poop (most likely from Doe Re Mi) when I was refilling bird feeders and it made me laugh. Fortunately I spied the little round pile before I stepped!!! Who would have thought bonding could come over poop but then I did write a post once complete with a picture of the types of poop……..
I’ll have to check out that post! It rings a bell.
This is hilarious. Thanks to the poop, you gained some friends! Hahaha!
It’s amazing what can start a friendship.
I would have laughed too 😉 It s so mean when they don’t pick the poop of their dogs up & you step in it..But do you know what is even funnier? A dog that steps in his own poop..Spike did it the second day we had him & his face made me smile all day..A mix of..”Ewwwww!!!” & “Stop laughing mommy, go & help me!!” 😀
Ah, poor Spike. I don’t think Miles would notice if he did that.
Brilliant post about my lovely city! lol
Thanks. I agree, your city is lovely and I would love to go back.
I laughed while I was reading, great story 🙂
Too bad you weren’t there, I bet you would laugh even harder.
Ha, I wondered where you were going with that story for a moment. Very funny.
Lynn 😀
I worried about people not reading since it is about poop.
Lovely experience. Shows how Poop can bond. I also hate people who don’t pick it up. Who do they think will clean it up?
That’s a good question. I see people not pick up after their dogs here all of the time and it infuriates me, but I never say anything. and I hate when they leave other trash as well.
Yes, in SA it is always dirty and messy. Here in NZ it is much better but you still get some people who don’t care
“Traveling constantly offers me weird opportunities and I find myself laughing quite a bit on my trips “. I totally agree with you. Great story
Thanks! Traveling has opened my eyes in many different ways.
And who knew one day it would be a blog post? The icing on the poo, so to speak, would be Freshly Pressed!
Freshly Pressed Poo. I should have used that as the title.
LOL!!!!! Awesome story! (does that make us terrible people to laugh at someone else’s expense?)
I think it’s human nature to laugh…still not sure if that makes us terrible. But it’s good to hear that I’m not alone.
huahaha that’s very funny…I know it’s a bit sad for the victim but the watcher always think its funny 😉
Sometimes, poop story can be funny.
I feel for the victims since I’ve been there, but watching them is priceless.
So very Barcelona! I can picture the story as if I was there… I was born there and have lived a few of these myself! Great place to sit down and watch people’s reactions! Thanks for this! Teresa
Your birthplace is one of the loveliest places I’ve been to. We often talk of retiring there. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. Barcelona is a great people watching city 🙂
We also often think about retiring there!! You never know where life will take you though, but would certainly love sitting in one of the little streets and watch all the action unfold. 🙂 Thank you for sharing its magic with the world, Teresa
I never knew I would live in London and now I do. Life, always has a new challenge waiting for us. Thanks Teresa.
At the beginning of Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter we see people step in dog poop and since the movie starts in Paris everyone knew wht he wanted to say with this. Paris is officially the city with the most dogs and famous for the amount of poop in some streets.
No wonder. In Switzerland you get a 80$ fine if you leave your dog’s stuff on the floor plus you pay cummulative dog tax. 1 dog 350$ per year, 2 dogs 350$ for dog 1 700 for dog two, dog three would cost 1400 I think. Souns cruel but it’s less cruel than some people who cannot afford it owning 5 or more dogs (frequent in Paris – in tiny flats!)
OK – that was my poopish story. 🙂
I was surprised how dirty Paris is and no one picks up after their dogs. It’s bad in my neighborhood in London, but not as bad as Paris. The fees do seem steep to have a dog, but you are also correct that some people “collect” animals and don’t care for them. It’s hard to find a middle ground that works for all. Thanks for the info. I love learning about customs and laws in different areas.
Aww, so good to see Barcelona! We went there on our honeymoon and spent a lot of time on La Ramblas. No dog doo, though! 🙂
Barcelona is one of my favorite cities. What a great place for a honeymoon 🙂
We also went to Madrid (a fave) Toledo and Sevilla.
I hope to go back to enjoy those cities. I loved Spain and the feel of Spain.
LOL! Yes, working on a farm, I get to step in poop quite often – and the size of it is very different from dog poop, believe you me… 🙂
I can only imagine. I’ve always been a city girl, so I’m not sure I would like to step in poop once, let alone often 🙂
How weird is this going to sound – you get used to it! 😀
I understand. I know many people who grew up on farms and they all tell me that. I might be an exception though.
Yes, a different posting for you…poop…lol…but it still made me laugh!
What a great story!
I still laugh over this story. I wish you could have seen all the faces after they stepped in it. No two reactions were the same, but all were priceless.