from my journal 7/16/04

My first two trips in the city indicated that this is a european capital city like any other -- a multicolored and efficient subway system, big department stores, a crowded train station, a sleek airport.  I felt like I´d been here before.
 
But on my third trip out, having finished my tiring and stressful errands, my eyes were open a little wider and the city rewarded me.  In some sections the streets are narrow and medieval, so that you can´t see more than a block in front of you, but the hills that the city is built upon afford unlikely vistas.