Barcelona!!

9/30/2013

Day 1 in Barcelona: It never ended!! We arrived yesterday about 12 noon. The first day seems to be the worst day as far as gathering metro and city maps, getting lost, etc... It was on the long train ride that we met Simon, a 34 year old guy from Australia literally on a tour of the world!

He is absolutely hilarious!! He ended up following us to our hostel, bunked in the same room, and took us out on the town last night in typical Aussie fashion. As I sit here writing this on the lower bunk bed, I am the only girl, with 3 hungover sweaty men surrounding me. Words cannot describe the smell or sounds coming from this room. Ugh!! And did I mention it is 85 degrees in here??

Back to yesterday, after having a street hamburger (which I do not recommend) we walked to the Monte Juic Castles. During the entire walk, we were surrounded by an absolutely stunning view of the Mediterranean Sea as well as a picturesque panorama of Barcelona. The following pics are just a few of the sights along the way to get to the top.

The first thing I noticed about Spain is how nice and friendly the people are and it is much more casual and laid back than Paris. I don't feel as though I'm in another country. I feel semi-"at home" here.

We picked up some cervezas at a la tienda, we went back to the hostel to chill, and finally we were able to shower after almost 2 days of not being able to. It sure felt good after a hilly, steep 5 mile walk in the 80 degree weather. I am quickly finding out, I did not pack appropriately for this trip.  It has been 75-80, and I packed for 50-60s. Don't get me wrong, I would rather sweat than freeze, but it makes showering all that more crucial and unfortunately makes sharing a bathroom with 4-8 other people a little bit more unbearable. But... it's all part of the journey :)

The agenda for the night was to grab dinner and go to a 10:30 Flamenco show. Lets just say, we made it as far as dinner. We stopped at a Mexican place and the Viking/Steeler game was on tv.

The owners were sitting next to us, chit chatting, having beers, and the next thing we know, we are in the City Center shooting a sling shot toy up on the air. Simon joined in on the fun and was actually the instigator of it all.

From there, we went to Cheers, an Irish Pub, with live music. My Favorite!! Simon and I were going to stay for one mojito. Well...1 turned into 2, as it always does.

On our walk back to the hostel, we stopped in to say hello to our new friends at the Mexican place. After a little salsa dancing, bar games, and some clubbing we decided to call it a night.

Wait just a minute... where are we? Where's our hostel? We are lost! After hailing a cab, we finally arrived home at 0600!! Ugh. We tried to stay awake for our free hostel breakfast at 0800, but passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

Day 2: After waking up at 1 pm (pathetic!) we decided on a beach day. I'm now sitting at the beach, admiring it's pure beauty. Oh how I miss Hawaii. Of course it's a nude beach, tons of beautiful, topless women everywhere! I've never gone topless myself. Although I should... Nah, I'm saving that one for my honeymoon.

Once again, plans were to go to a flamenco show, grab a late dinner, and go to bed early. That all changed when we stopped for "live music" on the 2nd level overlooking the streets of Barcelona. Many of the bars here give you a free shot when you buy a beer. That is just dangerous!! We met 2 girls from Germany, Ines and Veronica, who have made me super excited about going to Germany. They were SO much fun!!

We bought hats, roses, rings, pizza, chanted, sang, mojitos, more beers... I did pass on going to the club with them, but still managed to not get home until 0300!! I haven't been this crazy since college!! I am definitely setting my alarm for 0900, so I can make the free breakfast. Gotta save money where I can! Pretty funny that free coffee,  and all the bread and nutella one can eat has me setting my alarm, but free is free! I have a feeling I am gonna fall over dead when I get home and see my credit card bill. $200 US dollars converts to 120E. Plus things are much more expensive than I thought they would be. Oh well, we only live once. Might as well live it up while I am here.

I am blessed to be living my dream. Good night!!

10/1/2013

Woke up in time for breakfast. I was quite pleasantly surprised!! Bottomless coffee, toast, and the best strawberry marmalade I've ever eaten. Took a quick siesta and then walked to Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Sagrada Familia is a huge cathedreal which is still under construction.

The park was beyond beautiful. It had castles that looked like Gingerbread houses and the best panoramic view of the city. After a very steep walk, we finally reached the top of the cliff. I could've sat there all day, drank wine, had a picnic, stared at the beautiful scene, and just chatted life.

I met a lady from California, Julia, who I invited along. She was traveling alone and was a great resource and company. I think that's what is so cool about backpacking Europe. You meet people from all walks of life, spend the day wandering around together, share life stories, and carry on. Such a cool experience, I wish my friends and I would do this back home.

After another full day of being a tourist, I am calling it a night.  I don't think I have had more than 4 hours a sleep since leaving America. Hoping for a blessed evening of relaxation and rest.

4 words to describe Spain:
1) Friendly
2)Fiesta!!
3) Beautiful
4) Laid back

10/2/13 Wednesday

Woke up today to no travel buddy, no way of charging my phone or camera, Simon, and some other bunk mate. My travel buddy left with no word this morning. Oh boy!! Problem is: we have no way to communicate with one another and are supposed to be leaving on the train super early tomorrow morning. And he has our joint Eurorail pass. I was a bit worried that I may be stranded in Barcelona: a mixture of feeling completely scared and completely free.

Instead of sitting around and fretting about it, Simon and I decided to spend the day wandering around the city, through parks, no maps, just conversation and curiosity led the way. It was a perfect day spent taking acrobatic pictures, great conversation, afternoon beers, lots of laughter, and the beach: basically a perfect day in Barcelona.

As I sit here in the hostel commons on my last night in Barcelona, I am feeling grateful for the kind people life throws your way when you need it most, how happy and alive I feel when I am sitting on a cliff overlooking a beautiful city, engaged in a life conversation. While sipping on wine out of a dixie cup, I begin to wonder if maybe I really am a gypsy soul? All I know is this is what life is all about. Exploring this amazing world, meeting all the wonderful people, and sharing their culture in each of their cities.

Regardless of the issues with my travel buddy, I am still living my dream. Tomorrow, we (or maybe just me) catch a flight to Nice, France. As much as I am falling in love with Barcelona, it is time to venture on. Now off to finish my bottle of wine and pack!! Just met 6 people in my hostel who are cooking an authentic Moroccan meal and asked me to join. I think packing can wait!! I LOVE EUROPE!!

Naturally, I contributed pizza :)

Next morning: It turns out that scrumptious Moroccan meal made with the "special herbs and spices" was laced with marijuana!! That would explain the warm, fuzzy feeling I was suddenly overtaken by. Sure made packing more fun.