BARCELONA

---

So. I returned from Barcelona yesterday around 1:30 and proceeded to go to bed at 5pm and wake up this morning at about 7:30. It was awesome. I had to catch up on sleep since Barcelona and Spain overall are known for being cities that don't really sleep. I got to witness that this past weekend. The adventured commenced at about 6:45am last Thursday AM. I got to ride the tram to the train station with my big backpack and see the drunk bums drinking their morning alcohol and mumbling incoherently. Typical of the Montpellier bum in fact. We rode 4 hrs on the train and had our passports checked by scary Spanish Policia. No problems, except with our friend Jon. They talked really quickly in Spanish to each other and took his away and then came back and returned it to him, and we had no idea why. In another car they took some guy off the train because his passport didn't look real or something, so that held us up for a while. We got to Barcelona around 1 and found the hostel. I traveled with my UNC friends Anita, Bevin and Jon, and we met up with Anita's boyfriend Max and his two friends Amy and Erin. They are all studying in Istanbul and are UNC kids too. Anyway, the hostel was really nice and lively and Spanish. The rooms were typical with bunkbeds, a shared shower and bathroom, etc. Standard hostel quality. The lobby had free internet, and couches and cool murals and they played lots of reggae music ( at least when the old dreadlocked guy was at the front desk) and other random spanish music. It was really fun. The hostel was on a street right off of this big street called La Rambla in the old part of the city, so we had a great location. The only problem was that on the way to the big crowed street there wer lots of cirty sketchy people. The policia made rounds often though. Max and his friends didn't arrive until later so we went and found Max and Anita's hotel, and then wandered around the city a bit. We saw an old church in Barri Gotic, a neighborhood, and sat at a café for awhile, and went to H&M ( i managed NOT to buy anything) and later on we rested and found a nice restaurant for dinner. When we got back to the hostel, we waited around for Max and his friends. they didn't get there until 12:30am I think. By the time everyone got money ( they didn't have any euros) and paid and got settled it was 1:30 or so. and we all went to bed because everyone was exhausted. I got up around 8 and went to take advantage of the free breakfast that the hostel provides. Lots of bread, and cereal. I almost couldn't walk after I ate and remained uncomfortably full for most of the day. Everyone else got up and we left to meet Max and Anita around 11:30. We went to the Picasso Museum for a few hours which was really neat. There was a temporary exhibit of sketches that focused a lot on the circus and its charaters because at that time he was living in paris and really liked circus folk I guess. The layout of the museum was cool because it went chronologically and you got to see all the different phases of his life and the work that corresponded with it. the majority of the art wasn't actually from the cubist era, which is what most people think of when they think Picasso. Of course we got to see lots of cubist stuff too, but also things like his blue periood and his pink period. We were there for several hours. Afterward we found a lunch put called sandwhich friends or something, so naturally we had to eat at such a friendly place. After lunch we wandered around the Barri gotic neighborhood again, and then the group split up. Bevin and I walked around the city and everyone else went to the aquarium. I didn't really want to pay 13 euro for it, and neither did bevin, so the tw of us got a coffee and oriented ourselves, then walked up through the city and stumbled upon some of Antoni Gaudi's well known buildings. They were very cool. Lots of funky shapes and colors- almost like something out of a Dr. Suess Book. I would like to know more about him. It was great just to walk around because we felt like we stumbled across the heart of Barcelona where the actual residents go, as opposed to La Rambla, which is full of tourists. Bevin and I ended up buying food for dinner because everyone else was doing their own thing. A surprising number of people cooked their food at the hostel, which is so much cheaper than going out to eat every night. We met lots of random people just by talking in the common area. We had a 6 person room, and our group took up 5 of the spaces. The first night some guy named Dimitri from Canada/Greece was there, but the rest of the time was this Brazillian guy Marcello who was traveling around fro a month after working in Croatia before heading back to school in Brazil. He was very nice. Now, when I mentioned that Barcelona is a city that never sleeps, i'm referring to dinner starting at 9 at the earliest, and going out to clubs at around1-2 at the earliest. Now, jon had a friend who lives in barcelona, and she gave us tickets to get in free to this club, so Friday night we went out around midnight to a little dive bar before going to the club. We got to the club Paloma ( I think) around 1:45 and it was awesome. Its housed inside this old theater, but the seats had been removed in the middle for a dance floor with a stage at one end. along the sides on the downstairs and upstairs were plush red velvet booth/tables. The ceiling was ornate and had a huge chandelier. there were bars in three of the four corners. It was the most random thing I had ever been to. Unfortunately, it was guest DJ night and they only played Techno, which i get so bored of dancing to. The engy was crazy- definitely a typical Barcelona night I think. We got back to the hostel around 4. I got up at 9 because i didn't want to miss breakfast. Everyone met up around 12 and we went to Sagrada Familia- the famous unfinished church that gaudi started to build in the 19th century. We walked around inside and saw all the scaffolding and supplies. It is very inconsistent in terms of style. One outside facade looks very modern, some towers have fruit on top, one side looks like its melting or something. Its insane. Some people went up the tower to get a view, but the line lasted way too long so I didn't go. They say it wil be finished in 20 years, but who knows. I mean, its open all the time ( except night I supposed) but who has actually seen workmen there? I'd like to take a pole. I just don't think it will be as much of a tourist trap when its finished. What fun is that- a finished church? Ok, so i'm slightly kidding, but think about. when do they actually work. I'm going to go back in 20 years and see what has changed. So, that took awhile. The group divided again, because some people wanted to see more Gaudi and bevin and I had already seen the buildings, and we wanted lunch and they didn't so, we split up. It was so nice not to feel chained to each other. When you travel in a big group you have the freedom to divide, but when its just 3 people ( like in Lyon) we all had to agree on where to go, what to do, where to eat and it gets tiring. Bevin and I ate a late lunch, then walked around, bought food for dinner, and napped. We all met up to go on the Pub Crawl that the hostel was part of around 9:30. It was nice because you paid a flat rate, and they hoarded us around and told us where to go which was easier than wandering around the city finding a fun place. We had sangria ( oh so Spanish), etc. We ended up going to 4 bars and ended up at a nightclub that was in the mall by the port. So Random. It was cool because the abrs all ahd very different vibes and crowds. The nightblub was insane. Tons of neon lights and a mix of spanish crazy dance music and some american hip hop. Quite typical for Barcelona I think. IT was really fun, and nice to have a big group to hang out with. We didn't run into any sketchy people. Unfortunately i had developed a little but of "tavellers tummy" which made it hard to have the energy to dance a lot, so bevin and i left at 3:30- SO LAME of us compared to the spaniards. The rest of the group came back shortly after. Oh i forgot to mention that our friend marcello joined us when we went out. He was so nice. I love meeting other travelers and hearing their stories. I always asked people at the hostel why they were there and what they are doing in Europe, etc. So, Sunday, everyone was tired from continuous lack of sleep, so we went on a bus tour of the city. It was 18 euro and you get to get on and off at whatever stop you want. We rode up to park guell, which is a big Gaudi place. lots of sculpture mixed with nature paths- very neat. My travellers tummy persisted though. It was nice, because after walking around on that, we didn't get back off the bus except to change lines, and at the end of the tour. We would never have been able to see all the outlying parts of Barcelona ( olympic park, royal palace, random monestary, the port) in just one day using the metro/bus system. It was worth the money, especially since we sat on the open-air top. luckily the weather was nice and mild. After that, we sat down for some Barcelona hot chocolate. They are famous for it- essentially its just melted chocolate- a lot thicker than "normal" hot chocolate. I didn't have any though. travellers tummy. So, after that we split from Anita and Max so that they could have a romantic dinner, and Jon, Amy, erin and I went out for Tapas. ( Bevin had left earlier in the day). I only ordered one for myself since I was feeling bad, but the other 3 ate Spanish style with about 9 dishes to share between them- everything from squid, to some sausage thing, to avacado and shrimp, and dessert and sangria. I wouldn't have eaten many of the dishes anyway, so I jsut got asparagus. Jon met up with his friend and I went back to the hostel with Amy and Erin. I went to bed, and they all went to a nearby bar around midnight. We got up early and left for the trainstation around 7am. The train left at 8:45 and I sort of slept on it. Now i'm back in Montpellier, well rested, excited for the holidays and going home in a month! We are going to have a substitute thanksgiving meal on Thursday at a restaurant. Not sure what will be on the menu, but hopefully it will be somewhat traditional. I don't want lamb and beef and duck and goat cheese and smelly blue cheese and stuff like that for MY meal. So, that's all for now. I'll be home before you all know it!

---

Comments

[Mom]

The best entry yet!
Bitsy: I laughed out loud several times when reading your delightful account of Barcelona - what can I say? It was so "Bitsy-oid." Glad you had fun. Hope you have a nice Thanksgiving Dinner - just think: one month from today you will be back home in the USA for Christmas! We can't wait!