So much to be updated, such a lack of internet connection!

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Alright. I had just typed up a whole big blog and then the internet shut down for no reason. So frustrating! Letś try this again...

We are currently in Badalona, Barcelona, a somewhat smaller fishing town just outside of the city. We have spent about 4 or 5 days here in Barcelona so far - the days are all blending together so I apologize. Our first night we stayed in a hostel off of the main street in the city, La Ramblas. We were desperate for a place to stay, so we just picked this place because it was the cheapest and it got quite a lot of good reviews. Well, our experience there was not so great. After waiting ages to check in, we went up to our room only to be greeted by a 60 or 70something year old lady. Warning 1. She seemed alright at first, but we slowly started to realize that she was pretty much crazy. Or as I like to say, ´cray cray´. She apparently was a victim of Katrina (who really knows), had grown up in Detroit, lived in Seattle for many years, lived in New Orleans, Hawaii, 20 yrs in Barcelona, Madrid, and all of these other places. Well, 2nd warning, she had about 8 different types of suitcases and boxes and whatnot. Great, we were living temporarily with a travel hoarder! On top of that, she said she had suitcases in a pension down the road, and 2 other hostels had her crap. At this point Sasha left to take a shower, leaving me to deal with this crazy lady. She then proceeded to take off her dress thing and parade around in underwear that a 60-70 yr old should definitely NOT be wearing...Lucky for Sasha, she did not witness the hot pink and black thong that I had unfortunately been exposed to. That was definitely warning 3. Also, did I mention she took 50 cents from me? This was about 20min after she told us she was the most trustworthy person...This lady kinda creeped me out besides the fact that she was quite...different. I dunno if it was just my imagination running wild or what but to me, she was a cross of Gollum and one of those crazy old ladies from a horror movie. That night, after we got back from a late dinner, she was asleep in her bowl of take out Chinese which stunk up the room, and we were both ready to peace out of this joint. We both went to bed quite uncomfortably, Sasha on the top bunk sank down so low she was afraid she was going to fall thru! I on the other hand was still creeped out by the old lady and kept thinking she was going to be standing over me. At one point, I think she got up to go to the bathroom, but she sat down on my bed and royally freaked me out! Finally morning came, and we hurridly left before she awoke.

We ended up at another hostel outside of the city, that was known for itś laid back atmosphere and quiet neighborhood. After we settled in, we decided to get out and explore the city. We went to Parc Guell and walked around quite a bit, looking at the different Gaudi architecture. We also went to Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral, one of the most impressive pieces of construction I have seen so far! It was quite a hot day, so we were happy to head back and relax. We ended up being old and staying in that night.

The next day, we both were keen to go to the beach so we headed to one of the main beaches, Barcelonta. While we were excited to be there and see the coast, our trip was hindered by the wafting sewer smell that constantly kept up. Needless to say we didnt stay in the water that long. Though we both did pass out on the beach which was such a nice feeling. Not sunburnt yet!

We decided that we were going to go out that night, so we had bought tickets to this one place from a club promoter. It promised transporation from the city to the venue, and a free long drink and shot. Sounded like a good deal so we decided to go! Well, we left the hostel around midnight and got into the city and waited for what seemed like ages for the coach to take us to the venue. The music was from Ministry of Sound (electo type music, somewhat mindnumbing at times). We had fun, but we were also the only sober people there, so we got our free drinks and tried to enjoy the music, though the DJ was not doing a very good job. Also, everyone we talked to was about 21 which made us feel old so that was kind of a downer lol. We ended up dancing until about 5:45 in the morning, and then headed back on the coach into the city, where we got the metro back to the town we were in Horta, but then had to wait for the buses that apparently were not coming. We had to hail a taxi back, but luckily the ride was only about 4min away. We finally rolled into our hostel around 6:30-7am and slept until 10. We then had to check out of the hostel that morning and find somewhere else to stay. Did I mention the scatterbrained lady at reception never charged us for our 2nd night? Score! We got out of there pretty fast...

The past two days we have been at a really nice hostel, better than the previous one that is located 5min away from the beach! After checking in, we went back into the city to a different beach, Nova Marabell Beach (I think that is what it is called) where we were meeting up with another couchsurfer and his friend. Clearly he didnt read Sashas profile, he thought she was from Barcelona and living here...quite the opposite. We just happened to spot them at the beach, checked our stuff into a locker and headed to the water! Our walk to the beach had quite a sewage smell, so we werent too thrilled about that, but this beach ended up being way better! It actually had big massive waves! Definitely swallowed way too much saltwater, but we had a blast and stayed in for quite a long time. Wayyy better than the first beach! The two guys were only in Barcelona for 2 days and were from India and traveling around. The guy who contacted Sasha was somewhat creepy towards her, kept saying óh you know this is a nude beach, which it was, and trying to hold her hand in the water. Cracked me up 😊

Well the guys had to leave to go on a Gaudi tour, which I am positive they missed, because they came back to the beach to try and find us but we had magically disappeared/hidden/left to go get some lunch. We then went back to lay out in the sun, where we once again fell asleep. We woke up and it was about 7pm! Lucky for me, still no burns, though I am a little bit darker. Definitely not as intense as it was in Australia though.

Once we headed back to the hostel, we made a delicious dinner of couscous with tomato, onion, baby corn in vinegar, and curry powder - we were experimenting - and it turned out delicious! The next day (Monday) we got up and went into the city to do a walking tour of the Barri Gothic area. We were to meet at another hostel that was part of this chain that we are at. Well, we stopped to have some lunch and split a jug of Sangria (yummm) so we were feeling pretty relaxed by the time we got to the hostel. The tour started at 2:30 so it was quite hot out but it was really interesting to hear what our Irish guide had to say about the city. I didnt realize Barcelona was influenced so much by the Romans! Or that it was in a dictatorship until the mid 1970s! We also saw a piece of graffiti by Space Invader that was put up on the side of the building. I thought that was really cool because in my hip hop culture class we did a whole section on graffiti, and itś actually quite an interesting topic to learn about.

After our 2 hr tour, we decided to head back to the hostel and try and use the internet cafe nearby. Well that was a complete waste of time. It was beyond chaotic, and every time you opened a window the whole thing would freeze. I was about ready to drop kick the computer. We stayed long enough to print off our festival tickets, then we headed to the grocery to get some stuff for dinner to add to the leftover couscous. We ended up having a tuna/couscous/curry powder/cheese meal. Also we a slice of gouda that we split between us. Sasha was able to enjoy some cheap boxed wine (her favorite lol), and it was a relaxing way to end a busy day. We both went to bed around 11 or so, so it was an early night.

We have since booked our train to Benicassim from Barcelona and are passing the time today (Tues) until we need to head out. We were going to check out the local beach nearby but we both got distracted by the free internet that was finally available in the hostel. It is almost noon now and we should leave around 3. We were hoping to wake up at 8, but we both woke up at 10 and check out was at 11.

We are definitely looking forward to this festival. I have never been to a big festival like this so it is going to be quite a new experience for me! They are expecting around 50,000 to 60,000 people at the venue, so I am sure it is going to be a pretty epic experience. With acts like Bob Dylan, Florence and the Machine, The Stone Roses, David Guetta, Ed Sheeran, Jesse J, Dizzie Rascal and 80+ others I am not surprised 😊

http://www.fiberfib.com has the complete lineup

Well, I suppose I should probably get off of here or at least look up some more couchsurfing people for us in our other destinations. I also need to get another memory card for my camera. I guess it has reached its max at about 1700! With a lack of memory card readers I cant really delete the photos. Will try and post photos again but it probably wont be until after the festival. In the meantime, google Sagrada Familia, Gaudi, Parc Guell, and the Benicassim Festival! 😊 😊

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