Barcelona

The view from the 3rd floor terrace where I ate breakfast at the hostel.

The view from the beach, looking back at Barcelona.

You had to cross the train tracks to go into a tiny little store to buy the metro/train ticket back. If you look close you can see the people crossing before the next train arrives.


I crashed out pretty hard on the train, which was nice. We all laid around, not much choice since th beds stay down, and relaxed until the train pulled up. I've noticed that usually when a train pulls up to it's last stop it cuts the power or air conditioning or has an announcement saying we have arrived. Not this time, which left everyone a little confused. I saw a lot of people leaving and asked the sisters if this was our stop. They had no idea and when I stepped out of the room the people next door looked equally confused. I stepped outside and tracked down one of the porters and yes, this was our stop. Everyone started to roll out and I grabbed my bag to begin my hostel search.
Every time I go to a new city I try to track the hostel down first. Even if I can't check it yet it helps me to feel like I know where I am and helps me to orient myself. Luckily the website I've been using to hook hostels generates good directions and I've been able to find every place fairly easily so far (knocking on wood).
I was block from the hostel, yes I was being brave trying a hostel again but this time I booked a female room, and stopped into a cafe/bar. I ordered a coffee and a selection of super sweet pastries. They tasted like they had all been soaked in honey for the past two weeks. Thankfully the coffee was pretty bitter so the two items offset each other nicely. :) I sipped on coffee and wrote in my journal for the next hour. The radio was tuned to a station playing a lot of American music, which was nice...sort of like being home.
The waitress was young, probably in her early twenties. We talked but my broken Spanish and her limited English kept us from talking to much. We were able to talk about how long I'd been traveling and where I am from. A Pitbull song came on, "1,2,3,4. Uno, dos, tres, quatro..." and she started to sing along. It made me smile. Songs are catchy regardless of the language! I even caughther humming it later I started laughing and told her it was stuck in my head too.
I finally burned enough time and went to check in at the hostel. I paid and was about to go when she asked if I had any dollars on me. Of course! I traded a dollar for a euro (I'm totally getting the better end of this deal thanks to the weak US$!) and I gave her one of the new quarters. She looked excited and thanked me. This is this second time I've traded out currency with someone. It's fun to do and I will always bring extra dollars when I travel from now on!
I walked the block to th hostel and checked in. This place was much nicer than the last hostel and I was the only one who had checked in so far. AND there was Internet in the room!! I decided to stay put and catch up on blogs, phone calls, and let my feet and body recover. I was only in Barcelon for two days but was really comfortable and excited with my decision to rest.
I left the room twice that day. Once in search of glue. I've been keeping a journal and pasting ticket stubs and other stuff in it but ran out of glue (my bad for going with the skinny glue stick). I have been looking in grocery stores, pretty much since I reached Italy but havenet found anything yet. I went to the little mini mart across from the hostel to ask of they had glue. Describing glue when you don't know the word in Spanish or the word for sticky, is...entertaining. I think they thought I was crazy. And they also thought I was talking about food. The next store reacted the same way. I thought for sure that saying papel or libro and acting out the gluing motion (whatver that is!!!) would do the job. Defeated but thoroughly entertained, I returned to my room. I looked up the word on my phone, so I'm prepared for the next opportunity!
My next outing was in search of food. This area closed down pretty early on Saturday but I was able to stop into one place for some paella. The waiter (owner?) was great. Very polite and hooked me up! I wasn't very hungry so only ordered paella and a glass of white wine. An order of croquettes, olives, and two glasses of wine later my bill came, 13.50€. He hooked it up big time. The paella itself was 16€ on the menu!!! I walked to two blocks to the hostel and went to sleep; it was already midnight.
I woke up the next morning and had to check out of my hostel, but my train didn't leave until 6, so me and my backpack headed to the beach. The woman at the ticket counter directed me to the best beach so I took the metro/train over. When I got to the beach I had a plan in mind. My theft prevention system, my backpacks rain cover, was already activated so I threw my pack down on the sand and started to dig like I knew what I was doing. I dug out a hole and put my pack in. I turned my monster pack from an obstacle and obligation to a first class, padded lounge chair. I felt like a genius!!! I laid on the beach for the next 2-3 hours listening to music and This American Life podcasts. I watched people and enjoyed the view. I didn't go in the water though. It was too far from my bag and I didn't want to risk anything walking away. It was a great way to enjoy my last day in Barcelona.
I feel like I didn't give Barcelona everything I could have. I didn't go see the Gaudi buildings, which looked amazing in the postcards, or check out Olympic Park. I guess I'll just have to come back and visit again. I was happy with my day of rest and my beach trip!! :)
I made my way over to the train station to head to Valencia, my last stop before heading back to Madrid to catch my flight home. This was te first station where I had to put my bags through an x-ray machine, so it seemed like they had over the top security measures. :) Maybe they are a hold over from the Olympics.
The train ride to Valencia was beautiful. Most of it was along the coast, which was accompanied by a picturesque landscape full of castles, churches, beautiful green valleys and mountains, and old buildings. Very cool train ride. Plus, I got to watch "Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa" in Spanish. Double bonus!!
Back tracking to Barcelona for a second. I really enjoyed the city. It felt safer than Rome, despite being known for having a pickpocket problem. It had nice parks, good lighting, and just had a great energy. I would definitely go back.
I arrived in Valencia a little after 9pm, my last stop off before rolling home. My plan is to lay on the beach, eat, roll over, and repeat!
I'll check in with you soon.
B