Hola!

I´m in Spain! I am using the hostel computer, so this can´t be full length or it will take too long, but I decided it was time for an update.

We took a night train Thursday night, and Kathy and I underestimated how long it would take to get to the train station and ended up having to run through the station with our backpacks and made the train just in time. So that was stressful, but it was okay. Then we settled in for hours upon end in our reclining seats. I actually slept pretty well and, while I woke up multiple times, the overall amount of sleep was good.

Except, apparently the track in front of us had been vandalized so we stopped for two hours in Carcassone, France. Then they told everybody to get off the train because we were going to go by bus the rest of the way. As soon as everybody got off they announced that they had changed their minds, so get back on the train. And then we were off once more.

Because of the two hour delay, we ended up missing our connection by 15 minutes. So we ate pizza in the train station with our two new Brazilian friends and then finally took a 3 hour train to Barcelona, arriving around 3:30, and then went to our hostel.

Our hostel is really nice. There are 4 people from our program in a 6 person room, and then two girls from Missouri. And the whole hostel is small and clean and friendly, but there are loud people outside at 3am.

The first night we walked around Las Ramblas (the main promenade) a bit and then ate paella for dinner (rice with some vegetables and seafood) and drank Sangria and it was fun, but I felt like I hadn´t had a day of vacation yet and that we had missed a day. I walked around the port a bit with my friend Mira and Ross from the program while another group went on a pub crawl.

The next day we tried to take a free walking tour, but the guide never came. So then we went to Park Guell to see some of Gaudi´s work. Gaudi is an architect who designed all of the important sights in Barcelona, basically. And all of his stuff is weird, but also cool.

The park was large, so we got sidetracked a bit, but we eventually found the main plaza and stairway and mosaics, which were cool but very crowded. I will post pictures when I get back to Paris.

Then Mira and I broke off from the rest of the group because we had been going very slowly and they all wanted to stop for a long lunch, and we wanted to keep going. So we ordered delicious and cheap pizzas, and then Mira got charged 4 euro 70 for a Coke, which is a ripoff, and then we went to the Sangrada Familia church, another Gaudi design. It is still under construction, even though they started building it about a hundred years ago. Gaudi was inspired by nature and the inside of the church was supported by branched columns and then the roof was covered in gold-plated leaves, which was awesome. It did feel like you were standing in a forest, except that the whole middle was still under construction.

Then we paid to go up the elevator to the towers where we had some amazing views of Barcelona and of the construction of the church. Again, pictures will be helpful.

After that we went to an apartment designed by Gaudi, which was okay, but then the roof was really cool - it was all hilly with a bunch of random statue-type things and we stayed up there as the sun started to set, and it was very peaceful and nice.

After that we walked around Las Ramblas a bit more, where you can apparently buy a pigeon, chicken, or chipmunk for a pet. So if you´re interested, let me know soon and I can buy you a pet chipmunk. And that was strange. And then we met up with 4 other people from our program (6 total) for tapas and a flamenco show. First we ate tapas (ham, salami, bruschetta-type stuff, olives, peppers, mushrooms, and regular bread...which was very tasty) in an outdoor courtyard. There was also a family of 8 from Italy in our group, and they were very nice even though they spoke Italian and a little Spanish, and we spoke English and some French and, thus, couldn´t communicate much.

After tapas we walked a few blocks with our guide, who gave a slight narrated tour, to a flamenco show. And it was really, really amazing. It started with Spanish guitar and a weird drum that just looked like a speaker. Then they added two singers, and finally a dancer. And it was all very passionate and entrancing, and we all liked it a lot.

Once the show was over we walked a few more blocks and had cava to drink and then said goodbye to our group. By then it was midnight and so Mira and I headed back to go to sleep.

Today we woke up at 8 (but we gained an hour of sleep from daylight savings!) and went to a farmer´s market that we had walked through the night before on Las Ramblas. We wanted to buy food for lunch later, but it ended up being closed. So then we walked towards the Picasso museum, but got slightly off track and discovered a cool park, a 5K race with a gajillion participants, and the Arc Triomf. Then we found our way to Picasso, and the whole area felt very nice and improved my overall impression of Barcelona.

The museum was interesting, but poorly laid out. It was interesting seeing Picasso´s earlier works that weren´t cubist, but overall I´m not a huge Picasso fan.

After that we walked towards the beach, stopping to buy chocolate and paninis. And then we sat on the beach and ate our lunch and wrote in our journals (Mira and me, again) and relaxed, and it was great.

Oh, because PS, Barcelona is like 75 degrees and sunny, and it is great.

We didn´t have our bathing suits, but it was very nice. And we walked along the ocean and it was lovely.

Then we took a cable car from the beach area up to Montjuic park, and I took lots of beautiful pictures! And now someone is waiting for the computer, but that is almost the end anyways!

My original impression of Barcelona wasn´t particularly great, since it seemed like the actual apartment buildings and such were rather dilapidated and I don´t think I could live here. But after last night and today I like Barcelona a whole lot more, and it is actually very pretty. So that is good. And it is also very relaxing, which is nice for a change.

I hope you all are well! I love you and miss you and will describe the colors of Paris when I get back. But the colors of Barcelona are azure blue, indigo, terra-cotta, and bright green. Because also, there are palm trees here. :)