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Where have you been?

Dear followers:

I’m sure you’ve all been wondering where the heck I have been for the last couple of days. I wish I could share with you a story of grand adventure, but the truth is far less interesting. Unfortunately I seem to have caught the flu. I had to go to the pharmacy and stock up on various vitamins, cold remedies, etc. Thirty five euros later I’m still in bed and have missed a trip to Stiges (a beach) with my friends. I just couldn’t conjure up the energy to get out.

Here’s hoping I’ll have a speedy recovery.

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It only happens to other people

Anne & Tamara from Calgary have been so kind to take me under their wing while they’re here in Barcelona. Things were going swimmingly and we left early to hit the beach and soak up the rays. We rented some lounge chairs for 6 euros for the day and were tanning away. Some hilarious guys from Scotland parked themselves in front of us, and were part of a bachelor party (you could tell by their ridiculous outfits. The groom was wearing a leopard print Speedo and a horrible mullet).

We were fully relaxed and Anne even said “wow, this is the best day ever”. Little did we know what was to come, and what would turn into possibly the worst day ever for us. We’re lounging there and Anne had just got back from the bathroom. Sipping away on our lemon Estrellas, this man approached us . He appeared to be selling drinks. Of course none of us were interested, but he spoke some jibberish to us… We had no idea what he was trying to say. It was really distracting and we were all trying to figure out what he said. Then all of a sudden he says “English?” And we were like “Yes”. And then he babbles on again… We were so confused. Then he basically blurts out that some man wearing a white shirt just ran off with a brown purse (that being Anne’s but Tamara’s stuff was all inside it as well). We thought he was warning us to watch our stuff and then Anne looked beside her and realized her purse was gone. We all flipped out and went insane trying to find it. Anne and I went to try and find the police station (unsuccessfully) and Tamara went to look for the bag. Saying she’d meet us back at place we separated in 15 minutes, over 40 min had passed and Tamara still did not come back. We were beginning to get worried, and Anne really wanted to get back to the hostel to cancel her credit card.

Tamara finally showed up with a ridiculous story! She was looking around for the bag and ran into a lady sitting at a restaurant. The lady yelled at her and said “are you missing your bag?” and she said yes. The lady the proceeded to tell her that all day she had watched a guy go up and down the beach stealing handbags. We were pissed. How could somebody not say anything about this guy?

Tamara ended up finding a guy fitting the description the lady gave her, and she confronted him. She yelled at him and told him to open his bag and show her. The guy was laughing and opened up his backpack. He then tells her “I don’t need to steal your cameras and purses, I sell cocaine and weed”. Oh right buddy, you sound really legit now.Tamara said she told him she was going to get the police and he disappeared, but that he was talking to some guys, who appeared to be his friends, on the beach.

We looked for some police officers and found them. We told them the whole story and after they understood the people that Tamara suspected stole our bags were still on the beach, they got out of the car. They called the friend of the guy over and he started yelling at Tamara that she was crazy. He then started getting too close to her and the police pulled out their weapons. It was a huge scene at the beach and I was no doubt incredibly awkward and felt unsafe. A lady who was friends with the man the police were talking to yelled at us “Do you just accuse the first black man you see?” Oh man, that got me angry. I hate racism. Hate it. I was pissed that she would even accuse us of that, but I kept my mouth shut.

With shitty directions, the police directed us to the police station down a small street. We were really mad at how they handled it, because we had obviously just left an angry group of people on the beach, and in Canada, they would’ve driven us to the station. Anyhow, we arrived at the small station, walk inside, and the place is packed with people. There are 8 other people in a room that’s maybe 20 by 20. All talking to two officers after their bags had been stolen. Because Tamara had seen the guy, they insisted that we go down to the police station (the bigger one) to try and identify the guy in pictures that they had from previous arrests. What a joke, though the lady working at the small police station was quite nice. When we got to the larger police station, they took us to a room to identify photos. Handing us a binder with Moroccan individuals in it, because the lady who was at the beach and said she saw the guy stealing all day said he was Moroccan. I insisted he wasn’t if he looked anything like the group of friends that the police confronted. Because Tamara was the only one that “found” the guy, she was the one trying to identify him. For 15 min we tried telling them that the skin was darker on the guy that she saw. The interpreter was kind of ignoring us and just chatting with the two guys that were there. Unbelievable.

We spent a total of 5 hours at all of the police stations and the fiasco combined. It was a mess of a day, and the only thing that came of it was a police report that Tamara and Anne can hopefully use for insurance purposes. The photos, however, on that camera are irreplaceable. The two girls had just come off a Contiki tour all over Europe, and now had nothing to show for it. I was incredibly upset as well, because having done a Contiki tour myself, I know how sad I would’ve been if everything had been erased.

Here’s hoping the trip goes better from now forward. The girls have until Thursday, but have booked at least two more nights in the hostel. Which is great for me, because we get along quite well.

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I drank the milk straight from the cow

So last night I was about to go hang out with the girls who had just arrived at the hostel from St. Louis, and the girls that had been here since last night came strollin’ in. I asked them how their day was and everything and then they asked what my plans were for the evening. They said they were going to go see the fountains because the hostel had organized a group outing and then were going out afterwards. I was a bit reluctant because I was pretty tired, but they said that they hadn’t planned on going out after— maybe just to the bar to get food, but not clubbing at Razzmatazz. So I thought, oh the hell with it, I’ll go. So I went with them.

Though I saw the fountains the other night, they were set up differently and did not compare to how beautiful they were last night. We took a bunch of photos together and made jokes about our Estrella Damm beer. At 11:30 the guy who worked at the hostel said we were leaving to go to the bar. So at that point we met up with all the other hostel groups from the chain… there were definitely some interesting characters. We met an Egyptian cop/firefighter (apparently in Egypt they do both), an Egyptian engineer, a sports broadcaster from Seattle— who, for the record was rather obnoxious, and some random guy who was born in Hong Kong, but moved to Australia and now lives in England.

Because Anne and Tamara (the girls I went with from Calgary) had not eaten anything they decided to look at the food menu. We had a pretty good laugh at the “Wild Boar’s Head” (see #31 in the picture of the menu below). However, we ended up ordering 20 euros worth of stuff and then proceeded to stare at the cheese plate in awe. Unfrickenbelievable. In Canada the cheese plate would’ve cost at least $30.00

Of course the guy from Hong Kong was bloody hilarious. He was telling us all these stories, and one time he said he milked a cow. After milking it, despite the warnings (and yelling at him) from the tour guide, he drank the milk directly from the cow. We were laughing so hard. Later he told us it was funny until he was sick in the washroom for an hour. What a character!

At around 2:00ish we decided to head home, and the rest of the people left behind were just about to head to Razzmatazz, a five level club in Barcelona. We were all bagged and had no intention of going out afterwards. Having no idea where we were and it being late, the three of us split a cab home— 7 euros. I can’t believe how cheap it is for cabs here… really!

I think the plan for today is that the girls are going to head to the beach and maybe rent bicycles. They’ve invited me along, and say that they’re really glad we all hung out together last night. It was definitely an adventure!

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Thunderstorm at Sagrada Familia

After I took a shower I decided I was going to take another small trip to Sagrada Familia to take photos. Of course, something HAD to go wrong. But what did go wrong was awesome, so I won’t complain.

I packed up my camera and got in the elevator. Half way down in the elevator, I realized I forgot my memory card like last time. Good thing I noticed before I got there. haha. Anyhow, I walked to Sagrada Familia, snapped a couple pictures, and then decided I was going to get some coffee from Starbucks (to ensure I didn’t fall asleep at 8pm like last night. Came out of Starbucks post-coffee, and BAM! Thunderstorm! But I’m not going to lie, although I look like a wet dog when I got back to the hostel, it was one of the coolest things ever to see lightening behind the towers at Sagrada Familia. Eerie almost. Probably not something everyone gets to see either. It’s totally down pouring now.

Well I’m safely back at the hostel. I’m making chicken skewers and pasta and I bought some wine from the Catalan region to go along with it. It’s a tough life.

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Apparently the people who work at the hostel love me

… or maybe not, but I did come home to a bit of a surprise.

I got up early today (see 5:00am), it was so friggin hot that I couldn’t sleep. However, I believe I now have mastered a plan for sleeping. Instead of the fan continuously blowing warm air around, the fan has to face out the window, drawing warm air out of the room, and forcing the cooler night air back in (brilliant, I know). Also, I Googled “ways to survive a heat wave without air conditioning”, and they recommended that you soak a t-shirt and sleep in it to keep cool. I did that when I woke up and it made a huge difference. You live and you learn!

I hung around here for awhile and then decided it was a beach day (when isn’t it). I heard a girl in the elevator complaining about how it was going to rain and that she couldn’t “work on her tan”… SHUT UP! You’re in freakin’ Barcelona, why are you complaining? Exactly. It turned out to be a perfect beach day. Not only was this morning’s weather extremely comfortable to walk around in, but it was perfect because the mild cloud cover made it a reasonable temperature at the beach. I’m pretty darn thankful for that.

I’m just going to say that it’s only 4-5 days into my vacation, and it is already shaping up to be one of the best to date. I’m not even sure why, but it’s awesome really having the freedom to do anything I want, whenever I want, and not having to worry about what anyone else thinks.

I took some photos at the beach. I believe one is of the World Trade Centre (in Barcelona), and the other is just of some boats on the water. I was going to take a photo of the beach, but there were too many topless people close to me and I figured some people might be a bit weirded out if a whipped out a massive camera with a zoom lens. haha. I have quite a nice tan going on now— no burning!

Oh right, I lost my point to this whole blog story. After I arrived home, I walked into my room and thought I was in the wrong room. Not that I need it, but the cleaning lady (I suppose), left a green fleece blanket and another pillow for me on my bed neatly. In addition, I have this garbage bag hanging on the heater (because I hate having to run to the kitchen to throw away a measly piece of something). She emptied that for me AND replaced the garbage bag. So impressed. That was really nice. It’s small, but it kind of made my day.

I am going to hang out here for awhile as my water is chilling in the freezer. I think after that I’m going to head down to Sagrada Familia and ACTUALLY take photos this time. I haven’t seen anyone in the hostel lately, and the somewhat sociable Aussie girls left for Ibiza this morning.

Hasta Luego Amigos!

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Picture outing at Sagrada Familia

So after the sickness fiasco this morning, I was feeling better after drinking a cup of mint tea. I then decided that I didn’t want to waste a day doing nothing, so why not walk to Sagrada Familia and take some photos— seemed like a good idea at the time.

So I walked all the way there. I found a great angle of the church, whip out my camera, set up the photo, and snap… it’s not taking a picture. What the heck?! I now realize I have left my memory card for my camera in my laptop. Oh Alicia. Oh well. It was a nice walk anyway. I decided to venture out and try to find the Starbucks. So I found it, grabbed a coffee and chilled (literally) in the air conditioning. So thankful for A/C when you have none. lol.

After that I decided I should go find a pen, since I misplaced the one I packed with me… not an easy task. I returned to my hostel with an FC Barcelona key cover and a tacky overpriced barcelona pen. A bit of a fail, but it was a nice walk.

Debating as to whether or not I should venture out again later. I think I will.

Hasta Luego Amigos!

xoxo

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The giggly girls are leaving

HALLELUJAH!

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Oh how delightful

So I woke up this morning and thought, great! I got the perfect amount of sleep. Woke up at 7:30am and then realized it’d be awesome to shower and get everything done by 9. Great plan Alicia, great plan.

I made myself a massive breakfast— and it was definitely delicious. I was getting ready and realized there was a sweet walking tour in my guidebook that takes me through some Roman Ruins in the area. Even better. I was pretty excited about my first adventure in the city on my own.

Half an hour later my stomach starts to grumble… and how perfect I am now sick. I didn’t pack pepto bismol so I’m super pissed and now I’m sitting here having to listen to some annoying chicks giggle in my hostel. WHY ARE YOU NOT LEAVING? You’re here for a reason! Go out!

What I really don’t understand is that they keep chatting in the hallways of the hostel, and it’s like… there is nothing down by my room except the exit to the apartment, so if you’re going to hang out at this end of the hallway… LEAVE!

Anyhow, so I’m confined to the apartment for at least the next little while… What a fabulous vacation.

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FINALLY

Sociable aussies in the hostel. THANK GOSH.

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My feet are burning

Last night was ridiculous. After walking around in the heat yesterday I got back and took an hour nap. Then I decided I needed to take a shower because I was all sandy from the beach— good call. And speaking of showers, I have a new pet peeve: when people don’t wipe the floor after their shower. I don’t want to stand in a giant puddle of water and then track it down the hallway. Come on people— how old are you? Okay, that was a huge side note.

So I met Christiann at Sagrada Familia armed with Sangria and then when we got there (after probably 40 minutes of transportation/walking), the bloody fountains were closed. We had no idea what was going on but there was so much security around it was unbelievable. We ended up walking all the way to the bottom of the hill (which we had just went up for a better view), and saw there were tons of people gathering around and giant screens everywhere. Turns out we stumbled across the opening ceremonies for the European Athletic Championships. It was quite the production. There was a massive stage, the fountains were set to great music (and nicer than normal), and they had a bunch of acrobats climbing the walls of one of the buildings. Pretty cool.

We didn’t stay the whole time because we were incredibly tired from walking all day. I wanted to take a cab back but realized that nobody knew where my hostel was, and I had to literally show a map every time to my cab driver (which I forgot at home). Needless to say my feet and leg muscles are killing this morning. It took me a good 40 minutes to get home. Well on the bright side, it was my first time walking alone in the dark here and I felt really safe. It was like 11pm though. Don’t plan on making a habit of that (not staying out late, but walking on my own). Well at least not when I’m that tired!

I got back to my room and realized all I ate all day (when I got up at 7am) was a piece of bread with cheese and two apple slices. It took every ounce of energy I had to make food. So I got up early this morning and went to the supermarket. I decided I was going to buy a frozen pizza in case I got home and was super lazy.

So that’s about all. Not sure what my plan are for today yet, but for now I’m going to be lazy.

Some really annoying giggly girls either just appeared in my apartment or they’ve been here for awhile and have become significantly more annoying. I certainly hope that they’re leaving…

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Gaudi’s apartments, the beach, and giant lobsters

Hey everyone!

Today has been amazing, except for a minor mishap this morning. I was supposed to meet Christiann at 11:00am but the metro stations were so confusing and I couldn’t find the meeting place (they have about 4 in the area spread out with all the same names). Now I remember what it feels like before the era of cellphones! Unbearable. I felt so bad because I was scared she had left!

Anyhow, after that got sorted out we went to the beach— but went the wrong way. We ended up walking for over an hour in the heat. Turns out my memory of the city’s metro stations isn’t as sharp as I had remembered! That’s ok, Christiann doesn’t have much time here, so the walking “tour” was kind of nice. Finally we made it to the beach and relaxed. It’s super hot though!

I decided after the beach it was about time I went and sorted out my straightener, so we went to one of the major department stores and I got one there. I look like a hot mess at the moment. I have a straightener and bought all my shampoo and such this morning, so I will be taking a shower and getting ready for… wait for it… wait for it… the MAGIC FOUNTAINS! So excited to see them again. I have to pick up some Sangria and I’m meeting Christiann at Sagrada Familia at 8.

SUCH GOOD TIMES.

xoxo