I'll start out with a brief bit about last weekend for contrast and because it was a pretty good Sunday after Scuba diving Saturday. I got to sleep in till like 11 and then I met up with James, Helena, Richard, and Carlito and we all went to this restaurant on the beach in Masnou that has really good paella. It was a great afternoon just hanging out, eating good food and having some...I don't remember what they are called, but it’s a beer with I think like lemon fanta in it, but it’s pretty good. I got to talk to Richard alot, seeing how he doesn't speak and Spanish, and he's a really interesting guy. He is working in Jordan teaching kids on a US military base, but he himself isn't at all in the military. Being there he has a pretty unique view of international relations, and the war, and government and politics in general. He also had a few cool stories about meeting different Queens, and some mercenaries, and all kinds of crazy things.
After hours at this restaurant eating paella and hanging out we went back over to Helena's apt and it was nice just to hang out, and talk, and watch TV with friends. Its simple stuff like that that I've kinda missed since coming here. All and all a really nice day and after watching the Simpsons in Spanish I decided to head home and was asleep by about 1030, anther glorious addition to the day.
Now, I had to get that down in order to move on to this weekend, specifically last night. I will warn you all now that this story will most likely make you laugh, cry, and question how it is I have managed to keep myself alive to the ripe old age of 22.
The day started out nicely and productive with my first hair cut in Spain, which went surprisingly well. I pretty much hate getting my hair cut mostly because of the forced small talk with chatty hair cutting ladies...but this isn't near the problem as soon as they realize you don't speak the language. Also the haircut turned out well so I was feeling pretty good about that. I spent awhile debating how to spend my day, and decided I'd head over to Barcelona and see what there is to see and maybe try to buy a book or somethin.
It takes me about an hour to actually get there because they are doing something with the train lines or something, and I couldn't take the direct route that I normally do and it took me awhile and a bit of back pedaling to actually get to Barcelona, but I did get to see the pretty nice main train station in Barcelona that I hadn’t been to yet. So I got there and wandered about for a bit. I finally figured out where the black sheep bar was, although it was closed when I got there cause it was only about 5 in the afternoon. So I walked down las ramblas, and entertained ideas of walkin down to the beach but its pretty far and would take alot of time, and I needed to find a place to exchange my last American hundred dollars before I did much of anything. So I did that, and walked down to the harbor for a bit, and had some tapas and did some people watching. I eventually ended up back at El basc de les fades, bar place around 93o (I know there is a big chunk of time missing but it was mostly walking around and playing foosball by myself). I ordered up some sangria and took a seat to relax and rest my feet and immediately picked up on some American speak behind me. After about a minute I go ahead and swing my chair around and introduce myself to the random English speaking folk. We talked for about an hour or so which was cool but pretty uneventful.
Then they had to leave, and it was about time I head back home anyway so I don't have to worry about getting stranded in Barcelona when the train stops running. So I head back and spend some time staring at the posted signs about the weird train situation and figure out I actually have to take a different train to another station to switch trains and then go home....Now this is the point of my evening that life starts to go downhill...although I don't know it yet.
I hop on the little packed subway with alot of other people who seem visibly irritated with the train situation being all screwed up. I ride the train as more and more people get off and I wait for the station I'm looking for....which never comes. I end up riding the train till the last stop in a place called Sabadell and get off and try to figure out what I did wrong, which now seems so simply obvious that I was on the right track but going the wrong way. Its only 11:30 so there should be plenty of time to catch the train going back the other way. However, it quickly becomes obvious that the train station here shuts down earlier than in Barcelona. So I head about ground to look for a cab or bus back to Barcelona so I can hopefully catch one of the last trains back to Premia.
I emerge on what I begin to call the Sabadell Circle of hell. It’s just a big roundabout, but I end up walking around the dame thing 3 times because there are signs pointing to Barcelona but they don't really line up with the exits and I'm trying to position myself between the circle of hell and Barcelona so I can find a bus or something goin that way. Eventually I give up with that and wait at a taxi stop and pray I have enough money to get back there. I end up kinda stealing some guy’s cab by accident and then spend a little time trying to explain that I need to go the Placa de Catalunya (The train station in Barcelona that can take me home). The guy keeps asking if I mean Parca, or placa...I think that’s what he was asking. Anyway I think we have finally figured it out and he drives and then points at an empty park. A little annoyed I try to explain that I need to go to Barcelona to catch a train. He thinks about it a minute and starts diving while he explains he will take me to the bus that goes to Barcelona. Cool, no problem we get there and I pay him and I hop out and start looking of a bus schedule or something when a bus shows up. I hop on and look at the time, I'm not exactly sure how far away we are but I figure there is still a chance I can catch the last train out, otherwise I'll just get like a 12 euro hostel in Barcelona and go back in the morning. We wait for a little while and a few more people hop on and we head of, stopping and picking up some loud annoying kids at one point that start running up and talking to the driver while he’s driving and being annoying. At one point we sat at a stop for like ten mins while the kids and the driver yelled at each other about something and I think he was trying to kick them out.
All I knew was that the annoying kids were ruining my chance to make it back home and if I had had any idea what was goin on I would have kicked them off myself for being little shits. Eventually we get going again and make a few more stops and by this point I've just kinda zoned out staring out the window and listing to music on my Zune. That is until the bus driver comes up and starts talking to me and I realize the bus in empty and I catch the phrase "este es el ultima parada" translation: this is the last stop. So I get out and realize very quickly this is not Barcelona.
I look around a bit hoping everyone from the bus may head in a common direction that may lead to a main part of town and I can try to get a taxi home. Unfortunately they all pretty much scatter so I figure I better just pick a direction and go. Honestly at this point I am lunar navigating around this place trying to find a cab. Every now and then I find a street sign and some say Barcelona and Placa de Catalunya on them so I'm hoping I'm close and try to fallow them, but not many streets are well marked. So I leave the moon to my back and start walking.
And I walk....and I walk. It’s actually a really nice night and not really all that late, and I have my music goin so I'm just tryin to keep myself from goin in circles and fallow the randomly placed signs. I'm in a pretty nice neighborhood and there are some nice hilltop views and such. And I walk....FINALLY! I find Placa de Catalunya....the same park the taxi had taken me to before the bus stop. A little disheartened I walk through the empty park which is nice and even has a creepy swan in a pool staring at me. And I walk on...
I listen to music and walk. I walk out of the nice neighborhood. I walk past a Sony industrial warehouse....and I walk. I come to a crossroad with no signs or clues and I walk...I leave the building and end up on a road fallowing the one sign that had something about a train station and Barcelona. I eventually end up walking along what in the daytime I'm sure is a busy road with forest on either side...and I walk. I'm getting tired. It's getting late. I hit a bridge with a narrow walkway that scares the hell out of me and I stare at my feet and try not to look at the ground very far below me as I keep a death grip on the railing. And I walk...
I find a bus stop on a hill overlooking some lights, buildings, civilization. It is 3:3o in the morning. I have been walking for over 3 hours. My legs ache and my feet are scraped up from walking along the grass and rocks in my sandals. I sit down. My feet are pounding. I am only sitting a minute and get up and my legs stain against me. They are already cramping. I find the bus schedule. No busses till 5:45. I look down the hill at the lights, and I walk.
My zune stops playing and gives me the low battery sign and I turn it off. I walk in silence and listen to the sound of wind and the road as distant cars dive home at this late hour. I am passing more buildings and see what looks to be a busy well lit area up ahead and I hope to find something promising. I come around the corner and stop. I laugh to keep from screaming...It’s the circle of hell. The same one I had left 5 hours ago so hopeful I was on my way home. If I had been in a car I could have driven to France in this much time. I should probably stay here and find a cab but I don't want to look at the place so I walk. I find the main road heading toward Barcelona. My right knee started hurting hours ago but now I'm limping as my left leg cramps from trying to take the weight off my right. I find a gas station and buy a bottle of water and a sandwich. Now in the light I look down and realize my left hand is completely black....it’s from the bridge, dirt from the handrail I wouldn't let go of for anything. I carefully open the gas station sandwich so not to touch it with my diseased looking hand. I'm so tired. As I walk away a cab full of loud drunken Spaniards pulls into the station for gas. I stare. It's my cab. The cab driver filling up the tank is the same one who should have taken me to Barcelona 5 hours ago. I turn and walk away.
Finally, I find train tracks...either way I go must lead to a station. I'm hopeful. But it's not long before the train tracks diverge from the road and I cannot fallow. I walk through a roundabout, with trees in the middle of it and find a sign. It doesn't really help. I keep walking past car dealerships and eventually hit another gas station. It's locked by the guy is still in there. I'm almost to out of it to put a sentence together but I ask about a train to Barcelona and he speaks in rapid fire Spanish and points back the way I came and then makes a big hook motion with his hands...I get the idea and head back. I'm disoriented. Everything looks familiar but not enough so that I can get a barring on where I am. I briefly find the train tracks again, but am forced to cross a road, and avoid a tunnel. My legs and mind are Jell-O. I walk. I figure I'll ask someone else at the next gas station I see. I walk. I come around another corner in and endless night of corners and I nearly collapse.....I found a gas station. It is the same gas station I had gotten bad directions from 40 minutes ago. I've somehow made a huge circle and I just stare in disbelief at the now empty station.
I do the only thing I can and turn around. I find those tracks again. At one point there are stares going over a short bridge. I climb them....slowly. At the top I look out over the maze I have been walking through. I see the train station. No more than a hundred yards away. All lit up, empty but lit. I shuffle toward it slowly like a zombie in the B grade horror movie I feel I am trapped in. I get there. Train Station to Barcelona. I go to buy a ticket and just start shoving change into the machine praying I have enough. I have exactly 1.85. The cost of a ticket. I go down to the tracks and sit down and take my sandals take my sandals off so I can examine my now black feet. I have a dirt tan line where the strap is but its not white underneath, it’s red and swollen. I check my phone for the time. Its 5 am. I've been walking for nearly 6 hours. The train doesn't come for another 30 mins. I look at my Zune. It turns on but gives me the battery warning. I put on "Alice’s Restaurant" because it's long and makes me smile and takes my mind off my night. The train finally comes.
I stumble on. I can barely walk after sitting and I try to stretch out my legs. Each stop brings more loud drunk young Spanish kids from local clubs. I few especially annoying guys are screaming and chanting and singing. I finally....finally get to Barcelona. I emerge up the stairs as if reaching the summit of Everest exhausted and excited staring up at the morning sky with the sun just coming up. I look around. This is Barcelona. But it is not Placa de Catalunya. I don't know where I am. Again.
I walk down the street and soon get an idea of where to go. The walk is slow and painful but I find where I am going. I go down into the familiar station where I know right where the ticket machines are and go through the gates where I know exactly where I'm going to sit and wait for the train. Then I see the signs...all the signs reminding me why I ended up this way in the first place. I can't take my familiar train home. I stare confused at the sign and a lady comes up who works there, "Donde vas?". I struggle to answer and she asks "English?" thank god she speaks some English. She tells me I will have to take the L1 underground to Clot, then get on a train to Mataro. I walk out of my familiar gate over to where the big red L1 line was and I stop once again and have a bit of a flashback. This is the exact spot. The spot that if I had taken a little extra time I would have realized that I need to walk left instead of right. I look at the time. 6:3o, I was in this exact spot 7 and a half hours ago making a simple mistake that would send me to the Sabadell circle of hell. I take a left.
The Clot station is confusing and I end up going up and down the same flight of stairs 3 times before I manage to find where the right part of the station is. A lady helps me but then accidentally closes a gate on me as I try to walk through. I finally find the train that will take me home. I sit down and feel the blood rush into my feet so that I can feel my heart beat in the souls of my shoes. I reach for my phone to check the time....my phone is gone. It must have fallen out of my pocket on the last train, or maybe I dropped without realizing getting my ticket to show the lady so that she could close the gate on me. I don't care. I just want to be home and in bed.
I drift in and out of sleep all the way to Premia. Every 5 mins I am woken up by the door alarms at every stop screaming at me. I get to my stop and stand up and my legs don't work. I can barely move but I stumble out and stare out over the water with the sun coming up and a cool breeze blowing. I head for the stairs. Another coincidence. The guy coming up the stairs a little drunk is the same guy who stands on the corner and waves to us everyday as we go to work. He doesn't recognize me but I smile. These coincidences all night have made me wonder if someone up there is working hard to get me home, or just laughing my endless stream of stupidity.
The walk home from the train feels like it takes another 7 hours. I get to my apt. I open the front door. I go up the elevator. I let myself into my empty place. I make myself take a shower, and clean my feet. I find there are blisters on the bottoms of them underneath all the dirt. I stumble out of the shower and go to my bed. I close the metal window cover so that it will be pitch black in my room. I look at my computer just long enough to get the time. It is 8:3o. I've been trying to get home for almost 10 hours. I close my laptop and the room goes dark and I am asleep.
Wow. Ya know the whole time I was walking last night I was kinda thinking about this and narrating it to myself as I went but it was scary to write it out. It was such a ridiculous, terrible adventure. It is now midnight on Sunday and I have spent the entire day in my dark room happy as a clam so sleep and poke around the internet and watch movies. My legs are unbelievably sore but I keep trying to stretch them out a bit. Mom and Dad I know when you read this you will worry as you probably should. If nothing else I will be more careful reading train station signs from now on and if I'm ever lost again, I'm not getting out of a taxi unless it is dropping me off at home, I don't care how much it costs. And don't worry, I'm never going to Sabadell again as long as I live.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Hola el mundo
Another weekend, another adventure,
Last weekend was Scuba diving extravaganza. We planed to get up and leave by 8am (crazy Brits) and head up the coast about 2 hrs to get to the dive place. The car ride allowed me a little nap on the way which was nice because the only music the radio would pick up was bad techno that went to static and back every two mins or so. We got there with only a minor incident of getting lost so we still made it on time to do the dive Richard (very interesting friend of James) wanted to. James and I where planning on doing a beginner dive that was a little later because James isn't certified and I haven't been in awhile so I figured I'd just stick with him. Richard was doing his 300th dive and has all his own gear, as did everyone else on that dive.
So here's the thing about our little dive. This is what I had heard about it: "Its a Tri-dive (I'm thinking 2 shallow practice and a real dive) and they go over some some basic stuff with you first and there are some head diver guys that kinda walk y0u through a few things and then they take ya down and its about a 15-20 min dive." Cool so that sounds bueno, I figure I can kinda hang and play around while they are going over really beginner stuff and then we'll all go for a real dive.
This is what it actually was: the Try Dive is where they throw about 20 people in a boat and motor out to a shallow dive spot where they send about 4 people down at a time. However, each person is with a master dive guy that holds on to your tank and basically pushes you around underwater for a like 15 mins and drags you back up to the surface. This was really annoyed especially since I had no idea that was the plan. I kept trying to swim and see stuff but I ended up just kicking the guy alot as he drove me around. After awhile I realized what the deal was and figured I'd just relax and enjoy being underwater.
Don't get me wrong...it was nice to go diving, I love being under the water and there were a few big schools of fish so that was fun. But ya loose alot of the freedom when some guy is pushing you along, especially when he is only pushing on one shoulder so your continually spinning to the right ever so slightly.
Anyway, I was one of the first to go and so I had alot of time after which was actually alot of fun. James and I hung out and snorkeled around. The water is pretty clear and the little cove they took us too has this huge overhang that is about a hundred feet above the water and juts out about 30 feet. It was a very pretty place, and I'd really like to go back and do some real diving, especially after I heard about some of the cave stuff Richard did.
But I'm only on my lunch break so I'll have to finish up about the rest of the weekend later. But it was a good weekend, with alot of fun, alot of friends, and alot of Spanish.
Hasta luego
Last weekend was Scuba diving extravaganza. We planed to get up and leave by 8am (crazy Brits) and head up the coast about 2 hrs to get to the dive place. The car ride allowed me a little nap on the way which was nice because the only music the radio would pick up was bad techno that went to static and back every two mins or so. We got there with only a minor incident of getting lost so we still made it on time to do the dive Richard (very interesting friend of James) wanted to. James and I where planning on doing a beginner dive that was a little later because James isn't certified and I haven't been in awhile so I figured I'd just stick with him. Richard was doing his 300th dive and has all his own gear, as did everyone else on that dive.
So here's the thing about our little dive. This is what I had heard about it: "Its a Tri-dive (I'm thinking 2 shallow practice and a real dive) and they go over some some basic stuff with you first and there are some head diver guys that kinda walk y0u through a few things and then they take ya down and its about a 15-20 min dive." Cool so that sounds bueno, I figure I can kinda hang and play around while they are going over really beginner stuff and then we'll all go for a real dive.
This is what it actually was: the Try Dive is where they throw about 20 people in a boat and motor out to a shallow dive spot where they send about 4 people down at a time. However, each person is with a master dive guy that holds on to your tank and basically pushes you around underwater for a like 15 mins and drags you back up to the surface. This was really annoyed especially since I had no idea that was the plan. I kept trying to swim and see stuff but I ended up just kicking the guy alot as he drove me around. After awhile I realized what the deal was and figured I'd just relax and enjoy being underwater.
Don't get me wrong...it was nice to go diving, I love being under the water and there were a few big schools of fish so that was fun. But ya loose alot of the freedom when some guy is pushing you along, especially when he is only pushing on one shoulder so your continually spinning to the right ever so slightly.
Anyway, I was one of the first to go and so I had alot of time after which was actually alot of fun. James and I hung out and snorkeled around. The water is pretty clear and the little cove they took us too has this huge overhang that is about a hundred feet above the water and juts out about 30 feet. It was a very pretty place, and I'd really like to go back and do some real diving, especially after I heard about some of the cave stuff Richard did.
But I'm only on my lunch break so I'll have to finish up about the rest of the weekend later. But it was a good weekend, with alot of fun, alot of friends, and alot of Spanish.
Hasta luego
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Multiple perspective blog
Hope everyone liked Nicola's entry, we thought it'd be kinda a cool idea, but I'm gonna fill in two little parts she left out.
First of all I had a minor heart attack when I went to Barcelona to meet them. I told them I'd call them when I got in but unfortunatly as soon as I tried to make that call my phone informed me I had ran out of credits and needed to "recargar" it. Finding a card was no problem, but navigating the all Spanish pre-recorded system in the middle of the busyiest tourist street in Barcelona (possibly the planet) took about 25 mins of pulling my hair out. In the end I actually ended up stumbling accross a help menu that let me change the language...but it turns out I was only one button click (out of ten, I was counting) away from doing it in Spanish, which I was proud and annoyed by. Now some of you may be saying....why not just call from a pay phone?....TRIED IT! more complicated than the damn recharge system. But eventually I figured it out and got ahold of them, and since neither one of us knew exactly where the other was we just walked down the main street in opposite directions till we saw each other :)
That first night was nice, just talking and telling stories on the beach while the overly enthusiastic British guys ran around the beach naked. I showed them around as best I could and we saw some cool street performers and I took them to a cool little bar so it was all bueno, except for that unnecessary mad dash to the metro...oh well.
The girls were exhausted so I didn't wake them up when my stupid alarm woke me up at 7 am. I got a little more sleep after that bust spent most of the morning reading on the deck until they got up. The beach was great, except for the sunburn that fallowed. We took some weird underwater pictures with Nicola's cool camera so hopefully I'll get some copies of those soon. It was nice to just hang out with friends with no intense schedule or anything we HAVE to do.
That night, as you may imagine was pretty crazy. I had kinda guessed it was gonna end up that way when we were eating dinner at 1100. With the metro closing in about an hour it was all or none situation and I think we made the right choice. After dinner though we needed some liquid motivation so I introduced them to the "carajillo" which is espresso and cognac and will wake up the dead.
Clubbing and bar hopping in the mall is an odd experience but turned out fun, and I find out now that there are actually more clubs on the roof?! Maybe next time. I think Nicola failed to mention it but before we actually made it to the club we wandered a bit around the harbor and found what turned out to be a private party in some bar...the conversation with the door man went something like this:
Bouncer: "You on the list?"
Me: "No, do we have to be on the list?"
Bouncer: (stares at Nicola and Cleo) "....No"
So we go in with hotness points...or at least they did and I was bodyguard. Unfortunately that was the only cool part about the whole thing. There were alot of over 30 and overly trendy people dancing and talking in what would be a cool place if it had been air conditioned and wasn't 4,000 degrees. We had a round of overly expensive drinks and decided to head back and see if the line for the other club went down.
It hadn't but we had little else to do so we decided to wait it out...which lasted about ten seconds before we worked out a rotation system so two people could go to the bar across the mall and one could wait in line and we would rotate till we got to the front. Poor Cleo however was the only one who ended up waiting in line (THANK YOU!). So we got into this place...well I say that but once again the girls did and I was stuck with a 15 Euro cover charge! Which is obscene but the girls helped me pay for it. It was a fun rest of the night there. Alot of dancing and even more of me playing defense between the girls and every guy in the bar, but in the end I think everyone had a good time.
As expected, the walk and then train ride home was extremely long as the sun came up. I was the only one barely staying awake on the 20 min metro because if we missed our stop it would be bad news. So we finally made it home and collapsed.
The next day was pretty much what you would expect, alot of lounging, except for the 20 min voyage to find food that Nicola mentioned. It came time for the girls to head off to their next destination so I waked them down to the metro to see them off. It was a great weekend, one of the best since I've been here. It's always nice to see good friends in a new place and I'm glad they were able to come even if just for a few days.
As for adventures to come, I actually have a scuba trip in the works for this weekend with James and a friend of his from England. I'm pretty excited to do some diving and any plan on the weekend is a good one, there's nothing worse than a wasted weekend. I'm also trying to work out plans for me 2 weeks off starting August 10th. Hopefully I'll get some traveling in, just need to decide where.
And for now....well, I'm down to like 3 Euros so I need to go to the bank and exchange some more American dollars so I can go to the store and be able to eat...should be a fun adventure trying to talk to people at the bank. Actually....I just realized there is a pretty good chance the bank is closed by now...hmmmm....could be an adventure for tomorrow.
Anyway, everyone keep commenting and writing me so I stay on top of this whole blog thing...I do like doing it but when I'm tired I have a tendency to collapse instead of update. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll get caught up on some overdue pictures of Barcelona and other fun stuff, but until then...
Abrazos
First of all I had a minor heart attack when I went to Barcelona to meet them. I told them I'd call them when I got in but unfortunatly as soon as I tried to make that call my phone informed me I had ran out of credits and needed to "recargar" it. Finding a card was no problem, but navigating the all Spanish pre-recorded system in the middle of the busyiest tourist street in Barcelona (possibly the planet) took about 25 mins of pulling my hair out. In the end I actually ended up stumbling accross a help menu that let me change the language...but it turns out I was only one button click (out of ten, I was counting) away from doing it in Spanish, which I was proud and annoyed by. Now some of you may be saying....why not just call from a pay phone?....TRIED IT! more complicated than the damn recharge system. But eventually I figured it out and got ahold of them, and since neither one of us knew exactly where the other was we just walked down the main street in opposite directions till we saw each other :)
That first night was nice, just talking and telling stories on the beach while the overly enthusiastic British guys ran around the beach naked. I showed them around as best I could and we saw some cool street performers and I took them to a cool little bar so it was all bueno, except for that unnecessary mad dash to the metro...oh well.
The girls were exhausted so I didn't wake them up when my stupid alarm woke me up at 7 am. I got a little more sleep after that bust spent most of the morning reading on the deck until they got up. The beach was great, except for the sunburn that fallowed. We took some weird underwater pictures with Nicola's cool camera so hopefully I'll get some copies of those soon. It was nice to just hang out with friends with no intense schedule or anything we HAVE to do.
That night, as you may imagine was pretty crazy. I had kinda guessed it was gonna end up that way when we were eating dinner at 1100. With the metro closing in about an hour it was all or none situation and I think we made the right choice. After dinner though we needed some liquid motivation so I introduced them to the "carajillo" which is espresso and cognac and will wake up the dead.
Clubbing and bar hopping in the mall is an odd experience but turned out fun, and I find out now that there are actually more clubs on the roof?! Maybe next time. I think Nicola failed to mention it but before we actually made it to the club we wandered a bit around the harbor and found what turned out to be a private party in some bar...the conversation with the door man went something like this:
Bouncer: "You on the list?"
Me: "No, do we have to be on the list?"
Bouncer: (stares at Nicola and Cleo) "....No"
So we go in with hotness points...or at least they did and I was bodyguard. Unfortunately that was the only cool part about the whole thing. There were alot of over 30 and overly trendy people dancing and talking in what would be a cool place if it had been air conditioned and wasn't 4,000 degrees. We had a round of overly expensive drinks and decided to head back and see if the line for the other club went down.
It hadn't but we had little else to do so we decided to wait it out...which lasted about ten seconds before we worked out a rotation system so two people could go to the bar across the mall and one could wait in line and we would rotate till we got to the front. Poor Cleo however was the only one who ended up waiting in line (THANK YOU!). So we got into this place...well I say that but once again the girls did and I was stuck with a 15 Euro cover charge! Which is obscene but the girls helped me pay for it. It was a fun rest of the night there. Alot of dancing and even more of me playing defense between the girls and every guy in the bar, but in the end I think everyone had a good time.
As expected, the walk and then train ride home was extremely long as the sun came up. I was the only one barely staying awake on the 20 min metro because if we missed our stop it would be bad news. So we finally made it home and collapsed.
The next day was pretty much what you would expect, alot of lounging, except for the 20 min voyage to find food that Nicola mentioned. It came time for the girls to head off to their next destination so I waked them down to the metro to see them off. It was a great weekend, one of the best since I've been here. It's always nice to see good friends in a new place and I'm glad they were able to come even if just for a few days.
As for adventures to come, I actually have a scuba trip in the works for this weekend with James and a friend of his from England. I'm pretty excited to do some diving and any plan on the weekend is a good one, there's nothing worse than a wasted weekend. I'm also trying to work out plans for me 2 weeks off starting August 10th. Hopefully I'll get some traveling in, just need to decide where.
And for now....well, I'm down to like 3 Euros so I need to go to the bank and exchange some more American dollars so I can go to the store and be able to eat...should be a fun adventure trying to talk to people at the bank. Actually....I just realized there is a pretty good chance the bank is closed by now...hmmmm....could be an adventure for tomorrow.
Anyway, everyone keep commenting and writing me so I stay on top of this whole blog thing...I do like doing it but when I'm tired I have a tendency to collapse instead of update. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll get caught up on some overdue pictures of Barcelona and other fun stuff, but until then...
Abrazos
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Nicola's FANTASTIC weekend with Barrett
It's Sunday morning and its harder than usual to get a sandwich in this town! Then again it is siesta time and we only just got up. I suppose I should start from the beginning. If you can't already tell this is obviously not Barrett writing this. I'm Nicola, we know each other from THE sailing team. I am traveling around Europe with my sister and decided to make a stop in Barcelona to see him. We, the we being my sister and I, got in at about 2am Friday morning from Amsterdam and stayed in a hostal in Barcelona. All day Friday we just sort of walked around and saw the sights while waiting for Barrett to get off work. It rolls around to just before 7pm and he meets us in the city and we walk to have some dinner and drinks on the beach, definately relaxing I might add. And during our pizza eating there are about 6 guys, most likely British (I can say that!), that drop trow and run into the ocean. Mind you there were quite a few empty Estrella cans scattered amongst where they left their clothes. After dinner we head over to a bar Barrett had been too, I call it the Fairy bar. It's called bosc de les fades. Something about fables or fairies or something? Anyway, this place is pretty awesome, they have a wax museum in the front, trees with faces and the leaves are weed leaves. There are also ponds and stuff. It makes you feel like you are in Fern Gully! After more drinks we head back to the hostal to get our stuff; then haul it to the train station to come back here. Apparently they stop running trains around midnight, but turns out it wasn't until 1 and we had over an hour at the station. So we head back up and have some more drinks and ice cream. Then back to the "Quantum Penthouse" for some sleep.
Day 2 = Saturday. We didn't wake up until super late. Well I take that back, I didn't wake up until almost noon. Then we slowly got out the door and made our way to the beach, which is not a very far walk at all! At the beach we pick a restaurant and of course its all in Catalan.... Barrett is actually getting quite good recognizing words and such and speaking spanish! So we all pick something, I get "Fantastic", Cleo "Beicon con Queso," and Barrett the longest most unrecognizable thing on the menu. Which turned out to be a ham and cheese sandwhich?! Mine was tuna and sardines which were actually really good! And Cleo's bacon and cheese. We have a couple drinks and head down to the beach. Which is amazing! We siesta, read, and swim, and burn! Barrett pretty much looked like a tomato! Then back to the Penthouse for showers and then off to Barcelona around 9pm for food and yes, more drinks!
Sorry, this is getting super long but it ended up being an eventful night. So we are trying to get Paiella for dinner and end up sitting in the wrong seats of two restaurants outside. So wouldn't ya know we get a pitcher of Sangria, calamari, and crab. We walk around and then go the Paca Reial for our actual dinner! We get another pitcher of Sangria and Special Paiella. It was awesome. Seafood that included crawfish, clams, shrimp, muscles, squid, other seafood, on top of delicous rice! So by the end of food and drinks its about 11:15pm, yes this is normal, we decide to party like Spainards and stay in Barcelona until atleast 5am when the trains start running again. They shut off for about 4 hours. We try to go back to the Fairy/fable place, but it was closed so we 'follow the crowd.' But it seemed like everyone was going every which way. We head towards the water front because we figure something has to be going on there. We end up at the mall? and can't quite figure out why everyone is walking up and down the stairs, then we follow the pub crawl. And wouldn't ya know we found a pub! We have a drink and decide to check out where all the loud music is coming from on the other side of the mall. There is a HUGE line to get in and we decide we don't really wan't to wait. But the crazy thing is there are already drunk people passed out everywhere. We go back to the other bar have a drink, and decide to go and get in line. We finally get into this club and its is packed! We were in there for about 3 hours just dancing and drinking and having fun. It gets to be after 5am and decide it is probably time to head back and go to bed. On the way out there are even more drunk people, one guy passed out on the side hunched over backward with his backpack on. I am sure Barrett will include this photo later. But after taking the picture we decide to be good samaritans and check to make sure we didn't just take a picture with a dead guy! He was breathing.
On our way back to the train station the only place open for food is the sandwhich shop and everyone is in there. We get 'breakfast' at now around 6:30am and are well on our way to the train station. We get there and have to wait about 20 minutes or so and there are people passed out on the stairs of the station, and not just a few but a lot. I must admit that I too fell asleep! So we get on the train and are getting back to the 'penthouse' and on the walk back it is necessary to wear sunglasses! We get in bed around 8am. We made it!
This morning, or afternoon, we wake up starving and need to find food. So in our broken catalan, spanish, hand signals, and english we spend about 30 minutes trying to find a sandwhich! We finally got one and now it is time for a siesta! And my sister and I are off to Valencia while Barrett recovers for work!
Day 2 = Saturday. We didn't wake up until super late. Well I take that back, I didn't wake up until almost noon. Then we slowly got out the door and made our way to the beach, which is not a very far walk at all! At the beach we pick a restaurant and of course its all in Catalan.... Barrett is actually getting quite good recognizing words and such and speaking spanish! So we all pick something, I get "Fantastic", Cleo "Beicon con Queso," and Barrett the longest most unrecognizable thing on the menu. Which turned out to be a ham and cheese sandwhich?! Mine was tuna and sardines which were actually really good! And Cleo's bacon and cheese. We have a couple drinks and head down to the beach. Which is amazing! We siesta, read, and swim, and burn! Barrett pretty much looked like a tomato! Then back to the Penthouse for showers and then off to Barcelona around 9pm for food and yes, more drinks!
Sorry, this is getting super long but it ended up being an eventful night. So we are trying to get Paiella for dinner and end up sitting in the wrong seats of two restaurants outside. So wouldn't ya know we get a pitcher of Sangria, calamari, and crab. We walk around and then go the Paca Reial for our actual dinner! We get another pitcher of Sangria and Special Paiella. It was awesome. Seafood that included crawfish, clams, shrimp, muscles, squid, other seafood, on top of delicous rice! So by the end of food and drinks its about 11:15pm, yes this is normal, we decide to party like Spainards and stay in Barcelona until atleast 5am when the trains start running again. They shut off for about 4 hours. We try to go back to the Fairy/fable place, but it was closed so we 'follow the crowd.' But it seemed like everyone was going every which way. We head towards the water front because we figure something has to be going on there. We end up at the mall? and can't quite figure out why everyone is walking up and down the stairs, then we follow the pub crawl. And wouldn't ya know we found a pub! We have a drink and decide to check out where all the loud music is coming from on the other side of the mall. There is a HUGE line to get in and we decide we don't really wan't to wait. But the crazy thing is there are already drunk people passed out everywhere. We go back to the other bar have a drink, and decide to go and get in line. We finally get into this club and its is packed! We were in there for about 3 hours just dancing and drinking and having fun. It gets to be after 5am and decide it is probably time to head back and go to bed. On the way out there are even more drunk people, one guy passed out on the side hunched over backward with his backpack on. I am sure Barrett will include this photo later. But after taking the picture we decide to be good samaritans and check to make sure we didn't just take a picture with a dead guy! He was breathing.
On our way back to the train station the only place open for food is the sandwhich shop and everyone is in there. We get 'breakfast' at now around 6:30am and are well on our way to the train station. We get there and have to wait about 20 minutes or so and there are people passed out on the stairs of the station, and not just a few but a lot. I must admit that I too fell asleep! So we get on the train and are getting back to the 'penthouse' and on the walk back it is necessary to wear sunglasses! We get in bed around 8am. We made it!
This morning, or afternoon, we wake up starving and need to find food. So in our broken catalan, spanish, hand signals, and english we spend about 30 minutes trying to find a sandwhich! We finally got one and now it is time for a siesta! And my sister and I are off to Valencia while Barrett recovers for work!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
un otro dia
So today at work I almost made a complete sail by myself...big step! So thats exciting, at least I'm learning something, although its becoming obvious that I need to step it up with the spanish. A few people today asked my how it was going, and why I don't speak more spanish to practice. I have been trying, and realy the problem isn't so much the speaking as the understanding what is said back so I have to sit there and ask them to repeat it with a dumb look on my face. Everyone is really nice, but when things need to get done, its just easier to have them talk to James. Which is the other problem in that James and I pretty much only speak English to each other, although today we started using more spanish which I guess is good. I do need to practice, I'm thinkin about goin into Barcelona again tomorrow and trying to find a "learn spanish" book. I'm pissed cause I had planed on bringing the ones I had in college, but I accidentally put em in storage where they lay to this day.
Also the last half of work kinda sucked because some sail came in for repairs and it turns out James had already repaired it so he was irritated with that. Apparently the owner wanted us to replace two panels that had been damaged because he didn't like James's patch or somthin. Anyway, it was kinda a mess and we had to think a bit on the best way to go about it. In any case it took a long time and wasn't much fun and we still have a bit to do tomorrow.
But after work it was back to the beach so that was cool and I got a little sun and did some swimming.
and now i'm leaving for drinks and tapas....goodbye
Also the last half of work kinda sucked because some sail came in for repairs and it turns out James had already repaired it so he was irritated with that. Apparently the owner wanted us to replace two panels that had been damaged because he didn't like James's patch or somthin. Anyway, it was kinda a mess and we had to think a bit on the best way to go about it. In any case it took a long time and wasn't much fun and we still have a bit to do tomorrow.
But after work it was back to the beach so that was cool and I got a little sun and did some swimming.
and now i'm leaving for drinks and tapas....goodbye
Monday, July 9, 2007
This has been a test...
This has been a test of the emergency "Barrett might be dead" system, if this had been a real emergency it would have been fallowed by phone calls from local authorities, hospital, or Spanish government officials....
Ok so really I just had a fairly eventful and tiring weekend and by Sunday I only had the energy to clean my room and watch movies all day.
So Friday was fun, but ended a bit disappointing. Work was a pretty easy day, we actually spent a good 30 mins wandering around checking sails to see if we could start them but most aren't scheduled for about a month away and we don't have everything ready to put them together yet. So there was some bummin around until the last 15 mins when we mopped the floor, which is some good mindless work that should keep the sails from lookin like we dragged 'em through the mud.
After me and James headed to go get a beer and hang out at this coffee shop/ Tapas bar/ actual bar. Was nice to just hang out and take a break and do some good people watchin and talked about the big festival of Premia that was beginning that night with an all night concert on the beach. He had dinner plans with his girlfriend so we headed out and planed to meet at the concert later.
I headed home to and met Adrien's family and girlfriend who where in town for the weekend for Adrien's birthday. So I hung out with them and listened to them speak alot of French, but they all knew a little English so that was nice. We had some champagne and had a few pounds of bread and they headed out for dinner. At this point I had been goin for a long time and if I was gonna make it all night I needed a nap. It was already 11, but thats pretty early around here, so I figured I could get about an hour nap, grab some food and head to the beach. Unfortunately...my phone apparently wasn't far enough away when the alarm went off and I turned it off and fell asleep again only to wake up around 3 am to Adrien and his girlfriend and brother coming back from the beach.....so pissed. I saw that they had called a few times which was nice of them, just wish it had woken me up. I got up and went and talked to 'em a bit. Adrien said "the music was shit" but he's French...he thinks everything is shit. I contemplated just going down there, I could still hear music goin and it was supposed to go till 5am, but in the end bed sounded better so I just crashed and told myself I'd get up at a decent hour and go do some exploring in Barcelona.
The next day I got up to find that Adrien and his family where heading to Barcelona to see some Goudi buildings and do some tourist stuff so I asked if I could tag along and they of course said sure. I'll talk a bit more about all that stuff when i get the pictures up but the short story is that Goudi was a pretty cool guy, Adrien's younger brought likes to play tour guide, and I'm getting tired of listening to people talk in French. However, I did ask them to teach me a few things in French so that was kinda cool, and a way for me to get in the conversation every now and then. Anyway, it was a long day of playing tourist but really interesting and a great way to see more of the city and get some cool picture. I also met some people from Baylor on the top of the Goudi park when they asked me to take their picture. It was nice to get a little English/ Texas conversation in but they were leaving like the next day so they were no good for new fast friends in Barcelona.
After getting back to Premia, I walked by the main road and just started laughing. There in the middle of the square were a bunch of people in cowboy hats, boots, giant belt buckles, next to a stage that was playing some recorded country music. They were all teaching the locals how to line dance and it was the weirdest thing I've seen since I've been here. But I was also kinda pumped to go see more and I could probably make some new friends just by saying I was from Texas. So I hurried home to shower and change and make a sandwich. Some food, a shower, and a redbull vodka later I headed out to go see the Spanish take on some Texas culture...... Only to find by the time I got there they were packing up and setting up a different stage down the street for some other band. A little disappointed I went over to one of the tapas bars and got a beer and thought about what to do. It occurred to me that I still had time if i really wanted to go back to Barcelona where I know there is alot of stuff goin on and alot of people and tourist my age. The idea started sounding better and better so I headed back over to the train station.
At about 11:30 I got a ticket and went up to the tracks to wait for a train and a night out in Barcelona...but here is the thing about this whole thing. The train to Barcelona stops running at midnight. So...going downtown is a big commitment, I was basically signing up to stay and bar hop till 5 am when the train starts up again. I was plenty ready to do that when I got there, but after about 25 mins of waiting I started feeling the day wear on me and was getting a little tired. I (and everyone else there) also realized that the train was not actually coming...guess they took off early that night. Probably all for the best, but I still wanted to find something to do, so I walked down the beach to where the festival/ beach carnival/ concert was going on.
The carnival was actually pretty cool, they had all the rides and booths you would expect and I got some fries, and a beer and walked around seein the sites. I played game where you had to shoot little balls off a shelf with a pellet gun, which was fun but did not result in me walking away with a big furry stuffed animal. So I hung out there for awhile before I had made about 3 laps around the thing and went to sit down and listen to the band. Which was playing mostly American music which was pretty cool and unexpected. I sat in the sand and watched awhile before I decided I was once again tired and headed home for bed.
As I said Sunday was spent hanging around watching movies and Formula 1 and tennis. Also James moved the rest of his stuff out so now I am officially the owner of this room until someone else moves out...which should be about August and I'll get a room upgrade....sweeeeeet. As for upcoming fun, I think tomorrow night is fireworks (these people never stop). I saw some video James took on the main street last night of these giant fire-showers that people were dancing in and people running around with sparking spinning wheels all dressed up and chasing people. These people must be fireproof or something because the whole thing looked incredibly dangerous and incredibly fun, hopefully I'll get to go to something like that soon. Also this Thursday Nicola and her sister come to town, which I am really excited about. It'll be cool to seem some friendly faces and a great excuse to go out a few nights.
...Well I'm pretty sure I have Carpel Tunnel syndrome and this is probably really long but thats how it goes.
Adios!
Ok so really I just had a fairly eventful and tiring weekend and by Sunday I only had the energy to clean my room and watch movies all day.
So Friday was fun, but ended a bit disappointing. Work was a pretty easy day, we actually spent a good 30 mins wandering around checking sails to see if we could start them but most aren't scheduled for about a month away and we don't have everything ready to put them together yet. So there was some bummin around until the last 15 mins when we mopped the floor, which is some good mindless work that should keep the sails from lookin like we dragged 'em through the mud.
After me and James headed to go get a beer and hang out at this coffee shop/ Tapas bar/ actual bar. Was nice to just hang out and take a break and do some good people watchin and talked about the big festival of Premia that was beginning that night with an all night concert on the beach. He had dinner plans with his girlfriend so we headed out and planed to meet at the concert later.
I headed home to and met Adrien's family and girlfriend who where in town for the weekend for Adrien's birthday. So I hung out with them and listened to them speak alot of French, but they all knew a little English so that was nice. We had some champagne and had a few pounds of bread and they headed out for dinner. At this point I had been goin for a long time and if I was gonna make it all night I needed a nap. It was already 11, but thats pretty early around here, so I figured I could get about an hour nap, grab some food and head to the beach. Unfortunately...my phone apparently wasn't far enough away when the alarm went off and I turned it off and fell asleep again only to wake up around 3 am to Adrien and his girlfriend and brother coming back from the beach.....so pissed. I saw that they had called a few times which was nice of them, just wish it had woken me up. I got up and went and talked to 'em a bit. Adrien said "the music was shit" but he's French...he thinks everything is shit. I contemplated just going down there, I could still hear music goin and it was supposed to go till 5am, but in the end bed sounded better so I just crashed and told myself I'd get up at a decent hour and go do some exploring in Barcelona.
The next day I got up to find that Adrien and his family where heading to Barcelona to see some Goudi buildings and do some tourist stuff so I asked if I could tag along and they of course said sure. I'll talk a bit more about all that stuff when i get the pictures up but the short story is that Goudi was a pretty cool guy, Adrien's younger brought likes to play tour guide, and I'm getting tired of listening to people talk in French. However, I did ask them to teach me a few things in French so that was kinda cool, and a way for me to get in the conversation every now and then. Anyway, it was a long day of playing tourist but really interesting and a great way to see more of the city and get some cool picture. I also met some people from Baylor on the top of the Goudi park when they asked me to take their picture. It was nice to get a little English/ Texas conversation in but they were leaving like the next day so they were no good for new fast friends in Barcelona.
After getting back to Premia, I walked by the main road and just started laughing. There in the middle of the square were a bunch of people in cowboy hats, boots, giant belt buckles, next to a stage that was playing some recorded country music. They were all teaching the locals how to line dance and it was the weirdest thing I've seen since I've been here. But I was also kinda pumped to go see more and I could probably make some new friends just by saying I was from Texas. So I hurried home to shower and change and make a sandwich. Some food, a shower, and a redbull vodka later I headed out to go see the Spanish take on some Texas culture...... Only to find by the time I got there they were packing up and setting up a different stage down the street for some other band. A little disappointed I went over to one of the tapas bars and got a beer and thought about what to do. It occurred to me that I still had time if i really wanted to go back to Barcelona where I know there is alot of stuff goin on and alot of people and tourist my age. The idea started sounding better and better so I headed back over to the train station.
At about 11:30 I got a ticket and went up to the tracks to wait for a train and a night out in Barcelona...but here is the thing about this whole thing. The train to Barcelona stops running at midnight. So...going downtown is a big commitment, I was basically signing up to stay and bar hop till 5 am when the train starts up again. I was plenty ready to do that when I got there, but after about 25 mins of waiting I started feeling the day wear on me and was getting a little tired. I (and everyone else there) also realized that the train was not actually coming...guess they took off early that night. Probably all for the best, but I still wanted to find something to do, so I walked down the beach to where the festival/ beach carnival/ concert was going on.
The carnival was actually pretty cool, they had all the rides and booths you would expect and I got some fries, and a beer and walked around seein the sites. I played game where you had to shoot little balls off a shelf with a pellet gun, which was fun but did not result in me walking away with a big furry stuffed animal. So I hung out there for awhile before I had made about 3 laps around the thing and went to sit down and listen to the band. Which was playing mostly American music which was pretty cool and unexpected. I sat in the sand and watched awhile before I decided I was once again tired and headed home for bed.
As I said Sunday was spent hanging around watching movies and Formula 1 and tennis. Also James moved the rest of his stuff out so now I am officially the owner of this room until someone else moves out...which should be about August and I'll get a room upgrade....sweeeeeet. As for upcoming fun, I think tomorrow night is fireworks (these people never stop). I saw some video James took on the main street last night of these giant fire-showers that people were dancing in and people running around with sparking spinning wheels all dressed up and chasing people. These people must be fireproof or something because the whole thing looked incredibly dangerous and incredibly fun, hopefully I'll get to go to something like that soon. Also this Thursday Nicola and her sister come to town, which I am really excited about. It'll be cool to seem some friendly faces and a great excuse to go out a few nights.
...Well I'm pretty sure I have Carpel Tunnel syndrome and this is probably really long but thats how it goes.
Adios!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Faliz cuatro de julio!
Happy 4th family and friends!
Today at work I put a sail together with glue....and I don't know who thought of that, but its a silly idea, except for the fact that you get to use a blow torch to clean the glue out of the nozle. But besides that its the 4th of July and so I'm sure everyone is celebrating.
As for me I decided at the last minute (shocking I know) to have my own mini 4th. So I headed out to the store to get stuff to make hamburgers cause thats the true American way. Unfortunatly I didn't really plan ahead long enough to get the roommates involved, although its not like the French folk really care one way or the other. I tried to get my British coworker to have some kind of contest/war for independence....I told him he could have the 13 original colonies, but he still didn't want to be a part of it...go figure.
Anyway, I ended up having a super multicultural 4th. First of all though I felt like a bad Texan because I think I have only grilled with charcoal once, and since this is time number two I actually had to double check with one of the French guys that I had it all set up right. Regardless they had their own dinner planed so I was cooking solo, but no worries, I had also bought chips and salsa (which they insisted on calling picante) for a bit of Tex-mex appetizer. So I enjoyed a few beers and made some burgers that only turned out a little burned. I topped it off with cheese and mushrooms and had a Delicious double cheese burger. However, I believe that this was the first time this particular American favorite was enjoyed with a glass of wine....what can I say its a French thing. On top of that I had my Spanish beer, my Mexican salsa, and a little of what they had made which was a a seafood rice dish that was really good. It was all good but at this point...god save me if I burp (sorry to all polite company who may be reading).
Well I topped off the evening by lighting off five firecrackers on the balcony which was my grand finale and still fun as the French laughed and started singing a bit of "America the beautiful"...which I'm not entirely sure I remember all the words too...sad. anyway, I think its about bedtime so I hope all of you have a good and proper 4th celebration!
Barrett
Today at work I put a sail together with glue....and I don't know who thought of that, but its a silly idea, except for the fact that you get to use a blow torch to clean the glue out of the nozle. But besides that its the 4th of July and so I'm sure everyone is celebrating.
As for me I decided at the last minute (shocking I know) to have my own mini 4th. So I headed out to the store to get stuff to make hamburgers cause thats the true American way. Unfortunatly I didn't really plan ahead long enough to get the roommates involved, although its not like the French folk really care one way or the other. I tried to get my British coworker to have some kind of contest/war for independence....I told him he could have the 13 original colonies, but he still didn't want to be a part of it...go figure.
Anyway, I ended up having a super multicultural 4th. First of all though I felt like a bad Texan because I think I have only grilled with charcoal once, and since this is time number two I actually had to double check with one of the French guys that I had it all set up right. Regardless they had their own dinner planed so I was cooking solo, but no worries, I had also bought chips and salsa (which they insisted on calling picante) for a bit of Tex-mex appetizer. So I enjoyed a few beers and made some burgers that only turned out a little burned. I topped it off with cheese and mushrooms and had a Delicious double cheese burger. However, I believe that this was the first time this particular American favorite was enjoyed with a glass of wine....what can I say its a French thing. On top of that I had my Spanish beer, my Mexican salsa, and a little of what they had made which was a a seafood rice dish that was really good. It was all good but at this point...god save me if I burp (sorry to all polite company who may be reading).
Well I topped off the evening by lighting off five firecrackers on the balcony which was my grand finale and still fun as the French laughed and started singing a bit of "America the beautiful"...which I'm not entirely sure I remember all the words too...sad. anyway, I think its about bedtime so I hope all of you have a good and proper 4th celebration!
Barrett
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Howdy Yall
So I must apologize...I didn't write anything yesterday...I know, I'm a bad person. It was kinda a long day at work...or at least I was kinda tired after. Regardless James and I headed over to the beach and played some frisbee and hung out which was good because otherwise I would have spent all day bummin around the apt. I also finally got in the cold water at the beach which wasn't that bad after a minute and it was nice to swim around after running around the beach playing frisbee.
After beach time I made it back home and had just enough time to take a much needed shower before the Frenchys came home. Camille's boyfriend...Fran...ok, not sure how to spell it but its pronounced Fan-swa (very french name). Anyway, he's a really cool guy as I think I've mentioned and he offered me a beer and we hung out and talked about Texas and France a bit and then the older guy, Alexander I think, made dinner which was like a really bad ass omelet. As I sat there eating and listening to their mostly French conversation I realized a big difference between the culture at home and the culture here...these people know how to relax. Somehow sitting out on the balcony and eating dinner and drinking wine is alot more relaxing than dropping yourself down in front of the tv. Anyway it was nice...even if I had no idea what the conversation was about.
Well I'm going to have to cut this short, I just got invited to head to the beach for some kite surfing 2.0 so I will be investigating that. But I am happy to hear that some people are actually reading and somewhat enjoying this so I will do my best to keep you all updated.
Adios amigos
After beach time I made it back home and had just enough time to take a much needed shower before the Frenchys came home. Camille's boyfriend...Fran...ok, not sure how to spell it but its pronounced Fan-swa (very french name). Anyway, he's a really cool guy as I think I've mentioned and he offered me a beer and we hung out and talked about Texas and France a bit and then the older guy, Alexander I think, made dinner which was like a really bad ass omelet. As I sat there eating and listening to their mostly French conversation I realized a big difference between the culture at home and the culture here...these people know how to relax. Somehow sitting out on the balcony and eating dinner and drinking wine is alot more relaxing than dropping yourself down in front of the tv. Anyway it was nice...even if I had no idea what the conversation was about.
Well I'm going to have to cut this short, I just got invited to head to the beach for some kite surfing 2.0 so I will be investigating that. But I am happy to hear that some people are actually reading and somewhat enjoying this so I will do my best to keep you all updated.
Adios amigos
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Pictures 2.1
More adventures! Come along with me and you will see the sky ablaze, flying people, and possibly some Barcelona adventures.....
Our story begins....IN AUSTIN!...wait...no, wrong tower...but I was excited anyway...
...among the children that never sleep...this is 11 pm on a Thursday BEFORE the show starts...
...AHHHHH!!!!! WE'RE BEING BOMBED!....oh wait no...OOOOOOO....AWWWWWW...purdy colors....
...it seems like back home all they really use is the round ones like the one in the middle, but here there were some that were just lines up into the sky or just loud BOOMS every now and then...very cool....
These where the ones that kinda rain down like a chandelier, but they also sprayed sparks straight up...kinda a cool affect...
AHHHH!!!!! THE SKY IS ON FIRE!
Ok, little change of pace...this is what James calls flying a kite, I call it having a blast getting drug around the beach by a sail. I started out just getting a feel for how to control it...not too hard...
...James was nice enough to play photographer...he was getting fancy with this shot....
I tried some of the cool stuff which more often than not ended with me on the ground but I never let the sail fall :)...
This was alot of fun...it's kinda like water skiing barefoot but on sand...kinda tears up the bottom of your feet but its still fun...
Ok, so everyone meet James, and James is going to show us what this is supposed to look like...
I would just like to say now that all these pictures look so good because of my excellent photography and I did the same things but James just didn't get the cool shots I did....sort of....
Ok, so James can fly and I mostly fall but I did git a little airborne a few times...just not quite like this...
And look! its getting late so we better leave...
Pictures 2.0
I've been getting a little better at taking picture and playing tourist so I figured I'd up date the world on my picture progress.
So this one actually scared the crap out of me to take because it involved hanging my new camera off our 5th floor balcony...but its kinda a cool picture.
Well thats enough of the view from the apt, lets head down to the beach! First stop is the insanely small elevator....hope we all fit!
....Next we head down one of the main roads straight down to the beach, watch for crazy Spanish drivers....
So this one actually scared the crap out of me to take because it involved hanging my new camera off our 5th floor balcony...but its kinda a cool picture.
Little picture of James' little garden. The tomatoes are pretty tasty.
This is actually from our roof...we can just barely see the a bit of the water from the balcony but this is a little better view.
This is just the surrounding town/lots of apts.
On the opposite side of from the water is the hills which are really nice and the town is kinda growing up into them. And in this picture you can see the loft...anyone? anyone find it yet?
Well thats enough of the view from the apt, lets head down to the beach! First stop is the insanely small elevator....hope we all fit!
....Next we head down one of the main roads straight down to the beach, watch for crazy Spanish drivers....
....then we finally make it to the main road along the beach with this ugly fence and train that blocks the view of the beach, but not to worry, I know the secret passageway
...look for the the terrifying sign of the man with no neck walking along a zig-zag. This will lead you to the secret tunnel system...
...."The Stairs of Doom", as they are called by the locals....
...but do not fear! there is light at the end of the tunnel, just watch out for the weird guy on the wall....he'll get ya.....
....then poke your head out of the tunnel to make sure the coast is clear by the beach bar...
...AND WAHOO! we made it....ok....time to go home now....
...just walk back by this sweet sand art I made...
...and fallow up the road toward the big house and you'll find your way back home!
EL FIN!
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