Wow, I haven’t blogged in a few days!
Well let’s start with my train ride to Barcelona. I had all girls in my 4 bed car, that was nice, and they were all young. 2 other girls (one from London, one from LA) they were back packing too. They are Jewish, and one is going to study in Isreal! How neat!
These girls aren’t very smart however, one got their wallet stolen in Rome, and they weren’t prepared very well.
We all headed our seperate directions when we got to the station and I headed off to find my hostel. The hardest part was finding the metro. We arrived at the old station, so I had to walk to find a metro!! Once I found the metro, it was easy.
My hostel is neat, in the middle of a neighborhood, with a supermarket right across the street!! The rooms are in flats, with 4 bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen!! It even had a living room to hang out in!!
I was in a room with one boy and one girl and then an empty bed. The boy always seemed to be sleeping, except when I would go to bed, then he would be off somewhere! The girl is from Germany, she was there both nights with me.
I bought some groceries (Fanta Free, jelly, bread, yogurt, cereal, milk) so that I could save money and not buy lunches. However, the first day in Barcelona I decided to try a salad and potato Tapas–both nasty, cold potatoes aren’t my things, and I don’t like anchoives!! Especially not on a salad!!
I bought an open bus tour ticket for 2 days. They covered lots of the city, and you could get on and off as you like. I decided to ride each one around all the way before I decided what to see. It took 3.5 hours to see all the city, but it helped me understand what I wanted to see.
On the first day I went to the Olympic hill and took a tram to the top of the hill. Up on top there was a castle that overlooked the city and the port. I sat on top for a while and watched the ship yard and the cruise ships. I headed back down the hill after about an hour, and got back on the tour bus. I got off at a random station and caught the metro back to my hostel. I had dinner and relaxed, watched some Spanish tv, it was funny just watching their expressions! I headed to bed around 10, but I was exhausted!! I was supposed to rain, and never did, however it was cooler that day.
The next day I got up around 930 had some breakfast and headed back out. I stopped at the Sagrada Familia church (its been under construction for 70-some years! And won’t be done til 2026!!) My tour gave us a coupon book so I got a guided tour for the cost of the normal enterance. The guided tour was nice, the lady explained every detail, the whole church made sense then!!
After the church I got back on the tour bus, and took it to the stop by the mountain. I took a trolley up partway (more coupons!) And then a funicular up the rest of the way. On the top of the mountain there is a amusement park, you don’t pay to get in, you pay for the rides only!! So I sat in the middle of the park, watching the parents and kids argue over which ride is next, and I ate my lunch!! The mountain had a full view of Barcelona and the surrounding arean it was pretty!!
After the mountain I hopped back on the bus tour and headed for the city history museum. It took 45 minutes on the bus, and 45 minutes to find it! The enterance is very hidden, but it was worth it!! I ended up underneath much of the Gothic quarter looking at the old Roman city, the original Barcelona.
It was getting later, but I decided to ride the bus to dusk! It was fun watching the city close down. I got on the metro and after a construction site manoover, made my way back to the hostel. I had some cereal and some ice cream, what a healthy dinner! Haha!!
I got most of my stuff packed up, and hit the sack. However about 20 minutes later the door flew open and 2 people (a boy and girl) were standing there. They said something and left. My roomie said they did this ealier before I got back. 10 minutes later they came back with someone that works there. They asked us if we had reservations, and then left. We thought for sure they would come back, so we chatted for awhile, after 20 minutes we gave up and went to bed.
Apparently the girl came back because she was sleeping in the top bunk this morning, neither me nor my roomie heard her!!
I’m now sitting in the Barcelona train station waiting for my train to Madrid to post. I hope they have better food in Madrid!!
Normal Travel Girl 
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