molly dice

This is what's so great about Spain:

EVERYTHING.

This will have to be a very brief version of what I wrote in my journal, because if I described everything, it would take up wayyy too much space.


Okay. I stayed in a hostel in a room without any of my group members, which was actually pretty legit. There were two guys from Australia (one of whom was gay? maybe?) who had been traveling for months, a guy and a girl from Germany who were studying architecture, and a 6'8" 26-year-old 6th grade teacher from LA. Really fun to meet all different kinds of people.

Yesterday was my first/only full day in Barcelona. Oh.my.gosh. I want to live there forever. It's the most beautiful city, EVER. Ever ever ever. We went to La Sagrada Familia, which Gaudi started in 1892. It's still not done. It's funded by donations and alms...wha?!



Abe came too.



After that, we hit up Parc Gual (btw, look all these up for better pictures than I took), from which you can see out over the entire city. So pretty. Lots of walking, though, and I was in flip flops. My feet were okay, but they got reallllly dirty. Gross.

Hokay. So. We got back to the hostel at like....5? We took a brief siesta, then met up at 8:30 and went to find some place to eat. Friday night, I forgot to say, we had tapas - very good, but I reFUSE to eat octopus. Freaking legs....*shudder* Anyway. We got pizza for like 3euro. Very good.

We went back to the hostel and chilled for a while, then went out at 11:30 with the Irish girl who was staying in their room - Megan. We walked - seriously - three miles to get to the strip of clubs out on the waterfront. Took us forever. Still in flip flops. Yep.

So. Ladies and gentlemen, believe it or not, I, Molly R------, square extraordinaire, went clubbing. Soy LOCA! We just went along the strip, hitting up every club that looked even semi-dec, with the girls leading the way in so the guys got in free. (Good conversation about how the boys are all about using pretty girls to avoid paying the cover fee in bars on the way out there.) Every bar was really loud, really hot, really crowded, and as you might guess, really awesome. Dancing, it's like...they don't care. You can do whatever and it doesn't matter. And they don't do gross freak dancing like in the States. It was just...comfortable and fun.

Getting to the WHAT?! part now. When we'd gotten a bit too warm from dancing, we went into this Irish bar (yeah, in Spain) a ways down the strip. When Irish Megan heard that I'd never tried anything, her mouth dropped open, and then she told me what to get. Yes, again, shock of your life, I finally tried alcohol. Took a foreign country, but hey.

P.S. - Malibu and pineapple, albeit a very girly wimpy drink, is DELICIOUS. Not worth 8euros, but delicious. The boys wished they'd gotten it instead of their Amstel beer. Oh, also, Irish Megan's Magner's cider was realllly good too.

So. After drinks, we went back to dancing. Salsa dancing, HOORAY! The club was sooo crowded....like, solid bodies....and no air conditioning. But it was amazing. Here's my favorite part. Mr. Spain, who is, btw, still gorgeous, still funny, still ridiculously nice and chivalrous, took my hand and led me out to the dance floor, ignoring my (half-hearted) protests that I couldn't dance. He taught me anyway.

Salsa is a close-together dance.

Yes indeed.

We had 2 boys in our group of 6, so they kept switching back and forth between us. Okay by me; a Spanish guy (no, Colombiano) found me and taught me some more salsa. Couldn't really hear what he was saying to me, but that's okay. I looked at his feet and let him lead.


Ohmygosh, this post is so long.

So, yes. We went to like, one or two more clubs; the boys got up on the bar and danced along to "ella, ella, ella, eh eh eh ,under my umbrella.." so funny. Oh man, the American music was everywhere. Umbrella and Hot Like Me were EVERYWHERE.

One more thing - Spanish guys are forward. Like, creepers. As we were walking down the strip to leave, I was trying to see where our whole group was in the crowd, so I was craning my neck, looking forward and back. Mr. Spain was behind me, the last in our group, so I was looking for him, and this Spanish guy came up behind me and made some random noise/catcall/I don't know, and moved realllly close to me and like...shimmied? It made me mad, so, being me, I swung at him and almost caught him in the chest, but he backed up. By that time Mr. Spain had caught up to me and he put his arm around me and led me away. Aw, so protective and reassuring. Love it.

Walked alllll the way back because we didn't have enough money for cab fare. Got back to the hostel at...4:45 or so; took a shower to wash the NASTY off my feet, and climbed into bed around 5:30.

Woke up at 6:15 when the Germans came back into the room and noisily said goodbye to the tall American guy. Went back to sleep.

Woke up for good at 9:30, packed what little I had to put back in my suitcase, and got my stuff downstairs by 10 for checkout.

We took a train to Tarregona, where we are now in a very nice hotel with free Wi-Fi.

I LOVE IT. The whole country. And I have friends! My group likes me! Life is good. (Humid, though.)

kaybye.