Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Barcelona
I took a night train from Nice to Barcelona a couple days ago. It wasn't as bad as people make it out to be, I guess, but I got really lucky. I was in a car with just a handful of other Americans who got bumped to the same train after the 10AM train was "full". We all slept well despite making every single stop possible. The high speed trains only stop every hour or more, and travel at 150+ miles an hour, as opposed to max 40 mph on the local trains. It took me just 5.5 hours to get from Paris to Nice, and 15 hours to get from Nice to Barcelona!
Anyway, I have a ferry ticket booked to get to Civitaveccia (right next to Rome) for tonight, so we'll see how that turns out :) Always an adventure, especially because I asked for "the cheapest ticket they have"... probably not such a good idea.
Barcelona is great! I almost want to stay another day, but I booked my ferry ticket already. I love being able to sort of understand people (I speak spanish, not French!) and communicate with people on the street. Yesterday I went all over town. Of course, first thing in the morning I lost my section of the guidebook on Barcelona, so I was clueless as to where to go and what to see, but I picked up a tour bus map and loosely followed the route it traveled, only I went by public transportation. The metro here is wonderful! Much less confusing than Paris (probably has 30 fewer routes, though), and much cleaner. My only complaint is the vending machine. When I tried to purchase my day pass from the ticket counter with a 50 euro note (thanks, ATMs...), the man told me to use the machine. Since the pass was only 5 euro, I now have 45 euro in 2, 1, and .50 coins... The man just laughed and laughed...
My hostel is fun too. It's in a shady part of town, so I get offers of "hashish" from these crazy rasta guys every time I turn a corner. It is very near the water though, and just a couple of blocks from "Las Ramblas", the main street of the city where there are numerous little shops and street performers (and an internet cafe!) Last night I went to watch the English-Swedish football game with 2 English guys from my hostel. It was crazy! We went to this tiny little bar with cheap beer and packed full of Engish and Swedish people alike. I love the world cup, it brings everyone in the world together! After the game finished and we finished a couple of rounds (okay, maybe a few...) we went to a club. From the street, it looked like any other of the countless cafe/shop type stores, but we went underground where the place opened up into a huge dance floor/disco with hundreds of people and loud music and plenty of drinks. The rest of the night is a bit hazy ::cough::cough::, but we made it back before curfew (3am) with 5 minutes to spare. Now I hate my life for having to check out of my hostel by 9am.
Well, my time at this internet cafe is almost up, but Adios from Barcelona!