Barcelona, Espana (Spain)

Saturday evening we arrived in Barcelona and headed to our hostel on the main shopping street in town. We, as usual, arranged our things and quietly prepared for a night out (people were sleeping). At around 11pm we set out in hopes of festivities but were quickly informed that it was still dinner time and the parties don’t start until at least 1am. Hungry, we sat for a meal of Paella before finding a small pub on a side street that had cheap drinks. We had a few rounds in the casual atmosphere until it was nearing 1am. With a free pass to a club on the strip we headed that way. We finally found it with the help of the promoter and avoided some older gentlemen before ordering a round. We were shocked at the 9euro each prices but the drinks were made so we had to have them. We went from the main upstairs room down to the dance hall and out to the patio, checking out the place and people watching. After some dancing and such, we decided to call it a night and make the short walk home. On the way, Corinne found an abandoned bicycle and quickly took to riding it through the streets, happy as a clam. When we arrived back, she even brought it inside in the hopes it would be there waiting in the morning (no such luck). We settled in for bed and were soon asleep.

The next day, we had plans for a full day of shopping (our first for the trip) as Barcelona is known for its cheap finds. However, it was Sunday and as we all know, Spain is a very Catholic country and, Sunday being the Sabbath, everything was closed. Disappointed, we walked the streets window shopping and searching for someplace to dine for lunch. We chose an outdoor patio but soon regretting our decision as the combination of the pushy waiter and more sub-par food was less than desirable. We finished our meal and walked through the outdoor market before heading back towards the hostel to warm up. After some time of internetting and avoiding the resident creeper, we donned another layer of clothes and went out in search of a grocery store to buy supplies for dinner. We returned and had another run in with the resident creeper and spend the rest of the evening cooking, eating, internetting and avoiding him. Finally, we returned to our room and settled into bed with plans for another early train in the morning.