We were disgustingly dirty and had to fill out some paperwork. We ended up meeting the two guys who were checking in at the same time, Kyle and Jimmy, who are from California.
We had a good laugh over the rules on the contract we had to sign. Gabriel is a funny little man who takes his job very seriously and is very strict. Some of the rules were things such as no partial or full nudity, no cooking full meals in the kitchen, no bringing people back but stay with whom you want outside of the hostel, no alcohol and so on. Also Gabriel did not like the guys at all. It became a joke between us but their interactions were priceless.
We decided to go for a drink after Alicia and I got showered and we wandered Las Ramblas a main street here where there are street performers and people selling things. We ended up buying beers and sitting by the water and talking. The weather here at night is beautiful... During the day it is freakishly hot.
The next day we all went to the El Corte Ingles, or the grocery store and got breakfast and lunch stuff. We got ham, cheese, bread, cereal, eggs and juice. When we got back it was time for Alicia and I to pick up mom
We hadn't been to the airport yet and didn't really know where it was but we figured to could take the metro. After getting extremely lost we gave up and got a taxi. The man told us it was a 30 min trip. This sucked because I had estimated about 10 and with getting lost we were already late.
I have no idea how it happened but we found mom right when we got there but we were 40 min late. I felt terrible but we learned now that the barca airport is not close to town at all.
We got back to the hostel and mom dropped her stuff off. Then we went to lunch on Las Ramblas and caught up on life. We all had quite a few stories. We got back to the hostel showered napped and helped the boys make some dinner.
Alicia mom and I went for a quick tapas and a beer and then met Jimmy and Kyle for a drink. Mom went to sleep around 12 and then the four of us went clubbing down by the beach. It was a lot of fun and danced until the club closed at four. We walked home on the beach and went to sleep.
We woke up the next morning around 10ish and Alicia mom and I started our morning with eggs and potatoes. We got ready and got on the subway. We saw La Sagrada Familia first which is an unfinished cathedral start by Antoni Gaudi. We went inside and the place gave me goosebumps. It won't be finished for quite some time but Gaudi is an amazing architect who does a lot of organic designs and every part had a meaning. It is supposed to be finished in about 30 years and I would love to make it back and see it finished.
We then had lunch at a sandwich shop and tours Park Guell which features more Gaudi work. It was pretty sweet except is was unneccesarily hot and we got a tad bit lost. We sat in a covered area and listen to three guys play the most amazing classical music. I could have sat there all day.
I forgot to mention today was terrible because I have been having trouble with my bank. I guess there was fraud on my account and so they canceled the card and sent me a new one which is sitting at home. I was going to have them mail it too me but we don't have a permanent location for long enough. The main problem being they notified me of this through a letter which I never got since I am over here. So I haven't been able to get money out and my credit card only goes so far. They don't accept plastic at very many places here. I spent a good portion of today battling my bank and in the end am having my grandma deposit money into Alicias account and withdrawing from there. It was so frustrating though. I wish I would have received a phone call instead of wondering why my card kept being denied. Also after all of my interactions with Bank of America I might change banks, they were in consistent and terrible.
We came back to our hostel and napped for an hour then got ready and went to dinner we tried a bunch of tapas and then explored the port. We are back in our room having a needed night in. The heat makes us sleepy.
Its been really nice having mom here. We were starting to get a little worn from traveling and her excitement is infectious. We are having a great time telling her our stories and showing her things we have experienced.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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