...often go awry

After our exhausting night in the streets of Barcelona, we didn't have much energy to do anything but sleep on Sunday. It was my first time staying in a hostel, and I absolutely loved it. There was another guy from California that we hung out with, and then there were others in our room from Costa Rica, Madagascar, and Poland. It was such a cosmopolitan atmosphere with students from all over the world, but we all had the similar interest of wanting to travel and see the world.

The food we ate was probably one of the highlights of the trip. I don't know if food in Catalunya is just better than in Madrid, or if we were just willing to spend more money because we were on vacation, but everything we ate was heavenly. Pesto pizza, seafood paella, enough tapas to last us the entire weekend. It was a never-ending feast.

Monday, Halloween, we had the brilliant idea to rent bicycles and ride around the city. Being able to explore on wheels made the city so much more accessible, plus it was a beautiful day and bike riding is just fun. We rode to the Sagrada Familia, a massive cathedral designed by Gaudi, which was the most beautifully malformed building I've ever seen. The outside was all twisted, and kind of looked like a massive termite mound erupting from the street, but the inside was pristine. His buildings, which would jump out at you on random streets, really added to the modern European ambience of the city.

Before I left, my roommates friend told me that Barcelona's atmosphere was more "European," while in Madrid it was more Spanish and Mediterranean. Now I can definitely see what she meant. Barcelona was more modern feeling, with big streets and contemporary architecture. The stores and restaurants seemed more posh also, and it was without a doubt more touristy. Natives would assume to speak English before even tempting Spanish or Catalan, and while a lot of madrileños are proficient in English too, they aren't nearly as eager to use it.

That night we planned to go out for Halloween, but at dinner my friends purse was stolen by one of the infamous Barcelona thieves. It kind of killed our mood, so we decided to just head back to the hostel and sleep. By the end of the next day, we were ready to just hop on the bus and be back in Madrid again. Strangely, there were people sitting in our seats, and we were devastated when we realized the tickets were for the next day. Instead of having to wait 24 hours, we only had to wait eight more for the midnight bus. We didn't get to Madrid until the morning, but we were all definitely glad to be back home.