Chapter 42: A Fat Kid Gets His Cake!
I am finally in Barcelona and only now I am acutely aware of how the 3 extra days in Cologne after the Governmnet show where a waste. I should have come straight here. Cologne was kinda boring, sure it had a Cathedral... that looked like the other 3 that I have seen this trip, but it was kinda dead. I did meet a really nice couple at a bar that the guy at the hostel suggested and I had a heck of a time talking to people at the bar in the hostel who were follow travelers, especially after finding out that I was the only person in months to stay at that hostel for more than 2 nights ( I stayed for 5...). To add injury to insult, The German venue website that Government Mule was playing at said the show was sold out. I decided not to risk it and this rad ass Slovenian Jam Band fan told me that, not only were there tickets for sale, but people were giving tickets away!!!
Barcelona has been good to me in me 16 hours that I have been here. I got off the train, took the easy to navagate metro to my hostel and found out that I could not check in just yet... despite the fact that it was 2pm... So I simply deposited my bags (after traveling almost 2 days) and this fat kid made a direct headin for the beach. I ended up staying there for 5 hours and simply listened to music, read and people watched. The only problem with being at the beach by yourself is that you have no one to watch your stuff when you go into the water :(
The city is beautiful, the people are beautiful and I finally speak the language. In Germany it was a minor detail as most people know enough English (as half of thier fathers where American GI´s if you take a tally of the people who came up to talk to me), but the six miserable hours that I spent in France (or rather around the couple of blocks near the train staion that I got to explore in my 7 hours there) were a nightmare. This was because the local propreitors had no interest in even working with me in English, and I have zero skills in French. Seriously the only French I know is from know a little latin and Spainish, and most of the time those conecitons are not apparent when I hear it... only when I read it. For Crying out loud, I didnt even know how to say please!!! and I consider that one of my core values is that one should always know how to say please and thank you in the language of the country that you are in.
Although I am actually in Catalonia (which might be an indipendant country if the inhabitants have thier way in the near future) I love being in Spain. I have lost a bit of the language, but to make up for that I still remember the ins and outs of the culture, how to order a beer, the foods, how to order a beer, important signs and signals, and how to order a beer.
I had a jamon sandwich for the first time in a year, and tommorrow I intend to see some live Jazz at a club that I have strongarmed out of the locals. I also had the best lox and cream cheese begal at a canadian bakery on a street (calle) called Canuda...
My plans mostly consist of going to the beach every day and taking in a couple of sites... maybe. I have found out about a town near here that not has great Roman ruins, but a fantastic beach to boot. I might cancel one of my two nights in Madrid to spend a night there.
So far this trip has been pretty disappointing in regards to self discovery. The only thing that I have been able to find out is that I have things to work on. The first of which is my anger (although a sublime situation with Kelly brought that to my attention in the most stark of manner) So far I can point out a handful of ways that i could have done better on spending, but I am still doinging head over heels beeter than my trip to Japan or Spain.
I love Spain, I love the Spanish people. After going to Germany and England I can say that with utter conviction. If I could have the chance to live here I would do it in a heart beat.
I see advantages and disadvantages to traveling alone vs with a group. When you are alone there is no delibration, but with a group there are shared memories. I see now that i am glad that I have done this trip alone, although I find myself talking to myself a lot. This is no surprise as I do it a bit at home. Nonething too crazy, just thinking out loud, probably realated to the desire to hear another human voice speaking english that isnt a frat kid or some pampered sororiety broad. Two groups of peopel that one will encounter as they are the ones most likely to be able to afford to go to Europe.
Barcelona has been good to me in me 16 hours that I have been here. I got off the train, took the easy to navagate metro to my hostel and found out that I could not check in just yet... despite the fact that it was 2pm... So I simply deposited my bags (after traveling almost 2 days) and this fat kid made a direct headin for the beach. I ended up staying there for 5 hours and simply listened to music, read and people watched. The only problem with being at the beach by yourself is that you have no one to watch your stuff when you go into the water :(
The city is beautiful, the people are beautiful and I finally speak the language. In Germany it was a minor detail as most people know enough English (as half of thier fathers where American GI´s if you take a tally of the people who came up to talk to me), but the six miserable hours that I spent in France (or rather around the couple of blocks near the train staion that I got to explore in my 7 hours there) were a nightmare. This was because the local propreitors had no interest in even working with me in English, and I have zero skills in French. Seriously the only French I know is from know a little latin and Spainish, and most of the time those conecitons are not apparent when I hear it... only when I read it. For Crying out loud, I didnt even know how to say please!!! and I consider that one of my core values is that one should always know how to say please and thank you in the language of the country that you are in.
Although I am actually in Catalonia (which might be an indipendant country if the inhabitants have thier way in the near future) I love being in Spain. I have lost a bit of the language, but to make up for that I still remember the ins and outs of the culture, how to order a beer, the foods, how to order a beer, important signs and signals, and how to order a beer.
I had a jamon sandwich for the first time in a year, and tommorrow I intend to see some live Jazz at a club that I have strongarmed out of the locals. I also had the best lox and cream cheese begal at a canadian bakery on a street (calle) called Canuda...
My plans mostly consist of going to the beach every day and taking in a couple of sites... maybe. I have found out about a town near here that not has great Roman ruins, but a fantastic beach to boot. I might cancel one of my two nights in Madrid to spend a night there.
So far this trip has been pretty disappointing in regards to self discovery. The only thing that I have been able to find out is that I have things to work on. The first of which is my anger (although a sublime situation with Kelly brought that to my attention in the most stark of manner) So far I can point out a handful of ways that i could have done better on spending, but I am still doinging head over heels beeter than my trip to Japan or Spain.
I love Spain, I love the Spanish people. After going to Germany and England I can say that with utter conviction. If I could have the chance to live here I would do it in a heart beat.
I see advantages and disadvantages to traveling alone vs with a group. When you are alone there is no delibration, but with a group there are shared memories. I see now that i am glad that I have done this trip alone, although I find myself talking to myself a lot. This is no surprise as I do it a bit at home. Nonething too crazy, just thinking out loud, probably realated to the desire to hear another human voice speaking english that isnt a frat kid or some pampered sororiety broad. Two groups of peopel that one will encounter as they are the ones most likely to be able to afford to go to Europe.