On the Rest of the Trip...
I was going back over my blogs and I realized that I left out the end of the trip, partly because I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, and mostly because I had no internetz in Madrid or Vegas. I continued to spend my days in Barcelona in the following manner:
9am- Get up (maybe)
10am- go to the Canadian bagel place and get the best lox and creamcheese bagel that I have ever had.
11am- Get to the beach and preceed to drink litros of beer, smoke cigarettes, nap, and read.
2pm- eat a lunch consisting of canned olives and bread.
2:15pm- Consider leaving the beach
2:20pm- Come to the conclusion that it is not time to leave the beach, but instead it is time for a nap.
4pm- return to the hostel at a lofty pace
5pm- Finally make it to hostel after stopping at a random bar.
5:30pm Drink vermouth at a bar down the street from the hostel and read or talk to locals.
11pm- go to bed.
I really liked Barcelona. The city was really cosmopolitan but was a glimpses of very different Spain than I saw in Andulacia. There are also a lot of cool buildings that were built for the Olympics (like here, here, and here). You also never quite knew what you would run into in the streets... Por Ejemplo:
Another day I was meandering back from the beach and I was stopped in my tracks by a reasonable orderly mob. Turns out the mob was a anti-bullfighting thing and I talked with some of the protesters to get the gist of what was going on. Apparently they were trying to pressure the regional government of Catalonia to ban bullfighting. I cringe at any unnessicary suffering that is inflicted on animals, but at the same time there is a part of me that is fascinated with bullfighting.
I also took a vow at the beginning of the trip to not shave my beard. I cant remember why, but it had something to do with the fact that this would be my last chance, and since I was not looking for female entanglements, I had no one to impress. So by this time my beard was quite long. However I maintain that I was was quite guapo.
By chance I noticed that there was a Plaza de George Orwell. I think this has something to do with the fact that he was in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. I trekked on down there but all there was was this statue.
From there I went to Madrid. I slowed down alot there and was mostly content eating and drinking at the Museum de Jamon and staying at Mad Hostel. I dont have any pictures from those three nights and I think this was because I was worn out and kept forgetting my camera. For some reason there seemed to be more prostitutes on the streets and they were really aggressive. Met an American that is currently living in Israel and we got to talking. Turned out he had shown up to Spain during the tourist and backpacker season without any reservations or any plan. So I sat down with him and helped him plan out a trip to Andalucia.
My flight from Madrid to Vegas pretty much sucked. I couldnt sleep and a girl about a seat down from me threw up before we even took off. Needless to say that I got into vegas very tired. I got to the Sahara and enjoyed having my own privite room (and not sharing it with 20 people!!!) but I couldnt sleep and spent much of the night playing blackjack, chain smoking, and drinking Crown Royal on the rocks.
Since the guys didnt get in until late that night I just checked out and hung out at the pool. It struck me how 106 degree weather is manageable when you are by a pool. All in all it was a pretty sweet day.
Unfortunately as soon as I walked over to the Stratasphere to meet the guys, it became apparent that things were fucked up. We only had 2 rooms for 9 dudes AND the two rooms where at two different hotels. Turns out the strip club was not planned out either. I got really frustrated. After traveling around by myself for over a month, and having most everything go smoothly, everything that needed to be planned out was planned out, and I was so organized in regards to sites and hostels and tickets. Now that I had joined up with other people, things were just plain fucked.
We did manage to have fun. Dispite the fact that my wardrobe situation was messed up and I still hadnt shaved for almost 2 months, I still managed to do some medium pimping. It was good to see most of the guys, as I hadnt seen them in quite a few years. We went to the Star Trek exhibit in the Hilton. There is a scam there where you can pay $15 bucks to get your picture taken in the captains chair of the Enterprise. I mentioned it to the bachelor and he says how the only way that would be worth it would be if you could have your pants around your ankles and a newpaper, as if you are on the crapper. To this I reply "you know it can never hurt to ask". an hour later were being sneaked in through the back way by the staff to take the picture. Hopefully I will be able to get it up real soon.
9am- Get up (maybe)
10am- go to the Canadian bagel place and get the best lox and creamcheese bagel that I have ever had.
11am- Get to the beach and preceed to drink litros of beer, smoke cigarettes, nap, and read.
2pm- eat a lunch consisting of canned olives and bread.
2:15pm- Consider leaving the beach
2:20pm- Come to the conclusion that it is not time to leave the beach, but instead it is time for a nap.
4pm- return to the hostel at a lofty pace
5pm- Finally make it to hostel after stopping at a random bar.
5:30pm Drink vermouth at a bar down the street from the hostel and read or talk to locals.
11pm- go to bed.
I really liked Barcelona. The city was really cosmopolitan but was a glimpses of very different Spain than I saw in Andulacia. There are also a lot of cool buildings that were built for the Olympics (like here, here, and here). You also never quite knew what you would run into in the streets... Por Ejemplo:
Another day I was meandering back from the beach and I was stopped in my tracks by a reasonable orderly mob. Turns out the mob was a anti-bullfighting thing and I talked with some of the protesters to get the gist of what was going on. Apparently they were trying to pressure the regional government of Catalonia to ban bullfighting. I cringe at any unnessicary suffering that is inflicted on animals, but at the same time there is a part of me that is fascinated with bullfighting.
I also took a vow at the beginning of the trip to not shave my beard. I cant remember why, but it had something to do with the fact that this would be my last chance, and since I was not looking for female entanglements, I had no one to impress. So by this time my beard was quite long. However I maintain that I was was quite guapo.
By chance I noticed that there was a Plaza de George Orwell. I think this has something to do with the fact that he was in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. I trekked on down there but all there was was this statue.
From there I went to Madrid. I slowed down alot there and was mostly content eating and drinking at the Museum de Jamon and staying at Mad Hostel. I dont have any pictures from those three nights and I think this was because I was worn out and kept forgetting my camera. For some reason there seemed to be more prostitutes on the streets and they were really aggressive. Met an American that is currently living in Israel and we got to talking. Turned out he had shown up to Spain during the tourist and backpacker season without any reservations or any plan. So I sat down with him and helped him plan out a trip to Andalucia.
My flight from Madrid to Vegas pretty much sucked. I couldnt sleep and a girl about a seat down from me threw up before we even took off. Needless to say that I got into vegas very tired. I got to the Sahara and enjoyed having my own privite room (and not sharing it with 20 people!!!) but I couldnt sleep and spent much of the night playing blackjack, chain smoking, and drinking Crown Royal on the rocks.
Since the guys didnt get in until late that night I just checked out and hung out at the pool. It struck me how 106 degree weather is manageable when you are by a pool. All in all it was a pretty sweet day.
Unfortunately as soon as I walked over to the Stratasphere to meet the guys, it became apparent that things were fucked up. We only had 2 rooms for 9 dudes AND the two rooms where at two different hotels. Turns out the strip club was not planned out either. I got really frustrated. After traveling around by myself for over a month, and having most everything go smoothly, everything that needed to be planned out was planned out, and I was so organized in regards to sites and hostels and tickets. Now that I had joined up with other people, things were just plain fucked.
We did manage to have fun. Dispite the fact that my wardrobe situation was messed up and I still hadnt shaved for almost 2 months, I still managed to do some medium pimping. It was good to see most of the guys, as I hadnt seen them in quite a few years. We went to the Star Trek exhibit in the Hilton. There is a scam there where you can pay $15 bucks to get your picture taken in the captains chair of the Enterprise. I mentioned it to the bachelor and he says how the only way that would be worth it would be if you could have your pants around your ankles and a newpaper, as if you are on the crapper. To this I reply "you know it can never hurt to ask". an hour later were being sneaked in through the back way by the staff to take the picture. Hopefully I will be able to get it up real soon.
