Barcelona

I finally was able to tour the city of Barcelona. I have only been there twice. Once when i arrived at the airport (which doesn't count) and I have been the the beach.I was able to spend this past weekend int he city. I had so much fun. I went with Kristin and we couch surfed for the night. Kristin's family drove us down and then we had to take te metro to get their apartment. The metro in a foreign country gets some taking use to since everyting is in another language. Thankfully, we really didn't get lost. For those of you who don't know, couch surfing is where people offer up there couches for you to sleep on while you are in their city. The best part is that it's free. It a great way to meet people and see the city. The guys we stayed with were extremely friendly and were able to show us around the city. That night they let us hang out with their friends...who were all nice as well and many spoke English which is a plus. Saturday night we left for dinner at 10 and had tappas. Later we went to one of their friend's house for cake and drinks. Finally at 3am we left to go to the Disco, Side Car. I have never gone out that late especially since things close down around 2am in CA. It is definitely a different experience. I think we left the disco around 6am when the sun was coming out. That is definitely a first for me. I only got a few hours of sleep Sunday morning then had to catch a ride back home. I was so tired and my feet were killing me from the night before, but I had so much fun that I wouldn't change a thing. They guys we stayed with- Alvaro and Marco A Goudi Building Human Castle- the smaller kids are on top. I was afraid one of them would fall. The youngest looked to be about 5 years old. You can't see from my pic, but there are 8 levels of people. Las Ramblas Street- Up and down this street you will find people in costume as they pretend to be statues. They each have a bucket in front of them and if you give money they will then do something for you. I didn't wait anround to see what this guy would do. This is their job and you will see them everyday.

Tarragona

Tarragona is next to Reus. It is only a 10 min train ride away. I went on my mini day trip today with Kristin. We left early this morning. The day was beutiful...not a cloud in the sky. The ocean was right nextg to us as we exited the train. Tarragona is a much bigger town. There are also many, many stairs. to go anywhere you have to go up or down stairs. There were also lots of hills. I definitely got my exercise in today. We did lots of site-seeing and layed out by at the beach. It turned out to be a very hot day...but I really enjoyed my outing. It's nice to get away even if only for the day. Staying inside a house too long can really make a person antsy. We were able to have lunch and and Gelato ice cream. Of course we ate lunch like normal Americans at noon...no one in Spain eats this early so we were the only ones there. Most people do not eat until around 2. The ice cream here is so good. I don't know what they do differently, but it is awesome. The Roman Ruins of an Amphitheater. I didn't go inside becuase they charged money. I thought I got some good pictures from the outside without the cost.The cathedral is huge...this is only one side of it. This picture doesn't do it justice. There are gargoyles on the roof and many statues in the middle. There are many statues throughout the city. Here I am enjoying my ice cream with an old man. This statue or momument is huge. It is a human castle. It's funny that I saw this today because the mom in my family was telling em ablout the people that come into town an do exactly this. They will actuall be here in a couople of weeks so I will be able to see it live and in person. It should be fun. The water is so clear and clean here. It is definitely different then our beaches. I could actually see the ground in the water. There were many cargo ships and sail boats out today. Here we are on the Mediterranean Balcony. It is long and you are able to see most of the costline. Great view!