Valencia

Ola!

I can't believe it's been 15 days already. It seems like it's been both shorter and longer than that, if that makes sense. Which it doesn't. Nevermind.

I LOVED Barcelona. I regret only having two days there. It's an amazing, beautiful city. I went to Placa De Espanya and saw their national art museum. It's incredible! If I hadn't known that I was in the middle of Barcelona, I would have thought I had just stumbled upon some jungle fortress in the middle of Peru. They have huge gardens flanking it on either side and it is 251 steps up from street level. I counted 'em! (That's actually a lie. It's 250 steps. I was so pissed off when I got to the top and hit 250, because then it just sounds like I looked at the castle and said "Meh... that's about 250 steps. So how about those escalators?", but NO, I actually did count every last one I walked them all up by my little old self. And adding that one extra step increase my... what was it Terry? "Tough guy, man of the world exterior"? Anyhow.) I also wandered around Las Ramblas, the main shopping/historic/touristy drag. I suppose you could say I ambled around Ramblas. Then I hit the beach for far longer than I intended and now have a slight burn all over. But on a topless beach where guys wander around selling beer as you lay there and women walk around selling massages, how can you not linger?

Both nights in Barcelona I went out with these two Australian girls and three American dudes. They were fun, we enjoyed ourselves. Last night we went out for a light, casual seafood dinner by the beach, a break from our pubcrawling the night before. Of course the night ended up with us wandering the streets with beer in hand, going into a club and not emerging until 7:30 the next morning. I got three hours sleep, and hopped on my train to Valencia.

Now I'm in Valencia. I think Valcenia is to Barcelona as Galway was to Dublin. Less the international city, more actual Spanish. But I can't say I'm really that taken with it right now. It might be because the constant partying is finally taking the toll. I'm super tired, have a sore throat, and spent my first couple hours here playing the UK version of 90's Trivial Pursuit with some stunned British girls.

Me: C'mon, you know this. It was 1994, the fashion trend where you wear clothes that are ragged and disheveled. Just think, big fashion trend, 1994.

Stunned Brit: Well, I don't know! I was only six in 1994!

Me, internal monologue: 6 in 1994? So born 1988, so that makes them.... Oh God, British AND 18?

So we played for a bit, and I got halfway to beating them, despite being tired, braindead and not being from the UK. Then they went off to watch the English football match and I wandered around Valencia's old section. It's... okay. I think I just really need some sleep.

Cheers