Barcelona Day 1 (thus far)

The day for me began at 4:30 in the morning with a long walk to the Cambridge train station. I had to get on the 5:41 train to Stansted airport which I missed. I was a little worried, but one of the train conductors told me to take the 5:51 to London, Liverpool street because it stopped at Stansted. Now, I immediately remembered trying to take this train before and not realizing what stop I actually needed and taking the train all the way to Liverpool street. I would not make the same mistake this time. I would make a different mistake. In my effort to not make the same mistake twice I immediately got off at the first station that said Stansted. Unfortunately this was not the station I needed as the next train going to Stansted from the station was at 7:23 and my flight left at 7:55. So I walked around the small town until I found a cab and had to pay 10 quid to get to the airport on time. I don't know if I will have another opportunity to actually get the whole Cambridge to Stansted airport right. In any event I got to the airport on time and that is what mattered.

When I arrived in Barcelona (Well, an hour outside Barcelona. I did fly Ryan Air after all.) It took me about two hours to figure out the stupid metro lines. The problem was that they have a metro and a tram and they both operate underground. Basically I got on a tram train and not on a metro train and got incredibly lost. So I was extremely frustrated and thinking up very cleaver insults (inspired by Luther's insults against the pope - I read Luther on the plane) for the Barcelona public transportation system. I finally calmed down and got it all sorted out and found my hostel. Let me tell you this hostel is amazing. I get a free locker, free internet, its a 30 second walk to the metro station and a 5-10 minute walk to the beach.

So after getting settled I walked to the beach. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy out so alas, I will have to go back to the beach. After the beach I went to the grocery store to get some food and thus avoid expensive restaurant bills. (I am currently observing people eating some really nice dinners with salad and bread and meat. Makes me hungry, but all I have is bread and cheap - and terrible- sandwich meat.)

Earlier tonight I met some guys from Australia and Belgium and a girl from Toronto. They have tempted me to go out drinking with them, but I don't know if I have a budget for a lively night life here in Barcelona. It's still in the cards though. I took the bus into the city. I was thankful to see that they had an underground. Undergrounds are always easier for me to pick up on than buses. Unfortunately, this was not an easy underground to get the hang of. None of the stations were visible from the train and there were no maps inside the train. So in my ignorance I ended up at a tram stop, not at an underground stop.

Tomorrow I am going on a free walking tour of the Gothic quarter and probably spending the rest of the day at the beach. After that I don't know what I am going to do. Time will tell.