Barcelona

Hello!!! We have arrived in Barcelona after a long and uncomfortable flight chasing the sun across the Atlantic. After a few mini-bottles of red wine and a Sonata each, we passed out for a few hours. I had trouble sleeping because an ungrateful B! was kicking my seat the whole time and barrating her boyfriend for dragging her to Barcelona...unbelievable. A couple hours outside Barcelona the sun rose from the clouds in a splendor of light and color, a beacon of the beauty and amazement to come. I soon forgot about sleep, the smell of coffee filled the plane. We made it to our hostel, Mambo Tango, owned and run by Marina, a beautiful woman from Argentina and her boyfriend, Toti, who isn't nearly as sketchy as he looks. He is sporting what we are calling a dread mullet, shaved in the front and dread in the back. They are very nice and cooked us a free meal, cold rice salad. They have a fridge stocked with heineken and corona, you grab one and put 2 euros in a box, or make your own change...on your honor. It is a great atmosphere. We have met numerous people from all over the world already. Barcelona is beautiful! Both of our Spanish skills have come back quicker than we thought, and the people are generally very helpful and congenial. We slept for a few hours when we made it to our hostel, we were both delirious with exhaustion. We woke up and took the metro to Parc Gruell, featuring a maze of Antoni Gaudi's architecture that certainly inspired Dr. Seuss and the likes of Tim Burton. The weather was amazing today so we hiked up Montjuic to the castle situated on top. The hike offered amazing views of the hazy harbor and cityscape as the sun was setting. We plan to have our first night out but wake early to explore the city.