Day #139

I know I know I know sorry I promise I will get back on this horse sometime very soon!

In the meantime: 

THE FIRST DAY MY MOM GOT HERE we got to explore (what we thought at the time was) a lot of the city! We kind of accidentally followed a tour of the gothic part of the city, which included beautiful architecture, just like everywhere in Barcelona. I decided to start another series, entitled "Pictures of Mom Taking Pictures", and here's the first installment: 

Also we took some normal pictures together:

After about two or three hours of walking, we headed back to the hostel and grabbed some groceries on the way. Our delicious dinner of Apple, cheese, jam, and bread plus melted chocolate and digestives. The dinner of champions.

Early bedtime and ready to conquer the next day, YEAH!

Day #138

SORRY EVERYONE I KNOW YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING WITH BAITED BREATH FOR THESE LAST TWO POSTS AND I APOLOGIZE MOST ARDENTLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY DEFINITELY STILL-BEATING HEART BECAUSE YES IN FACT I AM ALIVE!

Wednesday was a very interesting day in the sense that I went from Valencia to Barcelona. It was also not such an interesting day in the sense that I spent roughly 4-5 hours on a bus. BUT they did play a One Direction music video (in English) and a Disney movie (in Spanish) during the bus ride, so it wasn't all bad and was actually incredibly tolerable! Here a picture of the One Direction music video from so far away that it could be anything playing on the tv!

My hostel in Barcelona made me like it on facebook in order to access the free wifi, so now everyone who is friends with me on Facebook knows exactly where I am. Hooray! I have to give them credit, though, that's clever advertising.

The hostel itself is MUCH better than my hostel in Valencia, and really feels homey. I helped make dinner (delicious spaghetti and meatballs), and hung out with some super cool people from Belgium.

And forgot to post on my blog. But I'm gonna chalk that up to being SUPER EXCITED FOR MY MOM TO COME! WHICH SHE DID!

*announcer voice* tune in next time to read about when the Browns take Barcelona!

Day #137

I would count today as a success purely because 3 different people came up and asked me for directions while I was out and about, completely in Spanish. I had to tell all of them that unfortunately I was not from Valencia either, but I was flattered that either a) I looked like a helpful person or the less likely b) that I looked like a native and knew my way around!

I found some cool old buildings today, though:

But I will be honest, Valencia is great but it hasn't impressed me as much as the rest of Spain. I also tried desperately to find the post office and finally mail my postcards, but I think some higher power does not want those post cards sent because my god I could not find that thing anywhere. But I did come back to the hostel and eat a lovely dinner with some lovely Toy Story cake that I shared with the two receptionists since There was a lot left.

Tomorrow, to Barcelona! Unlike this hostel in Valencia which is about a half hour, 45 minute metro ride from the bus station, my hostel in Barcelona is a 7 minute walk from the bus station! So YAY. 

TWO DAYS UNTIL MY MOM GETS HERE

Day #136

What an overwhelming amount of love from all over the globe for my birthday. Could anyone ask for more?

Well, I mean, I guess I did. I got myself a cake.

Yep, that's Buzz and Woody. I figured it was appropriate for adulthood.

Don't worry, though, I didn't eat it all....................... Yet.

I also got to skype for a long time with my friend Elise who has been my neighbor since I can remember and my bus buddy every single morning throughout high school. We chatted and laughed and sang Taylor Swift together. It was beautiful.

This hostel is rather confusing because some things are wonderful (the shower always has warm water and the pressure is good, the kitchen facilities are always very clean), but other things are..... Well, missing (any type of knives other than butter knives, cutting boards, an oven, pot covers, any sort of drying materials like a towel), while still others are almost too abundant (there are 8 rubbish bins in the small kitchen without an oven. Without sharp knives! Riddle me that, Valencia). 

Anyway, dinner is always a challenge. Everything always turns out okay, though never quite how I intend it. Today I mixed ground beef and fresh tomatoes (cut with a butter knife on the table sans cutting board) and made bread and cheese to scoop the mixture (my arms are SUPER strong now from sawing apart that loaf of bread and slices of cheese with a butter knife). Delicious and worth the workout!

And, since it's officially after midnight here, ONLY TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL I SEE MY MOM YAYAYAYAY!!!!

How's that second blizzard, Massachusetts?

Day #135

Feliz cumpleaños a mi, feliz cumpleaños a miiiiiiiii

When you have people wishing you happy birthday for 43 hours, spanning from San Diego to Sydney, it really does make you realize how small the world is. 

I started off the day with a pleasant screening of Sense and Sensibility.

I got to Skype with Kayla in Japan as well before the wifi decided to cut out, which is always such a treat! (sarcastic about the wifi cutting out, not at all sarcastic about skyping with Kayla)

A really nice girl from Belgium moved into my room in the hostel today, and we got lunch in the town center (which is much prettier than I thought!) before coming back to the hostel so I could skype with my family. They're so adorable that they made me a peanut butter swirl bar cake and let me blow out the candles from 3,661 miles away.

As I jokingly told my mom, I may be in a foreign country without any friends or family for my 21st birthday, but at least this year I didn't have gum surgery the day before my birthday! (Yeah that didn't make me super excited about turning 20)

To 21, to adult life (HAHAHAHA GOOD ONE), to more free food (one can only hope), and to onwards and upwards!

Day #134

Ah, it fees so good to use a shower that has more than a 30 second allowance of water at a time without pushing a dumb button!

Postcards postcards... (Meaning I bought them a long time ago and am just finding a post office now oops) 

I walked along the beach and it was absolutely breathtaking, as all of the beaches in Spain have been thus far. The sunshine, the water, the sand... Man, I think this might be paradise or something. Maybe heaven?

I grabbed some zucchini and potatoes to boil for dinner (quick easy and delicious!) and watched Northanger Abbey to round out the day.

Just look how sassy Henry Tilney is, and tell me he's not the greatest ever:

He understands muslin, which means he must be dabomb.com.

Day #133

Another day, another bus ride.

My bus left Alicante at 11:30 and arrived in Valencia around 2. Notable events include:

1. Figuring out how to plug my ear phones into the bus so I could try to figure out which movie they were playing in Spanish on the tv halfway up the bus; my best guess is Jack and the Beanstalk.

2. Drinking an entire (large) bottle of chocolate milk while pulling out of the bus station and then figuring out that the bus bathroom was broken.

3. Falling asleep.

Safely in Valencia, I attempted to use the metro to get to my hostel, which (mostly) worked, after a few hiccups here and there. In the 70° weather. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE

The hostel is nice and clean and the wifi works (mostly), so I settled in and surveyed the area. Dinner was at a kind of sketchy but altogether delicious and harmless cafe, and then I discovered the supermarket! Yay fruit and cereal! And since I've been asking everyone...

Depressing or funny if I buy this for my birthday in 2 days and eat it all by myself? It's chocolate and peanut butter truffle ice cream cake........

I'll let all you readers decide.