Beautiful Barcelona!

FYI: I just posted photos to the last blog entry...including the "haircut" picture!

The time is FLYING!!! I don´t remember what I´ve written...and there´s so much to write and catch up on...but I like this internet cafe, so I may be back tomorrow morning!
I´m still in Barcelona. I should have been on a train to Paris right now, but I missed the train and have decided that Paris will have to wait. I´ll admit, I was a little apprehensive about not speaking the language...and the cost of everything (SOOOO expensive)...and the fact that there´s a major holiday this weekend. I don´t know if I´d make it out! So, when I missed the train, I thought, "Well, Paris will still be there...maybe I can honeymoon there!" Of course, to all you future potential spouses that are reading my blog, I think I'd rather to to Easter Island. So, instead of Paris, I´m going to try Southern Spain!

The ABBA Hostel is on a major roadway. It´s noisy ALL day...and ALL night. There´s no air conditioning. It´s awful! No wonder they force you to book two nights there! The first night, I didn´t sleep very well. People came in at all hours and I don´t sleep well in new surroundings the first night. And it was hot and sticky.

I woke up, without my alarm, to the sirens of cop cars around 7:30 a.m. I got ready to go find church and was in good spirits. I talked to the management and found an electrical outlet by the front desk that worked...and plugged in my batteries so they could charge all day (and not be stolen) while I was out. I was all prepared to get to church early and enjoy the morning when I realized I had lost my locker key. This is a huge deal because my locker had my passport, credit cards, money, anything of value that I could possibly want to keep safe...in it! I was freaking out! I retraced my steps back to the hostel (and I´d gone quite far by then) and walked in...only to see my key on the reception counter. I´d left it there! Crisis averted! Whew! But, I think it was a lesson to me. I´ve been much more careful now.

Due to that little heart-attack-inducing incident, I was late to church. But, it was all right. I met some great people there, including Leticia, a girl from Chile! We became fast friends and spent the day together. She introduced me to a nice missionary couple, Elder and Hermana Nield. They´re from Arizona and are heading up the CES program in Barcelona. Elder Nield invited us to dinner. It was great to be with them.

After dinner, Leticia and I went to see the the Temple of the Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family). It´s INCREDIBLE! Pictures of it kinda look like an immense mess of stone, but it´s absolutely incredible and breath-taking! I wish my pictures did it justice! I also got to see the Plaza de Torros...and considered going to a bullfight, but opted out. I just didn´t feel good about watching a bull get tormented and killed for sport. But, I´d love to shout "Ole!" with a huge crowd!
Leticia had to meet a friend, so I walked around Barcelona and saw La Pedrera, a building designed by Gaudi. It´s awesome! It was really nice to just walk around. I wen to the Cathedral of Barcelona which, unfortunately, is covered in scaffolding.

That night, I got back to the hostel and talked to some of the girls in my room. They´re nice! Mandy is from Minnesota, Mariana is from Los Angeles, and Mariana´s cousin, Camila, is from Brazil. Mariana and I were commenting on how awful the hostel was, so we decided to try and find a better one for the three of us the next day.

We woke and headed out, barely got the last beds in this REALLY nice hostel...with AIR CONDITIONING!!! It´s clean and beautiful and not noisy!! Ahhhh! Then we decided to go to Parc Guell which has buildings and sculptures designed by Gaudi. We hopped on Bus No. 24 and headed up the hills. It was a REALLY hot day...like you feel like you´re swimming in your sweat kind of hot day. Ew. We walked around the park and got some great pictures.
The girls were really sweet. I´m glad I met up with them. It´s awesome to meet new people...and then strange to say "goodbye" instead of "see you later."

After the park, I decided to go to some museums and they were going to see La Sagrada Familia. So, we split. However, the museums are closed on Mondays (note to all you future Barcelona visitors). So, I ended up wandering around Las Ramblas...the downtown/shopping district. It´s really fun. I did some shopping and just enjoyed myself. I went to La Boqueria which is a big vegetable/fruit/meat/fish market. It was pretty neat.

That night I went to Family Home Evening at the institute building. A bunch of missionaries, a few people that are getting to know the church, and some less-active members. It was fun and nice to be around people. I had to say goodbye to Leticia. She´s such a sweetheart!
Afterwards, I went with the Nields to their apartment where I wrestled with my camera for an hour to get it to upload the photos onto a disc. We talked until midnight (senior missionaries, apparently, don´t have the same rules as the younger ones) and they´re convinced that I´m just the girl for their single son. There are more moms, dads, grandparents, and aunts and uncles that think I would be perfect for their son/grandson/nephew out there than I know what to do with! Too bad their sons/grandsons/nephews don´t realize what a catch I am!! ;)

Hna. Nield told me the metro stopped running at 1 a.m. When we got to the station, though, we found it stopped at midnight! I´d just missed it. Shoot! So, they walked around with me (for the better part of 45 minutes...and it´s after midnight, mind you) helping me find a bus. There aren´t many buses after midnight, either. There was a couple looking for the bus to the same area as I was...so we ended up splitting a taxi. And dear Elder Nield gave me 5 euros to pay for it. He´s so nice!

I arrived and walked into my 4-bed room...to find the 4th bed empty and two men in the other. Yikes! I was a little nervous. I saw Mariana in the bathroom and told her if she hears me scream, to come running.

There was no problem, though, sleeping. They woke up around the same time I did. We all apologized for being noisy...either the night before (me) or that morning (them). They were in their late 30´s...from Boston. Nice enough...we only talked for 2 minutes though.

I got ready, checked out and started into my day. I had an agenda to keep! I bought my ticket to Paris and then went to see the Picasso Museum. It was pretty cool. He did this study on Las Meninas that I just LOVE! It´s awesome. Can´t wait to show the postcards (sorry...no cameras in the museum). Then I bought a bocadillo de tortilla espanola...it´s a sandwich they make on a baguette that has an egg omelet with potatoes and onions...it´s SO good!!

I went to the Museum of the History of Barcelona. It´s been built, city upon city, over the past 2000 years. It´s interesting...they have done some excavations that are pretty cool to walk through! That one was a recommendation from Hna. Nield.
I did a little grocery shopping, some internet searching for a hostel...and talked to my Mom. I was late getting to the station...and, well...here I am. Going to Southern Spain instead! I´ve spent a lot of time on the internet today...talked to my family (gotta love Skype...and the video option, too!!).

I´ll try and get this posted tomorrow morning with photos!!
Sorry to play catch up like this! There´s just no time for anything!!

Cuidense, todos! Les quiero harto!