June 25

This morning we left Valencia and took a never ending train to Barcelona (never ending thanks to the squirmy-screaming children and Spanish chatter). Once in Barcelona we began our hostal search (which is still ongoing at this point). We discovered the current, cheapest option (with breakfast- the deciding factor) and decided we could handle a sauna for a roomshared with 6 other girls in the Arab part of town for one night until we find something better tomorrow.
We walked down La Rambla- it is a bustling street with crowds, performers of all kinds, vendors, restaurants, and those costume frozen-still people. We walked all around there and gawked at the sights.
We foolishly decided to repeat our afternoon tea at the Ritz hotel here, which could not compare to our experience in Madrid. It did rejuvenate us enough to walk to see some sights, such as Goudi´s architecture- very interesting, unique buildings.
I like Barcelona, I've never been to New Orleans, but Sydnee says it reminds her of the Big Easy. There is tons to see and too much good food to eat. It is a little more crowded than I would prefer but it was fun walking through this one "hip" area because England was playing in their World Cup game so all the English were milling in and out of pubs catching the game.
Gotta go, I am trying to have a conversation with the 2 Brazilians, 2 French, and 1 Canadian in our room (their grasp of English puts me to shame). And I may try to join the group of guys watching the World Cup game downstairs...