I miss Barcelona!

A beautiful day in Barcelona during our visit, this is from the top of the towers at Segrada Familia.

Barcelona was a wonderful weekend trip! The weather was gorgeous on the coast. We even made it to the beach where we were shocked by two naked men walking around the public beach. Staying at the hostel was what I expected for 15 euro. My only complaints were the tap water was not too good and the milk for breakfast was not cold in the morning. I think it was a great deal to travel cheap! It reminded me of sleeping on a ship, like a navy ship. Even though the German boys in our dorm were noisy coming in at night, I managed to get a good night's rest. We went back to Sagrada Familia Cathedral where we explored inside and went up into the towers of the cathedral. At the top of the towers you get a gorgeous view of Barcelona and get to climb through the amazing architecture of Gaudi. That same day we made it to the Picasso museum, the beach, and a park up in the hills where you get another beautiful 180 view of the city and the Mediterranean ocean. At the park we noticed many stray cats and as we were heading out we noticed two ladies feeding them. In broken Spanish, I asked if the cats were stray and if they feed them regularly. I found it interesting when she replied that her and her friend come every day to feed the stray cats in the park. It was the first time I had seen so many cats here in Spain, they seem less common than dogs. It is also interesting that the dogs here are rarely on leashes. Thanks to the metro in Barcelona and our 2 day unlimited rail passes ,we were able to go around the entire city. My birthday was great, we spent it checking out the local clubs and bars and even met a few new friends in Barcelona. I asked one of our friends what the difference was between Catalan and Castillano language and he explained that Catalan was closer to old Latin. No se. I also asked our friend where else we should travel to. He told us we must go to Valencia in two weeks for the Las Fallas festival. Las Fallas is an annual week long festival in Valencia, one of the craziest in Spain, honoring Saint Joseph. It is well known for its fireworks and parades in the streets of the city. We lucked out in finding last minute reservations in Valencia and I am very excited to go! Even though the trip was not too expensive, I will need to be on a stricter budget! It was a treat to get sunshine in Barcelona and well worth it. Of course after the long train ride we returned to rain in Salamanca – no me gusta!