barcelona!

when we showed up at the Hotel Arts, we immediately assumed our VIP status. with champagne in hand, we checked in "upstairs" - up in the lounge that is. we were treated like royalty, and that was before we even saw our rooms, or the beach or the pool or the fitness area. my dad said he planned it that way, the nicest place at the end, when people might be most antsy to get home. and it was a good call on his part - it is hard to be homesick when then alternative is the ritz in barcelona! .... (unfortunately this had the reverse affect on me, because intead of going home to my own bed afterwards, i would be downgrading drastically to the cheapest hostel i can find in whatever city i decide to sleep in..)

day 1) we took advantage of the food in the lounge and rested. until midnight that is. it was saturday night and keelin, kyle, and i were not going to miss our one weekend night in barcelona! we headed out to El Born.... El Born was great because there were bars on either side of the street, and people hung out in between them, creating a "street-party", complete with guys walking around selling 1 euro beers ! we had a few beers at a casual bar and met some girls from denmark that were very nice. they had been in barcelona for four days and offered up some good suggestions of things to do. we also talked about politics and food (lea was a vegetarian as well) and the possibility of me visiting them in denmark if i get a chance.
Then we met some other girls, who brought us to a club. they knew the bouncer and got us all in for free !! clubs arent usually my scene, but we were in barcelona! it was hot and sweaty and lots and lots of peoople and dancing and bad music (just like an american club)... but it was a necessary experience!
then we headed home...sort of. keelin was following me and i was following him and before we realized it we were really far from the hotel. when we finally turned around and got close, i realized that the sun would be coming up soon and it was the solstice! so we HAD to go watch the sunrise. after a big debate about where the sun actually rose ... we headed to the beach! there were other people there, and there were still guys walking around selling euro beers! exactly what you want at 6 in the morning, hehe.

day 2) sleep. after passing out at 7am, we were kinda useless for most of the day. we did make it out to the beach for a couple of hours... and then back to sleep. we did get up eventually to go upstairs and eat food... in the lounge. and then we went out for a drink to celebrate fathers day!

day 3) we planned on taking a bus tour but the buses were on strike (strikes just follow us around europe) so we did a walking tour instead. we checked out some of the buildings by gaudi, a spanish architect who created some really cool dr. seuss like work! his stuff is all over barcelona, including the sagrada familia, a giant whimsical temple! we also walked by the hostel that i had booked to stay in when the fam leaves....
at night, mom and dad come out for a few drinks in the gothic district to a small little bar called sincopa, great music and ambiance!

day 4) family leaves, what an amazing time. most families cant spend this much time together, away from home and friends and distractions. but we really had a great time with each other. thanks to my dad especially, for working so hard to make this trip possible for all of us. it was such a great experience to share with the five people closest to me in life...
thanks also to aunt pris who helped with alll the planning!

now the family is home, and my trip is just at the beginning... seperate posts to come!