Moderation is Like Language. You Gotta Learn That Shit When You're Young.

HOLA MI AMIGOS!!!! Just got back from Spain last night. How beautiful can a place be? Great company, delicious food, janky adventures. I left by bus on Thursday with Manon (Austrian) and Frances (Australian). The bus ride was pretty uneventful except that we got stopped in Avignon for a bit because of blockage caused by the FREAKING STUPID STRIKES that I wish would just go away. We got to Barcelona around 11 p.m. and went out for drinks at this swanky hotel before going to our hostel. So at the hostel we are in a room with three other people who are not there, but we can tell from their luggage and crap they have everywhere in the room that they are dudes. We go to bed, but are woken up when they return at 3 A.M. TO DO LINES OF COCAINE OFF THE DESK OF OUR ROOM. Whhhaaaaaatttttt. I tried to act all nonchalant or whatever, but I had never seen anyone doing cocaine. Then they proceeded to SMOKE WEED which was pretty smelly and the owner of the hostel came in to yell at us. I was pretty sure we were all going to get kicked out, but luckily the guy was just like "You kids are too trouble! No marijuana here!"

So we found out the other guys were from South Africa (they were white and spoke English, so not as exotic as you may be imagining). We told them that I was Austrian and my name was Margo (my fake name for the entirety of the voyage, and homage one of the coolest chickas I know, Margo Sullivan) and we told them that Manon (who actually IS Austrian) was Sarina from Louisiana. This was pretty hilarious because Manon has a very thick Austrian accent, so to prove she was from Louisiana she just played Garth Brook's "Calling Baton Rouge" on repeat on her ipod speakers. One of the guys had actually just visited Austria and was asking me if I had been to all these different bars and I was like, "ummm.... I've heard of that one, just never been. I hear that is where people drink sometimes! Is that the one with the stools and the alcohol? Yeah I may have been there. Austria is cold, isn't it?"

We ended up going to the out with these guys later in the week. They actually turned out to be pretty cool for the most part.

Manon with one of the Africans. Whut's up, cute stuffs?

During the day we walked all around the city and took pictures. I got to see a bunch of the famous Spanish architect Gaudi's works.He is super famous because he created all these crazy houses and cathedrals that were inspired from Nature. In this one house we visited, there were no straight lines. It was like being underwater. The guy was a genius. Check out this shit:

Casa Batllo-- Free Audio Guides With Entry HELL YEAHHHH

The walls look like fish scales, and the staircase like a spine

His master work, the Sangrada Familia. He died before finishing it, and people have been trying to get it done for years. He died because he wanted to get a view of it from across the street, and as he was walking backwards, a tram hit him.

So the party atmosphere in Spain is really fun. Manon and I hit the streets looking for adventure (Frances headed home early-- there is some kind of flu going around and sha bebe was under the weather). We found this free outdoor ska concert AND I WAS IN GUTTERPUNK HEAVEN. Everywhere I looked there were dirty beautiful boys with muttonchops and peircings. I was too shy to talk to any of them though (mostly because I don't speak spanish). It was just so refreshing to find boys that are not so feminine *cough cough french dudes cough*. Seriously, I just wanted to ride the subways all night and kiss gutterpunk boys. After the ska show was over, we went to this one swanky bar where it was Manon's heaven because she loves older sophisticated men. Spain has something for everyone!! We ended the night at this kind of indie bar where Manon successfully flirted with the waiters (BEST IDEA EVER HELLO FREE DRINK CITY!!!) and they invited us to a dance club after they got off work. When the club closed around 4, they invited us to an apartment party. Hello funville! I love apartment parties. It was Halloween themed (even though it was the Saturday before Halloween) so a lot of people were dressed up. The DJ was a cow. I ended up hanging out with this British guy named Ignatius (what kind of name is that?) who was a bad kisser but a great dancer. I told him I was heir to the Petco throne. I also just screamed "MI CASA ES SU COCHE" at Spanish people the whole night which literally means "MY HOUSE IS YOUR CAR". I didn't know this at the time, but apparently if you say that it is in some kind of sexual context like, are we going to do it in my house or your car? I just wanted practice my Spanish!

Anywhoziles, the party was fun and we didn't get back till 7 a.m. Spanish people know how to party.

The next day we were joined by Michelle P and her friend Sophie! They are both in France, but her friend is in Dijon. Finally we had Spanish speakers in our group! The rest of the trip was very sex and the city. Going around town, a lot of girl talk, delicious meals with Sangria and generally feeling great.

Paella, holy crap this shit is the bomb

Every night for dinner we ate Tapas and drank Sangria. Tapas are like finger foods and you order a bunch and everyone shares and then you're in the best mood of your life and everyone makes out and it is like the feeling you get when you find out that the class you felt bad about sleeping through was canceled anyway and you are like YESSSSSSSS

Shout out to E. Fick! Traveling sweater picture in a Barcelona park. Got that skirt from a Spanish vintage store

At the market. Even their commerce is a Fiesta!

Frances and I had an afternoon to ourselves and she asked me what I wanted to do. I told her, jokingly, I wanted to go to the uncircumcised dick museum. Hilariously, she brought me here. I googled "Barcelona Dick Building" and found out the name is the Torre (tower) Agbar. Seriously.

Sadly, I had to leave beautiful Barcelona. I used Covoiturage and once again, a great experience. I only paid 25 Euros to go from Barcelona to Aix, and I rode with this french couple and another passenger who was from Romania.

SO! Let's sum up the trip

Things Lost:

*Phone. Status: Recovered (left it in old hostel while switching to a new hostel, pas grave)

*One 10 Ride Metro Ticket. Status: Recovered (I found it after I bought ANOTHER 10 ride ticket, however)

*Grey Sweater. Status: Recovered (Frances merely borrowed it! But she took great pleasure in thinking I had lost it)

*Flashlight. Status: Missing in Action. (I gave it to other hostel members to search around in the dark for stuff)

Things Bought:

*Vintage Skirt

*TWO CALCULATOR WATCHES ONLY 5 EUROS!

*Swiss Army Knife. Already cut the crap out of me and my neighbor accidentally.

Now it is back to the ole ball and chain. I'll leave you with a song I've been listening to a lot lately. It is Elvis Perkin's While You Were Sleeping.

P.S. What is going on in the States? Are there some kind of elections going on? How do I vote for Chester A Arthur?

The Politics I Want, The Mutton Chops I Need

Goodnight, Pals!