May 1, 2008 Thursday

The adventures of the Barcelona train station

Today we tried to take a train to Valencia. However, when we got here we realized that trains in Spain are not like trains in Italy. We looked up the train schedule online and figured that we could by tickets right before departure, as we were used to. When we got here, OUR TRAIN WAS BOOKED.

Hmm. I enjoyed the company of two French girls who shared our room last night. One was really talkative and had hair to match her brown eyes, but not her dark brown eyebrows. She had on really dark eye make up, that never really came off. She also wore dark clothes. I don't think she really looked french though. She talked SO MUCH and made lots of French noises too..(anyone know what i'm talking about??) The second one was here for a bachelorette party. She was extremely small and petite. She seemed really nice and inquisitive. She had on real thin rimmed glasses and when the two French met each other, they talked and talked and gabbed uncontrollably in French. It was cool.

Anyways, back to the train station. Okay, so Spanish train stations are the most legit things I've ever seen. In order to book a ticket, you actually have to come to the train station in advance and take a number to wait your turn or buy it online. When it is time to board the train, you must first get your ticket checked at the platform, have your luggage checked through x-ray AND not board until they let you through. Really, boarding a train here, is like boarding a plane without going through customs.

So anyways, Tina and I were depressed/really upset because the train we were planning on was booked. We were instead forced to buy a first class ticket for a train that we had to wait something like five hours for.

However.

Once we got onto the train, we were being treated awesomely. I'm pretty sure they have classical music playing, we are sitting at a four table seat across from a man in grey, looks to be my grandfather's age or younger and a man in a red polo, looks to late 40-50's. The older man is really nice but the younger man looks like he is disturbed by something. We were fed orange juice and peanuts and now we are watching Stardust in Spanish.

Our train is weaving back and forth through out the rocky mountains and along the Mediterranean of Spain. Every once in a while we go through a tunnel and it is black on both sides of the window, but then we burst through into the sunlight and are exposed to the glittering blue BEAUTIFUL water. There are whit fluffy cotton ball clouds overhead. The prettiest train ride of my life.

Now they fed us a sandwich with empanadilla, pastry, coke with limon, and coffee. I'm really getting into the Stardust movie. I hope Valencia isn't shady but safe.

So I'm sitting here on a train riding along the Med, listening to some decent travel tunes on my iPod, with a cool girl Tina, whom I appreciate and enjoy traveling with thoroughly. Today I am content. I don't want to venture into happy because I don't want to press my luck. But as of now things are pretty okay. : )

Well, currently I am sitting on the terrace on the roof top of our "Home Hostel" in Valencia Spain. The sky is slowly turning blueish-pink and the cool evening breeze is coming around. I hear some kinds of birds in the distance and all around me, the city is quiet with only a few motorists. I am lying on a white beach lay-out chair and the hostel is painted yellow and pink with greenery in orange pots and other green sitting chairs. There is a church nearby. Earlier we heard the bells. Before this moment, Tina and I took a walk around town to find that most of the city is closed except for restaurants.

I was just thinking that the next time I come to Europe/travel I think I'd rather do it when I can come with a boyfriend/fiance/husband whatever or if was with a big group of people. Traveling with only two girls is kinda scary at times. Although... at other times it makes for really great stories. We also get away with a lot. But overall I think I'd just feel safer with a guy or with more people. Anyways, I'm hungry, we need to go grocery shopping.