July 19- Bus Ride

We took the metro to the train station early in the morning so we could catch a train for Madrid. It was only after we got there and waited in line that the man behind the counter informed us that it would be 130 Euro per person to take the train to Madrid. We NEVER paid more than 40 Euro for a train in ALL of Europe. We walked away from the counter stunned and pissed that they wanted so much money from us. Diana and Abby went off to find the bus station while the rest of us sat in the train station and waited. They returned before too long with bus tickets they bought for 20 Euro though it was a 7 hour bus ride.

We had to hike our suitcases to the other side of Barcelona via the metro, which is ironic because when we got off at the bus station Diana had triumphantly proclaimed that was the last time we had to do that. So we lugged our increasingly heavy suitcases up and down multiple sets of stairs though the train station to the different lines we had to catch. People didn't talk, we were working to hard on just getting there to talk.

We got on the charter bus at around 1 and it was actually a really nice ride. People got to read, write, listen to music, or watch Monster's Inc in Spanish. We stopped a few times for food along the way and the scenery from Barcelona to Madrid was beautiful, there were mountains and valleys and wind turbines dotting the country side.

When we arrived in Madrid we took a Taxi to our hostel, which happened to be right in the middle of the main section of Madrid, exactly where anyone would want to be. The hostel was really nice, we had a balcony overlooking the walkways. There was a restaurant/bar and free internet. I was starving by the tie we got there and I thought people would want to eat but everyone took about 2 hours to shower, get dressed/ready, do make up and hair ect. I was hungry to the point of passing out and in an awful mood by the time we left because no one gave a damn ever when I wanted to eat or do anything, I was on everyone elses time schedule constantly.

We walked around til we found a resteraunt that looked decent and I ordered smoked salmon. A few minutes later the waiter returned with a literal plate of raw sliced salmon. I looked at it in disbelief. My dinner was a massive plate of raw fish and a side of foreign potatoes. I shared the plate with Diana and it turned out to be much better tasting than I expected, though I wouldn't order it again. People stayed and drank beer until midnight when everyone toasted Laura's birthday- the first of a long line of toasts.

Everyone else went out to celebrate Laura turning 21, I went back to the hostel to sleep. Partying is not really my thing. Especially in a town where hookers line the main streets at night and every other shop is a tatoo parlor or sex store.