Trainspotting

December 30th

Still on the Spain trip and still absolutely loving it.

Today, we arise early for travel from Barcelona to Madrid. If I recall correctly, it was about a six hour train ride. The train was nice though as it was spacious and comfortable with TV's and a restaurant. Not too bad, but we were all sad to leave Barcelona because it was so amazing.

The train station was wonderful and if I am not mistaken it can be seen in one of the backdrop shots in The Bourne Ultimatum. We left the station and took a bus to our hotel.

This hotel was quite different than the Barcelona hotel. This time we had a four person room that included the student members of our small group - DH, Kevin, JP, and I. Also, this hotel was situated right in the middle of downtown. We were less than 2 blocks from the cultural heart of Madrid and the town square. O, and right across the street was a movie theater.

The hotel was nice and we almost succumbed to the temptation of rest in the comfy beds after a long day's travel, but we knew that Madrid night-life would be calling our names. We had a nice dinner at the hotel and then hit the streets for a look at shops and malls in the area surrounding the town square. It was amazing! And there were so many people everywhere!

After an incredible look at night-time Madrid, we headed back to the hotel after stopping for a Tapas treat and some more great hot chocolate. The spacious room was more than adequate for four exhausted guys. We went to bed with great anticipation for the next day as we would be experiencing New Year's Eve at one of the best parties in Europe and even the whole world.

The End of Travel

On December 27th, we finally reached our destination of Barcelona, Spain. After the many long hours of traveling, we spent a few hours getting acclimated, had dinner, and then made up our rooms to prepare for a night of much needed sleep.

Upon arrival at the airport by way of Germany, we got into a bus that took us to the hotel. I do not know what I was expecting, but the area around the airport was I guess you could say, "shocking." It appeared underdeveloped but a closer look revealed heavy construction in every direction.

So, the drive to the hotel was indeed very interesting as we took in the sights and enjoyed the atmosphere (once we got outside the airport area, it was amazing!!). The bus trip was very exciting, but we were all very tired.

We explored the hotel and had dinner and then fell victim to the comfortable beds in our 3 person rooms. Classmate and buddy Kevin Pojezny, underclassman weirdo Ben Britton, and I shared a cozy room with a lookout over the hustling town of Barcelona.

We went out early as we knew we would rise early to explore this intriguing foreign country.