Today is Billy’s Birthday! Happy 20th Big Will! I miss everyone at home! I can’t wait to see everyone. Its weird, I feel like I have been here for years, and yet at the same time, it feels like I just got here. I’m having SUCH a great time! Its been sooo nice out all week. Again today, no clouds in sight… It has been sunny all week, and the weather is just perfect. I went for a run/walk today for an hour. I went through the back roads where all the neighborhoods are preparing for Carnival. I heard that people start working on floats for the parade in October for this event. I’m sooo curious to see! The parade goes right by the Castle on Sunday. I don’t think I’m going to dress up, but it sounds like fun! I had class all day today, from 10am till 4pm and I always sit by the window and I could not WAIT to get outside. After my walk around the town, I walked around the moat of the castle and I saw two peacocks! With beautiful blue and green feathers. I was so excited.
Koln, Germany February 22, 2003
We ate breakfast: brie cheese, berries, bread and tea! (mmmm)
We went to the RomanHistory Museum. It was a museum dedicated to the Roman remains found in Germany when the Roman Empire stretched that far north. Emily and I got into a really deep discussion debating Creationism versus Evolution… This conversation led to a debate over whether or not heaven and hell actually existed…and other stuff came from that… it was interesting because I realized that my opinions have a lot of holes in them, and I need to really think about and research these things to back up my thoughts. But I learned a lot through talking to her, as dorky as it sounds, it was fun.
We headed back to the Castle! End of trip! Traveling for a week is a very long time, it felt so good to be back. I did laundry and just relaxed. What a great week!
Koln, Germany February 21, 2003
Instead of staying in another Hostel, we decided for the same price to get a bed and breakfast hotel. We found this place right on the Rhine River. It was beautiful. We had down comforters, and oak furniture. Breakfast was included too, always a plus!
Emily and I split up to give ourselves some time alone. I walked along the river, almost in tears because it was so pretty. There was not a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining! I walked to the Chocolate Museum…. Mmmm….
I then walked around most of the city, looking at churches, monuments and parks. I came to a huge shopping district, and browsed some shops.
Emily and I met back up and walked around some more. We got dinner at this little bar, and we went shopping again! I FOUND H&M! I bought black pants for 4.50! Everyone has black pants in Europe except me – I felt left out! They are really nice!
Barcelona to Koln February 20, 2003
We visited the Olympic Stadium today. Barcelona was the home of the 1992 Olympics. There was a soccer game going on inside, but it really wasn’t that impressive… I was a bit disappointed with it actually.
We headed on a train to Köln, Germany, through Paris.
Barcelona, Spain February 19, 2003
We found another cheap hostel, dropped our stuff off, and headed to see Guell Park. It was an entire park designed by the artist, Gaudi. It was all mosaic style, it was incredible. It looked like a village that belonged in the game Candyland! It looked like a gingerbread house! We walked thorugh it in the rain for a bit. My pants were sooo wet and caked with mud!
For dinner, we decided to save money and bought some stuff at a grocery store… our entire meal (including pasta, sause, bread, cheese, 2 liters of water, wine and cookies) came to 3 Euros….split between Emily and I: only a dollar fifty each. FOR AN ENTIRE MEAL! Emily said that the Spanish economy was going under, which was why everything was so cheap! We cooked dinner ourselves in the Hostel… not only was it really fun, but we saved money and it was really good!
We hung out there all night and went to bed.
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