don´t worry, i am alive

the last 2 days have been an absolute whirlwind. i don´t mean to worry you by saying that it is a miracle i haven´t just keeled over already.

london was incredible. i seriously think that i want to live there one day, if only for a few months or a year. the last night we were there we danced all night at a club, then went back to our hostel and chatted with the dude working behind the bar until about 5am. we have made some awesome friends along our journey, our new "mates" are so sweet. friday and saturday nights we averaged about 3 or 4 hours of sleep...and then we came to spain.

so our flight to barcelona was 3:15PM. we needed to take the tube to the train station that takes you to the airport. we left the hostel after having one last brew with the mates a little after 1. there was a mix up with our check in once we got to the airport, we were rushing around confused lugging our things, with 3:15 rapidly approaching. jill and i split off to try and pave the way for kristy and holly, just knowing (and hoping) that we´d just meet at the gate. my carry on was probably 40-50 pounds and apparently loaded with small liquids. jill and i watched impatiently as the lady methodically removed everything from my bag one by one, wiped it with some terrorist-finding wand, and then put it all back in. THEN we had to go through another security line and remove our shoes. picture this: jill and laura sprinting through the london airport BAREFOOT, screaming, "gate 16, do you see it?" and carrying insanely heavy luggage all the while. we were the last ones on the flight. there was NO way we should have made it.

we arrived in gerona and took an hour bus ride to our hostel in barcelona. this hostel is a little bigger and very friendly. we dropped off our things and grabbed some tapas and sangria on a patio and came back to the hostel around 11, just as the crew was headed out. we freshened up in the room for about 10 minutes and joined the 20 plus people headed out. we had a beer at a hole in the wall bar-lounge and met some great people. girls from tennesee who are just travelling around, here from italy and on the way to germany. guys from canada on a study abroad program. a dude from baylor! so many cool people, we all became instant friends. after that, we went to one of the biggest night clubs in barcelona...just to give you an idea: it didn´t even OPEN until 1AM, and the event that we were attending was called "nasty monday". we pay 10 euro to enter and redeemed our ticket for 1 free drink and then hit the dance floor. until 5AM.

we literally danced, jumped and sweated buckets until the sun came up. probably one of the funnest things i have ever done. the music was crazy loud and amazing. it wasn´t hip hop music, it was just DANCE music. (my fossil friends will appreciate this: imagine me doing my rave dance...for real...for 5 hours). unbelievable.

today we woke up and walked. and walked. such beautiful sights - we had some sandwiches at a little shop, stopped into some artsy stores, had some gelato and stopped at a supermarket for bread, cheese, salami and cerveca and hit the beach. we ate and slept in the sand. so beautiful.

with all this excitement, my body has decided to reject me. i woke up with an awful sore throat, aching muscles and an overall weakness that just got worse as the day progressed. by the time we left the beach, i was doneski. i felt like i had the flu (hopefully not swine) and so i layed down while the girls grabbed a bite. they brought me back a delicious wrap :) i´m really hoping i can recover by morning, i HATE being sick, and i hate it even more that i´m in one of the most beautiful places on earth. say a little prayer that i´m cured soon!

sad news: spain has a very bad pickpocketing problem. we experienced it today when holly got her wallet stolen right out of her bag that was strapped to her. money, id´s, passport, cards, it´s all gone. figuring that out right about now...