Well, San Juan has come and gone and I can’t say I’m all that sad to see it go. Having been here in Barcelona two summers ago, I had celebrated San Juan then and quite enjoyed myself. The corresponding regional traditions of San Juan include bonfires on the beach, running into the ocean at midnight, fireworks, special cake, and general merriment that lasts all night. The metro is packed the night before and businesses are closed during the actual day of the holiday. Anyways, Cass, Bri, and I had dinner at Petra’s, which consisted of a Spanish tortilla, salad, bread, and some fish. We all got ready together and then headed out to start our evening at Alex’s bar in the Born neighborhood. After hanging out there for a bit, we made our way towards the beach near Barceloneta.
Sometime later, I realized that I no longer knew where my phone was. My iPhone 4s. My only phone for our entire trip, not to mention my only camera and iPod. I went back to Alex’s bar to see if I had left it there, but much to my dismay there was no sign of it there, or anywhere else for that matter. Of course, when I woke up the next morning, at first I thought it had all been a bad dream, but alas it was the reality I had made for myself. Find My iPhone couldn’t even help remedy the situation, as the phone was not connected to any sort of Wi-Fi. After sobbing on the other line with Sprint, Cass and I managed to lock, erase, and kiss my old phone goodbye.
Like the superheroes that my parents are, my mom and step-dad managed to save the day even an ocean away. Lucky for me, Bri’s mom & step-dad, Alice & Dave, are coming to visit her and arrive this Thursday. My new iPhone 5 is coming over with Alice, only leaving me phoneless for about three days. While extremely inconvenient, unexpectedly expensive, and a bit embarrassing, I realize that losing my phone is not the worst thing that could have happened and for that I am grateful. From here on out I need to be on my best behavior and refrain from making any more rookie mistakes.
Yesterday, the actual day of San Juan, was spent mainly being lazy in bed and figuring out the phone dilemma. In the evening, Cass and I walked down to Cuitadella Park and saw the Arc de Triomf. It was lovely (and FREE). A few failed Skype attempts and Gossip Girl Season 1 episodes later, I hit the hay for a welcome rest.
This morning, we had planned on going to the Sants train station to try and figure out our train ticket reservations, but we didn’t end up getting there yet. I think we made progress and have a much better timeline laid out now for our journey through France and Italy. Now we just need to book our reservations and then we can do the hostels! I am pumped that we added Lisbon, Portugal as the last stop for our backpacking trip.
Petra made a bomb “paella simple” today for lunch. Paella is by far my favorite Spanish meal. Cass and I are going to walk down to the Born area soon, perhaps get some gelato at Gelaaati, and then head to the France train station to see about these reservations. Wish us luck!
SAMHOPEHANSEN 