we were so happy to get back to madrid and collect our belongings. unfortunately, we missed our train out of madrid by 7 minutes- after our long night in pamplona, we were pretty bummed. we slept at the train station for 6 hours, waiting for the next train to valencia, spain.
the journey to the hostel was quite a long walk, especially in the intense heat and humidity! we were tempted to take a taxi, but didn't want to give in so easily!
the hostel, "purple nest", was one of the coolest i have seen-- it was many stories high and had a colorful patio at the top for parties and bbqs! all the rooms/beds allowed for many different people!
the journey to the hostel was quite a long walk, especially in the intense heat and humidity! we were tempted to take a taxi, but didn't want to give in so easily!
the hostel, "purple nest", was one of the coolest i have seen-- it was many stories high and had a colorful patio at the top for parties and bbqs! all the rooms/beds allowed for many different people!
i became absolutely in love with watching other cultures prepare their meals- there seemed to be a few groups of women traveling from northern europe; they sang songs as they prepared their extravagant feasts and seemed to love the tradition of communal cooking. there were also many italians; i noticed that they liked to decorate their tables ornately with fresh flowers that they had picked from around town. i typically did the cooking for rick and i (as a contribution to the team effort) and would spend a lot of time in the kitchen gaining little tips from all around the world.our first morning i made a friend with shannon, a canadian that had the bottom bunk. she had the most amusing, fun laugh and she had so many stories about traveling all over the world all by herself.
we decided to hit the beach with our new friend! i was so excited to get in the water! the beach was crowded and fun! the water was very calm (no waves, which i am not used to ,being from SoCal). the ocean floor was very shallow and i was able to walk about 100 feet out. the water was also saltier, so i would just float way out there and relax, dreaming about my reality.
after quite a long pep talk with myself, i took my top off! it was SO liberating!! i'd lay topless, put my top back on for walking, and take it back off in the water when i'd get far out enough to be alone.
shannon taught me to buy a little box of wine (they come in about a quart-sized carton), for just under a euro, and mix it with a bit of coke!! (this would become my staple throughout europe and i still use it to make bad wine tolerable).
i'm really happy to have a gal around, i missed "girl talk". valencia is beautiful, but i'm excited for our next stop!
