Semana Santa step 2

A few rainy days on the beach of San Sebastian, 5 plates of mussels, countless pieces of bread mounted with seafood, and 8 hours in a bus, I was in the Catalonian capital of Barcelona. Time seemed to fly  on the bus, and I didn't ever succumb to “bus psychosis” that often affects 4 out of every 7 passengers embarking on a trip of more than 4 hours. For those unaware, bus psychosis includes: a dramatically slowed down perception of time, the apparent lack of a position in which to sleep comfortably, and the need to drink large amounts of water or use the bathroom when either, there is no water, or there is no bathroom. None of these symptoms reared their ugly heads during the trip, and I cruised into Barcelona to be pleasantly greeted by a certain miss Beceiro Saenz. A friend of hers left us the keys to her totally hip little flat in Barceloneta that had miniature ceilings, a toilet/shower combination room, and a certain earthy cave feeling to it. There were many advantages over a crowded expensive hostel that the free dwelling offered, but all things considered, the fact that I could spend the night with Marta without paying for my bedsheets was brilliant. After checking into our one-night bat cave, we went for some dinner in a small, cheap, but delicious restaurant around the corner, where we ate entirely too much square rations of assorted pizzas. Destination 2 was a curious bar that had cañas for 1€ and a TV playing the Barcelona game that I could not see at all due to our sitting decision. I “heard” Messi score 3 goals...Thanks Marta.

As I entered Barcelona, I became aware of the random presence of my cousin in the capital city, and made sure that we would spend some time together before Marta and I embarked for Holland. Emily was with her friends visiting for the weekend by chance so, we had a sunny plaza sit-down with assorted lunches, a  dockside walk by Barceloneta, and a series of confusing strolls through tight streets lined with cafes and antique stores. Goodbyes were said, haste was made, a multitude of metros, trains, and buses were mounted, and Marta and I were in Barcelona airport with time to spare. We were soon make our way from capital city to another with Amsterdam in our sights, or at least the pilots'. We got awesome meals on the plane. You know those ice creams called tandems, that have 1 side ice cream cookie sandwich, and the other half is chocolate coated nutty ice cream? Well, we get sandwiches like that where 1 half was eggsaladcurry fantasy, and the other was like, cream cheese delight with tasty ham. FLY KLM AIRLINES(http://www.klm.com/travel/generic/index.html ), they are a good company, and hell, they are royal!