What the hell are those? Cantelopes.

wow. Wow. WOW. New Year's in Barcelona was quite the New Year's. (I wish I could post pictures, but someone neglected to bring their uploading dock for their camera.....)

Kelby, Sierra, and I tromped down to Placa Catalunya with the Sunday Night Dinner crew, armed with our red underwear, green grapes, and bottle of Cava. It was a little anti-climactic as we somehow missed the countdown. Damn. We attempted to cram the grapes down our throats (only to find distracting seeds to our dismay). Then between the three of us, we chugged a whole bottle of champagne in ten minutes. That was....fun. Eh.

People were spraying champagne everywhere, throwing bottles into the middle of the street (Kelby chucked ours and it simply bounced but we blame it on the quickly approaching cops), chanting a variety of ditties, growling New Year's greetings, and causing all varieties of ruckus about town. It was quite the scene.

We ambled down a packed Las Ramblas, wandering like mice in a maze with no cheese at the end (credit goes to Kelby for that stunning analogy). To our delight, our favorite gelato place was open! What better way to start off a year than with gelato? Ice cream was followed by a wait in a ridiculously long line to use a nasty bathroom in Burger King (it wasn't nearly as disgusting as the public toilette I was forced to use in Paris--gak).

I have never seen such an inordinately high concentration of plastered people in one place. Even after being in Spain for almost six months, I was astounded. Walking back towards the metro station was almost like playing Jetman, except instead of pillars, cow pies, or blood platelets, it was more like avoid the Creepies. A dangerous game considering my extreme inherent competitiveness and the vulgar creepiness of the Creepers. Fortunately, a brisk walking pace and Kelby's knife eventually got us back home relatively unscathed. Foof.

Apparently, another New Year's tradition in Spain is to welcome the sunrise with churros con chocolate. Much to Kelby's chagrin, we welcomed not only the sunrise but also a good portion of the day with sweet sleep. Heh. Partaking in such custom shall have to wait another 365 days, I suppose. Now I'm just rambling. 'Tis enough. I need to get back to journaling. I have a lot to process, or so they tell me.

One last note, I feel I am expected to give my two cents about our previous traveling adventures, but as Ben said, there is just too much to tell. His riveting account shall have to suffice for the time being, though I may add non-sequitur thoughts and off-handed remarks as the days pass. No promises, but we'll see. In any case, it was a jolly old time and I have now uploaded all the pictures Ben, Neo, and Sierra took during the trip. Have at 'em: http://picasaweb.google.com/lauren.leticia.hui


Now this is Kelby writing, who while not as eloquent as Lauren, has some things to say as well. First, New Year's eve was fantastic, despite the creepers. (For the record, I won the game "avoid the gropers" because of my excellent evasive tactics.) It was a long journey to get to Spain, but well worth it!

I stepped in dog poop not too long ago and Lauren and Sierra are unaware that I have no doubt brought some into the apartment because I was not able to properly get it off my shoe. I think they are tired of my questions about Barcelona. It's a lovely city, alive with the sound of music. Techno music, that is.

We watched "Atonement" today. Si is in love with James. Lauren is in love with the chocolate delights I brought her. I am in love with cafe con leche, which, after years of name dropping in Spanish classes, I was finally able to taste. Churros con chocolate remain elusive.

Lauren writes really small in her journal. I had forgotten because of our time apart, but the young man sitting next to us at the cafe earlier reminded us.

Ben and Neo - I resent the fact that you wore Lauren and Sierra out - they are both fighting coughs and I BLAME YOU BOTH for gallivanting around Europe with them. You have left me with nothing but hollow shells of my friends. FALSE. They are just as vibrant as ever and I love them.

Personally, the little bits of different languages I know are horribly jumbled in my head now. Por ejemplo: "mish aiza mayya, pero quiero asiir por favor. shokran." or "espanoli muy mal, asifa." These make perfect sense in my poor mind.

I am so excited for our adventures to come. Who knows what the future holds. Que sera sera, verdad? Personally, I see a strapping young Spaniard in the future for Sierra.

Por Lo and Si think I am writing something worthwhile, but I don't think this has been worth reading. So if you have gotten this far, I am sorry for wasting your time. Go on with your day. You may not be with us in Barthelona, but that doesn't mean you can't have a jolly good time of your own. Go outside! Run around a little! Make the most of your time and spend it with the people you care about. Above all, love. All you need is love, love, love. Love is all you need.

And remember: "The past is history and the future a mystery. But now is a gift. That's why it's called the present" (So well put by my Lufthansa stewardess)