I showed up on the craziest night of the year

OK OK OK OK!

SO!

I showed up to Barcelona on a holiday. I knew that it was a holiday back in April when I was planning the trip a bit. I ASSUMED it was like, a holiday where everything is closed and people get to relax a little, but Barcelona is not your normal city. So the holiday was the festival of San Juan (St. John the Baptist) and I guess celebrations started 2 weeks ago, to culminate in this one ridiculous night. Throughout the trip I have had so many nights that I have wanted to blog about and say ¨That was the most RIDICULOUS day of my life!!!¨ But it always seems to get topped by something else, in another city. I suppose I could just say that I have had alot of ridiculous nights, in many crazy cities....but THIS was on another scale altogether.

I showed up to a hostel and was able to get a bed for 2 nights. The hostel is really hip and relaxed, different to the frenzy of the downtown of Barcelona. It is a nice contrast. When I got of the metro I was hearing gunshots and getting kind of freaked out, because I was like "omg, where am I? What have I gotten myself into!?" (I realized later that these were fireworks)

Anyways!
I went out with a group of 10 people from the hostel at around midnight. We bought bottles of wine for around $0.70 CAD and wandered down Placa Catalunya to the beach. As soon as I stepped of the metro, I could not even believe my eyes. The entire city was outside, setting off fireworks in the streets and on the beach, celebrating. I can't even describe how many people were on the beach, but imagine the entire city of Calgary plus about a hundred thousand tourists all by the sea, drinking and celebrating. It was absolutely unreal because everywhere you turned, you were close to getting hit in the eye with a errant firework. There was music playing all over, but it was somewhat drowned out by the thousands of fireworks coming from all directions. People were setting trees on fire, jumping over bonfires, going to clubs dotted along the shore, swimming, drinking, and generally being out of control. There were also alot of people just chilling, drinking in the scene and relaxing. We sat on the beach and drank for a while, and after I almost got hit with a rocket...we decided to go to a club. Clubs in Barcelona don't open until around 1am, but they stay open until the sun comes up.

Does this city ever SLEEP!? Nobody slept last night, that's for sure. People stayed out all night on the beach and after every firework in Spain was set off, everyone stayed to watch the sun come up in Barcelona. Nobody also bothered to tell me that because no one in the city of Barcelona slept last night, today everything is closed to allow people to relax a bit. Tomorrow the plan is to rent Mopeds and drive to Sitges (MOMMA!!!!) to hang out on the beach. It isn't set in stone and I may just shop and visit some Gaudi architecture. I have to switch hostels tomorrow as well...I am staying right on Las Ramblas, the center of the city by the beach. OH! And my Miyavi concert is this Friday. HOW EXCITED AM I!!!!? I miss you all and I can't wait to step back on Canadian soil. I start work next Friday and that feels a bit weird considering I am so far away, but I am really looking forward to doing the Reading Program again. Also, Becky's 18th birthday is the day I arrive home from Paris! I can't wait to buy her a drink and see her new flowing blonde locks hahaha. <3

Hasta Luego!