BILBAO to BARCELONA

Well, the train ride back was quite a trip. I slept in a small room in a train car with complete strangers. When I got to my assigned room on the train, I met James: a British traveler in his mid-20s that was just finishing up a week of backpacking through Spain. The next two to join us were engineers from India that were on a 3 week long business trip, stopping at several major cities all over Europe. We all talked for a while before we went to bed. The one gentleman gave me his business card and told me that I am always welcome to come to India. Hopefully, I can some day. I didn't exactly fit on the bed so I had to curl up a little bit on the narrow bed. The pillow was about as thick as a folded up T-shirt, so I stuck my jacket underneath it. I slept very soundly until our door was loudly slid open in the middle of the night and 2 more guys came in to sleep on the top 2 bunks. I fell back asleep and when I woke up, we were down to othe original 4 in the train car. The train arrived in Barcelona about 2 or 2 and half hours late so we just sat in our car and talked for a few hours. We talked about India, England, and the U.S. We covered everything from education to religion to architecture. I exchanged e-mail addresses with James, so if I ever end up in Newcastle, UK I will have a place to stay.

When we got back to the apartment, I threw in a load of laundry and unpacked. I then went for a run down to the beach (the sun can be very taunting). The beach was so full of people that I couldn't help but take off my shoes and socks and stroll along the beach for a while. I walked along as the waves covered my feet every few steps. I picked a spot in the sand and just sat there for a while. It was very relaxing just watching the waves crash and then gently ride up on the sand and then retreat back. There were a lot of walkers on the beach and sun-bathers, but not too many people in the water. It was funny how some people in swim suits were lying next to people wearing pants and a sweatshirt. The weather is warming up quickly though. Spring is here to stay.