Barcelona was the first city on this trip where I was truly alone. Other people worry so much about me traveling alone, but I usually figure I’ll meet people in the hostel or somewhere.
Well, I was right. The first thing I did in Barcelona was meet someone who went to RIT for Fine Art Photography and who had lived in Ithaca for a while. Now, this all sounds kind of too good to be true, but I believed her because a. she said some of the stuff first and b. she had the catalog for the Madrid photo festival, from which she had just come, right in her hand.
Well, that was a pretty funny experience, but we didn’t end up really hanging out much.
We did, however, go on a search for food that first night, and not find anything open by our hostel. I went back out and found a smoky sports bar and got a sandwich and watch part of the world cup.
When I got back, I met some other people, though I can’t really remember where they were from (not the U.S.), but they were studying abroad in Northern Europe. I met them in the kitchen when I went to fill up my water – they were making Pasta Carbonara and offered me some. We ended up finding out that we’d all be in Sevilla at the same time. I never saw them again after Barcelona though.
So, I guess I didn’t really make any long-lasting friendships that first night, but it was not a problem being alone.