Gonna try the car thing

Sorry no pics this time. We tried to download them but couldn´t figure out how on this computer.

The day we headed out of Barcelona we decided to hit the Picasso Museum. Our reason for doing it that day was because it was free for the first Sunday of the month. Since money definitely has gone much quicker than expected, we can´t pass up free. It was a very interesting museum though and glad we went. There was a temporary exhibit set up from a photographer that had taken many photos of Picasso in his older years. It´s weird having a picture of someone in your head and then seeing what the guy actually looked like. We didn´t realize that he was a more recent artist, continuing to paint until his death in the 70´s. His artwork throughout the museum started from age 12 and was much different than his later work. It was cool to see how his artwork progressed through his learning.

Headed for the train station and just missed the train to our next destination, Valencia. We had to wait 2 1/2 hours for the next one. Got in around 6pm and saw flyers in the hostel for a cooking class on paella (local rice dish). It was suppose to be a very cheap dinner but much to our dismay, the stove was broke and we couldn´t do it. Decided to try the metro and head to the beach. There was a large America´s Cup park set up but not much action. Turns out the America´s cup doesn´t actually start until the end of June. The Louis Vittoun Cup finals are going on to find a challenger for last years winner from Switzerland. The race for that day had already finished and there wasn´t one scheduled for the next day. While sitting on the beach we did get to see a couple boats practicing though. They are very massive sailboats and can move quickly. A first for us in Valencia was the cockroaches. What a nasty "little" bug. Hazen was having nightmares about them and couldn´t sleep without his feet covered. Overall, Valencia was a very beautiful city and we enjoyed staying.

Right now we are in Alicante. Another coastal town with a huge castle towering above it. One of the first things we decided to do when we got here was relax on the beach. We finally decided to break down and buy a beach mat. Laying on sand isn´t much fun. We walked in to the only place we could find that had beach parafanalia. They had a couple roll-up mats for $2.50 that we were going to get but we were upsold to a mat that could fold up smaller and fit into our bags easier. The lady raked in an extra $10. Made our way down to lay on our new purchases but the wind was so severe that they were flying around everywhere. Aub was determined to soak in the sun and we got our skin sand blasted off. Needless to say, we are still cleaning sand out of places sand shouldn´t be. We hiked to the top of the castle this morning. A little disappointing that it wasn´t all the guide book cracked it up to be, but it had some great views of the town.

We are staying in a run down pension in the middle of the old town. Cooked up dinner and ate in the courtyard with the five other people staying in the place. We had a great time chatting with other travelers and sharing war stories. Hazen befriended the owner by sharing a strawberry flavored tobacco smoke on his hooka. The owner didn´t speak english and Hazen doesn´t speak spanish but they chatted for a good portion of the night. He is very similar to Hazen´s grandfather. For example when two girls left the table he put a fake spider by their food so when they returned they gave out quite a squeal. He laughed at himself most of the night.

We will be renting a car for the first time tomorrow. We will have it for about 3 days as we make our way to Sevilla. Definitely going to try to find some private beaches. Also will be good for a change of pace. Will probably be in Sevilla for our next post.