#getting lost

Changkyun got lost in Israel with a slushie hahaha this is horrible but also the way he said it was so funny

Day 1 of travelling solo and it’s been an odd experience so far.

I dumped my bags, refreshed my (limited!) Spanish and headed out along the back streets of Barcelona.  Wondering along and wading up through the river of people streaming towards me; meandering from 1 street to another; bouncing off corners; passing by sidewalks only to backtrack within seconds to detour towards something that caught my eye;  getting lost, crossing a familiar path and then trying to get lost again.  It was a complete maze of culture, language, people and fascinating architecture.  

Of course this trip was about pushing my boundaries, trying new things, doing something I wouldn’t normally do, and I was certainly well on my way, but nosing in and out of various restaurants trying to chose somewhere to eat,  I just couldn’t do it.  I found myself chickening out, I don’t know what it is but I just can’t seem to face the prospect of sitting in a restaurant alone to eat.  Again with the ‘I’m a massive contradiction to myself’ because I can have lunch in a coffee shop without batting an eyelid but that’s to casual a setting to worry about.  Unfortunately today that’s the closest I got!

Nevertheless, I found myself sitting outside Catedral de Barcelona, admiring the intricate detail of the building only to end up people watching after a short while.  So instead of reveling in the historical culture of the place, I sat there studying the art of the selfie (no, seriously!  If you had watched these people you would honestly think they were gunning for Miss World… or Mr World in the case of 1 particularly precise Japanese teen who couldn’t leave his semi-existing fringe alone!).  

I’m not the most observant person ever, I’ll be the first to admit it too!  But when you actually watch it’s truly amazing how many people pick their nose, scratch where they shouldn’t and are just generally disgusting when they think they can’t be seen because they are in a crowd.  The personification of stereotypes bordered something from a Little Britain sketch show after about 15 minutes too and the continuous waves of fresh tourists did nothing to undo my conclusions.

Deciding that the romance of my day had been tainted somewhat at that point I decided to leave and head back to the hotel to track down the names of a few things and plan out a route for tomorrow.  

On that note, I should sleep!

The truth is, we all get lost as we try to find our way. Perhaps the key is to stop, take a look around and enjoy the scenery as we go.

– JaTawny Muckelvene

(Chania, Greece)