Hostel Territory

So we've set off to Barcelona to live the dream and open our very own hostel. We're keeping this journal online to keep everyone updated of our progress, adventures and mishaps navigating Barcelona's booming tourism industry, Spanish bureaucracy, and daily life in Catalunya.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Round 2 of the Gonzo Goodwill (food) tour was kicked off this week, this time with the guys working at the hostel site and our new neighbors.

I was beginning to think I'd missed my calling as a world famous chocolate truffle maker until the severe sugar headache set in from all the "samples" I'd taken of my work. And the picture below looks pretty gross, but I swear the proper truffle making technique is to coat the truffles with melted chocolate in your hand.




Thursday, December 20, 2007

Some cool photos I took from the top of Sagrada Familia



New construction before and afters...
Lobby Before

Lobby After

Bedroom Before
Bedroom After

Kitchen BeforeKitchen After

Progression of Front Rooms

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Christmas cards are done!

Anyone whose address we couldn't find will be receiving this greeting instead.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Another fun weekend adventure recommendation -

We drove out to Vic yesterday for its annual medieval fair. It's a little town an hour north of Barcelona. The entire town was full of stands selling everything from herbal remedies to local liquor and the world's tiniest books. There were camel rides, birds of prey, plenty of grilled meats and displays of torture devices. What more could a girl want? Even without the medieval fun, the town is very charming.

Here are Amy and Ivan demonstrating one of the torture devices-

A really nice email from someone who wanted to stay at the hostel a few weeks ago. . .

Dear Lauren,

I wanted to thank you so much for taking the time out to send me some restaurants in Barcelona. Well we went to two of the ones you mentioned. Me (2 times and told them you sent us...great place) and to Tapac24 also very good and inventive...ate what you suggested. We loved Barcelona and certainly can guess the pull it has to many people. I wish you and your sister lots of luck in your hotel adventure...perhaps we will return one day and have the pleasure of meeting you and staying at your hotel Again, thanks for making our trip such a success.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Happy Spanish Constitution Day!

To celebrate Spain's transition to dem
ocracy, we will be eating cheeseburgers at Foster's of Hollywood, obviously.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

You can now find us listed on the following hostel booking engines:

HostelCentral.com
HostelsClub.com
HotelsArea.com
Gomio.com
Flashbooking.com
HostelTraveler.com (and affiliates)
VIPBackpackers.com
Hostelz.com
Travelonomy.com
Hostelmania.com

Coming soon to:

HostelWorld.com (and a million affiliates)
Booking.com
Priceline.com
Hotwire.com
Venere.com
Hotels.com

Any other recommendations? Where do you go to book budget hotels?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

We attended a fantastic calçotada on Saturday outside of Tarragona. I'd highly recommend a visit to Mas Boronat to enjoy the scenic countryside and eat your face off. You've gotta get a little bit dirty eating the charred calçots, but it's worth it. (Also, note the sunglasses and lack of coats. The weather here is glorious. Hint hint, those of you residing in more frigid climes)



Saturday, December 01, 2007



Ice Bar Review - Definitely more cold than cool. I can't say much bad about a party with an open bar, but when you invite people to preview a new bar, you should probably make sure they actually get to preview it. We had to sneak in, because they never called our group. Some people never got in at all. Another thought - are the glasses made out of ice thrown out after every use? Or are they finding some gross way to reuse them?