Good to see Lee getting her blog on!

I spent yesterday in Milan renewing car insurance. Turns out that despite asking multiple times, I can indeed just do a bank transfer instead of coming to Milan once a year. Oh well. Bring on the roadtrips!

My friend Magnus came along. He'd never been to Italy, so I tried my best to introduce him to pasta gorging, shoe shopping, and big cathedrals. It was great to go back, and it even made me a little nostalgic. My stops at Angolo D'Abruzzo, Bar Venti, Peck, and even the Standa grocery store all made me realize that I do have a little soft spot in my heart for the strange Italian city that is Milan.

Airing Your Dirty Laundry

Bold has been taken to a new level at Somnio Hostels. When I came in this morning, Sebastian our brilliant nightman told me that he thinks a guest is doing their laundry in our [private] laundry room. Granted, the room is off of a public bathroom and the door doesn't lock and there's no Privat sign, but still. All of our cleaning supplies are there and it's pretty clear that it's not for public use. Sure enough, someone's wet clothes were in the washer. I had no choice but to put them in the dryer. What gives? At least if you're going to sneak a wash in- be sly about it and stay on top of it. What happens if the cycle finishes and I need to get on with my towel laundry? Do I have to fold this stranger's manky underpants?

The cutest piece of luggage I've ever seen:

What can I say? It's a slow day at the hostel.

In case you didn't know, owning a hostel is super glamorous.

I just wiped up a puddle of pee in one of the bathrooms. How do people miss the toilet SO badly and what must their bathrooms at home look like?

Lee and I checked out a new Barcelona hotel this weekend, and more importantly, their bars! The hotel is called Me, and is owned by the Spanish chain Sol Meliá , better known for their resorts and Tryp hotels. From what I can tell, Me intends to be the chicer, cavalli-clad, coked-out sister-in-law of the Sol Meliá brand. A visit to their website is an intimidating reminder that there are a lot cooler, tanner, and better dressed people staying at their hotel than at Somnio. A visit to their hotel didn't quite live up to the website that boasts "an experienced based personality hotel" that will "seduce the open mind with art, design, music and cuisine." We've moved on from design hotels to personality hotels now? I didn't get the memo.

However, there was a list to even get into the hotel lobby bar and further security to ascend to Angels & Kings, the rock bar made famous (?) by part owner Pete Wentz (AKA Ashley Simpsons baby daddy). The place was full of sleek leather banquettes, and the walls were adorned with famous rocker's mugshots. The best part was the outside pool lounge with private cabana tables and tables surrounding the pool. I was amazed at the size of the crowd. The hotel is located about a twenty minute cab ride from the center of Barcelona, so I'm sure the novelty will wear off fast. From a guests' perspective, either you'd think it was cool to be paying to stay at a hotel so exclusive that it requires bouncers and a list or, more likely, highly annoying.

To the forty year old German lady enjoying her tea in the lobby -

TAKE YOUR FEET OFF MY FURNITURE!

What would your mother think?

I just found out this morning that one of our favorite haunts, Betty Ford Cocteleria, is temporarily closed. The place has been described as "a a hub of creativity and artistry, but also the favoured hangout of local scenesters and hipsters." In spite of that, they still let us in. We've been going there since they opened and taking full advantage of their happy hours specials! Lee and I have both celebrated birthdays there as well as countless other events. But now it's closed! I'll have to investigate further. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite BF nights.

I usually tell people I'm pretty fluent in Spanish, but I made a slight grammatical error in speaking today that wound up a little more embarrassing than just that. A guy came to the door offering his company's services and asked who he could speak to. Annoyed at being interrupted from a serious Free Cell winning streak. I replied with a snotty look "con yo," instead of the proper "conmigo." It's really no big deal but when pronounced out loud "con yo" sounds exactly like the Spanish word coño which means... well you can do the translation here. He made a funny face but continued his speech, and I didn't realize until I closed the door what I'd said.

Whoops.

Another lesson in travel etiquette...

No, you may not check into a room, hang out in it for a few hours, shower, roll around on the bed and then announce you are leaving and do not expect to pay for the night. It doesn't work like that.

Gil's gone! He left last night. He'll be making stops in Madrid, Bogota, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic before settling in Pittsburgh. That's if he doesn't fall in love in South America and change his plans completely, as he's been known to do. We'll miss him dearly in Barcelona. Gil was with us almost from day one of Somnio. He was our first employee and has helped out a ton over the past seven months. I'm not sure Lee and I could've made it through the first few rough months without Gil's humor and smiling face. You know you always have a home here, Gil!

We went to another fun Vietnamese cooking class with our favorite teacher Ange. This time it was spring rolls, warm beef salad, and an orange dessert. Lee and I are swearing off our normal expensive Asian restaurants and vowing only to make our own Thai/Vietnamese food from now on. We'll see how long that lasts.