I just got back from Valencia and it was greattttt...
We got there Friday night and went straight to our hostel..I've never stayed in a hostel before and it was a weird experience. It was located in a good area of town and was a youth hostel...so no creepy old people. It cost 15$ a night for each person...isnt that crazy? Jessica, Ashley, Tory and I shared a room...bunk beds and lockers..we had a tiiiny little bathroom too. You know those sink faucets that you have to hold down to get the water come out? And keep holding it as long as you still need water? Yeah...well thats how the shower faucet was...haha it was so annoying. Anyway, we unpacked and got tapas at a really cute restaurant called Las Cuevas...after that, we went out to a fun part of town..it was a late night but a lot of fun. On saturday, the hostel provided breakfast for us and then went to the world's biggest aquarium...it was really cool and realllyyyy big..we saw a dolphin show that was craazzzyy..who knew dolphins were so smart??..we then ate paella at a little cafe. Paella (rice, vegetables, and usually chicken or seafood) was originated in Valencia so I haaaaaad to have it...I didn't really like it, but oh well. Then we took a tour of a really pretty cathedral and saw, supposedly, the Holy Grail...there are a few places who claim to have it, and Valencia is one of them..who knows for sure...it was interesting though. We grabbed tapas again that night and went out to some fun bars...We went to the beach on Sunday and it was so so pretty...the mediterranean sea is sooo salty. seriously. I saw a lot of boobs and thongs, so that was fun. Its crazyyyy how the women here do NOT have issues with their bodies and have no problem showing it all off..old, young, everyone..its for sure different from the US...it seems like there is no "perfect" body standard here..everyone is so different and thats beautiful to them, you know? It was a breath of fresh air.We got back to Madrid late last night...it was a good weekend! Hope you all had a good one too...

oh yeah ok one more thing---
back to the touchy/feely couples in spain...(sorry i just can't get over it)..my teacher was telling me that movies and television here often focus on sex/sexual themes, whereas the movies and television in the US focus on crime and violence...makes sense that the US is way more violent than it is here, and that so many people here feel comfortable/able to display their feelings in public :)..ohhhh the powers of media...