In 2013 I went on a solo vacation to Barcelona, it was terrifying, and also eye opening to what I am capable of as a person. I stayed there for 6 days and every day I experienced something wild. This will be a comic about my stay there and all the colorful backpackers I met and hung out with. Of Course all the people appearing in my comic will stay anonymous.
first sketches
style tryouts from existing artists
I liked to loseness of number 7 of the style tryouts and made this!
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
my solo adventure in barcalona
Here is noted data for the comic that I will curate into a fitting narrative using techniques learned from books like “invisible ink” and more.
Day 01 ARRIVAL – first with colet then leaving for the plane/ landing late. Meeting french guy who gave me directions and appoligised for NOT speaking english ?? / Trying to find hostel. Sleep.
Day 02 – Feeling lost and lonely. Run away from hostels public arrea after a girl says hi. Walking all over Barcalona. Meeting Jake and the other american. first pubcrawl/ clubbing with Maggie
Day 03 – Gothic Tour / Hanging out with Maggie. Maggie date? metal bar with belgiums. coke insident
Day 04 – Beach – Americans / metal bar with Belgians / james Australian / Americans./ Ball grab hooker
Day 05 – German girls / walking tour 2 Gaudi / arm grab hooker/ Sinign in Irish pub with james /
Day 06 – Departure / broke! / bying a full sac of candy for the flight home
People that I have met.
1. A- ?
2. Jake – American
3. Mike - American
4. Maggie – British
5. Maggies friend – British
6. Mike – Newsealand – told me he learned that competent dancers are not always confident people
7. James – Australian
8. Set/Sef? - Belgum – doctor. Told me he can do crabmaga
9. Ruben – Belgum
10. Anna – Cataloyian Guide.
11. Clara – Germanie
12. Carola – Germanie
DAY ARRIVEL/01
Swimming with COLET (former girlfriend) in the morning (also waking up at their parents place). Went home in the afternoon, packed my bag and left for schiphol. Arrive in barcelona and went to the train station. There I met a girl who was visiting friends in barcelona she was chech (I think) but living in england. We both didn't know the way and both were traveling alone so we talked for a bit. I asked some guy if I was at my stop and he aksed his friend to show the metro map. We couldn't figure it out but his loka friend at the next stop knew so he becond me to get out with him there. He was very eager to help. The friend said I was 1 stop to far so I went back. The guy who helped me told me as we were separating that he could not speak english and apologised. Even though we were talking in english the whole time! I got lost a little in the streets byut soon found my hostel. I was afraid to get there too late but it turned out that the hostel was open all night. I checked in and went to bed.
Hostel found at 23:20. Hostel: Equity Point 3
-END DAY 01
DAY 02
I got up at 12:30 and went on a walk through the city to get breakfast/lunch (It was late breakfast for me). I got a sweet roll at “La rambla” and then I spent the day alone and explored the city. The new part, the old part, the beach, I walked a lot and got a good idea of the area. But at most I felt lonely and not fitting in. I panicked a little but there I took my IPAD and searched for a restourant to eat and to book my flight back (I booket a one way ticket to be more adventerous). I got pretty nercous and panicy off the idea of staying in barcelona alone for 7 days but felt a little better after succesfully getting a plane ticket.
Back at the hostel there was an American guy who aksed me if I was going to go out that night. I said that I depended on the people and he invited me to at the balcony with some other people that he met at the hostel. There I met his traveling companion Mike and two British girls, Maggie and ? There was also another American girl. We talked some and then a girl came to invite us to a “pubcrawl”. We had to wear pants and shoes to enter the final club (it was warm so we wore slippers and shorts). I changed and put on my B-MO T-shirt (adventure time) and one guy going on the crawl recognized it! But I had to change cause it might stop me from getting into the club. We went with a pretty big group but Jake and Mike (the Americans) didn't want to go anymore when we went with the metro to the beach so I ended up hanging with Maggie and friends.
At first we went to an irish pub. I tried to socialize a little but it wasn't really hanging on until I met mike from Newsealand. Turns out we are a lot alike and he was traveling alone as well! -First free shot of the pub crawl was hit here. Mike had a lot more experience then me. I told him I had some trouble approuching people and he was reallycool about it. Next we went to a dance club where you had to say “maini” to get a discount. We did our second free shot and I showd Mike and Maggie my dance moves. Mike was very impressed with my moves and he told me that it gave him a new perspective on that people just have different skills and that you might be a confident dancer but that doesn't mean automaticly that you are confident in all types of situations. Maggie also had some good energie. Two guyus from denmark gave me something i'd never seen before. It was a tiny bag of tabaco, you put it under your lip and you get dizzy. The warned me that I might puke so that was exciting but nothing happened. The last place was club shoka. It was super busy and the bouncers were pretty aggressive. I danced with maggie some but we left soon after. Maggie went back to get her friend. Eventually she found her. Me, Mike, Maggie, The american girl and two other s went to the beach in the night time, took off our shoes and walked into the sea on the sahara dessert beach sand. The american girl got pretty wasted. Us not so much. We walked back and I showered and went to bed at 05:10 in the morning.
-END DAY 02
DAY 03
I woke up at 09:30 in the morning cause I was ging to do the walking tour with Maggie and her friend. I saw MAGGIE at breakfast but not at the meeting point of the tour. This was a great moment of feeling the freedom of being alone. I would have liked it if MAGGIE joined but felt like it was really my decision to do the walking tour so I went anyway. We walked a bit through barcelona in the morning towards a meeting point and waited there for another group to join us. As we waited MAGGIE and friend showed up just in time. There were 2 tours we could take. The gothic tour and the Guadi tour. We took the gothic tour. There was a lot of cool stuff to see but learing about the catalonyers was the most interesting because I had never heard of them or their history with spain before. Afterwords we had some tapas and then me and MAGGIE went to the piccaso museum together. Her friend didn't want to go. There MAGGIE told me she was an art major and planning to go to an architect school. Going to the piccaso museum with MAGGIE felt to me like a very flirtatios date and I enjoyed the looks we would give one another while enjoying the rich history of piccasos art.
Afterwords we met up with her friend and played some card games. And after that we returned to the hostel to chill but MAGGIE and her friend were leaving that night to go home. MAGGIE did want to go to the sagrada familia with me the next day but she had to work. We said our goodbyes and I headed out to the “supermercat” and got some bread and cheese for dinner. That night I met up with JAKE and MIKE again. This time they planned to stick around for the “pubcrawl” Excited to get another chance to go out with the Americans I decided to join this time as well. Turned out however that there weren't enough people so it got canceled.
Before that happened we met two Belgium guys SET and RUBEN. They were going to a metal barr called “something hell” ?? we decided to go after the “pubcrawl” was canceled. An Australian guy Joined as well. His name was JAMES. Turned out you'd get 01 litter of beer for only 4 euro's over there! We played some poker and some foose ball (table soccer). There was a guy who was way to good at it and he challanged us to a match. Me and JAMES made a pretty good team but we lost big time anyway. We all got super wasted and JAMES left at some point. The rest of us got Lost on the harbor cause we wanted to go clubbing but the walk was too far. As wel sat down on a bench a guy with a plastic bag approuched us and sold us some beers. JAKE tried to get coke from the guy on the street and got into this weird fight with the guy, set told Him he could do Krav maga but later he told me that he was lying haha. so we went back to the hostel. I went to bed at 05:40 in the morgning
-END DAY 03
DAY 04
Got out of bed late around 12:30. Ate breakfast/lunch which was my own bread with cheese which I toasted and ate at the hostel. Then I went to the beach with MIKE and JAKE. On the way we smoked some weed that they had with them and chilled some. We swam in the ocean for a bit and I told MIKE about being an animator. They smoked some more (I had enough at that point) and then we went for Tapas.
Going out with JAMES and him jumping in to play soccer with some random kids and dafter that he barged into a building which said "chess club" on the door, the older men weren't thrilled but JAMES was unfased and asked if he could join them, he could not. Then we hit an Irish pub where we got tickets for a JAMES singing in an Irish pub. I got to preform on the stage. The artist said I could do another one, he was enjoying the break. One random white guy stared really intensely to me, it was a bit much ahha. Buying “paying for it” from Chester Brown at a local comic store. A Hooker grabbed my crotch full force
-END DAY 04
DAY 05
German girls on 2d walking tour of Guadi. Met the catalony girl and asked her about her herretige. A rondom girls back pack got stolen right behind me while we were sitting on a rock at the top of the Guadi park. We saw the sagrada familia (which was the goal of the trip for me). I ate with the german girls at their hostel and a street hooker grabbed my arm and screamed ;OLA?!” to me. I bought a fridge magnet.
-END DAY 5
DAY 06 – flying Home
Not much happened. I Took a bus to the airport with what I now know but didn't at the time was some of my last cash that I had (my bank account was empty at this point). I tried to get a cookie from a vending machine but it got stuck (classic) I shrugged and bought a huge bag of candy. I entered the plane and some one that was afraid of flying wanted to sit next to her partner so she asked if I wanted to trade seats. But with the trade I ended up with a waaaaay better seat so of course I took it! I flew all the way home while eating from my huge bag of candy, feeling a little guilty with a little kid sitting next to me, I wanted to share some of my candy but the dad looked a little intimidating and I didn’t want to offend or anything.