Traveling to Barcelona.. ;(

I finally had to leave Florence. My San Diego friends were done with spring break, and Roman girl had to go on a school trip thing south. Getting from Florence to Barcelona by train is easier said than done. After I wished Mitra a safe journey I went to the train station and got on the first train I saw going North. I ended up in Pisa, then took another train north to Genova. Took a train south to Nice, stopped there looked around. The south of France is really beautiful.. seriously. Its like a movie or something. I took a train from Nice to Toulouse and then from Toulouse I had to backtrack and get to Narbonne and from Narbonne I got to Barcelona. I was planning on sleeping in a park or something in Nice because I thought I had missed the night train to Toulouse, but luckily I made it. I was feeling a little anxious and didnt get any sleep on the trains. The total train time was about 26 hours. I also didnt have a chance to get any real food during the trip.

Traveling like this can get a little hectic and crazy but I have my gear, and I have my money. The worst that could happen would be getting on a wrong train and ending up somewhere foreign and unique, and getting to my destination a day later. No big deal. What an adventure I am on. I have felt so blessed by God this last week and a half. Unfortunately that great feeling was stripped away from me.

This is the low point of my trip. 26 hours on a train, 28 hours without food, and only being able to rest my eyes for an hour or so. When I got to Barcelona of course I was starving so I started to look for food. I was pretty delirious and ended up down an alley. I was approached by someone who was being pretty nice, asked me where I was from, he told me I look English. Then Bam, my head is slammed against the wall and held there. Before I know it both my arms are being held against the wall as well and then someone grabs my feet from under me and flips me to the ground. My camera is pulled out of my hand. They struggle trying to get my pack off, which is strapped to me across the chest and the waist. A few seconds go by and they are gone. I didnt know what hit me, it took me a while to make sense of everything. Did I still have my money, did they get my passport? What is missing?

I realize that my camera is gone, my pictures are gone. I didnt have a chance to back them up or anything. The precious memories that this trip was all about were somewhat stripped from me. There were so many times I found myself saying.. I cant wait to show this picture to my children, or to my family, or to my friends at home. The faces of the people Ive met along the way are going to slowly drift away. I dont know what to do.

I went from an extreme high point of my trip having companionship and friendship, having fun every day and loving Florence. To an extreme low point, getting mugged being tired and hungry and feeling bitterly alone.

I havent felt this bad for a really long time. I dont know if I should come home a little early. I dont know if I should buy a new camera. I only have 3 weeks left anyway. This is the first time I have truely missed home. I want to cry. I have now felt every conceivable emotion while on this trip and unfortunately this is the worst one of all. There have been plenty of times on my trip where I have felt lost and confused, but I could always find help. When I am slammed and held against a wall there was no one there to help me. Hopelessness is the emotion that I never want to feel again. I dont really feel like doing anything. I woke up today at noon, the most Ive slept in the whole trip and I went to a computer. I am in a beautiful city with a beach and instead of seeing all the work of Gaudi or laying on the sand I am in front of a computer. I know Ill feel better eventually, but every time I see something and grab for my camera and every time I think back on where I have been and realize I dont have any pictures of it I get depressed again. Could really use your prayers.
-Kyle

Edit: I may have found a way to feel a little better, which would be to splurge and buy tickets to the Barcelona vs. Munich soccer match. It doesnt get much better than that, definately a once in a life time experience.