21 Baby!!!

I cannot think of a better way to think of turning 21 than being in Barcelona.  Everyone thinks it's terrible turning 21 in a place where the drinking age is almost absent, but being in the party capital of the world was unbelievable.  For me, my birthday was a 2 day extravaganza.  It started out going to the FC Barcelona game vs. A.T. Madrid.  Almost simultaneously as the whistle sounded to award victory to Barca, it was my 21st birthday.  From there we walked home and my friends wanted to celebrate with me.  They wanted to take me to a strip club and all of a sudden we passed a street that had 4 in a row, or so we thought.  We asked how much entrance was and most of them said that they were free.  It did not quite make sense to us, but we walked in anyways.  Up entering we immediately realized that these were not strip clubs, but instead brothels.  Only one that we stumbled upon had good looking girls...and they were very good looking.  Due to the fact that none of us were drunk we made the rational decision to leave and instead ended up at a cool club called SUITE.  There we got free tequila shots and did a shot that I will never forget.  First they pour you the shot and you dip your thumb in it.  Then they light your thumb on fire and after watching it for a while your feel it get quite hot and stick your thumb in your mouth.  Finally, you take the shot.  After a few conversations, and some laughs we called it a night because I had to save up plenty of energy for the next night. Thursday was quite a day.  

I did have class in the late afternoon, but after that it was go time.  We chilled at our apartment and then headed downtown to a chill mexican place which is something that I had been craving since I arrived.  We all had a delicious dinner and sipped on some frozen margaritas that were ridiculously strong.  After finishing dinner, we returned to our apartment and began the fiesta.  My RA Nicko surprised me with a cheesecake that he made himself and it was delicious.  The pre-game consisted of myself, my roommates, Feiger, Kogan, and four new friends Alex, Aron, Jess, and Katherine.  We played many games and had a great time.  At about 1:30 AM, we headed to a small little bar to get cheap drinks.  We chilled there for about a half hour or so and then moved on to a club called SUTTON where the party officially started.  We arrived at about two and due to some connections that I had arranged we skipped the entire line.  We talked and relaxed for about a half hour until my buddy who also got us in had arranged a table for us in the VIP section, which is actually a bigger deal than it sounds. In order to be  in this section, you must rent a table and request bottle service which begins at about 150 euros or over 200 american dollars, but for me it was FREE.  It was very frustrating because I could only bring up 5 people with me, and I already invited 3 girls that I knew(Abbey, Jossie, and Kate).  I figured I would take 2 guys up and then rotate them out, but I eventually realized that doing that was not an option.  In order to get up to the VIP section they give you a stamp, and because of that once you get stamped you are allowed in all night.  I felt terrible for the guys that were not let in, but I soon had to suck it up and enjoy my 21st birthday.  So we were say at our table in the VIP section and a waiter soon arrived with a full handle of Absolute Vodka and about 10 bottles of different chasers.  From here the party was an absolute blast and we just relaxed and had an unbelievable time.  The alcohol was gone very quickly, but it was a birthday that I will never forget, and I thank all of the people who helped me celebrate it.