On to Barcelona

Barcelona.  Nice large, modern airport.  We don’t care.  It’s four o’clock in the afternoon and after 22 hours of traveling we are tired, dirty and sore.  Not brave enough to try the bus, we garnered a taxi to our hotel.

The first thing we did absolutely right was our choice of hotel location.  We stayed in the hotel H10 PlazaCatalunya at the time it was less than 100euros a night and in Barcelona that was very reasonable.  Plaza Catalunya is at the top the La Rambla and is surrounded by bus stops and metro stations.  While our room was small by our standards, it was clean and comfortable, and once we walked around outside we confirmed that we were in the middle of everything.  We took showers and a nap.

Waking up around nine in evening we thought we had lost half a day in Barcelona.  Not necessarily true.  Walking outside the streets were jam packed and everything was open.  There was a restaurant next door to our hotel that had sidewalk tables and we found one, ordered beer, wine and seafood paella; a perfect introduction to Spain.  Expensive but perfect.

Not dealing with our jet-lag very well we returned to our hotel about 1am and tossed and turned until nearly 6am when we fell soundly asleep.  Awake at noon we once again thought we had wasted half a day in Barcelona.  Again, not true.

Restaurants were serving breakfast.  The Spanish version of breakfast turns out to be very different than the American version.  Coffee as Americans know it doesn’t exist in Spain although some restaurants provide a “Café Americano”; don’t do it.  Café is some form of espresso; single, double, with milk or cream etcetera.  Tostadas are the mainstay however and can be ordered with butter, jam, ham, cheese, tomato or any combination of these.  A tostada is a small (what we in the states would call a “French bread”) toasted on a grill.  So breakfast at noon is normal in Spain; weird for us.

We spent the afternoon wandering down La Rambla, wandering through the Boqueria (a huge indoor/outdoor fresh food market) and exploring the Gothic quarter.  There were crowds but since it was October they were not bad.  We absolutely stumbled upon the Picasso museum and were astounded at the sheer volume of sketches and “blue period” pieces that were on display.  We spent the better part of two hours there.  Of course now we needed to find the famous café where Picasso hung out as a teenager in Barcelona; 4 Cats or Quatre Gats.

On the way back to our hotel we passed a guitarist playing, and playing well, in a small courtyard surrounded by 3 and 4 story buildings.  The acoustics were simply incredible and we had to stay and listen for a bit.  We walked La Rambla back to our hotel and enjoyed the many street artists performing along the way.  That evening we slept well.

The next day we planned to take the metro to La SagradaFamilia.  This cathedral was designed by Gaudi and is very different type of gothic structure.  It has been under construction since 1882 and is still not finished.  At the risk of sounding irreverent or unappreciative of art or architecture, it looks from afar like several dripping candles.  Up close however, the detail is really incredible.

Even in October the lines at the Sagrada Familia were a block long but well worth the 45 minute wait.  We had a little trouble figuring out the Metro on the way there but, an apparently homeless person helped us by showing us how to work the ticket machine and we gave him a couple of euro for his assistance.  Another skill acquired.  Be careful though, this can be a common rip off scam so never give money in advance to an individual that approaches you like this.

That afternoon we went in search of “Quatre Gats”, in the El Barri Gotic or Gothic quarter and to explore El Raval.  We found Quatre Gats and were introduced to Barcelona’s version of tapas (a snack with your beverage).  It proved a very enjoyable rest and refreshment break in an incredible atmosphere.  There were pictures and posters on the walls by various famous artists, some of them quite old and I’m sure, quite valuable.  A significant number of tourists attempted to walk in and take pictures but were redirected by the staff.  Taking pictures is okay but you must be a paying customer.

The rest of our time in Barcelona passed quickly as we wandered this beautiful city.  The weather was perfect and the food delectable.  We had become brave enough to consider taking the bus to the airport.  We’d like to say that our day of departure came too quickly but for us, 4 days in Barcelona had been sufficient.

The morning of departure we walked across the plaza to the bus stop and got on the airport bus.  Arriving at the terminal we were absolutely unable to find our airline’s check in counter.  After 30 minutes of wandering around we realized that we were in the wrong terminal and needed to catch another bus to the correct terminal.  Tired and sweaty and out of time we arrived at our check-in counter (with very long lines) just in time to hear an announcement, in Spanish of course, concerning our flight.

Turns out, our 12:30pm flight had been delayed for at least one hour.  We checked our bags to Granada and proceeded to the gate.  By 2pm our flight had been cancelled along with the 1:30pm and 2:30pm flights.  It finally looked like we would be leaving by 3:30pm.  This fit the window we had arranged to meet the person who would check us into our accommodations.

For any of you that are irritated that messages in the United States (in airports or when calling a utility company for example) are repeated in Spanish or other languages I would invite you to an airport, bus station or train station in a country in which you do not speak the language, or don’t speak it very well.  If ever there is an announcement that concerns your travel, like a boarding announcement or a gate change, you will be grateful for that English repetition, trust me.

We finally boarded our aircraft at 4:30pm.  Four consecutive flights had been cancelled because, we think, the planes weren’t filled.  But now the flight was packed and we were unable to sit together during the 90 minute flight occupying instead, middle seats in different parts of the plane.  The captain then made an announcement that the flight had “missed its’ departure” slot due to the amount of time it took the passengers to board and would be delayed for 3 more hours. 

What ensued was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen on board an aircraft that had already left the gate.  Fully 80% of the passengers stood up and started pulling down their overhead luggage.  I cannot adequately describe the sound of over one hundred angry Spaniards all talking at once.  There was going to be a mutiny right there on the taxi way.  The captain had to come out of the cockpit to reassure the passengers and at first we thought they were going to string him up or at least throw him off the plane but eventually everybody calmed down and returned to their seats. 

Interestingly, we took off 15 minutes later.