We made it to Barcelona (as locals call it: Bar”th”elona)! The journey to get here wasn’t without a few bumps along the way though…
We spent our last few days in the US relaxing and spending time with family in Florida. Delicious food, great company, warm weather. What better farewell from the States could you ask for?
But, three days before our flight was scheduled to depart, things got a little hectic. The airline, Air Europa, called to inform us that they were no longer providing service from Miami to Spain. That route simply did not exist anymore. They even sent us a very helpful automated email letting us know that the alternative flight available to us had left the week prior. Great, thanks for giving us such advanced notice! Not.
After five hours on the phone with these people and some not so pleasant verbal exchanges, our flight was rescheduled on a different airline. In hindsight, the challenge with the airline served as a good reminder that things don’t always go as planned.
The flight itself was not so pleasant however. The eight hours from Miami to Madrid were pure turbulence. Picture this: Amy’s nails digging into Mike’s arm, guy across aisle cold sweating and puking into the provided barf bag, and zero communication by the pilot as to why this was happening and when it was going to stop. On a positive note, the food was pretty decent by airline standards and there was plenty of vino tinto to go around.
After the second leg from Madrid to Barcelona landed, we hoped on a train straight to our hostel. We have stayed in many hostels in our lives and this is without a doubt the largest one we’ve ever seen. It is literally a high-rise of bunk rooms – 14 floors with eight rooms on each. We are staying in a room off eight and so far so good.
After not sleeping all night on our bumpy flight, we were pretty exhausted. A quick siesta turned into a four hour nap, but gave us enough energy to explore a bit and get our first taste of the Spanish tapas dining experience. We had some great chorizo, croquetas and tortilla. Today we are headed out to tour La Sagrada Familia and whatever else we stumble upon. As always, let us know if you have any suggestions of must-sees in Barcelona.
Hi Migue,
You made my day with your phone call. Checked out the Hostel picture.
Enjoy the cruise! Love you guys much! mama