Barcelona – Day One

Being ready for my faithful and uncomplaining chauffeur and his companion by 6.00a.m. was something of a feat as Wednesday had been a long day and the packing wasn’t done until almost midnight. I may have had two hours’ sleep but was probably running on adrenaline until I finally fell asleep at the end of this first day in Barcelona.

Let’s start with sunrise in Heathrow, Terminal 5

This was certainly not a morning to be facing the sun!! It was glorious but made reading some of the information screens totally impossible – but that didn’t matter: I had my coffee and a croissant and was able to enjoy them at my leisure until the Gate number was announced.

The BA flight was on time and, apart from some minor turbulence, uneventful, landing in Barcelona a few minutes early. As usual my luggage seemed to be last off the conveyor belt but I was in no hurry so took my time and was all set to make my way to the Aerobus into the city centre when I realised there was something strange about the way my case was moving: then I remembered that the wheels had been damaged on the way back from Tbilisi. I should have bought a new case!! Ah well, a case here will probably be in Euros what I’d have to pay in sterling so maybe I’ll be the winner.

Progress to the bus stands was slower than I might have liked as a result, but I had all day…..until I saw the queue. At first I thought it wasn’t bad and that I just had to join the queue for the bus. Then it dawned on me that there was also a queue for tickets and only two of the eight available machines seemed to be working…hmm…this would be a longer wait than anticipated:

By this time, I was beginning to think old ladies should be more careful what they choose to travel with and maybe a backpack full of camera, lenses and a laptop was not the most sensible thing but once we were on the bus, over all the anxiety about whether the machine would take whatever cash or cards people had, it was not a problem.

The couple I had spoken with in the queue got off the bus quite early – it was, they told me, Placa d’Espana but I found it mildly disconcerting that there was no announcement about where we were and just hoped that the end of the journey – Placa Catalunya – would be clear. It was! And the walk to my hotel from there wasn’t bad. One good thing was that it was all downhill, on a fairly main pedestrian area with lots to notice along the way, including a luggage shop…..noted! And some scenic passageways that I would come to know well.

At the hotel within ten minutes, I was greeted with a welcoming smile and a well-chilled glass of cava – who could complain? And then, in the room, chocolates and bottles of water.

By the time I got to know my way around the room and felt settled, I also felt hungry as I hadn’t eaten anything since Heathrow – and that was 7.15a.m. Now it was nearly 5p.m. but there was a bigger priority than food….the suitcase….

So I walked back up to the shop I had noticed and was able to buy a very suitable case right there and then for little more than half the cost in the UK. Though it wasn’t a brand I had heard of, it looks as if it will serve my needs well enough. Wheeling that down to the hotel was much easier than my earlier trip with the damaged wheels and it was soon time to go out, learn a bit more about my surroundings and find some food.

This is a very walkable area of the city. My hotel – one of the H10 range – is in the old town surrounded by impressive buildings and narrow alleyways with lots of artisan shops and interesting cafes and bars, many in the open air. Just down from the hotel I found a place selling Iberian ham, so had one of their baguettes and a coffee. I couldn’t eat the whole baguette so took some back with me to eat before finally catching up on my sleep.

But first there was some exploring to do. I knew the Cathedral (no, NOT Sagrada Familia) was just a few minutes walk away so ventured out to find it as I had heard there was always a lot going on in the square. That book was not wrong!

There were bubbles,

There was music

And, of course, there were photographers

Ready to go back to the hotel, I had one last walk to see Las Ramblas of which I had heard so much and where I had been told to be very careful with cameras and any branded goods – but the evening groups held no fear, families and young people mingling with tourists and having fun in the warm evening.

Time to sleep!