First, apparently the first installment was not formatting properly in some browsers (thanks to Ben for pointing that out). I think I have it fixed, so feel free to take another look if you were experiencing that problem. Anyway, here’s the list of parts:
Parts:
- Introduction/BOS-CDG
- CDG-BCN and First Day in Barcelona
- Figueres and Girona (and Some Barcelona)
- Barcelona
- Montserrat and Valencia
- Valencia and Madrid
- Madrid
- Segovia, El Escorial, and Madrid
- MAD-CDG and CDG-BOS
So, I left off at leaving our flight from Boston, so next was customs, which was bad. Obviously, the 747 is a large aircraft. Therefore, having two customs officers (and having one leave midway) to check passports isn’t exactly good. I was actually concerned about making our connection on time. There was a flight leaving for Barcelona at seven, and someone on our flight was booked on it, and she missed the flight. I’m actually surprised that she was allowed to book that itinerary, with only a 50 minute layover for an international connection.
Anyway, we eventually got through customs and had to hustle as we had to change from terminal 2E to 2F, which was a bit of a walk. I enjoyed it, though, as it was getting brighter and we passed by plenty of other international aircraft – I had never been around so many widebodies before! I don’t know, I always like being around an airport when it’s “waking up.”
Security wasn’t that bad, except for the fact that I don’t know a word of French. So, long story short I got a nice friendly pat down after not following directions. Embarrassing, I know.
But, we got to 2F without further incident, about 15 minutes before boarding began.
Sunrise.
Terminal. At our gate (F29).
Air France Flight #1148
April 12, 2008
Depart Paris (CDG): 7:43 AM
Arrive Barcelona (BCN): 9:30ish?
Duration: 1:50ish?
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Seat:18A
When I handed my boarding pass to the gate attendant, I said “thank you” and she joked, “you can at least learn how to say ‘thank you’ in French!” Maybe it was sleep deprivation, but I found it hilarious. I walked down the jetway, and made my way down to seat 18A. So far, I had completely lucked out with window seats. Soon, it was time to taxi.
Soon after pushback.
After takeoff, I got a nice view of Paris and was able to make out the Eiffel Tower in the haze.
Hazy view of Paris.
Soon breakfast was served, which was a croissant and yogurt or something – I don’t think I even opened it. The croissant was yummy though.
I once again tried to sleep, but it just wasn’t going to happen. Oh well.
While I could see Paris, the other side of the plane lucked out, though, and got a great view of the Pyrenees, and could also see the city and airport terminal when we landed.
The Pyrenees. (Thanks, Matt, for the photo!)
We landed on time more or less, and getting out of the airport was a breeze. I didn’t know this before we came, but apparently since Spain is a Schengen country, we didn’t have to show our passports or anything when we got off. Nice! So, I got my bag and called my parents (they insisted even though it would be very early back home), and we found our tour guide for the week and hopped on the bus.
Our first stop was our hotel, the Ibis Meridiana. As you can see, the room was pretty small, but was very clean. I took the small bed next to the window and my friend Matt took the larger one. Everyone was exhausted, so the teachers leading the trip decided to let us all relax, so I took a quick nap. Then, we got some lunch in the shopping area near the hotel.
After lunch, it was time to get to our first day of exploring! We headed to and walked up (the?) Montjuïc, which offers some absolutely incredible views of the city.
Then, it was time to get to the Joan Miró museum, which was kind of interesting. I’m just not a huge art fan.
Soon after that we hopped on the metro to see the Arc De Triomf, which is beautiful. After we walked down a wide path, we relaxed in the park for awhile. It was pretty warm (high 60s if I recall correctly), and some people just slept in the grass. Meanwhile, a few of my friends and I decided to rent a canoe. I learned two very important things. First, I am horrible at rowing a canoe. Second, mother ducks get very angry when one nears one of their ducklings.
Now at the other end.
After that it was time for a quick stop at the hotel. Luckily, my friend Matt brought his PowerBook and I had brought a headset, as people wanted to call home. Some had bought calling cards that weren’t working, and cell phone usage was expense. So, after a convoluted Wi-Fi purchase prompt that required a passport number (why?), we were able to work the magic of Skype. Since I pay for the service that allows one to dial actual phone numbers, it was able to work out. I would like to also point out the absurd pricing scheme. If what I wrote on TripAdvisor was correct (because I don’t remember now), one hour of service was 6 Euros, but it was 12 Euros for the whole day. Whatever.
After that, it was time for dinner, and then we returned to the hotel for the evening. At this point I was just completely exhausted, as I had been up for nearly a day with only a short nap. So, I uploaded a few hundred photos to Facebook (yes, I am that sad), showered, and went to sleep.
“When I handed my boarding pass to the gate attendant, I said “thank you” and she joked, “you can at least learn how to say ‘thank you’ in French!” Maybe it was sleep deprivation, but I found it hilarious.”
Sounds like typical French service to me! Great job, especially the details considering this trip was a year ago. Barcelona is high on my list of cities to visit.