I’ve been thinking for a couple of days now, and I haven’t figured how to recap our trip in Barcelona. Should I do a more structured set up or a journal-like walk through? Then, I decided that I shall approach this city with how Gaudi does: with a flow.
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The next morning was a lazy one. Even with full acknowledgement that we are running a bit late, we still took our showers enjoyably and made the most out of what they called “breakfast”. I think we all came to the agreement the only thing that tasted like anything was the toast, so we squeezed in a second serving. Not before long, we were on street side trying to flag down a taxi as their bus network didn’t operate this early (eh hm, 9am) on a Sunday. Minutes passed and panic began to surface on our faces as we didn’t expect to take this long to hop on a taxi. Finally, a daring fellow in the yellow zoomed by on the other side of the road, did a quick u-turn, and stopped swiftly before us.
“Where to?”
“Airport, please. How fast can you get us there?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get there in time.”
(Goodbye...FOREVER! Just kidding~)
He wasn’t kidding when he said he’d get us there on time. We arrived with enough time to avoid running like headless chickens to check-in and through security. Actually, at that point, I still had no clue where we were flying to, and I had wanted to keep it that way. Except, the security officer saw us in a rush and made a comment, “Heading to Barcelona? You better hurry!” So, we’re zipping to SPAIN?! Wicked~ I think I skipped all the way in.
Though I prefer not to mention this part of the trip, but I aim to record everything and leave the reader to come to their own conclusions. See, I have the habit of writing postcards, and as this would be our last UK stop- or as far as I know anyway- until the end of our trip when we fly home, I had to mail these. Except, I didn’t see any postboxes around, so I decided to ask the ladies behind the counter of a convenient store. Her response, “Behind.” I looked high and low and searched around in circles, but saw no postbox. After all that fuss, upon reaching an eye contact with the same lady, she waved and yelled, “It’s behind our counter.” Okay. That would’ve been something worth telling me before I start looking like some suspicious personnel in an airport. Thanks lady. You’ve been so helpful. Oh, and it really didn’t help that she exchanged this “oh my god, how could she not know” look with the coworker beside her. Well, that was the last straw. I’ve given my “FAIL” stamp on Glasgow’s friendliness towards visitors. Never thought to come here, and now that I have, guess what? I ain’t coming back even if you paid me to. Thanks but no thanks.
I mean, I know it’s arguably the most unfair thing to do, judging a whole city based on the only few that I’ve met. But that’s how random sampling works. If I only go to those people who worked in tourism, then that would be a landslide towards “A+” because everyone would be so nice and helpful, wouldn’t they? So, how best to test a city? At the most regular places where locals hang out. Now come to think of it, at least, they really should’ve thought about the kind of people they have in an airport. For one, they would be either the first or last faces visitors see in this city or country. It’s a pity to leave the reputation in the hands of people who don’t give a doodle about what people think. If tourism goes down, you should now know exactly where to start tweaking.
ANYWAY…continuing on. The flight was booked with Ryan Air- don’t even get me started on how horrendous their services were. Well, too late. Suppose they’re the “Air Asia” of Europe, with super cheap flights to many destinations. As I didn’t book the flight, I wouldn’t know how much it was, but I’ll take it that in comparison, it’s a lot cheaper than other airlines in Europe. Fine, so be it. But, even as a low cost carrier, it should have standards. Not only were there no assigned seats, they couldn’t even ensure carry-on luggage space. Why should there be assigned seats anyway? So you don’t have a train of people pushing and shoving to get in front of the line in order to sit somewhere decent. It slows down boarding as a whole. Oh, and don’t even ask me why I had to put my backpack between my legs the whole flight. I mean, if you did your luggage check properly, there should be enough space for everyone’s carry-on. Except, you don’t. Then, where’s the rotten apple in this whole equation? Either you can’t properly manage passengers’ carry-ons, or you actually don’t have enough cabin space for a one-piece luggage allowance. Whatever it is, it’s allowed me to confirm that I will never fly with them again. Thanks for making it so easy to decide.
But, no worries. Barcelona to save the day. The moment we stepped out of the airport, the atmosphere gave us a big warm hug. It wasn't the same feeling that you get when you arrive at an Asian city during summertime. It was a rather comfortable embrace, with the light wind blowing in the air. We followed the crowd to the train platform across an bridge, and just like that, our Barcelonian adventure began. Of course, the traveler always hopes to go about as a local would, so Ivy headed straight for the ticketing machine. Except, she had given her Spanish back to the teacher as soon as the class ended. So, the realistic person- me- went straight for the customer service counter. Surprisingly, despite the rumors of “they no speak English”, I was able to communicate and buy the right tickets to our destination before Ivy could even get pass the first page on the auto-ticket machine. Before we know it, we were at Estacio Sants railway station, where our stay was within walking distance from.
(Just in case I lose the map...)
(Smile for Barcelona!)
(this guy is really backpacking his whole house...)
(you wouldn't believe where we were...McD with order machine!)
Yet, what do you know? Two university graduates couldn’t figure out how to properly read Google Map screen prints. So after going in circles for god knows how long, we finally stopped to ask an elderly couple sitting street side enjoying their afternoon coffee. It was rather odd to disturb them, but as nothing was opened on a Sunday, we had no choice but to ask locals for help. At some point, even tourists paused in their footsteps to attempt to save us from this big mess. Eventually, going with gut feelings, we finally reached a super empty street where our hotel was supposedly located on. Half skeptic, half relieved, we found ourselves standing in front of this ridiculously hidden gem of a place.
Live &Dream was brilliant. Cute, clean and functional, with a colorful and chique design. I loved it. Overall a 4* in my book- the one star deduction was simply because it was too difficult to find. Even after the first day of successfully returning to our hotel, we still managed to get lost on our way back the second night. It almost felt like the streets were playing tricks on us, but nah, it was just us and our horrible directions. At least I admit it.
(I prefer to live THE dream, but meh)
(I like this- plz ship to this address. Thanks!)
(why are our beds so close?! Fine, I'll survive)
Then now, where to go? As all the stores were closed in our area, it was only logic to assume everywhere else was closed. But, where would all the tourists go? They must be somewhere. So, with deductive reasoning, we decided that the most populated metro stop must be the most frequented place- where all the tourists would go. Station Catalunya it is. Booya, I couldn’t have been more right. The streets were packed with people, and all the shops were still open! We wandered around and made our way onto Placa de Gracia and window-toured Casa Battlo and La Pedrera as it was past their last entry for the day. No worries, we will be coming back first thing tomorrow!
(whoo, crazy hair! and next time, I'll choose the dessert...)
(one of each plz :) )
(yes, you only need 2 fingers for tapa-eating)
(a night view of Casa Batllo- who's this crazy woman in front?!)
Followed by a super random dinner at a tapa restaurant on some random street- which turned out to be a really interesting experience as it was the first time to see so many things in so many combinations on a slice of bread- we headed back to rest for a big day tomorrow. That sounded very easy, but actually, it was a good 10 minutes in the wrong direction before we found the right way. Nonetheless, way to impress me on the very first day, Barcelona! Can’t wait for what tomorrow shall hold…