It’s official, the journey has begun. Today
we boarded the plane for a quick little puddle jump from Orlando to Miami
(flying time: 30min. Driving time: 4 hours.) Woof. Then the flight from Miami
to Barcelona for a lovely 9 hour trip.
Saying goodbye to my friends and getting all
of the loving and sincere texts and calls was awesome. Oh what would I do
without them. Though my cat, Rocky, didn’t say he’ll miss me or even turn to
look when I said goodbye… I know he will!!
I would definitely consider myself and
proficient airflight traveler since I’ve been doing it four times a year since
I was in diapers. However, today I slipped up. I hurried away from the security
line once I got through because so many of the novice Disney-family travelers
were congregating right in my way. These noobs take over the Orlando airport at
times due to the many family-friendly attractions in Orlando. So about 10
minutes after I had gone through security and bypassed all the families, I
realized I completely forgot one of my bags. Shit. Luckily and somehow it was
still at the security belt. If this happened in Spain, I’d be without a change
of clothes, a few wicked cute shoes and purses (and some cash as well…). Lesson
Learned. Count how many bags, purses and
wallets you have and keep track of them all!!!
Also, 9 hours on a flight BLOWS. It’s $100 to upgrade from coach to
business class. DO IT. Better food, more leg room. For a red-eye flight,
you will definitely want to sleep. Let’s just say that I’d get sleep in 10
minute intervals and wake up with a kink in my neck. Plus, I have a feeling
those cute little toddlers with runny noses don’t ride business class. You know,
the ones that are sooo cute until their faces morph into some evil frantic
screaming action. Oh man, that was fun.
So we landed at the Barcelona airport. I got
my passport stamped for the very first time! A few sketch balls were watching
and circling us like vultures to see what they could steal. The security guard
called us out and stood guard. I got a few euros at the airport ATM (which didn’t
have a high fee or interest rate). ATMs
are the way to go!!!
Our check-in time at our daily rental
apartment wasn’t until 3pm but I gave them a call and they let us in the unit
early. Also, we got an upgrade! There are 5 of us traveling today (4 chicas, 1
dude…baller). We paid for one 5-person unit but instead they gave us two units!
Woohoo!!! And a bottle of wine!!!
We’ve noticed that many many local people or
proficient travelers are more then willing to give us advise on places to go,
directions and miscellaneous advise. They all seem just as excited as we are
about this study abroad ordeal.
So we got into our unit (which we’ll be in
for a few days until we find a 6-month apartment). Relaxed and headed out to
find something to eat! We went to a mall only 15 minutes away (it’s Sunday so everything is closed, except
for the malls). Found a place with a sign out front that said “Margaritas y
Tequila”. Yup, that was the winner. I’m shocked by how many Japanese restaurants
there are around here! Boo. This mall used to be the bull fight ring called
Plaxa de Toros les Arenas. In front of it is Placa Esplanya (many beautiful
statutes) and a HUGE rotary. Beyond that is the most beautiful architecture of
a museum I have ever seen (so far… im sure ill see many more around here)
called Museu Nacioanl D’art de Catalunya. After some misinterpretations of the
local servicios (service attendants?), we managed to ride a glass elevator for
one euro per person to the top of the arena and saw a whole lot of spain. 360
degree view. Fricken awesome.
Tomorrow we hope to get down to business,
find an apartment and get some Spanish phone numbers with data plans. Around
here, people aren’t texting all the time. They
use DATA.
For the first day, we’ve done pretty well. I’m
glad that we’ve met some great people so far and dang “habla ingles?” is the
most useful phrase thusfar. We’re working on our phrases. 5pm and we’re ready
for a NAP!!!
Chao Chao!
