Barcelona Interlude

Never in my wildest imaginings could I have pictured myself saying, "Oh, I just hopped on a train and spent a few days in Barcelona.":  I am from Creagerstown, and grew up in a house with no indoor plumbing.  Barcelona may as well have been on the other side of the solar system.

Early impressions of Barcelona architecture

But life happened and  I did just that, last week with my friend Lorraine, who'd been in France with family members on a wine cruise in the Bordeaux region of France.  She then took the train here, to Carcassonne, and we spent several quiet days catching up, doing laundry, going to market.  She'd planned her departure from Barcelona to return back to the States.  We'd take a few days and explore the city so many people rave about.

B & B room--quiet, comfortable, with air conditioning

The TVG from Carcassoit'nne to Barcelona Sants takes about two and a half hours.  The ride is smooth, quiet, visually interesting.  The train is comfortable, the bathrooms are bigger than any found on an airplane, and there is food service!  I was able to get some writing done, at least as far as Perpignan.  I had been on this stretch of track before, but from Perpignan south, it was all new scenery to me.  Away went the writing and I fixed my gaze out the window. 

writing afternoon with bougainvillaea

I didn't realize that we'd have to traverse mountains.  You can see the snow-covered summits of the eastern Pyrenees from the train as you approach Perpignan from Narbonne, but apparently we have to negotiate their foothills.  There were numerous tunnels and after coming out of one particularly long one, the countryside was noticeably different--there were more pine trees and fewer vineyards.

Of course, as in most major train stations of the world, the tracks enter the city and then head below ground.  Lorraine and I had our directions to the B & B; we were going to take the Metro rather than a taxi.  Maybe in retrospect, we should have sprung for the cab, because Lorraine was doing battle with two suitcases, and that's not easy in train stations.  There are flights and flights of steps to navigate.  Fortunately Barcelona had plenty of escalators and most of them seemed to be working.  Trust me, that's not always the case elsewhere.  

Adjusting to daylight after time in the Metro--underground

Terrace at the B & B

After a couple of false starts, we finally made our way  down into the Metro--figured out the ticket machine, got our little tickets, made it through the turnstile even luggage-ed -- and then successfully found our track.  Of course, we just missed the departing train, but there wasn't a long wait, something like four minutes, until the next one.  We boarded, but it was too crowded to get a seat right away.  Fortunately, a chivalrous middle-aged man offered me his seat, and I gratefully accepted.  It is interesting to note that no longer do young people give up their seats to older travelers.  They've never been taught it, I guess and if they have, they are too engrossed in their phones, constantly looking down, to pay any attention to what's going on around them.

Lush green cool oasis

We found our stop, at Placa Catalunya, and exited the Metro.....we were getting closer to our B & B, but hunger was also starting to set in.  I found that we were severely hampered by not having a good map of Barcelona.  We emerged at La Rambla, and walked down it a way, thinking we were headed in the right direction.  In actuality, we were heading south when we should have been heading east.  But we didn't get all THAT far before realizing our mistake.  Lorraine bought a street map, which sadly, didn't have the names of the streets.....but we were able to get ourselves righted and headed in the correct direction.

It's interesting, isn't it, how when you don't know exactly where you are going, the distance always seems endless.  Once you get familiar with the lay of the land, the exact same 4 block walk that on first doing feels never-ending, actually takes only 5 minutes?  The bottom line is that we did indeed find the B & B, but not without one final glitch.  In what other city are Number 11  and Number 13 not in the same city block? 

The other issue for me was that I was expecting a street level sign, as a hotel would have.  The B & B is in a residence, and so the only clue to its existence is the name printed next to the buzzer.  We did get in, and not one minute too soon, as Lorraine was being bested by those two suitcases!!!  Fortunately there was an elevator to the second floor, where we were greeted by the proprietress and welcomed into a shaded, calm oasis.

Re-energized exploring after lunch

We completed our check-in, got our keys, and headed out for some long-overdue lunch.  Mealtimes in Barcelona are later than they are in France, and stores and businesses don't shut down, as they do here in Carcassonne. Breakfast at the B & B did not appear until 9, and I learned from an early morning walk that most of the breakfast places don't open until 9, either. Whatever are larks to do?  (Not that I claim to be one)  Lunch is still available at 3, and as for dinner, we were warned not to even try to eat before 9 in the evening!!!   We found a little place nearby and tucked in to lunch, after which we set out to explore a little of the immediate neighborhood.  Our B & B was perfectly located--withing walking distance of La Rambla, and Placa Catalunya, and there's a Metro stop maybe 10 meters from the front door.  I feel perfectly confident in my ability to use it, language differences not withstanding.

The late afternoon was spent relaxing on the lovely tiled terrance, cool, shaded and full of plants. We were saving our energies for the sightseeing in the days to come.