Barcelona Trip from lolafly on Vimeo.
i will begin this pleasant story that's barcelona with an ugly transportation nightmare from france.we are in avignon. our next stop is barcelona. in the meantime, natural calamity struck. the icelandic volcano erupted thus thousands of people stranded. (thank goodness this hasn't effected our train rides in anyway so far.) so people are attacking alternative ways of transportation to carry themselves from city to city. trains are the second best thing.
we are supposed to take a sleeper train from avignon to barcelona or a day train to geneva; stay there for a night, explore the city then train to barcelona. this should be easy, we have options. but noooooo. given the situation of this disaster, the very considerate, kind-hearted, humane society of trains of france decide to go on strike. yes STRIKE. they only operate trains within their own country, so no trains to any other country. one cannot help but wonder how these people could be so mindless. can't they just postpone it until this disaster issue is resolved? no. i guess it's a matter of life and death situation, they have to have their strike.
we ask the ticket person in avignon if there is any POSSIBLE way to get to barcelona. her answer is short and quick. "NO". trains are on strike, you'll have to wait 2 days till it's over she says. this is not good. there has to be a way. and you know what they say; "where there is a fierceball, there is a way." so we keep asking her more just to be able to get some information out of her mouth. it's like pulling teeth. after our torturous questions, she finally gives in and starts singing like a bird. "just take the bus to nimes, from there take the train to montpellier and while there check and see if the strike is over so you can take the train to barcelona." montpellier is the strike's headquarters, we learn. see now you're talking birdie. why can't you tell this info to us the first time we ask you numbnut???? why do you have to be so difficult when the sole reason you're getting paid is to help people get from point a to point b?
all right. that's what we will do; take the bus to nimes. it's an hour bus ride among the country side of provence. the scenery outside the bus window is heavenly. it's spring time, all the trees are flowering with so many different and pretty colors. the atmosphere turns into something magical as our bus is gliding through white fluffy, feather like things flying all over. vineyards, left and right as far as the eye can see. this is a peaceful bus ride to calm the nerves and be prepared for the worst to come.
we arrive at nimes, planning to take the train to the strike headquarters but we notice that it's 20 minutes late. while waiting and looking at the map of france and spain, suddenly there it is like a glowing guiding light; perpignon. it's still in france but so close to the border of spain that i can almost taste it. if we can only make it there, then we can figure out a way to cross to spain. we check the train schedule and find out that there is a train to perpignon. after some inquiry we come up with a plan. take the train to perpignon then take a bus to portbou which is in spain and once in spain, we can free ourselves of the chains of french train strike and throw ourselves into the arms of spanish train en route to barcelona. we get on the jampacked train to perpignon.
we are now in perpignon. the train station in perpignon is a cluster mess. hundreds of people lined up blocking the whole station, waiting to take the train to paris. it's impossible to get out. we are trapped alive in this station but we have to get out and run to the bus station to catch our bus to spain. after moving millimeter by millimeter in an eternal time frame, we manage to make it out alive. there is another ugly surprise waiting..yes they are waiting. people with hopes and dreams packed like sardines in front of a tiny bus that's going to take them to the spanish dream and liberate them from this ridonkulous train strike in france. grrreat!! everybody must have had the same idea as we did. the bus door opens and the attack of the clowns begins as we push and punch old ladies to make it into the bus. after all it's the survival of the fittest. yes, we survive and manage to get into that bus. deep relief.....the 2 hour bus ride begins from france to spain. i sit at the very front of the bus so the views are simply amazing yet very scary as we pass through many tiny sea towns perched up on top of the hills. the roads are very narrow and winding, in some cases when the bus is climbing and making turns, it comes so close to the edge of the cliff that i can see all the way down to the sea. it feels like the bus is flying. the driver is a total goofball. he wastes a lot of precious time at all the stops we make to get to porbou. he must not know that the last train from portbou to barcelona leaves in 10 minutes. finally we are in portbou. tiny seaside town but this is no time to get comfortable because according to the clock, the train must have left a minute ago. as soon as the bus door opens, the attack of the clowns begins again. people rushing out of the bus to catch that last hope to freedom. animals on the loose. the goofball driver drops us at the beginning of an extremely steep hill followed by equally steep and never ending stairs. carrying the luggage (eddie comes to my rescue), running uphill like insane then climbing the stairs, leave me gasping for dear life. this might be the case where soul flees body.
thank goodness!! the train is there waiting and whispering calmly that it's ok now, we are in good hands. as we crash into it, i feel happy with the warmness, down to earth and relaxed atmosphere spread by the spaniards on the train.
at 11:30 pm our journey to barcelona is over. just this morning it seemed like an impossible idea but thanks to our wits and determination, here we are in barcelona. after dropping our luggage, we head out into the warm barcelonian night to get some tapas into our stomachs. the tapas restaurant close to our hotel is happening, lots of people eating and drinking at almost midnight. we eat some amazing food. the servers at the bar are very friendly, they even draw out a map of a grocery store close by to help us with our groceries.
the next day starts with walking on las ramblas. it's a big avenue, very touristic but fun. lots of living statues trying to attract people's attention and euros. in one of the side streets is a big open market. they sell everything here. fresh fruits, cheese and fish. omg. i have never seen this much fish in my life even though i come from the aegean. there are so many fish stands with tons of different shaped and sized fish. so many varieties and they all look fresh.
the next thing to do is to get tickets for the barcelona city tour bus. it's a hop on, hop off all day tour bus that takes you almost everywhere in the city. barcelona is very spread out so this bus really helps to see different parts of it. the weather is excellent on top of the open tour bus, i feel my face burning with strong mediterranean sun.
we see la sagrada familia, park guell, la pedrera, house of bones all designed by gaudi. gaudi's architectural style is a reflection of these people; fun loving, happy, warm, colorful who don't take themselves too seriously. the tapas and riojas are out of this world. the wine is cheaper then water. you go to a tapas bar, get yourself a plate, pick whatever you like and wash it down with a good old rioja.
barcelona is abig city with a lot happening. beaches add a whole different flavor to it. we stay in barcelona for 5 nights. that is record for us. our last day is april 23rd la diada de sant jordi. at first we don't know what is going on, there are thousands of rose and book stands in the city. every single person; old, young, male, female is carrying roses and books in their hands. after a little research we learn the significance of the day. read this if you want to know about it. it's such a festive scene. these people know how to love and let love. at dusk we watch some of the festivities like bands playing, performers dancing. by night the streets are filled with millions of rose petals reminiscence of all the love shared.
i ♥ barcelona, i ♥ the people. i never felt this comfortable in a city before. it's a big city with a big ♥. adios barcelona, you will be missed dearly!
