Barca Round 2

Friday, April 20, 2012

Hopefully, you've read my Pisa post about Victorio by now and have been anxiously awaiting my Barca post!

......So, after leaving by far the craziest lunch I've ever had, we headed across the street to catch the bus, which would take us to the airport.

Having no idea what to expect and the lowest expectations for the Pisa airport, I was pleasantly surprised to find that, while small, the Pisa airport was not too shabby. After going through security, we found a row of five seats a few gates away from our departure gate, making sure we were able to still see Gate 7 so we would know when to start lining up.

Yes, you heard me right. "Lining up." You see, Ryanair, while it's worth its weight in gold, is a pretty cheap airline. Now by no means did I ever feel unsafe, I just meant that its pretty much a free for all...

After my first Ryanair flying experience, I determined that Ryanair has 4 stages of flying:

1. It's all about position--get there early and be prepared to wait.
2. Every man for himself- when those doors open, you run.
3. Relax-attempt to close your eyes and sleep for the duration of the flight and for take-off.


And last, but not least


4. The. Landing. If you at all get motion sickness and hate roller coasters, then Ryanair is probably not for you. "Brace" yourself.

As soon as your departure gate "opens" up, passengers literally flock to the gate to get in line. As a runner, it reminded me of fighting for a good position right after the gun goes off or as my mom would say, "you snooze, you lose."

Our boarding time was 8 P.M. and we were standing in line at 7 P.M.

So, after standing in the wrong line for about 45 minutes, we quietly set our luggage down off to the side, ready to jump in line after the last person had boarded their plane.

As the last person in line had their ticket scanned, my roomies and I grabbed our luggage and snagged a spot at the front of the line.

The closer you are to the front of the line, the faster you board the plane, the better seat you get and you have a higher possibility of being able to sit with your friends. It all makes complete sense.

Well apparently, everyone had the same idea as us, not only to stand in line but also to travel to Barca that weekend.

I mean after all, it was a pretty big weekend in Barca seeing as the FC Barca/Real Madrid soccer game was being played in Barca that Saturday--I know this 1) because my boyfriend is a huge soccer finatic and was green with envy when I told him I'd be in Barca that weekend and 2) three of my good friends from Florence were all celebrating their 21st birthdays that weekend and planned to spend them in Barca anticipating the crazy weekend.

After standing in line for what seemed like eternity, we were finally able to hand our passports and boarding passes to the gate attendant, who then directed us to file into a small glass room where we again, had to wait to board the plane.

Stage 1: Check.

As I turned around and scanned the many faces in the room, there were two kinds of people. People who had a look of sheer terror on their faces as they must have just heard the Ryanair rumors, and people who had faces of determination as they were determined to get the first and best seat.

I decided right then and there that this wasn't The Hunger Games so there was no need to fight to the death for a measly plane seat and decided to let the "determined" ones go ahead of me. Kelly on the other hand was ready to "throw some bows" if need be.

.......And just like that, the doors opened, and the giant sea of people behind us came charging towards us.

It looked like the start of the Boston Marathon if you need a visual. Every man for himself. 

As Kelly and I watched in shock, we told ourselves we would not run. We would not be "those girls."

And then we saw it. Our two friends, Javie and Butters, sprinting past us to the back of the plane.

What were they doing I thought. Surely they know that the "stairs" they are running towards are not actually stairs. I mean how did they not know that the glass tube towards the back of the plane was just a conveyer belt that transported luggage on and off the plane...

And then, as Javie and Butters disappeared into the glass tube, it hit us: This is Ryanair...you carry your own luggage.

Why hadn't we thought of that. Everyone always runs to the front of the plane but everyone always forgets about the back. Without even having to say a word, Kelly and I  began to run, passing passengers right and left, fighting for position to get a prime seat.

Winded and practically sweating, we snagged an empty row for ourselves and one for our roomies.

Phew. We had survived Stage 2.

Stage 2: Check.


While I'm by no means "terrified" of flying, I would prefer to be on the ground in the good ole' fresh air, than crammed in a small seat with little leg room. Not to mention, I hate taking off and landing.

So, while I was fortunate enough to be sitting next to Kelly, who attempted to calm my nerves, there's still something about taking-off that makes me feel un-easy. No amount of gum, dramamine or soothing music can calm my nerves on this one.

As we took off, I made a quick prayer to God and hoped for the best.

I must have fallen asleep for majority of the time because no sooner had I fallen asleep was Kelly shaking my arm, telling me to wake up because we were about to land.

Alright, that wasn't too bad. Let's just land the plane and be on our way...

Stage 3: Check.

And now for the worst part. 

The landing. 

It's like a scary movie, or better yet, a roller coaster ride. As you coast up to the top of arch, you know you're about to drop. It's inevitable. However, what you don't know is when. You hear the screams and you see it, but the point at which YOU drop will always be a surprise.

And, just like that surprise drop on your favorite roller coaster, Ryanair is no exception.

In fact, if airlines received Oscars, Ryainair would have 100.

As we made our descent into Girona Airport, you could have heard a pin drop. The plane went silent. 

Bummmmp. Booom. Bummmmp (those are my sorry attempts of the loudest and scariest plane noises I have ever heard in my entire life).

I actually think Kelly's head slammed into the seat back in front of her, now that I think about it...

Perhaps an unspoken rule, applause filled the cabin, and cheers filled the air as tears were literally streaming down the faces of several passengers.

Stage 4: Check...barely.

Now off to Barca!!

After an hour and a half bus ride to the main bus station in Barca, we quickly gathered our belongings and made our way to call a taxi* It was now 12:30 A.M.

After finding a taxi"van," which apparently is very rare in Barca (most taxi's are smaller cars that can only take four people but, as a group of five, we did not want to split).

Because of the narrow and one way streets, our taxi driver dropped us off a few left and right turns away from our Hostel. Several wrong turns later, we found our hostel, checked in, (after a slight misplacement of the passport by our roomie Kristen) and headed out for a night on the town.

There's just something about Barca time. While it was actually 1:15 A.M, it really felt like 9 P.M. Prior to heading out, we collectively decided we were hungry and wouldn't mind grabbing a bite to eat first, as we had not eaten dinner

...nothing like eating dinner a 1 A.M.--that takes "euro dining" to an entirely new level.

Well, thank goodness for "Big J's," an old fashioned diner located two doors down from our hotel. As we snacked on the classic diner staples, we attempted to plan out our next two days in the city. We would do our sightseeing on Saturday and our shopping on Sunday.

Arriving back at our hostel circa 4 A.M. we all immediately fell asleep, only to be woken up once by our mysterious 6th "roommate" in our hostel. 

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The next day..or shall I say six hours later, we woke up, showered and got dressed for our day of sightseeing. On our list, Park Quell.

With an amazing view of the city and amazing mosaics as well as it's feature on one of America's Next Top Model season finales, Park Quell did not disappoint. And, lucky for us, we had absolutely amazing weather!

Here are a few pictures from our adventures at Park Quell (hopefully I will be able to steal a few of my roomies pictures and post them later)

After spending most of our morning here, we headed to Bo de B for lunch, which was recommended to us by one of Kelly's friends who had studied in Barca last semester. This small yet oh so delicious sandwich shop literally operates out of a window, with a few tables inside for the lucky ones. You see, this spot, known by everyone, including the study-abroaders, is known for their fresh and unique sandwiches and salad plates. 

In fact, this place is so popular that people are lined up outside well before it's opening time, 1 P.M. We arrived around 12:20 to find others were already there waiting. For around 4 Euro, you can choose whether you want chicken, beef, rice or simply a veggie sandwich. And, that's not all. The toppings are endless. Peppers, cucumbers, feta cheese, lentils, rice, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, black olives, you name it, and they've got it. And, it's all fresh. However, the coolest part about this place is the sauces. After making the rookie mistake of choosing just one sauce, (I chose the avocado sauce) we were told you have to ask for all the sauces. Naturally we went back there for lunch the next day and ordered all the sauces: Avocado, Tzatziki, Hot sauce and one other sauce that I could not identify. 

So, what was my Bo de B of choice?

Veggie: Cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, tomato, corn and of course all of the sauces...

(While it might not look like much, I savored each and every bite and nearly cried every time my corn started to fall out, well any ingredient for that matter)

After lunch, we hit the beach, relaxed for a few hours on "rentable chairs" until we were told to pay six Euro to rent them...we passed and made our way further down the beach where we ran into our good guy friends Javie and Butters.

After hanging out with them for a while, we decided to venture home and get ready for the big game! 

.............I'm still not sure how we found this place but boy did we luck out. By now I'm sure you can guess that I'm talking about a really cool restaurant with delicious food..and you're right. I'm not entirely sure the name of this little hidden gem but boy did it have an ingenious concept. 

While "tapas" are nothing new, especially to Spain, this place allowed you to simply grab as many tapas as you wanted from the bar, eat, and pay later. You see, at the end of your "meal," you went back over to the bar, showed the bartender the number of toothpicks you had and then paid based upon the number of toothpicks rather than the type of tapa you ordered.

I guess, it can get pretty pricy if you don't keep track but we had six or seven toothpicks and paid roughly 10 Euro for everything. Not too bad right?

After the game, we headed to a bar called Le Serrano, where you can make your own drink. 

The bar is so popular that you have to arrive there before 11 P.M. as they have a maximum of 99 people allowed in at a time. Again, if you're late, "you snooze ya lose."

You choose the alcohol and the mixer and make the drink yourself for one flat price (about 3 Euro). Full from my tapas, I made a Tequila-Kiwi drink, which I sipped on throughout the entire night. After spending a few hours here, we headed to Catwalk, a nightclub near the beach. By complete dumb luck, Kelly ran into a friend from home, who was studying in Barca this semester, and was able to get us all in for free.

Ahhh, another 4 A.M. night. I love you Barca but, these late nights are really exhausting.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Hours later we were up and at it again, heading out for a day of shopping. Too bad, EVERY store in Barca is closed on Sunday. Thankfully, Kelly and I had done our shopping over spring break and were perfectly content walking around on La Rambla shopping at the various carts and kiosks.

That night, our last night in Barca, was by far our favorite night.

Again, by sheer dumb luck, we managed to get into Opium, a bar that is literally on the beach, free of charge. 

As we started to walk in, the bouncer stopped us and told us that it would be 15 Euro for each of us. Confused because we were told it was free on Sundays, we told the bartender what we had heard. Unconvinced, he held out his hand and we walked away. He then asked how many were in our "group." "Five," my roommate Kristen responded. And, just like that, he told us to just go inside, free of charge.

Because of our early flight and the fact that we had to take an hour and a half bus to Girona, we decided that we weren't going to sleep. We would stay out until 4 A.M., go back to our hostel, check out and head to the bus station by 5 A.M. seeing as the bus left at 6 A.M.

As we danced the night away to our favorite songs, we all were wishing we could spend more time here as we were all having the time of our lives.

4 A.M. came all too soon and it was time to say goodbye to Barca.

Our flight back was typical of Ryanair but, I made it back safely and in one piece.

As always, I fall more in love with Spain every time I go, leaving a small piece of my heart there every trip.

XOXO,

Meggie

*We are so used to having to physically call a taxi to come pick us up in Florence that it was a nice change to be able to hail one in Barca.