Barcelona Day 1

Monday morning was sort of a blur as we hustled to the airport to catch our flight to Barcelona. We did manage to figure out the train system to get to the airport but definitely had help figuring it all out with help from some very kind Catalans who were also on our flight. Thank God they were there because the system was confusing! Train to bus, bus to airport... But what terminal? We didn't know! Seriously so glad they were going to the exact same place as us! One cool thing about the Prague airport is that they have pianos at the gates that passengers can play! We really enjoyed the pretty music while we waited to board! 

Waiting on the bus to take us to the Prague Airport

Prague Airport

The flight went fine. We flew over the Mediterranean which was cool. Vueling airlines is a cheap travel option and they charge for everything and anything including all onboard drinks and snacks. It felt nice, however, to have a Spanish crew after being in Prague which felt so foreign.  

Barcelona's airport is very clean and pretty but a bit challenging to navigate. I thought I had done a pretty good job of getting us organized and getting directions but turns out they weren't that clear. For example a lot of times our directions would tell us which metro line to take and then when we exited the metro station it would just say "walk 1/2 mile to destination"... Um which direction though? It was never just straight ahead.  At the airport we took a crowded train to the city center and then the metro to our hostel location. 

Our hostel was on a very swanky and expensive part of town on the Passeig de Gracia. We had Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada as neighbors. And Gaudí's famous Casa Mila two blocks down the street from us. I, of course, enjoyed all of this! 

Entrance to our hostel

Casa Mila

Our room wasn't ready when we arrived, even though we arrived after the check in time of three o'clock. That was super frustrating as both Miguel and I were ready to get in our room to shower and relax after a stressful day of travel. While we waited for our room to be ready we sat outside on the pretty garden terrace, drank free coffee and hot chocolate, and used the wifi. 

The patio

After about forty minutes our room was ready. We were on the forth floor, which is actually the fifth if you're walking up from the ground level. I climbed those steps many times as the elevator option was from like the thirties and had all sorts of warnings posted about the max weight and allowing only two occupants at a time. So Miguel took it up with our luggage and I met him at the room. Our room was smallish but we finally had sheets instead of just a comforter! The bed was also the most comfortable hostel bed we had yet. The other mattresses made it feel, according to Miguel, like we were camping. Our room had a balcony overlooking the busy and beautiful street below. I loved that! Though I hardly stepped out there as the height made me nervous!

The central, spiral staircase, and small elevator shaft

Miguel and the suitcases took the elevator... I took the stairs

Views from our balcony

We unpacked our things, changed our clothes and headed out to a Rick Steves recommend restaurant that was close by. The restaurant was busy even though we went at around five o'clock. It was bigger than I had imagined and we were seated around a bunch of locals which I thought was a good sign! Though half way through our meal two sets of Brits came in with their luggage! I really missed trying the wines in Spain! Miguel ordered a beer that was local to Catalonia. We ordered a selection of tapas which were all tasty but my favorite was the patatas! No surprise there! I'm a potatoes girl! 

After we ate we walked back to the hostel and hung out on the terrace enjoying happy hour sangria (Miguel only of course). The terrace became very busy and provided great entertainment with people watching. There were people from all over and of all ages. Children to seniors and of course the expected college crowd. The smoke was bad here though again. Not in the city but at the hostel. We tried to make it to nine when there was going to be live music and fresh paella served but neither of us could hang in there and so headed to bed. 

We had a great first impression of the city but traveling really wore us out. We were excited to start this part of the trip and looked forward to day 2!