Barcelona or Bust

I left Bellagio for Milan with the intention of catching the train to Barcelona, I was relaxed and feeling good about my travels through Italy.

When I arrived in Milan on Monday afternoon, I was told by Trenitalia, “sorry the train is full but you can come back at 6:30 pm and see if there’s any cancellations” – so not what I wanted to hear. This train only leaves Milan on M/W/F and I had not been able to book the ticket online or through a travel agent for the last ten days and the agents had assured me that “there’s always room on that train, don’t worry.” So I am in Milan and thought what are my options: wait to see if space opens up on the train, book a flight or get to Genoa and take the ferry (18+ hours). After having lunch and a glass of vino, I thought, just go book the flight, call the hotel and that will be that. So I trudged to the internet café, luggage in tow, searched for flights and alas, found one for that night on EasyJet that was not $1000+. I booked the flight, called the hotel, caught the bus to the airport and was told by EasyJet, “you missed the check in by 3 minutes so you’re out of luck.” I asked as nicely as possible, “could you call the gate – NO, is there another flight I can get on, NO, is there anything you can do to help me, NO.” She directed me to customer service where there was a line about 12 deep all with similar issues to mine – a group of gals from Peru and Columbia who had been on an EasyJet from Athens which was late in arriving to Milan so there was no way could they have made the flight, an American on his way to Amsterdam for a conference and was given the wrong gate information on his boarding pass, etc. The customer service agent was just as worthless – I could pay another 100 Euros, plus another booking fee and come back 24 hours later for the next available flight. I went to the other terminal where most of the major airlines are located and found out that the next flight I could catch was 9:45am the following morning, I went ahead and booked it and had a lovely night in the Milan airport – caught up on my reading, sorted through and named my photos, paid bills, made a plan for Barcelona and watched the clock. I kept thinking, maybe this is a sign I am not supposed to go to Spain – nah, just the universe testing my resolve.

Barcelona is a vibrant city with a mix of young and old, historic landmarks and modern architecture, university and cathedrals, Islamic and Spanish influences, and a beautiful city park. After not sleeping for 24+ hours, when I landed at the hotel, I took a shower, a brief siesta and then headed out to get the lay of the land. This is a very walkable city with few cobblestone streets, not a lot of hills or steps, which is a refreshing change from Italy. I am staying in the El Raval section of the city, which is off La Rambla, a boulevard with a pedestrian walkway in the middle, and runs from the University to the sea and in between, there are colorful street performers, shops, bars, flower stands, artists and lots of people. It feels like a city that doesn’t sleep though I haven’t experienced that yet.

I don’t feel quite like I have my bearings yet here, perhaps I haven’t had enough sangria yet. In all the places I traveled in Italy, I found a piazza, cafe, enoteca, whatever that seemed to ground me and I would return as needed there to rest, evaluate, chat, get a grip and make a plan. In Barcelona, I have not yet found that place and while I am sure I will, it just seems unsettling at the moment.

With that in mind, I set out today to see the Cathedral, the Picasso Museum and wander aimlessly. The cathedral is surrounded in scaffolding so I didn’t enjoy that and the Picasso Museum had a line around the block and since it was about 80 degrees, decided I’d come back. So my last agenda point was to wander aimlessly which I did -- a little shopping, found the city park, the zoological museum, some great artwork and a refreshing sangria. Not bad for a first day.