It was a long days night …….

So, we survived our first day of travel – things went well. We’re in Espana!!! Even the hook up with Beth at SeaTac was slick. (Don’t know exactly how we did it, but we ended up on separate flights PDX-SEA after adding Beth to the trip post medical clearance from her ophthalmologic surgeon. Made for whirlwind bookings!!).

Turns out my superpower is still sleeping on the plane. Neither Mary or Beth slept at all – Beth watched 3 movies and Mary listened to 60’s music. I slept about 5-6 hours of the 9 hour flight. But it was a long day – mostly getting from Barcelona to Girona, a smaller walled city with lots of atmosphere. It was our destination for the day. The new EES system added 35 minutes to leaving the airport. Well, that and another half hour “losing“ Beth after luggage pick up! We got separated when seeking directions on our train from Barcelona. Mary and I were unwilling to leave the airport proper until we found her ….. Beth went rogue! Luckily Beth got the same directions we did – she even got to the shuttle that got us to the train station first! We finally connected by text and she was waiting for us at the airport Renfe connection to the high speed train!!

We knew before leaving that rain was going to be a complication. It was. More than we thought. Landslides in the Valencia region south of us created a suspension in train service near there without estimated return. There was also a bus strike somewhere that added to the mix. I think I counted three tv stations broadcasting from the train station – Beth photo bombed at least one:). Wayfinding in the train station wasn’t as straightforward as usual in international settings. That or our brains were fried….

We had to find a way to buy our ticket – normally not a problem per our travel guru, Rick Steves. A kind English speaking man overheard us discussing an approach and put us in the know about a DMV/Baskin Robbin’s’ “take a ticket” crowd control for ticket purchases. He said he’d spent an hour figuring that out! Thank god he gave us instructions! Our ticket (Mary found the English language kiosk🎉) was 605 and the one being served was 556. Some more waiting – we’re still having “605 PTSD”.

Compensation for the wait came in the form of a delightful young 18 year old man on the train. I engaged him over the homemade lasagna he pulled out to eat -would he like to share? Never offered but praised his mom’s lasagna and chatted with us for much of the trip:).

We settled and wandered a little in the old city this evening. Able to have some tapas and wine outdoors and begin to wind down. And topped them off with gelato!!! I recommend flavors Taorima and Nicciola!