Today is the day that I have been waiting for since I booked my flight last October. I had an early afternoon flight, so arrived at the airport a little before noon. I have to say that it was great to not have an early flight. The check-in was pretty seamless and I got through security quickly with TSA pre-check.
The first flight from Portland to Amsterdam was quite long. It was a 10 hour flight arriving in Amsterdam at 8:30 am local time. I had been hoping to get some sleep on the flight that left at 1:30 pm PST. For this reason, I made sure to wake up at 3:30 am so I would be tired. Sadly, this was a mistake and I only took a power nap on that flight for under 2 hours. I did get to watch a couple newer movies though - Deadpool and 5th Wave.
I also got great service and meals throughout the flight. I had read something about bringing treats for the flight attendants and let me tell you that I did that and they made it a great flight for me! The attendant that I gave the cookies and mini Starburst to made a point to ask for my name and seat number and told me that this was very much appreciated and does not go unnoticed. Later on, I was given some free wine (could have had more, but my tummy was not feeling well, so I declined). Just before the flight was done, they also gave me a little Delta travel kit filled with goodies like mouthwash, toothbrush/toothpaste, earplugs and sleeping mask. It was a very nice gesture. But really, I could tell that it made their day to get treats from a customer and that made my day all by itself.
For the meals, I had put in a special request for food about a month ago. I knew that you could request vegetarian meals, but had no idea of the list of others that you could request. I put in a request for low fat, low calorie meals. They served 3 meals on that flight - dinner, sandwich snack and continental breakfast. All of my meals were served before everyone else and they were really healthy! No treats included, but a lot of veggies, fruit and whole wheat bread. It was fantastic. I think the lady next to me was a little jealous...until she saw that she got brownies and cookies in her meal. I was very happy though.
I finally arrived in Amsterdam and as I was switching airlines, had to check in for my next flight and make sure that my bags were checked into that one as well. The lady at the transfer station made this a seamless transition for me and I was able to go about my day quickly. I spent the layover getting a good long walk around the airport on my very swollen feet. I also got my first European latte macchiato of the trip. No syrup either! That was a big deal for me.
My flights on Alitalia to Rome then Barcelona were seamless. They served free wine and a sandwich on each flight. My layover in Rome was so short that I walked to the next gate and we started boarding in about 5 minutes. But I was happy to be on my way to Barcelona finally. I did get a good amount of sleep on both of those flights.
I arrived in Barcelona just before 5 pm local time. I got a little bit nervous as I waited for my bag since the entire flight had already come and gone. Did my bag make the check-in to the new airline? Was it still in Amsterdam or Rome? As I watched the number dwindle down to about 3 bags on the conveyor belt, I saw mine and felt like I could finally breathe.
After I got my bag, I made my way to customs. What was odd was that there was only a declaration stand and no customs agents. So, I walked through the area with nothing to declare and right out to arrivals. It was a little bizzare and I was a bit sad to not get a Spain stamp. I made it down to the Metro with instructions on which train to take and to where. The first instructions were incorrect, so I asked for help to get to a particular station and the security guy was very helpful in tell me which station to get off at to switch trains.
Checked into the Mediterranean Youth Hostel just a few blocks from the famous Plaza Catalunya at around 7 pm. I had planned to grab something quick for dinner, but discovered that the group dinner of tapas was happening at 9 pm for only 6 Euros. That was too good to pass up, so I signed up for that and got a small snack of fruit, cheese and jamon (Spanish ham) across the street from the grocery store.
The tapas dinner was fantastic and maybe a bit too much food. It included cheese, olives, croquettas, small french fries, roasted potatoes with an orange sauce, homemade aiioli and bread. It was delicious and enjoyed while talking to new people. I met a could guys from California and New Zealand and we decided to go on the walking tour tomorrow morning together.
Overall, it was a long, but good day. It is definitely time for bed now. Hoping I can get some sleep and be refreshed for the morning.
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