Day 14: Paris to Barcelona

Summary: We were up before the crack dawn to take a 4:45am taxi from our hotel on the southeastern outskirts of Paris to the eastern central area of Paris. From there, we caught a 5:15 shuttle bus in order to get to the Beauvais airport that is located about an hour and a half north of Paris. We arrived at the airport early, around 6:15am, because there is so little traffic at such an ungodly hour. But it was an added benefit to see the orange sunrise. The clerks at the airport desk wouldn't check us in until two hours before our 8:45am departure, so we waited. It was nice not to be rushed! The dinky little economy airport had light security, but Susan got checked over and scrutinized nonetheless (as in, the officer inspected her luggage, had the bag opened, carefully examined her new Swiss watch, made her open boxes that contained little presents, and even checked her eye color! etc.), while Lara got through without a problem. We were at our gate by 7:20, and boarded an hour later. By 10:15, we had landed in Barcelona, took the train to the city center, and were fortunate to only have to walk one block to reach our hotel by around noon. We were super blessed to get to stay in a really nice hotel in the center of Barcelona with a friend. So posh! We spent the afternoon resting, settling in, and then went out on the city with our friends all night.

Waiting in the Beauvais airport.

Boarding. 189 passengers. Full.

Posh hotel room.

Awesome Moment: We went to the 1992 Olympic complex and swam in the pool facility there. Before the pool closed due to the España synchronized swimming exhibition (also awesome to watch!!), Susan did laps and an olympic finish in every lane, and Lara dove and splashed around a bit before chilling on the decks to take in some sun and people watch.

Susan swimming laps... just after her "Olympic Finish."

Lara sunbathing on the deck.

Synchro swimmers of Team España practice in the Olympic pool. 

In the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, where opening ceremonies occurred in 1992.

The Olympic Torch.

Blooper: Our airport travel day provides you readers with much entertainment... (I'm surprised we made it through the earliest part of our morning, 4:30-6:15, without any blunders!)

• 6:15 am- we walk through a Hertz car rental parking lot and garage, mistaking the parking lot for a shortcut to get us from Terminal 1, where the bus dropped us, to Terminal 2, where we need to check in. The Hertz employee asks us kindly if we speak French, pointing to a sign that explains the restricted area we just traipsed through and then have to turn around to exit. We lug our suitcases back over the uneven and dirty lot, around the fence, and to the sidewalk where Terminal 2 is. Nice morning exercise!
• 6:30 am- we try to check in 15 minutes too soon or our flight, are refused, and at least enjoy ourselves having some pastries while we wait 15 minutes.
• 6:50 am- we are kicked out of our seats at a table belonging to the cafe across the hall, being shooed to the seating designated for the cafe from which we purchased the pastries.
• 7:00 am- passing through security, Susan is told to put her purse in her backpack. One carry on with RyanAir means just ONE bag in your hands. Total. (RyanAir is an economy airline... We're talking $50 tickets now). No room in Susan's backpack, so I put it in my knapsack.

Susan goes through Security Scrutiny.

• 11:00 am: Lara purchases train tickets to get us from the airport to our hotel in downtown Barcelona. It is really more of a pass for multiple uses, but the man at the info center called it a packet. So Lara asks for a "paquete" of tickets. Apparently that word is used exclusively for physical, literal packages, as the man at the ticket booth jokes with Lara about exactly how large she wants the package of tickets (making gestures of size dimensions). Apparently she should have asked using the word "cantidad", which is more figurative to refer to quantity, instead of asking for a literal package. (Disclaimer to Lara's credit: the word "encomienda" is commonly used to refer to a package in Costa Rican Spanish, and lawyers can be used to refer to booklets, papers, envelopes, etc.). Linguistic and regional differences.

Lara´s in that crowd, purchasing the train ticket. See the white hat (center, leftish).

On the train from the airport into the Barcelona city center.

Cheapest pleasure: We enjoyed a good night until the wee hours of the morning with our friends Mary and Chuck (friends through Susan's coaching) was quite enjoyable. Just the company was great! We had drinks and dinner out, and then strolled through the streets in the old district of Barcelona and shared wonderful conversation.

We got a great view of Barcelona´s city scape at dusk, just around the Olympic Diving Pool.

For those of you interested in language... Lara is also enjoying using her Spanish again, feeling quite comfortable in being able to communicate fluently. She is also deciphering Catalonian language. In this region of Spain, Catalonia, Catalan is spoken, which is similar to Spanish in sound and root words, but is written quite differently. Most road signs and cautionary signs and directions are written in Catalan. Look up a map if you want to get an idea of the regions.

The area in red is the province of Catalan, where Barcelona is located
(see map below for reference as to where Barcelona is).

This is a handy map that indicates which languages are spoken where.
The yellow Castilian is "Spanish", while the orange areas are Catalan.
Barcelona is in the Catalan region.