We woke up the next morning at 5:30am. There was no way we were going to miss our plane this time!! We packed in the dark and were out of the hostel by 6:15. We had to catch the 6:24 train into the city or we would have to wait another half hour. Despite the hill, our luggage, and my high heels, we got to the platform just as it pulled in, and we breathed a sigh of relief that at least the first leg of our journey was working out. Two train and metro rides later, we were at the airport, walking down to our terminal.
It was then that we saw it: Flight to Milan Malpensa—Cancelled. What!! After doing everything right this time our flight was cancelled?? It was also the ONLY flight that was cancelled. Why us!! We resigned ourselves to the fact that we wouldn’t have a nice relaxing afternoon at home after all, and got in the long line to change our tickets…again. Upon reaching the counter, we were told that there was a flight that afternoon…but only had one seat left. The other one left at 4pm, and still another one at 10:10 the next morning. We opted to take the 4pm one and proceeded to have the lady change our tickets, already inwardly moping about the prospect of sitting in another airport all day long. But then she handed us what has become my favorite piece of paper of all time when dealing with airport problems: our rights to compensation. Our eyes latched on the words “hotel compensation” and “meals.” We asked just to make sure…yes! They provided lodging and food if we chose to take the next morning’s flight! Since we had no pressing need to be home before Monday morning, we opted to treat ourselves. (You have to remember that we have been living very cheaply during our trips, so no matter where they put us, it was sure to be a bit nicer than where we’ve been staying.)
We went to the ticket counter for the guy to arrange our lodging. It took him forever…or rather it took London forever to call him back. I’m guessing this doesn’t happen to them very often, or they would be more on top of things. But by and by a group of 6 of us formed and Shane and I were the first in line to be told that we were staying at hotel Alfa, there was a van to take us to the hotel and back to the airport in the morning, and we would receive lunch, dinner, and tomorrow’s breakfast. Sweet!! Free lodging, free food, and free transportation! What more could we ask for?!
So we went out and waited for the van…and waited, and waited. I was freezing in the shade, and that van wasn’t coming every 10 minutes like the guy had said. Finally, we saw a white van approaching. As it passed our group of six, we all saw that it was our van. A collective “ALFA!!” was shouted out by every one of us as the van drove on by. What! All that waiting for nothing? Thankfully though, it parked farther down the road….right in front of the airport where we could have been standing in the sunshine all along.
The ride to the hotel was nice. It was the first time we have been in a vehicle since we got to Europe, which we realized with amusement. Once to the hotel (which was a Best Western), we got our room keys and reveled in the partial luxury of it. Nothing special (no carpet in the rooms, which seems to be a European trend) but the bathroom felt slightly rich. We immediately went downstairs to see if we were allowed breakfast…we weren’t, until the next morning, so we took naps instead while waiting for lunch.
I awoke to Shane’s noise of dismay. “Well, we just missed lunch.” Huh? Lunch was from 12:30 to 3:00 and we didn’t start sleeping until around 10 or 10:30. But he was right. It was a little past 3. Talk about being exhausted! We debated what to do. We were starving, supper didn’t start until 8:30 (they eat late here), and the hotel wasn’t what you would call within walking distance of anything you would term food. So we decided to go down anyways and maybe they would still let us eat.
They did. And boy am I glad they did! With our free voucher cards, we were allowed a three-course meal and a drink. All of which was exciting, because we usually just get an entrée and nothing else because it’s so expensive. I had a really delicious rice and vegetable starter, the tastiest grilled chicken I’ve ever had for an entrée, and crème caramel for dessert. Shane had a starter of pasta, a veal entrée, and fresh fruit for dessert. By the time we were done, we were both so full we could barely move. We went back to our room and bummed around until supper time.
When supper time did come, neither of us were hungry, but how can we pass up free food?! So we went down and ate again…I was so stuffed by the time I finished my starter of soup that I barely choked down half of my sandwich and fries entrée. Plus Shane was experimenting with a salmon dish and the smell alone made me want to vomit. I ended up leaving half of the fries and most of the bread on the plate, feeling wasteful. I did eat my entire ice cream dessert though! Afterward my belly was stuffed to overflowing it felt, and I was actually in pain. On the bright side, we realized that we had been very well fed the entire time we were in Barcelona. And that makes me like it!
We went to bed and the next morning ate a breakfast that was lavish, sporting fresh and canned fruits (including kiwi and apricots, my favorites), cereals, breads, cakes, chocolates, eggs, meats, and Shane’s favorite: fresh squeezed orange juice. We kind of had to shove it down because our van was taking us to the airport at 8:30.
We got to the airport, checked in, and went through security. I wasn’t able to salvage my shampoo from the trash this time because I was too busy being frisked. At least we made it through until we were on our way home! When we got to our gate they announced that it was delayed 30 minutes. But it wasn’t too bad, and we finally packed in the plane with everyone for the 1 hour 50 minute flight home. Once in Milan we took a bus to central station, which was cheaper than the train. We arrived safe and sound to a very messy house. I know, I slacked this time.
And that was our week-long adventure! This week will be very short, because we are headed to Venice this weekend! Stay tuned. And once again, Paris and Barcelona pictures are posted to Photobucket. Enjoy. :)
