Spain trip: Day 1 (23-Jun)

Hey folks, so I know that by immediately following up my Ladakh trip with a trip to Spain, it makes me look like some sort of glamorous world traveler, but that’s really not the case. It’s just that travelling home from India to Costa Rica is a really long trip, so if possible, I try to do at least a couple of days layover in western Europe before continuing on my way. In the past I’ve stuck to Madrid, but this time around I’m changing things up a bit by spending a few days in Barcelona.

In case you are curious, due to the distance, the combined airfare is actually usually cheaper this way, but yes, there is the added expense of lodging, food etc… I guess if I had someone in the city to visit with, that cost would also disappear, but for now that’s the case. Regardless, I’m still really excited to get to spend a few days in Barcelona; I’ve never been before, and there will be plenty to see. For sure I’m planning on visiting the Sagrada familia church and Parque Güell. Aside from that, I’m still not sure.

So anyways, my trip started at 12 midnight, as I got an Ola (It’s basically an Uber clone from India) from Yelahanka New Town (northern Bengaluru) to the KIA (Kempegowda International Airport). Although it’s frequently hard to get a car from there, it was very easy this time around, only costing 800 INR ( 10.20 USD) but I gave a 100 INR tip due to the time and the good driving.

Happily, things went very quickly with Qatar Airways check-in, immigration and security. This time around I’m traveling with very little luggage since my later flight from Madrid to San Jose, Costa Rica will be with the rather sketchy sounding IberoJet airline. I’ve never flown with them before, and their baggage allowance is tiny (with massive checked baggage fees) especially for a cross Atlantic flight. Still, I will make it work. Separately, this is also my first time to travel with Qatar Airlines, and I just say that I’m impressed!

Even in economy, the seats were comfortable and the service very good

I don’t usually care about these things, but the screens on the flight from Bengaluru to Doha were very large, I think at least ten inches, with an impressive array of entertainment options, including front and downwards camera views, a rather common inclusion now which I really enjoy.

I know it’s trendy to trash talk airline food, but this was an amazing meal. It’s hard to tell with the lighting, but there was a yummy frittata with lamb sausage, potatoes, fresh cut fruit, delicious creamy yogurt, and some sort of greens.

My flight was 4 hours and thirty minutes. With the exception of when I was eating, I slept most of the way. The adjustable head rest makes it easy to get comfortable. My only criticism would be that as is the norm on airplanes, the temperature was quite chilly. However, the sealed blankets provided were more than large enough and made for a comfortable cover as I slept through the majority of the flight.

This was also my first time to transit through Doha and I’ve got to say, it’s pretty amazing. I know this will make me look like some sort of a country bumpkin, but everything about this hyper organized airport seems to be constructed to transmit a feeling of serenity. Even going through security was a pleasant experience with incredibly polite attendants throughout. No needless screaming at people to hurry up here!

I only had a little over ninety minutes before boarding my next flight, so I didn’t really take advantage of most of the comforts of the airport, but still, it was such a pleasant ninety minutes. Layovers tend to be something to be endured, but this one actually added to the joy of the trip itself. In contrast, when I’ve previously transited in nearby Sharjah, I’ve felt like I was in a holding cell. Why can’t all airports be as nice as Doha?

Even the ride in the transit train to D gate area was super smooth and quiet

The chairs were comfortable, and there to the left you can see a bit of a video art installation relating to the upcoming World Cup in Qatar

Well, everything had been going so well. On the next flight I got my do gooder points for the week. I willingly gave up my aisle seat so that a mother could sit with her son. I wasn’t thrilled about this, but I figured that someone was going to get stuck with this, so it may as well be me. Like pretty much everyone, I detest the middle seat, but I figured I would live. This plane was notably less luxurious than the previous one, but I was sure it would still be fine. Happily, just before take off, they relayed that an alternative solution had been found, so I was able to return to my original seat. So I still got my do gooder points but was also able to return to my original aisle seat!

We were a bit late taking off, leaving at 8:55 AM rather than at 8:15 AM, because we were waiting for some other connecting flights which had not come in on time. This also happens in some other countries; it’s a bit inconvenient, but this seems to be a better solution than making a bunch of people miss their connecting flight due to no fault of their own. The flight itself went smoothly, taking just over 7 hours for us to arrive to Barcelona.

A tasty chicken snack which was served shortly before our arrival to Barcelona.

For a phone connection in Spain, I had decided to try something new based on a travel blog I had seen online. So, before departure, I installed the Airalo app and downloaded an esim which would give me 5 gigas of data for only twelve USD, with a validity of 30 days; the process for installation on my Pixel 4a was very simple. Yes, I could have opted for 10 gigas of data for only eighteen USD, but I figured that with WiFi, I didn’t really need that much data for a six day trip. Honestly, with phone data being so cheap and access generally very good in India, I’ve become very spoilt, not really having much of a realistic idea of how much people in the rest of the world use.

Right within the airport, getting a three day Barcelona pass was easy, but I wished I had purchased via the TMB app instead of on paper since all they give you is a flimsy sheet of heat printed paper. Later on I realized that you are supposed to use a code on that same sheet in order to get a more durable cardboard pass. One of the metro workers kindly helped me with that once I had gotten off the airport bus, but then couldn’t figure out how to use the paper to get on the metro. Overall, even though I was staying at an Airbnb outside of the more central part of the city (Lodging in Barcelona is expensive! Staying a bit further away but still well connected via subway helps reduce costs considerably.), it was still easy to get to my lodging using public transport and Google maps.

The neighborhood was clean and quiet, not at all a tourist area, but as mentioned earlier, it was well connected via nearby subway lines. For less than what I would have had to pay for a more centrally located bed in an eight person mixed dormitory, I had a very pleasant private bedroom with my own bathroom.

It was now around 5:00 PM, so I decided to wander around the neighborhood a bit. I was also a bit hungry and needed a better plug adapter as my normal travel one wasn’t working well. Since I wasn’t in a tourist area, I was able to get a delicious meal for only 5 euros and also find a better adapter for one 1.25 euros. I thought that maybe tomorrow I would stop in to one of the local bars for some tapas and a beer.

After I had confirmed that the new power adapter worked well, I rested for about 30 minutes before once again heading out to see what was going on with the Sant Joan festival. My host Victor had suggested that either Plaza España or Barceloneta would be ideal spots for the festivities. Since Barceloneta was a bit closer, I decided to go there. Evidently the party goes all night, starting at about 10 PM. However, since I was a bit tired from my travels and also had a 9:30 AM entry to La Sagrada Familia, I decided that I would only stay until 11:30 and then head back to sleep. Even with such a short time out, it was great to see how all the locals and many visitors were participating.

While not much of a crowd by Indian standards, there were quite a few people in the subway, so I just followed the crowd.

They led me to the beach where it seemed to be a sort of unorganized yet still orderly beach party with people talking, responsibly drinking, and setting off small fireworks.

Having just flown in from India, I found it funny that they were selling these Indian themed sheets to sit on while at the beach.

Some of the personal fireworks were quite large, but many were just small and rather annoying large firecrackers.

There were plenty of public toilets, including these open air urinals which can be seen to the left of the center of the picture.

Even though I was on my own and couldn’t stay out late, I was very happy for the opportunity to participate in this local festival.

At around 11:40 PM, I went ahead and headed back to the apartment where I was staying. Since this was a festival day, public transport was running all night. By 12:15 AM, I was in bed. Tomorrow will be my big “tourist day” in Barcelona, so I’m expecting to see all sorts of fascinating places. Of course, as has happened in the past, things might not turn out as planned, but I’m sure I’ll have a great time. Until then, thanks for reading and don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments section if you have any questions.