Easy transition from plane to bus to hotel
May 2009
[ BarcelonaPhoto Gallery ]
Alison: De-de-de-de-dum-dum, dum-dum, dum-dum – BARCELONA! De-de-de de …”
Luc: De-de-de-de, dumb, dumb. I still don’t get it.
Alison: Ah, I forget Frenchie – limited musicology past the ’70s. Its “My Sharona.” You know, “My Sha-rona, Bar-ce-lona“ … Nevermind. So where is the hotel again?
Luc: See, (takes out iPhone) here is the Barcelona street view from Google. I have already walked the streets – so all we have to do once we land is take a bus, then walk a few blocks to the hotel. Cool, eh?
Alison: So you just put in the address and poof! I hope it’s not like those crappy GPS things the cabbies rely on. And you’re sure it’s not far to walk – we’ve got all these bags to haul.
Luc: No, no. I know what I’m doing.
Alison: And the hotel is nice, right?
Luc: Yes, the hotel is nice. Just wait. Trust me, you’ll see.
Alison: Well, I admit, so far so good. Pretty easy to get from airport. For 3.40 Euros each, the one Aerobus got us where we needed to go.
Luc: Plaça de Catalunya. Told you so.
Alison: My God, people really get dressed up for work here … And I thought Italian men were handsome…
I love wide streets like this. And no cars allowed. What are they called? Promenades? Can we just go a bit slower, I want to check out these stores … remember where this is so we can find it again!
Luc: Ah, come on … you will have plenty of time for that later. Besides, everything closed. It’s still early. Now I understand with her “De-de-de-de-dum-dum, dum-dum, dum-dum, Barcelona…”! Hope she doesn’t start looking for a shop for ME..
Alison: OK, grumpy, this is starting to seem more than a few blocks. Are you sure we are going the right way?
Luc: Yeeesss…
(Rounding corner, street opens into the Plaça de la Seu and suddenly looming before us is the majestic Catedral de Barcelona – official name Cathedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia, after Barcelona’s patron saint Eulalia. Or simply, La Seu Cathedral.)
Alison: Holy cow! That cathedral is gorgeous! We will have to go inside at some point. Preferably on a day it rains. Are you hungry. I’m hungry. Let’s go out and get breakfast at one of these little cafés as soon as we get to the hotel. Or we can try that place in the Lonely Planet book on La Rambla.
Luc: OK, this is it! Hotel Colón.
Alison: Really? Wow! Brass nameplate… I’m impressed. This is going to be verryyy nice, isn’t it?
Luc: Just wait…
