Today was another bright and sunny day in Barcelona. We got up early, checked the flight status to make sure that JFK was not snowed in and that Lola's flight would depart on time. We boarded the Aerobus to the airport and arrived before 9am. Delta was not busy and Lola was all checked in quickly and ready for security. I was sad to see her go since I will be on my own for the next five weeks, but at the same time it is an adventure for me.
To get back to Barcelona I took the shuttle to Terminal 2 and then the local train to Passeig de Gracia. I returned to the hotel and collapsed for an hour. (I guess the coffee wore off). I had five things on my agenda for the day: check out of the hotel, move into a hostel for two days, find the language school I will be attending next week, find the location where I will pick up the key for the apartment I will live in and find the apartment.
I checked out of my hotel and left my luggage with them until it would be time to check into the hostel. I had Google-mapped the location of the school. Walking directions were about 1.3 km and I believed I could do that fairly easily. I found the correct street and located the school without any problem at all. I was relieved because I had tried to see the school front on Google maps and it did NOT show up. I went inside to ask where I would go to pick up apartment keys on Sunday and I was allowed to go into the school to look around. There were several classrooms with classes in progress and a rooftop balcony for breaks--I didn't stay long. The location of the apartment was about 5 blocks away. I got a chance to see the neighborhood and see the front door of the building. It was a modern looking brick apartment house. Then I set off to find where I would be picking up the key. That location was about three blocks down from where I originally started out. Whew, that was a lot of walking--the pedometer read more than 19,000 steps for the day.
I feel confident now that I know where I need to go. I checked into my hostel which is about four blocks from where I pick up the key and (quite) a bit farther from the apartment I will be moving into on Sunday. This is my first experience with a hostel. I have a room with a double bed, a bed side table, a shelf, two hangers and a very large mirror. (and only an overhead light) The bathroom is outside the door. I think it will be noisy, but I have ear plugs and I will only be here two days. The fast food restaurant, Pans & Company, that Lola and I discovered in Tarragona is right across the street from us. It is a great place to get one coffee and a croissant (now that I will have to pay for it again).
I am all checked in and all goals accomplished for the day, so I have been lying on my bed working on my blog since 5pm. Things have quieted down on the street and in the hostel although I think it will get noisy when people start coming in later. At least I assume everyone is out because there sure isn't anything to do in this hostel!
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