Retrospective: 1/ 06/ 2006
Continued:
Thursday, unfortunately, I missed my plane to Scotland (yeah, yeah: laugh it up!). I had managed to purchase cheap plane tickets by choosing to leave from an airport further afield. I arrived at the train station in plenty of time (or so I thought) to get the half hour train to Reus airport. It wasn’t until a half hour into the journey that I asked the conductor how much further the ride would be and discovered I had another hour before getting to Reus station, then would have to find my own way to the airport from there. I thought back to the Barcelona train station and realized that the pleasant man smiling helpfully behind the visitor information desk knew less English than he had claimed, and the “half an hour” travel time he had quoted was, in fact, an “hour and a half.” An easy mistake to make in a foreign language: not a very helpful realization from on the train. So, at Tarragona station I jumped off early and made a mad dash for the taxi ranks. Away we sped towards the airport in true Spanish taxi style, heading for the speed of light, approaching the airport doors just in time to watch my plane soar off into the friendly skies. No refunds for a cheap flight, two hours outside Barcelona alone with all my belongings on my back at 9pm: I sighed (okay: and cried) and booked a new flight for Saturday, then headed back to Barcelona to sleep off a very bad day surrounded by good, sympathetic and cheerful friends (ta guys!).
The flipside of missing the plane and putting everyone (including myself) out was having a few more days in Barcelona: especially as I saw Asterix, a world famous trance dj, perform in Badalona (a run down neighbourhood just outside Barcelona perfect for all night events). The evening was spectacular: I danced till my feet were bruised and only left when the doors closed. From there my friends and I wandered languidly down to the sandy shores just in time to watch the sun’s first rays illuminate Barcelona from a distance.
Later that evening, I caught the plane from Spain to Scotland, not sure if I really wanted to leave dreamy Barcelona behind, even for just a month or so. Scotland, however, had very different adventures awaiting me …
