Day 1- Barcelona

June 5…. flight leave at 1.00 am… no cabs available so take a share cab where 2 senior women are sitting… we become friends as they learn I am flying to Barcelona alone…. no they aren’t pitying me… they just show excitement…

The airport is now as bad as a railway station… loud talking gujjus, children crying away, women and men on wheelchairs but still carrying carry on luggage… departure lounge is all filled with shops… first pick up single malt at duty free… and then roam from shop to shop… see this contraption… it keeps your cards safe from being electronically stolen when they x-ray all your bags… no idea what it means, but buy it… you push up to 5 cards in and at the bottom is a switch which brings the cards out…. am getting digital smart…

I am thrilled that i managed to pack everything in my small bag, including my comp… which made it unharmed to Barcelona..

My total Luggage

My air bnb host is a Chinese lady who moved here 42 years ago from Shanghai… she speaks little English, and the first thing she told me was that she was 67 years old… she says she came away from china, cause too hot.

My Host

I had bought a pass, so took a bus to the end of the route… the university…. and then on the way back stopped at the most famous Gaudi place…Sagrada Familia…. teaming with tourists…. tickets are all sold out… meet an Indian Punjabi (they are really everywhere)… selling tourist stuff outside. He speaks to me in Punjabi…. from Patiala, married, “to an Indian girl” ….

Sagrad familia

Am roaming around in the local metros and buses… cute way of holding on compared to the hanging straps…

The Metro

Barcelona weather is amazing… cool and sunny … occasionally cloudy.

The centre of the roads in Barcelona are walking area… notice that one sees a lot of old people… with walkers….. Shuffling around…. an ageing population for sure…

Walkway in the Center of the Road