InterRail Soap Series part 12: Jay and Dirk in Barcelone

10) The things that went wrong in Barcelona: part I

After two days in Salou, we continued our tour and headed to Barcelona. We thanked our guest family, say goodbye to them and of course to our girlfriends. Barcelona, here we come. Ow, and I left my tent behind, because at time we already new, we are only going to stay in hostels or budgethotels.

Barcelona, a lovely, popular city. First time visit for Dirk-Jan, for me my fourth or fifth… We arrived at the main station of Barcelona (Sants) after a short train journey (1 hour from Salou). We already reserved an accommodation on beforehand, because Barcelona was a ‘checkpoint’ for us in our route. Here we could reschedule things, in case of delays or have a goodnight sleep after 2 two weeks of traveling. We booked a 4* hotel (Hesperia San Juan Suites) for just 27 euros per person per night! But how do we get to our 4* hotel, where was it situated?

With the conformation in my hand, we went to the tourist information desk in the station and of course again: a huge queue! After waiting several minutes, I asked the lovely ‘cute’ Spanish lady if she new the address on my confirmation. She was helpful, but she could find the right address on the map… She gave us a map, and marked a street which looked liked the address of our hotel. This address was somewhere in the suburbs of Barcelona, north of the city… Our hotel was actually situated in a business district of Barcelona, close to the airport, south of the city….

After a long walk, taking undergrounds and trams, we arrived 4 hours after we left Salou. The train journey from Salou to Barcelona was only just over 1 hour. Our hotel was only only 30 minutes by public transport from Sants station, but we managed to do the journey in 4 hours… Flashback to Seville…

We checked-in, in this very luxury hotel, with only business people as guests and here we are; two, smelly young travelers, age 19, checking in with a backpack, wearing a t-shirt, short pens and slippers…

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW...