I need a word stronger than ¨jet-lag¨ (by Laura)
I have a very confused brain. It doesn´t really know where I am or what time it is. I was already struggling with the ¨how¨and ¨why¨ of life, so it´s good to add ¨when¨and ¨where¨to the mix.
I am typing this to you right now only as a means to stay awake. Oh, how I desperately wish to sleep. Hamsa is perky, happily bouncing around the joint. God, to be young again. Only four more hours until I can go to bed.
I would post pic´s now, but the computer I´m using is kinda old and doesn´t have any USB ports, so words will have to do for now.
We had a fun few hours in the Atlanta airport — ¨Manchester Airport is closed due to the ash cloud but Heathrow is still open… Heathrow is now closed… Heathrow is open again… the cabin crew is in their hotel now… the crew is here! oh, wait, where are the pilots?¨ I was willing to try to fly the thing, but the pilots finally showed. Now, during all this waiting, Hamsa got surrounded by a gaggle of kids wanting to play. Boisterous kids from a distant time zone who didn´t realize it was after midnight. And just before we boarded, Hamsa said, ¨I bet they sit near us¨ And he was so right. Two rows back, two rows ahead, and a row over. Fortunately, they all settled down and fell asleep within an hour or two. Except for, oh yeah, the baby!
Those of you who fly know the trepidation you feel when you board a plane and see a baby. So, yeah, crying baby. She did quiet down for a little while, until every adult on the plane fell asleep, and then she kicked it up a few octaves. And decibels. Fun.
Oh, and then there were the old ladies who got cold (big surprise) and asked the attendants to turn up the heat. It was the hottest, driest flight I´d ever been on. I felt like a walking piece of parchment when we got off.
At least the fellow sitting next to me was nice. A pleasant Brit with a charming accent. I enjoyed chatting with him. I had to fight the urge to ask him to keep talking, or to read the in-flight magazine out loud just so I could hear him speak!
We landed in London a few hours behind schedule, and were met by my brother´s good friend, Greg. He gave us a whirlwind tour of the city during our rather brief layover. We saw Trafalgar Square (impressive) and Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, the Thames, the gov´t building that Margaret Thatcher shut down, double-decker buses, stoic guards on horses, and tons of tube track. Greg knew what lots of the buildings were! It was a very fun afternoon, and I´m so grateful to Greg for showing us around. I def want to see more of it!
Then we were off on another, much shorter, and quieter, plane ride. And here we are! Barcelona!
I believe Hummer already filled you in about our first night here. Today was much smoother, so far. We rode the train back to the city center and walked around this very beautiful, and highly walkable city. La Ambras is a gorgeous street, and there were all kinds of things going on there. There were lots of people in very elaborate costumes doing the living statue gig, and scam artists doing the pea-in-a-cup trick, and drug dealers who chirp to advertise their wares (seriously!) It took us a few chirpers to figure out what they were doing. I guess that works better than ¨dime bag! get your dime bag here!”
We continued on to the port area, walked along the waterfront, then came back to Plaza Catalunya along other winding streets. It was fun to just randomly turn this way and that, discovering churches and musicians along the way.
Now we´re back at the coolest hostel, InOut, and we love it here. If you´re ever in Barcelona, I highly recommend this place.
I´m gonna walk in the gardens for a while, try to wake up some more.
I hope you are all well! We love you! And for heavens sake, send Hamsa some comments!
Adios!
Tags: Spain, Walking
Laura
So how’s the jet lag? Better? Adjusting? So how old a city is Barcelona? What does it look like there? White buildings? Or more colorful? Winding streets?
Things are the usual crazy here. The honeysuckle is amazing. They’ve begun to open the pool as well. Ethan is excited about that. Looking forward to more posts.
Nicole
I enjoyed chatting to you on the plane. I would have drawn the line at reading the Highlife magazine though 🙂
Probably a dumb question – who in the world is Hamsa?
Enjoy the rest of your adventure…