Monday, May 2, 2011

Spain- 1st installment.

 Our trip was eventful.
I promise not to bore you with every picture
and every occurrence of the trip.
I will make a concerted effort
to condense the fascinating lives
of the tourists in Espana'.
Feel free to snooze 
through the boring parts.
 
 
 
Day one:
Well we left early in the morning on Friday
and set off to Chicago O'Hare airport.
We arrived early with time to kill.
Linda wanted to find a different book than 
the one she had brought along.
She said she really wanted to read
Water for Buffalos.
She settled for Water for Elephants.
I flew straight to Madrid and then to Alicante.
The airline switched my ticket in Chicago 
so I had only a 2 hour layover in Madrid, 
not a 6 hour one in Oveido before Madrid.
Great news.
I sat for over an hour on the runway in Chicago
but the rest of the flight was smooth.
Joel met me at about 1pm Spain time.
We took a city bus then walked to his apartment
to leave my luggage.
We went up hills, 
twisted and curved  through streets
all the while climbing up hills.
My carry-on had no wheels and it was a long trek...
especially after 24+ hours of  travel.
Finally after 40 years, Moses
a while, Joel
took the carry-on and I took the wheeled one.
We left the bags and
we wandered around the town
 
 
 
and down to the beach and harbor.



then stopped to get a soda.
We needed to meet the others around 5:30
to meet their flight so we didn't do lunch.
We met them, 
but there was no luggage.
They waited and waited.
Finally we accepted that their luggage was lost.
They had delays in Chicago like I did 
which caused them to miss their flight in London.
They had to get a later flight.
We figured the luggage took the earlier flight.
We got the rental car,
then we went to meet his host "mom" 
and head to the condo.
We had an hour to drive to the resort.
Check in was to be at 8 p.m.
We had a heck of a time getting to Joel's place.
The roads are one-way roads and
they are not set up on a grid.
 stock photo
Since Joel doesn't have a car and walks everywhere...
he was at a loss of which streets would allow us to get there.
We wandered around forever trying to find 
a street to get us to the apartment,
then find a street that would let us park.
Just when we were about to give up
and park and walk
we found a way.
The lady who Joel lives with speaks only Spanish
so Joel interpreted for us.
We visited a short bit.
She called the airlines about the luggage.
They said it was found in Alicante
and would be delivered
that evening or in the morning.
 By the time we were loaded and ready to leave
it was going to be too late for check- in.
We called the condo and told them we would be there by 9.
They were leaving at 8 but said someone would stay.
Seriously, what resort has no one in the office.
We drove and drove. 
The roads are not marked well.
They are random to say the least.
 Signs are often at your first turn and your third turn
but not at your second turn.
I am certain the person who designed the roads
is/was a complete and total idiot
They drive in kilometers, not miles per hour.
We saw lots of these speed signs
 
 
After wandering back and forth down the same road
we called the resort and confessed we were lost.
Our paperwork had directions
but they didn't correspond with signs we were seeing.
The resort worker was not helpful.
They told us a road number like 374 B to follow
We could find 374 A but never B.
They said go to the Harbor etc...
We see another speed sign
 
 
and Jackie seriously says "well, we are on route 80"
We died. 
Linda said maybe it means 80 miles to Target!
We were punchy and it was getting ridiculous.
We passed a strip club at least 4 times.
Up and down a road past the same strip club...
El Quixote.
We were driving in circles.
We called the resort again.
We eventually arrived,
and checked in then
seriously circled the dumb lot 3 times trying to find the unit.
It was on a hill with three different drives into it.
Apparently the same road engineer designed it.
It was after 11 when we arrived.
No luggage there.
No place open for a quick bite or drink.
We ate our crackers, almonds, 
and Fiber One bars
we had packed for flight snacks
for our dinner. 
We had complimentary packets 
of instant coffee and tea bags.
We hit the sack around 2ish Spain time
(which was about 5pm Sat US time)
 hoping the Easter Bunny would 
bring the suitcases and some American coffee.
Tomorrow the saga continues...






 

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3 Comments:

At May 2, 2011 at 6:30 AM , Blogger Esther Goss said...

Wow! interesting beginning to your trip! can't wait for the next installment :)

 
At May 2, 2011 at 2:12 PM , Blogger Leslie @ Farm Fresh Fun said...

Sounds bout right to me! ;-0 I love to travel but yet don't miss it lately... Too much hurry up n wait. 'Specially in Europe with the (lack of) signs). Love hearing it through your mouth and eager to learn more. Next trip MD?
xo
Leslie

 
At May 2, 2011 at 5:10 PM , Blogger The Boston Lady said...

Sounds like a typical overseas trip to me... just kidding. What an adventure. Hope you eventually got to eat some fantastic Spanish food relax and enjoy the scenery - IF, the luggage arrived. Ann

 

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