Homeward Bound Episode 3

I had well over an hour's wait in Portbou for a train to Barcelona and managed to buy a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a croissant. In 4 short weeks I had already forgotten the universal Spanish greeting of "Ola". I arrived in Barcelona at midday.

I was much more impressed with Spanish organization and ease of travelling by train than French! Firstly all announcements at platforms and on trains are made in English as well as Spanish and Catalonian, and secondly the Barcelona Sants station is very well laid out and easy to follow. It would make a relatively pain free trip for anyone visiting. There's also a direct line from the airport to the station costing €3.18 and taking less than 20 minutes.

There are clear electronic boards with all the trains listed. The hop on hop off buses have a stop outside the station so no need to go in search of them. All in all very impressive and what a spectacular city! There are 2 hop on hop off companies and I chose the red one (Barcelona City Tour) because it operates 2 routes, east and west.



I had worked out a route where I could get on at the station and do stops 12 to 18 on the west red route, then change to the east green route and go all the way around and then change back to the west and do the remainder of the stops, 1 to 11, ending up back at the station. As it was I ended up worrying about the time (each tour lasts for 2 hours) and jumped off the east route early at Sagrada Familia stop 11 and rushed through the streets to pick up the west route at the Cathedral, missing Hospital de Sant Pau, Park Guell and Tribado.



Actually as the trip from the station to the airport was so easy and the airport also well organized I would have had plenty of time but that is in hindsight. I loved Barcelona, especially the views from Montjuic, the harbour and the interesting buildings.



The buses all have retractable roofs in case it rains which was also an improvement on Paris. Definitely a good way to get an overview of the city if you haven't been before. The tickets last for a couple of days so you can visit the interesting places in more depth on day 2 and you are given a book of discount tickets, a guide book with a map and an English commentary.



I was also very impressed with the 2 airports, Barcelona and Madrid, modern and very well organized with clear directions and times displayed of how long it will take you to get to your gate. Madrid airport interior is all yellow and very spacious. If there is a downside it is that the departure boards are a bit few and far between. There are plenty of shops at both airports and a high speed train takes you to the boarding gates at Madrid.

Left Madrid just after midnight and arrived on time in Joburg, glad to see Peter after 5 weeks of travelling.....


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Location:Barcelona and Madrid