Sunday February 11... Woke up early, checked out of my Nice apartment at 9 am. The woman
who ran the apartment building seemed to like me and was impressed with my French (which is
okay - I can have conversations and make lots of grammatical errors, but I'm understood). I
guess they get a lot more beginners at that apartment.
The train ride to Barcelona had a
stop in Montpelier. So the first half of my trip was fine. It was on the familiar SNCF
(French rail system); they spoke French, so I could basically understand. I was armed
with my Pringles and tangerines (anytime I went on a train, I tried to get a can of Pringles,
tangerines, and some chocolate). When I got to Montpelier, there was an hour or so wait
until the train to Barcelona. And although I would not go to McDonalds out of choice,
I went to the McDonalds in Montpelier. If you have a limited amount of time, it is a
pretty safe choice. The places near the train station also did not look so good, and in
general, I am not a big fan of sandwiches (especially those that look like they've been
sitting there all day). So I had McDonalds and a tangerine or two and then got on the
train to Barcelona.
As I got on the train to Barcelona, I realized it was on the Spanish
rail system with the announcements in Spanish (not surprising). I was outside the safety
of the familiar French system. My European trip had finally begun. I made it to Barcelona
at around 8PM. I took the Metro into Placa de Catalunya and found a hotel listed in the
Lonely Planet (LP) guide. It was no problem - they had a room for me for four nights.
Afterwards I walked around near my hotel, down to Placa de Joan Carlos I and saw some
strange architecture, which was I realized later was by Gaudi.
I had dinner at Pans and
Company, recommended by Cat, an American who I met in Nice who lived in Barcelona. Pans
and Company is Spanish fast food - basically a simple Serrano (ham) sandwich. The hotel
was on the fourth floor in prime location near Place Catalunya. But you had to buzz the
door to get in, and it could be buzzed at any time, so having my hotel room near the
front door was not a good thing, I realized that night.
|
Good bye to Nice
or rather
"Au revoir, Nice. A bientot."
Pans and Company
|
