Post by Ella
Our journey started in the dark, frozen air. It was 1°C which is about 34°F. I’d made a deal with our talkative Tesla Uber driver, Dominique, to give us a ride to our bus stop. At 5:45am, we were trundling our luggage down cobblestone steps to the dirt path that followed the ramparts around to the castle exit. Some of it was pitch dark. What did we do before phone flashlights?
We met Dominique just outside the castle gates and sank thankfully into his warm car. 10 minutes later, he dropped us on the side of a road where there were marked bus slots. We were way early for our bus. Dominique took off but about 15 minutes later he was back offering us a sit in his nice warm car. I jumped in. Ah…my fingers began to thaw.
The BlaBlaBus pulled up right on time. In total a 4.5 hour uneventful trip through the Pyrenees. With the 0.5 spent at a rest area where we could use the toilets and buy food and drink. No passport control as we crossed into Spain.
We pulled into the Barcelona Nord bus station, called an Uber and got our first experience with crazy Barcelona drivers. Our Uber driver blamed it on the young folk.
Our host, Anna, a young Ukrainian woman, showed us the apartment and how everything worked. Then she was off to visit her grandparents in Ukraine for a few days. I expressed dismay at the whole Ukrainian situation. She said “we Ukraines are optimistic”.
The apartment is not luxurious but it’s nice. 5th floor (the top) and despite being on a busy street, it is awfully quiet.
