After our great Thanksgiving vacation with stops in London, a short Royal Caribbean Mediterranean cruise with stops in Palma de Mallorca, Corsica, and Toulon as well as our final stop in Barcelona, it was time to head back home to Boston. With an early afternoon flight, we decided to enjoy our morning in Barcelona by walking around to enjoy the sights and of course, breakfast. Nothing warms you up and gets you motivated quickly than a nice strong cup of coffee! As always, I overpacked and used far less clothing than what I thought I would need and there I was lugging a big suitcase through the streets of Barcelona. Thankfully, my husband and son offered to wheel my big old bag around for me until we got the Aerobus stop, not too far from our hotel.
We boarded the bus with a few other passengers and we were off. With only a few stops to make before our terminal, the bus ride took only about 30 minutes. Upon arrival to our terminal, we got off the bus and headed inside to find the British Airways check in desk. The Barcelona airport is immaculate and I don’t often make comments like that. I seriously could have eaten off of the shiny marble floors. It was clean and beautiful! We checked in and handed over our bags and went through security, which was a relatively easy process. There were only a few people ahead of us and I like how they disperse the bins for use. It is in a conveyer belt that runs alongside where you put your items in the bins. No bins to grab off the side and it is cleaner and more streamlined. Once through security we had to go in another short line to show our passports and then we were on our way. There is a huge McDonald’s that we went by that had stylish seats and tables. Different! We decided to look around on the lower level and grab something quick to eat while we waited. There are several restaurants and stores in a variety of price ranges with something for everyone.
Taking the escalator back up, we finally did make it over to our gate to sit and wait for our flight. As you can see from the pictures, the airport is light and bright and airy with plenty of windows, seating, and even flat screen TV’s at eye level.
My husband and son were bored so they wandered around for a bit and came back with a “snack” for my husband. There are a few places that have sandwiches, coffee, and drinks available right by the gates. We couldn’t get enough of the Pan con Tomate and to find a sandwich “con queso” was a bonus!
Of course, nothing washes a sandwich down better than a can of Spanish beer!
Our gate was empty when I took the following picture, but this is a British Airways desk. British Airways does an incredible job keeping passengers updated and there was even an employee that went around to you (instead of you to them) checking passports and putting a little dot on our tickets to indicate that they had been checked. We boarded the plane to London and said goodbye to Spain.
Although we had hoped for a non-stop flight back to Boston, our flight back home was only with a short layover in Heathrow airport. We shopped a little, browsed the many stores in this crowded terminal, and then went to our gate. Be aware that there are no bathrooms once inside the gate so if you need to use the restrooms, go first before going through gate security. We went through security, sat down, and then I looked for a restroom. This involved me having to leave my passport (gasp!) with one of the agents and then when I came back, I had to stand in a line to answer questions and get completely patted down. Our flight back to Boston was on American Airlines and they were having some issues on this day. When we were told it was time to board, everyone got up and headed toward the gangway as they don’t call zones. This area isn’t heated so it was cold, but what was worse was when the lights went out and we were in the dark for some time. Luckily, my husband pulled out his iPhone and turned on the flashlight app to give some light to everyone around us. The flight attendant on board that day clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed as she was short with everyone. Add to that the poor people on the other side of the plane whose oxygen masks refused to stay inside the compartment over their heads. They flew the entire flight with two dangling masks in front of them. Just glad it wasn’t me! I sent an email to American Airlines when I returned home and got a canned response saying that my comments were forwarded to the Vice President of Onboard Services for an internal review. I think it is good to contact the airline, hotel, or cruise line when there is a problem, but also when you receive stellar service.
Now that I’m back home, any idea where I’m off to next?