Barcelona - 23 September 2011

There was no real need to rush this morning, but we packed before heading out for breakfast.  Just as we had locked the door, I noticed that my left earring had disappeared.  It couldn’t have been gone long as the back was still stuck to my earlobe.  We hunted everywhere, but couldn’t find it, despite moving the beds and everything else.  One thing I can say for the hotel – the room was very clean.

Parrots nesting in Las Ramblas

The lifts were not working, which meant we had to use the stairs.  Although we were only on the third floor, the ceilings were very high and there were an awful lot of stairs, going on and on.  On the mezzanine floor was a Turkish bath for men which was intriguing.  When we finally got down, the staff in reception assured us that the lift repair men had been called and would be there soon.  Otherwise, we would never have been able to get the suitcase down and my mum would probably not have been able to get upstairs again.

Our Hotel from Square

We paused at the top of Las Ramblas to look for the parrots.  They were busy collecting twigs and maintaining their nest.  It was difficult to get a good photo as their feathers were good camouflage with the surrounding leaves.

Our Room level with top of Lampost

We had breakfast in the same place as on Wednesday.  At €6.40, it was good value as we sat at the bar.  The barman liked to impress by carrying a huge number of cups all stacked inside each other and looking in imminent danger of falling apart and crashing to the ground.

Then we went to the square to take some last minute photos, especially of the hotel and our room.

Back at the hotel, we were very relieved to find that the lift had been fixed.  Back in the room, we shook out all the sheets and blankets, moved the beds again and looked in every corner, but still no earring.  We eventually gave up and took our stuff downstairs.  The reception staff took my address in case my earring rematerialized, but it never did.

Placa de Catlunya from our room

There was no problem with checking out and we set off across the square to the A2 bus stop.  We got there just as one was leaving, but the next one was just behind.

Statue in Placa de Catalunya

We got on and put our case on the rack which takes up 1/3 of the left side of the bus.  Such a sensible design for an airport bus!  It was a while before the bus set off, but the journey was very quick.

We got off outside Terminal B and walked to Terminal C.  The bus arrived at Terminal C about the same time we did, but it would have been very difficult to get our luggage off a full bus.

There was a big queue for the check in so we joined it, even though we had one hour before our flight opened.  The queue moved quickly so we hung back for a while with a couple flying to Bristol, who had been sent back when they checked in early for a flight from Mallorca.  When they moved, we decided to take the risk and there was no problem at all.

It took longer to get through security as there was only one female frisker available.

Terminal C is very new, so there is not much in there except duty free and a small café.  We got a coffee and sandwich and some water for the flight.

After a quick trip downstairs, I looked at the screen and noticed that the instruction MO had been replaced by 03, so we headed for the gate.  Boarding was in full swing, despite it being early, so it was a good thing I had looked.  We found two seats with no problem and settled in. 

The flight took off on time and it didn’t seem long at all before we were over North France and then looking down on the Channel Islands.  Some white cliffs were visible on the other side of the Channel, but these were the south side of the Isle of Wight.

The plane landed at South Terminal for some reason, so we were all bussed over to the North Terminal for baggage reclaim – even those with no checked in baggage.  We sat opposite a mother with a very cute baby.  My mum said how she liked his socks.

Once we had got our suitcase, we had to get the shuttle back to South Terminal.  The railway station was in confusion.  The next train to Redhill was 20 minutes late and on platform 2.  We went down there, but a later train was already in.  So we decided to go for the next train which was one of a series due in on platform 3.  We went back up and down again and were soon on our train.  Someone said that there were problems at Three Bridges which had been causing delays and cancellations all day.

At Redhill, I asked for the next train to Tonbridge and was directed to the far end of platform 1.  A train came in for Reigate and somewhere else.  They uncoupled the train and then nothing happened.  After a very long wait, they rejoined the train and it went back to Victoria.  Passengers were told that there were no trains to Brighton due to a collapsed tunnel at Three Bridges.

Meanwhile, we had seen our train standing by, waiting to come into the station.    There was quite a crowd of us now, all chatting in a most friendly way and the station officials joined in.  When the Reigate train had left, our train came in and we all got inside.

Then came an announcement that we had to catch a new Tonbridge train on platform 3.  The conductor walked down the platform with us and reassured everyone that the train would not leave until everyone was aboard.  We had to walk all the way along platform 3 to get on the train, which came in just as we reached the platform.  Finally we set off and headed for Tonbridge.

We got in the lift at Tonbridge Station and a man joined us with a baby.  My mum recognised its socks.  It was the same baby we had sat opposite on the bus from South to North Terminal.  His dad said that he had come to meet his wife and baby at the airport, but had forgotten the child seat, so had had to catch the train.  With all the hassle on the railway, I bet he wished he had gone back to get the seat!

At last our luck returned and the bus came as soon as we walked out of the station.  We were back at my mum’s just before Emmerdale and had a much appreciated cup of tea.