Memories from my first solo trip overseas (Sept-Oct 2019). This is the first in a 5-part series: 1 intro + one each for the 4 major cities that I visited in Spain. The major attractions, transport facilities, ideal spots to stay-eat and drink shall be included. From #Gaudi ‘s Homes to #Alcazar Seville, trekking up the Park Guell, Valencian markets and Paella restaurants to visiting #CampNou and #Bernabau stadiums and many more!
Story behind the Story:
It was on a hot summer’s day, in April 1996, that I first laid hands on a book, which was set to completely alter the way I saw the world – in years to come – The Atlas by Oxford University Press. I had just turned 5 in March ’96, and was excited to go to 1st grade in school. In just a week’s time, I had scanned The Atlas and was able to identify 120+ countries and recite their capitals! Not bad for a 5 yr old back then huh? I had heard about this place called Paris, France and was busy spotting it before glancing over the rest. Among the rest, 2 stood out too be my favorites- Spain and New Zealand. There is an interesting story behind my fascination for Spain at such tender age, but to this day, I am dumbfounded as to why was I attracted to New Zealand. I’ll write about the Spain sorry in my upcoming Blog posts. My dream ever since was to visit these two nations and the first half of it came true in 2014, when I visited New Zealand as part of my 1st overseas business trip. Fast forward to 2019, the time was ripe for the 2nd half to come true. Let me deviate for a while – My Mum had retired in July ’19- after serving for 33 yrs in the elite Indian Civil Services – and I had planned a trip to UK as her retirement gift. But she had other plans and I had to cancel the trip. Another reason for the UK trip was that Manchester United was to host Arsenal at Old Trafford and tickets has sky rocketed to $500/head! As Spain was always on my wish-list, Schengen Visa was the obvious choice. Let’s get started.
Day 0:
Beautiful sunshine in Bengaluru (BIAL) and I was to board the Emirates flight EK565 (B777-300ER) to Dubai International (DXB). I loved the quick 40 min ride to the airport, breezed through the security (kudos to CISF) and immigration and was in the lounge in flat 58 minutes!! Yes, I couldn’t believe my watch, but this is Indian Efficiency 😉
After a delicious vegetarian meal and a few rounds of apple and orange juices, we were over the Omani Coast, just south of the Persian Gulf. For those of us who grew up in the era of satellite television – with Gulf War, USS Cole etc. on CNN – flying over the Persian Gulf gave me goosebumps!. The hard desert surface glowed magnificently in the sun, with outside weather touching 45 Deg Celsius. After circling around in “hold pattern” for 20 min, we finally got the clearance to land from DXB Tower.
While taxing, I counted 20 A380-800s, which was a quarter of Emirates’s fleet of 80 A380s! The Dubai International is an #AvGeek Heaven! 2.5 hrs later, I boarded my first A380 flight to Barcelona . The ICE in-flight entertainment system on-board Emirates flights is a brilliant piece of tech and is well equipped with over 1500 movie titles. I watched Green Light and also managed to squeeze in about 4 hrs of uninterrupted sleep. Another round of Vegetarian Indian meal and a pudding+cheese sandwich just before landing kept me up in good spirits. We landed amidst full-shower thunderstorm into Barca’s El-Prat International at ~10:45 PM local time.
In the next 4 blogs, I shall cover, in-detail, the itinerary for the 4 major cities which I visited during in Spain. Please go through the same, provide your valuable feedback(s) and support me in creating the right kind of awareness. Love and Peace! -The Coastal Traveller
TheCoastalTraveller 