So day 3 started the way day 2 was supposed to, with breakfast. Recap: we slept right through breakfast and lunch yesterday. Whoops! Anyway, we got up around 9 went down to a corner cafe to have a breakfast pastry and coffee. After that it was time to pack up our hotel room and get moving towards the airport.
We got to the airport right now schedule. Everything was looking great for the day but then Ryan Air happened. This is where hopefully other people will gleam some knowledge about traveling on the cheap in Europe. The flight was supposed to cost:
*********4.65 EUR Total Fare
*********0.33 EUR Taxes, Fees & Charges
********10.70 EUR Passenger Fee: Checked Bag(s)
*********3.21 EUR Passenger Fee: Priority Boarding
*********5.35 EUR Passenger Fee: Spanish Domestic Handling Fee
********24.24 EUR Total Paid
Well, lets discuss these fees.Fare and Taxes are fine.
Checked bag fee... Here is where the fine print got Frank. Apparently in the terms and conditions it say that your carry-on luggage has a weight limit of 10 Kg and your checked bags have a limit of 15 Kg. In the case that your carry-on is heavier then allowed then you need to check it and pay an additional checked bag fee. In the case of your checked bag, if you are over 15 Kg then there is a charge of 20 EUR for EVERY Kg over. Frank initially weighted his checked bag in at 25 Kg which if you do the math ends up being an up charge of 200 EUR (roughly $300). After some creative clothing adjustment between his carry-on, checked bag, my carry-on and his person. Franks got it down to 18.9 Kg which the nice guy at the desk rounded down to 18 flat. So Frank ended up shelling out 85 EUR for a 5 EUR flight. Lesson learned.... Also the option "Priority Boarding fee", that's the biggest scam in the world. First come first server in the queue regardless if you pay for that or not.
Total flight time 1 hour which is great but we flew into a secondary airport not Barcelona's main airport (BCN). It turns out that Girona (GRO) is some 90 km from the city center. So now we have to take a bus for an 65 minute ride to the bus station in the city (12 EUR). Then grab your luggage and hike 7 blocks to the light rail station. Remember the amount of luggage frank had to lug around.
The apartment is gorgeous! Check it out...
View from the deck...
We did a little shopping for supplies in the apartment. Just the basics, water, soda, chip, beer and sangria.
After a shower it was dinner time. We found a really nice restaurant in the shopping center across the street. The restaurant was Sagardi Euskal Taberna. Dinner included bottle of wine, salad, peppers of the season and a 950 grams T-bone steak. Steak was prepared rare (we didn't have any other option) over Holm oak burners. A dinner like that combined with the day that we had required deserved which was quickly followed by an after dinner drink or two on the balcony of the apartment.
Thanks to Frank's sling box we were able to watch college football and enjoy beers/sangria on the deck. All in all a great first in Barcelona!
The main ingredient for tonight's sangria is:
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