Action packed couple of days in Barcelona
Vkew from restaurant after the big storm
I flew out to Barcelona for a couple of days. I took The Trike with me as one does. No, I was not going on a holiday. It was for a meeting with RADAR-CNS. A research project wanting to develop ways to measure Long Term Conditions using wearable devices and smartphone technology. I was there as a patient representative. This would be an action packed couple of days in Barcelona.
The first incident
It happened at supper on the first night. I was talking to the woman was responsible for the patients who are helping the project. Berkhamsted, my home town, came up in the conversation.
She said “I was at Berkhamsted school”.
“When? Our daughters were there for sixth form”.
“Oooh it must have been about 2000”.
Well it turned out she was in the same year as our second daughter and knew her as well. Isn’t it a small world?
Another pool in the hotel at Barcelona
Action packed couple of days in Barcelona
Next morning my mobile phone needed charging. I packed the cable and plug into my bag. In transit the bag must have received some serious airport abuse. The cable and USB plug were now two separate items.
So I was the proud owner of a phone with no charge and a broken charger cable. Everyone at the meeting used an iPhone and I have a Samsung, so boring.
Time for an adventure
Time to go out to the shopping mall next to the hotel on The Trike. The shop window displays were immaculate; they looked so smart and cool. Eventually I found a Samsung shop. So many sleek phones in their boxes all beautifully arranged.
I asked the shop assistant for a charger cable and showed my broken one. Incidentally all Spaniards speak English and I do not speak a word of Spanish; so embarrassing.
I was told, “We only sell phones, no, we don’t have any cables”
Staggered, astonished, amazed, astounded, a Samsung phone shop that does not sell Samsung charging cables!
I was directed to a tiny little shop where the assistant, who also spoke English, sold me the correct cable.
Un Grand Orage
That night we all went out for a meal. It was very hot and sticky when we left the hotel but the sun was shining. When we arrived at the restaurant I could see lots of ominious dark clouds.
A few huge drops of rain began to fall and the next thing there were lashings of rain, strong gusts of wind and loud claps of thunder. These Mediterranean storms are very intense but only last for about quarter of an hour.
When it was over the sun came out, the air was clearer and in fact it was a lovely evening.
Barcelona Airport
This is an airport where it is possible to relax. Check in, security and passport control took all of 25 minutes. Now I had over an hour to enjoy coffees and croissants before boarding. Barcelona airport is worth a visit :-).
Julyt 2017
Patrick,
Sounds like you had a great trip to Barcelona!
I also have SPMS and also possess a Travelscoot.
How did you get on with it at airports? I ask , because I’ve always packed mine for hold storage, rather than drive it yo the gate (not wanting to chance having to pack it away -tricky at airport! (despite exhortations of Travelscoot website. I flew, last year, back to UK from Barcelona with BA, and had big problems convincing check-in staff that the lithium battery was ok to fly despite it being an Airtraveller. Interested to learn how you got on.
Great website!
Kind Regards,
Steve
Hello
I am just about to publish a post on flying. The crucial thing is talk to the airline at least a week before the flight and tell them everything including what you want to do. Only problems occured when I did not talk to the airline in advance. I almost always drive The Trike right up the aircraft doors and then fold it up and it goes into the hold. The battery is hand baggage.
Use a quick squirt of WD40 on the hinges, makes folding it up much easier. Its magic stuff.