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Adios Spain . . . Bonjour France!
Change in original plans,
we decide to team up with Jude
and buy train tickets to Marseilles, France.
Map of Barcelona, Spain to Marseilles, France.
Early train and not enough sleep.
Out to the street we soldier through.
A view out the cab window, looking out to the harbor.
La Rambla once again, no time for breakfast…or a walk.
Flag a cab towards the harbor and a new language!
Short drive and dump on the street, arrive in the nick of time!
A fancy train with assigned seats.
Weave through the crowds to two of our seats in a seating six-pack…
with us seated in the middle on opposite sides.
Who knows where Jude ends up?
Yet another Barcelona train station…
A silent, stiff ride until we spill out into an unknown station to once again team up with Jude.
Still dragging from nights and days before,
the guide book leads us to the ancient Vieux Port (“old port” in French)
and a two-star bed and balcony that presides over the amazing, bustling panorama.
Check into Hotel Alize.
They are a little high-end, but we need to rest!
Also, they offer free Wi-Fi connection…so how could we resist?
Up the stairs, I race the gents who ride in the tiny glass-shafted elevator to the fifth floor.
The door swings open to reveal two elegantly dressed beds!
Besides the swanky sleeping arrangements,
the restroom opened into an impressive tiled English-style roomy shower area –
complete with pink toilet paper.
Relaxation with the heavy curtains pulled, the AC blasts a needed chill.
Washing clothes in the shower,
they precariously flap from the balcony as imitating a proud French flag over the port.
Vieux Port at sunset from the hotel window of our classy but slanty room.
Hunger causes us to explore the area.
Prices send us reeling, and we end up at a second-floor Chinese restaurant with a balcony.
Cost effectiveness seems likely until portions arrive.
Still mostly empty, bowls of white rice serve as an inexpensive entree
to help fill the void of nourishment.
Back to Alize to prepare for an early check-out…
to check-in somewhere a bit more affordable…
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