May 27, 2022
Moving On
This is a transition day when we move to the third hub of this hub and spoke adventure in Spain. All of our plans are in place and it will be a day of hopping from one mode of transport to the next and not leaving anything behind.
We said our good byes to the staff at the hotel after breakfast and headed for the pre-arranged taxi which arrived right on time at 9:15. It's a 35 minute drive to the airport in Palma from Soller and this departure time left us plenty of time for any unforeseen events.
Vueling took our carry-on luggage as well as our bikes, for no additional charge at the baggage check-in desk. That process took us all of 20 minutes and then we were off to security, where we set a land speed record. I'm sure we were through in under 2 minutes! Since we are not leaving Spain, there were no covid checks involved. We had loads of time so had a coffee near our gate, then hung out until they started calling for boarding. By 12:30 we were all loaded and leaving the gate.
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A mere 50 minutes later we were landing in Barcelona Airport.
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There are several ways to get to Barcelona city from the airport but we had decided when we planned the trip several months ago to reduce our exposure to people (and covid) by taking a taxi. In addition, each of our bike cases weigh close to 50lbs so they are a tad awkward to wheel around and lift on and off busses and trains. Travelling directly to Sants by taxi made it easy. We gathered our bikes and bags from the carousel in Barcelona and headed straight to the taxi area outside the station. Soon, we were being whisked to Barcelona centre and were unloading our gear at the Sants train station.
There was a bit of a wait at the train station once we cleared security (even faster than the airport). Our high speed train was scheduled to leave at 3:50 and right on schedule, we flashed our e-tickets at the agent and descended in the elevator to the floor below to find our car. Just like that, we were seated and soon the train was up to speed and we were on our way to Girona.
The train trip only took about 40 minutes on the AVE train. It maxed out at 202km per hour through the lush green countryside. The train station at Girona is massive and quite new. Frankly, it seems overbuilt as this is not a regional hub. In any case, we used the elevator to take us up the 4 levels to street level and bee-lined for taxi number three of the day. This time the taxi ride was about 5 minutes, just a bit further than we could walk with our luggage.
We checked in at the hotel and were shown around their impressive cycling amenities on the lower floor. After a short break, we headed out to see the city. Our hotel is one block from the river and on the opposite side of the river to the old city. This is our second time in Girona and it is looking as beautiful as ever.
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The restaurants here tend to open at a more traditional hour of 8pm or later but we managed to find a pizzeria that opened at 7:30. So we strolled along the river, watching the antics of the dogs being walked along its grassy banks until it was time to eat. The naploi style pizza did not disappoint.
Tomorrow will be a rest day and David will assemble the Bike Fridays so we can begin exploring Catalonia on our little bikes. Can't wait!
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