Last day in Barce

this is the only picture of the day...bunch of flowers in the florist shop. Don't know why I didn't take a picture of the bouquet we bought for Pere's mom.

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I journaled about this day but it was stolen along with my other belongings in Lucca, Italy on April 12, 2007.  I will be writing this from memory...boo.

This morning started at 0900 when Sacha woke me up.  He was hankering for some exploring of Villafranca in a sober mode and I was down for that.  We had breakfast together...just more orange juice with bread and marmalade (homemade from quince fruits).  We depleted the bag of oranges that was left on the kitchen counter because we also squeezed some for Pere and Cam.  We told Pere we were leaving and headed out into the streets.  Our goal was to find playing cards (Spanish style has only 48 cards in the deck) and stamps for our postcards.

First we found a small store selling Futbol Club de Barcelona playing cards but they were American style.  Turns out after a little bit of Spanish speaking that they also had the Spanish style playing cards.  It took us a while to tell them that Sacha wanted the blue and the red deck because they kept saying that the only had one of each left...not sure what I was actually saying.  Oh well, we got what we wanted and headed out.  Next stop: stamps.

First we found a little pharmacy and asked if they sold international stamps.  They replied in the negative.  They told us to head to Las Ramblas.  There we found a tobacco shop that sold international stamps...four for me and one for sacha.  The drop box was nearby and easy to find as well.  Great!  Everything we wanted done was secured in thirty minutes.

We saw a little wine shop and decided to duck in for a while.  We came up with the idea that we should buy a good bottle for Pere's dad, he's somewhat of a wine aficionado.  We chose out a wine that was made locally in 1993...cost 20 euros.  We had it gift wrapped and then headed out yet again.  This time we were looking for a florist so that we could buy Pere's mom a bouquet of flowers.  The first one we found was more like a store for a gardener...not really for bouquets and stuff.  We kept walking along the street and decided to have a bruunch in a pastry shop.  Sacha had some sort of churro like thing and a huge croissant filled with chocolate.  He also had a capuccino.  I had a chocolate chip-like muffin and a crepe-like thing.  I also ordered a glass of milk but out came a warm glass of frothy milk!  I was surprised but it tasted soooooo good! 

Okay, back on the streets.  We eventually found a florist and whoa she spoke English!  Turns out she was from London!  We gave her 20 euros and told her to make something nice and red that would complement the wine...no roses please, this is not a date.  She turned out a nice bouquet that even had a bird of paradise incorporated!  It was interesting and had good variety.  She also told us that her sister worked at a nearby vineyard and that they were only 15 miunutes away!  Score! 

We rushed back home to tell Pere that we wanted to head out to the vineyard...unfortunately they were really groggy in waking up.  WE ended up waiting for his mom to get back home from work around 1400 and all had a good last lunch together.  Unfortunately I can't remember what it was!  |Ahhhh!  His parents loved the gifts and we were so glad that we could do a little something for them.  I had to leave at 1600 to catch a train to Barcelona Sants and from there to Girona....total trip length was 4 hrs long including waits!

I said my last goodbyes which were sooo sad.  Pere's mom walked me to the train station and made sure I got the correct ticket.   I said a last goodbye to her...she'll be visiting Pere in London again so we can all meet up once more yay!  The train rides were uneventful though I stayed awake to make sure that I didn't miss my stop!  I got to Barcelona Sants and waited for 30 miunutes for the next train to Girona. The train to Girona had two kids with their parents that were probably 5 years old (the kids).  They were such brats and I wanted to turn around and slap each one of them...how do you discipline them at that age!?  It was annoying and the parents had absolutely no control over them....hope that doesn't happen to me! 

I waited at the Girona bus station for 45 minutes for the next bus to the airport which was 30 mnutes away...Ryanair sure knows how to fly to out-of-the-way places! 

Got to the airport fine and checked in all good.  I ate at the cafe and had a burger because I figured it would be the only time I could eat (I arrive in Pisa at 2330 and still no hostel reservered).

The flight was fine...no babies!  I met a girl named Sang who is from the Bay area.  We talked and were going to keep in touch but I lost her info along with my other stuff...maybe she'll email me.  She's a teacher for the 4th grade and quit her job to travel alone...pretty spunky!

I got to PIsa airport and staretd walking into town about a kilometer away..not too bad.  The first three hotels I stopped in at didn't have any rooms available!  Uh oh...not a good sign.  I stopped in at severl more hotels where the cheapest room was 70 euros!  No way jose!  I finally found a second-rate hotel that offered me 35 euros so I took it.  It was two full-sized beds with a bathroom built in the room as well!  Pretty good pretty good.  I just took a shower and washed my socks...good night all