We had an afternoon flight booked to Geneva, Switzerland the next day. We packed up our things and headed to the main Barcelona train station to catch a train to the airport. Between the apartment and the train station we stopped for a last play on the playground. We lost track of time a little and then it was a mad dash to get to the train. We were cutting it quite fine, but eventually the train we had been waiting for arrived on the platform and I breathed a sigh of relief that we would make it to the airport in time to check in our bag...just!
However, for some unknown reason, once we had boarded the train, it stood stationary on the tracks for at least ten minutes. I was starting to feel more anxious with every minute that ticked by, because we didn't have any minutes to spare. I was getting worried that we would not get there in time.
Unfortunately, my fears were valid. Eventually the train started to move, and we finally arrived at the airport, with only five minutes to spare. Five minutes was not long enough to get to our terminal, which of course, was the furthest away from the train platform. We ran all the way - a long way, with my 20 kg backpack on my back and my 8 kg day pack on my front, and my poor daughter rushing along behind me with her backpack. It was horrible. It was made worse when we got to the desk and they confirmed that bag check-in was closed. We were only a few minutes late. But late is late.
The woman on the desk said to take our luggage with us to the boarding gate and that someone there would take it from us and take it to the hold. That was a relief...apparently I wouldn't have to take it on the plane with me after all. Just as well, as there was no way it would fit in an overhead locker or under a seat!
When we got to the boarding gate, I handed the man there my passport and booking information. He
enquired as to where my boarding pass was....I showed him the wording on my paper which clearly stated all I needed was my booking number and passport, but apparently I did actually still need a boarding pass, so he sent me back down to the company office to get one.
The company office was unattended. Now I was nervous that not only my bag wouldn't be taken, but that we wouldn't be boarding either! I went back to the bag check in desk and eventually the woman there said she could print out boarding passes for us. With boarding passes in hand, we dashed back upstairs, breathing a sigh of relief as we went through security.
I ended up having to take the back pack right up to the plane door and they assured me that it would be put into the hold before we took off. We took our seats in the plane, and crossed our fingers that someone would put it in, and that we wouldn't arrive in Geneva with no luggage.
The flight itself was quick and pleasant. In the arrivals hall, we were relieved to see that our bag had indeed made the trip.
We made our way to the apartment we were renting a room in for three nights. The host were a couple in their mid thirties. He was more welcoming than she was. The apartment was lovely, overlooking a river, and with a mountain view from the balcony. Our bed was comfortable and we had our own bathroom.
We decided to try the little local sushi restaurant in the same block as the apartment. When we got there it was fully booked and they didn't have any room for us. There was a couple behind us who were also hoping to get in to the restaurant, and we got chatting. They said they knew of another nice sushi place and invited us to join them there for dinner. So we caught a tram together into the city and had delicious sushi in a restaurant called Sushi Train. The little plates of sushi are placed onto carriages of a train that circles around the train track above you. As the train goes past you take the plates of sushi that appeal to you. Each plate is colour coded and each colour has a different
monetary value. At the end of the meal, you present your plates to the waiter, and they work out what you owe. We had a really fun night, and the food was delicious. The couple we had met were really lovely, and we swapped contact details. They insisted on paying for our meal, which was so kind of them and then they walked with us back to the tram stop we needed to catch home again.
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