Day 1

I was so tired by the time I got on the airplane that all I wanted to do was sleep. From my little town I flew to Detroit and waited a long time for the cross-Atlantic flight to Amsterdam. I sat by a nice lady traveling alone. She was from Illinois and we chatted a bit before both falling asleep. We slept through dinner! Our flight was delayed leaving the U.S. because some yahoo said some stupid comments which, rightly so, got him thrown off the plane. Once landing in Amsterdam, I made my way to the gate for Barcelona. It was a two hour flight to Barcelona but only after sitting on the plane for an hour because we couldn't depart yet. The French were striking so we had to wait our turn before flying over their air space. I guess they were slowing air traffic because they don't want to wait until they are 62 before they can retire. I wonder if they still work less than 40 hrs per week, too? KLM was nice and fed us snacks while we waited. Once cleared to depart, we got to Barcelona--no problem.
It was around 5 pm before I got to my hotel on Les Ramblas. I dropped off my stuff and headed to the grocery store to pick up some cereal and milk. I dropped that off and then wandered around a little to get my bearings. Diane was to arrive around 9:30 pm so I went back to the hotel to watch some TV. I closed my eyes to nap a bit and then the phone rang. It was Diane. Her flight had been canceled. Dang French. She would arrive tomorrow around 12:30 pm. Oh well. So, I spruced up a bit and went out for dinner. I didn't go far. I crossed the street and headed toward Placa de Catalunya. I found a restaurant and ordered dinner and some red wine. I tried to speak with another lady eating alone and the waiter chatted some. I explained that I had just arrived and my friend would be joining me tomorrow. I was so tired, too. I told them "Necesito dormir." Off I went with a full belly.

More later...