The process of getting to Hannah and San Sebastian...

Since I just had the epiphany last night that I should start a blog about my summer in Europe, I am obviously a little behind in documenting my trip (minus the lack of pictures-I've been taking those). I am mainly doing this so that years from now I will have the memories and pictures saved somewhere for me to look back on. Poppop (my Dad's father) was quite the world traveler to say the least due to the fact that he was a pilot. But traveling to all the places he went would not mean near as much as it does to our family if he had not kept a journal and taken thousands of pictures. I guess that is where Dad and Krista get their love for photography. I have even noticed lately that I tend to be the one of my friend group who comes across as annoying just so I can get a simple picture of us all. But in my defense, everyone usually appreciates my harassment later when they realize that the memory was totally worthy of a picture. So, with that said, I'm going to recall as much as I can about my journey to España!

My journey started on Monday May 16th in Welaka, Florida. Dad was generous enough (as he always is when I decide to go on a trip needing an airport) to drive me to Jacksonville so I could hop on a plane to Charlotte. I said goodbye to him and headed off to check-in with a suitcase that I am capable of fitting in (which was just over the limit of 50 pounds) and a backpacking backpack packed to the rim. Luckily, my backpack was okay for carry-on regulations. The first flight was short and easy. While in Charlotte I had less than a hour layover. During this time I tried to catch up on Modern Family because I knew I would not be able or have time to watch while in España. (Side-note: I guess one positive thing about coming back to the States will be watching the episodes I missed of The Office, Modern Family and Glee. Sad, I know, but the Spanish soap operas and music video channels when it is raining just aren't cutting it.) I also said a few goodbyes via text and call since I would not have my iPhone for the next 2 months. Nothing against my friends or family, but I have enjoyed not having a cell phone. I do miss talking to my close friends and my family, but I don't have to worry about losing it and I don't feel distracted by it. I have a little Go-Phone for now but I tend to forget I have one until I see it in my bag. While waiting for the long journey ahead, I loved sitting in the International concourse of the airport-I was imagining where each person was going and what they would be doing...was it for work, vacation, going home? And then before I knew it, I was on the plane, in a window seat with an empty seat beside me on my way to Madrid! Yes, I had an empty seat beside me for a nine hour flight...pretty nice.

The plane ride passed slowly. I was starving from already being on the go since 10am so when the airplane food cart came around I was ready to dig in. I watched two of the three movies that they showed (The Green Hornet and Unstoppable) and some show about the top 10 best places to eat ribs (good thing that is useful since I don't eat red meat). I also dozed off for a few hours somewhere in there. We landed in Madrid at 6:40AM THEIR time which means it was only 12:40AM my time back in the States. So what this means is I was just now starting to get tired even though I should have been waking up considering the fact I was in a city that was waking up. No bueno. An airport isn't always the best place to sleep...especially when you don't speak the language. It doesn't help that people always talk about the horrors of pick pocketing in Spain either. I would have left the airport but this was not an option since I was meeting Datev 6 hours later. Thus, I headed to an Internet cafe' (one that did not provide free WiFi like most airports in the States) where I uncomfortably tried to sleep while protecting all of my luggage.

Datev Gallagher was also flying to Madrid on this day so that she and I could travel together to San Sebastian, Spain (5 and half hours north of Madrid via bus) where our best friend Hannah Logan was finishing up her spring semester abroad. Sunday night (the night before we both left the States) we had discussed that we would meet at the Metro in the airport to head to Horton's brother Gabriel's house in Madrid. There I was going to drop my big suitcase off so that I wouldn't have to travel with it for the next 10 days. We would then go to the bus stop TOGETHER to start the next leg of the trip. Sounds like a somewhat easy plan, right? Well, it did NOT turn out that way. Turns out Madrid's airport has TWO Metro stops, one at T2 where we had discussed meeting and one at T4, where Datev flew into. The website was definitely misleading and played a huge part in the following confusing and stressful mixup...

I was waiting at the top of T2 where we had decided to meet at thirty minutes before Datev's flight got in. I started to get anxious but had to remind myself that I was early...but then she didn't show. I kept making myself think I saw her coming down the walking sidewalk. "This girl is going to be her....Nope, this one is it-I can feel it!" But nope. I kept thinking this was just not possible, we were going to meet up and everything was going to go smoothly. Meanwhile, a free bus ride away at T4 (yes, you had to take a bus to get to that terminal because it was detached from the main airport) Datev was thinking the same exact thing. Little did Datev know that she was not at the T2 Metro. This is all safe to assume since we had checked it out before and the website did not show 2 Metro stops (or so we thought). We had said that if we hadn't met up by a certain point to get on the internet to talk via Facebook. Well, that'd be convenient except for the fact that WiFi was not offered anywhere close to the Metro stop. I was too paranoid that I would miss her if I left to check Facebook so I stayed put. I should have left...she was blowing up Hannah's wall with messages like "where is Kara", "someone tell me where Kara is", "I don't know what to do". Great...now both Hannah, Hannah's parents and Datev's parents are worried and I don't even know this is going on. Eventually, Datev gives up at the airport and decides it is best to head to the bus station to head to San Sebastian alone. Right after she leaves her Metro must have been when I took the free shuttle over to T4 to see if I might find her...no such luck. I end up calling Gabriel (Horton's brother) to get directions to his place because I figure I'll just take the bus by myself to San Sebastian. While on the phone, he informs me of Datev's plans that he learned about via Facebook. So perfect: Datev will take the bus and then I will just be a few hours later since I have to drop my stuff off...everything is going to be okay...or so we thought...

I manage to find Gabriel's apartment in the city not far from Plaza Mayor. From what little I have seen of Madrid at this point (the Metro, Plaza Mayor because of a wrong turn, and Calle de Toledo) I already like Spain. I fall for Spain a little more when I see Gabriel's apartment...just perfect! It has the Spanish doors in the living room that open onto little balconies overlooking a side street. It was decorated so nicely. It made me completely, well somewhat, forget that I had been in the Madrid airport from 6:40am to 3pm. This means my traveling time was up to 19 hours? I had been awake since 8am Monday morning Eastern time so 2pm Spain time meaning I had been up almost 24 hours? The math may be wrong but it is something like that. While at Gabriel's I check my Facebook and see that Datev had been worried/stressed but was now on her way to Hannah. I notify Hannah that I will be taking a bus at 7:30 pm (19:30) from Madrid so I should get to her around 12:30 Wednesday morning (or 00:30 Wednesday morning Spain time; 6:30pm Tuesday Eastern time). I say my goodbyes to Gabriel and head off to the bus station without the big suitcase.

At this point I have no worries. I am happy to be on the last stretch of my long and what seemed like a never ending process to get to San Sebastian. As far as I knew, Datev was successfully on her way and Hannah would hopefully not forget me at the bus station! Thus, I made a friend who I began to practice my Spanish with. The bus made 3 stops along the way...the last stop was an hour away from San Sebastian. I was itching to get there at this point. So, I didn't even get off the bus to stretch my legs, just continued talking to my new friend, Patricia. While people are getting off the bus I look up and I am in complete shock. I see a girl with her face down, looking a little bummed and tired, walking down the isle. There is no way I know this girl but I do know her...it is Datev! I just blurt out her name and I will never forget her face when she looked up. Her puppy sad eyes instantly turned to relieved eyes. Somehow Datev had gotten off at this stop thinking she was in San Sebastian. To her dismay, she realized it a little too late and was forced to wait there for a few hours for the next bus (which never showed). She had almost given up and coughed up a large sum for a taxi due to the fear of sleeping in a bus station overnight, when my bus pulled in. I had not expected this to happen due to the fact that I thought Datev was already with Hannah. FINALLY we had met up and we were only an hour away from Hannah and about 4 hours behind schedule. It didn't matter now.

Meanwhile in San Sebastian, Hannah had been running from her apartment to the bus station every hour to see if either of us had arrived. Note to self: appreciate the fact that cell phones are so useful while traveling...appreciate the free WiFi in the States, it also makes traveling easier and miscommunications rare. When we arrived in San Sebastian I got off the bus first and saw Hannah for the first time since January! She was sitting on a bench looking like she was waiting for Santa to come down the chimney...the anticipation must have been killing her. Then, she saw that Datev was with me and the tears started coming! I don't think she thought we would ever make it. I had thought that as well but then I was hopeful. Poor Datev probably thought about turning back and going home to the States! But we had made it!!! And little did we know how perfect and wonderful our time in San Sebastian was going to be that the past 48 hours (or what at least seemed like that) of traveling was TOTALLY worth it. I would definitely go through that complicated mess again to get to experience what I did just to get to San Sebastian!

I'd love to tell you what went on there but the rest is for another post...it is 1:48AM on Tuesday June 7th and I have class at 9:30. Buenas Noches!