Spain Day 1; Barcelona - May 21, 2011

Holy cow. I am so tired. I forgot what it feels like to really travel a long ways to begin an even longer travel ahead.

It started by getting to sleep at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday night to wake up on Friday morning at 5:00 a.m. to catch a flight to St. Louis to then catch a flight to Newark (which we would have missed due to a delayed takeoff in OKC from lightning). Since Marek used to work for Southwest a few years ago, she had a few free flights built up so we decided to get free flights to NYC and then buy a flight overseas from NYC which was a lot cheaper than starting from OKC.

The problem we ran into was almost missing our flight in St. Louis to Newark. The only reason we caught it was because there were about 25-30 people on our flight that needed that connection, if we would have missed it, we wouldn't have been able to get to Newark in time to catch our flight to Barcelona and since they were separate bookings, it wouldn't have been a free rescheduling on the next flight. We almost saw complete disaster in those first few hours.

Disaster averted and we were able to fly into Newark on time. Our next flight was scheduled 5 hours later so we figured we'd try to get in Manhatten for an hour or so and then get to JFK for our over night flight to Barcelona. It (of course) took us longer to get into the city than expected and we only had time to grab a slice of pizza near Penn Station and then hop back on the A Train and head on out to the airport. We were hoping to see my dad for 30-45 minutes (he was in NYC this weekend) but our schedule was too restricting and we didn't want to chance anything.

So, after getting to JFK and getting on our flight to takeoff at 6 p.m. we sat there on the runway until 7:05 and then takeoff to the 30 impending minutes of a one-yr-old screaming. Not the easiest day...but when you plan a trip like this, it's all about taking baby steps one step at a time. Trying to make the most of it, I bust out the video camera and shoot some footage of us about to chow down on our pasta and chicken dinner on the plane, shortly after, I realize that the camera won't turn on anymore... :( Oh, well...on to plan B, use the iphone (I called AT&T and had international roaming added and had all incoming text messages and phone calls taken off so I wouldn't get charged for all the random text messages/phone calls that could cost tons in the end...the moment we arrived, two text messages come through...which told me that it wasn't turned off and if I turn my iPhone on during this trip then I will receive the data from all text messages and missed phone calls. $$$ I guess the iPhone is now out for the trip.

On to plan C, use my digital camera's video selection for videos. So far, it hasn't failed me.

After the 4.5 hours of sleep the first night and 1.5 hours of sleep on the plane's overnight flight, and all the technical difficulties...I still have to smile. After all, it is Marek and I's one-year-anniversary of meeting each other, and I couldn't be happier.

Time for an afternoon nap so that I have the energy to go see Gaudi Park and tour the Segrada Familia later this evening.

Hasta Luego.