Me voy a España!

¿Qué pasa amigos? It is the most wonderful time of the year; the holiday rush is dying down and travel can be had on the cheap. That means it is time for me to take another global trip!  Unlike years past, I will not be suffering through another 9-hour Spirit flight to a random South American capital. Apologies to those wanting to see me get stuck in the middle of another governmental protest or almost die of altitude sickness.  This year I am taking a more relaxed approach and going to Spain.  This is significant because despite all the places I’ve been, I’ve never been to Europe. While I would much rather go to Santo Domingo than London or Munich, I can’t really consider myself a “global traveler” if I continue to ignore the continent with some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. Thus, Spain seems like a good compromise. 

I am currently sitting in Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington DC waiting to board my flight to New York City. From New York, I will be taking a red-eye flight to Madrid and arriving at 8:45 AM tomorrow local time. Even though I fly out of DCA often, I feel like this is the first time I’ve been to the American Airlines terminal that I’m currently in. DCA seems much more comfortable than I am accustomed to as there are several tables with built in outlets that allow for things like working on a laptop and eating.  A 3-hour wait in this environment leads to a perfect opportunity to fire up the blog again.

My trip has gotten off to a somewhat rocky start as I’ve had to adjust my itinerary several times.  I was originally planning on going to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Granada but unfortunately, I had to drop Granada altogether (I’ll explain why in a subsequent post).  I am a little disappointed that I won’t be able to visit the Alhambra (Granada’s UNESCO Heritage site). Oh well, at least I have an excuse to visit Spain again! I also experienced more drama than necessary whilst trying to check in for my flights.  I booked my tickets via my credit card company (Chase) and for some reason they included my middle name when purchasing my ticket. When I printed my boarding pass, it read ROBERTLAWRENCE BROWN whilst my passport only says ROBERT BROWN. Easy fix, right? Apparently not….I called American Airlines last night who told me I could get it fixed at the gate.  I had to wait at the gate for 15 minutes while the gate agent called the same office that I called the night before only for them to eventually punt this issue to British Airways (the airline I’m taking to Madrid).  What’s even worse is that the representative indicated that British Airways might charge me for the name change.  It ain’t that serious. I have my boarding pass printed for Spain, so I don’t plan on doing anything unless they stop me from boarding. Hopefully, I don’t have to make another post tomorrow discussing how I am trapped in New York City because of this stupidity.

If all goes well my next entry will be from Madrid in the next few days.  I will also be posting pictures and videos as I take them throughout the trip.  ¡Nos vemos en Madrid!