I quickly checked flight prices online and saw a flight for €138 and I jumped on it. Looking back it wasn't so much of a deal as I thought it was originally. In the past few days I have found flights to places like Turin, Mallorca, and Marrakech for under €30! So the next day I headed to Madrid by bus to catch my afternoon flight. Everything was going swimmingly. I didn't even need to check a bag since I was only going for two nights. Not checking a bag eliminates so many headaches.
We boarded the plane and the only concern on my mind was the three young children occupying the row across from me. If only I know that planets were about to collide...
We sat at the gate for a little too long and then the captain spoke over the PA something in spanish that I didn't pay attention to. A few people seemed worried so I listened when he repeated himself in english. He said that he couldn't contact the tower which was strange since their sole purpose is to be in contact with pilots, and we weren't in the Burmuda Triangle either. He said we were going to wait a bit and see what happened. Ten minutes later he was back. This time the Spaniards on the plane all groaned after his announcement. Someone had found out with their phone that the air traffic controllers had just gone on strike. We were told to deplane because the airline was cancelling flights until midnight.
Walking back into the terminal was like walking into the mall on December 26th. Nobody knew what was going on and everyone starting forming a line. Apparently the front of the line, which was already a couple hundred people long, was where we could get complaint forms. I found another place to get one and had it stamped. I never ended up using it for anything though.
I found myself stranded in Madrid, so I called the only person I knew who might be in Madrid, my friend Aleksis from Don Benito. He was spending the long weekend with his girlfriend in Madrid and they invited me to crash at their place for the night.
In the morning I headed back to the airport hoping that the strike was over and I would be able to get on a flight to Paris. When the elevator doors opened in the terminal, I knew immediately I wouldn't be going to Paris that day. The lady on the PA confirmed that for me about an hour later when she informed me that Iberia had again cancelled flights for the day. It was only around noon, so at least I didn't have to spend the whole day in the airport. I headed back out into the center of Madrid to see the sights. The only downside to my free day in Madrid was that I had to drag around my carry-on suitcase around with me.
I went to Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol and met my friend Nadia who was also stranded in Madrid instead of sitting at a cafe in Amsterdam. We complained how much it sucked that the controllers were on strike and made plans to meet back up since she had to return to the airport to sort some things out.
Plaza Mayor, Madrid
The next night a bunch of us stranded people decided we would hit the town since it was Saturday and Madrid isn't the worst place in the world to be on a Saturday night. We decided to head to Kapital, a seven story club with seven different dance floors. It was so big that I didn't remember seeing the same person twice the whole night.
Monday I went back to the bus station to take a bus back to Don Benito. I had given up on going to Paris, and spent a lot of money in Madrid anyway, so I wouldn't be able to really enjoy Paris. While I was waiting for my bus I went to the atm to check my balance and to my surprise I had been paid again! I changed my bus ticket and headed back to the airport. Paris was on again!
My replacement flight to Paris went off without a hitch and I arrived to a cold, dark city of light. I stayed with Becky at her dorm room which cost twice what my three bedroom apartment in Spain cost per month. We went out for a crepe which was amazing. Perfect street food.
The next day Becky had to go to work so I was off on my own for the day. I took the metro towards the Eiffel Tower. Above ground it had started to snow. Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time was a trip. Climbing the stairs was great exercise. I took a few pictures before they kicked me out because they were closing the tower due to snow. In one weekend I found out that they could close an airport and the Eiffel Tower.
I decided to take a stroll down the Seine towards Notre Dame, but quickly realized that Paris is HUGE and the walk might take me all week. I hopped on the metro and rode the rest of the way. The cathedral was impressive, and free to enter. I sat around for a while, but got bored. I was having a lot of fun wandering around aimlessly in Paris, but it was starting to get dark so I called up Alex from Sac State to go hang out and have a few beers. Little did I know I would need to be approved for a loan to afford to do so. €15 for two pints!
The inside of the Cathedral of Notre Dame
We hung out until late and I visited his TINY studio apartment that was down a flight of stairs, then up an elevator and then up another flight of stairs. The place was smaller than my kitchen, but it had a clear view of the Eiffel Tower out of the window, which in my mind is priceless.
See the Eiffel Tower out of the window?
The next day I went to the Louvre before heading back to the airport. The Louvre is enormous and I got tired of the paintings really fast. I felt the Mona Lisa was underwhelming and displayed strangely. The coolest things in the museum were the treasures, of which there were countless. I wish I owned just one of them.
The Mona Lisa
Napolean Bonaparte's apartment
My flight back to Madrid was delayed by five hours due to snow, so I was stranded in Madrid for the night again when I landed. I should have been used to it by then.
No comments:
Post a Comment