27 April
Friday
We didn’t have anything planned for today other than to explore the neighbourhood around the hotel and visit the former ‘Barcelona Bull Ring’ which has been converted into several floors of upscale shops.  For lunch we had ‘paella’, a traditional rice based dish with vegetables and meat.  About 4 pm we collected our bags and took a taxi to the airport.  We were really early, but decided we would relax better sitting around the airport departure lounge than the hotel lobby. 

 

Boarding was shown at 19:00 for the 19:30, but the gate wasn’t announced until 18:55 and the plane didn’t arrive until 19:05.  It took 20 minutes to deplane then we boarded and left about 15 minutes late.  With the 1 hour time change we arrived in Athens at 23:30.  The airport is some 20 miles (32 km) from the hotel and there is a bus which stops 20 m from the hotel.  The cost is 3.90 € but as seniors, we only paid 2.5 €.  We got to the hotel about 1am.