My journey began early Friday morning, with catching the 6am
bus to the Avignon TGV station. From there, I took a 3 hour TGV to Paris.
Although it was cold in Provence, on the way to Paris, we passed through the
northern departements of France which
were covered in snow, with more big chunks being blown around as we passed.
Seeing the Southerners on this train was funny, as they were so excited to see this
change of season and were all continually taking pictures on their smartphones
the entire ride.
This TGV arrived 30 minutes late into Gare de Lyon, making
my 1.5 hour connection to Gare Montparnasse even shorter. I hastily bought a
ticket to the metro, and having already mapped out my plan to get there,
arrived in the station with 30 minutes to spare. The next TGV was a 6 hour
journey that was supposed to end in Irun, a small town just across the border
into Spain. However, when we reached the stop before Irun, an announcement was
made: we would be stopped there for an undeterminable amount of time due to a
blockage on the line. In my train car, you heard just about every language
represented in their disgust at this news: “Putain!”
“Shiza!” “Joder!” “Shit!”
As I only had a 30 minute connection with the original time
this train was getting in, I knew there was little hope for me to arrive in
Irun, let alone Burgos, that night. I talked with some young German students
who were next to me in the same predicament – we were all trying to find a way
to make that train. After trying to find the conductor to ask about this
several times, I ran into someone saying that they were setting up something
special for the people who were on my train going to Portugal. Then, in an
instant, the conductor appeared and said “Tu
vas à Portugal?” As I was definitely not going there, I was confused but
just showed him my ticket. He motioned me and a group of us to follow him. At
this point, I had no idea what was going on or where I was going, but blindly
following seemed better than staying on the train.
As we were all standing there, conversing about our options
in a mix of French, English and Spanish, I slowly realized that we all had some
type of understanding between us. There is something to be said about the
universal language of the panicked and stranded travelers. Soon after, a group
of taxis pulled up – the train station had called taxis to take us across the
border to Irun. Squished in a car with 3 other Portuguese men, hoping and
praying that I would make this train, I watched as there was one minute until
the train left and we weren’t even at the station yet. One of the men in the
car asked why I was so worried, and when I explained to him that I don’t speak
Spanish, he said “pourquoi tu es en
Espagne?!”* After explaining a little bit about why I am in Europe and that
I was visiting a friend studying in Spain, he told me not to worry, because
they don’t even speak Spanish there, they speak Basque. It was interesting to
hear about the different dialects that exist in Spain and the different
opinions and controversy about their usage.
When we arrived at the station at the minute the train was
supposed to leave, I was grateful that the taxi driver just told us to run from
the car – the taxi was on the train station. Good thing, because that was a 90
euro ride! We made it just in time… except the train waited on the platform for
another half hour to ensure the passengers from the other taxis would arrive as
well. As we all reunited on the train, we shared our relief with one another
and wished each other continued safe travels with fewer complications. Again,
the sense of camaraderie was quite comforting, as I was making this journey on
my own.
I finally arrived in Burgos at 10:15pm, only a few minutes after
I was supposed to arrive originally. I was greeted by Katie and Andrea at the
station and they brought me back into town to my hostel. The owner of the
hostel had gratefully stayed an hour and a half past check out time for me, and
since I was one of the only guests, I got a two bed room with a private
bathroom instead of the single room I paid for. Score! Even after my long day
of travel, I wanted to see a bit of the city and grab some food. So they showed
me some of the city center that night: Burgos cathedral all lit up, the Arc
Santa Maria, etc. And we went to Moritos, which became increasingly clear was
the best restaurant in town. As we waited for a table, we enjoyed my first
Spanish sangria, and I must say they are AMAZING!** Then we had huge chicken
sandwiches, which might not sound very Spanish, but for someone that has not
had a lot of meat since I have been to Europe, the sandwich was absolutely
delicious and just what I needed. I slept very well on my double bed to myself
and a stomach full of goodness.
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| Besties with Sangria! |
Saturday, we woke up and were determined to see the sights.
The weather, although, didn’t agree with us. It was pretty cold and continued
to spit rain at us so although I got to see the cathedral during the day, we
did not get to walk to the university where Katie studies and decided to duck
into stores and do some shopping. Soon after, we went for an early lunch of vino y tapas at Pecadito’s, another
popular restaurant in town. This was a very traditional Spanish meal where I
tried many different small plates of Spanish dishes, including tortilla, croquetas, and the Burgos specialty morcilla. And of course, had to wash it down with a glass of rosé
wine.
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| The second most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen. (if you're wondering, Notre Dame is always boss) |
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| Tapas! |
After lunch, we went for another glass of sangria at Morito’s.
I don’t know what it is but that blend of red wine, apples, oranges and lemons
was just too delicious to resist.
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| Seriously, SO GOOD! |
After, it was still too cold and rainy to walk around very
much, so we went back to Katie’s host family’s house and watched Pitch Perfect
in her room. I know this sounds like an odd thing to do in Spain, but as I had
been missing this movie, and spending time with a best friend, it was so nice
to just relax in a warm place that afternoon while quoting and singing one of
our favorite movies together. Plus, I got to meet her host mom and brother,
both of whom are very nice and were very welcoming to me.
Later on, we got ready for a night out on the town. As Katie
had warned me the week before, I knew that it was going to be a long night out,
as Spaniards stay out until 7am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. And as I
had one real night in Spain, I of course had to be prepared to live as the
Spanish do! The night started with kebabs (which I had never had before and
were tasty!), a sangria at Moritos and then calimuchos
at Peregrino. Calimuchos is a drink
that I have heard about from many of my friends that have studied in Spain: it
is half red wine, half Coke. I thought this would be disgusting but surprisingly
found it quite tasty! We spent the rest of the night meeting up with Katie’s
other friends from the program and dancing the night away. Although the night
ended on a sour note***, I was more than happy that Katie’s host brother said I
could come back and stay at their house instead of going back to my hostel. I
was thankful to be able to spend the night with my friend after such a weird end
to my day, and I was happily asleep by 8am (like true Spaniards do).
Waking at noon, we set off in search of a store to buy me a new coat. We were sad to discover that Spain is like France: everything was closed. So instead, I borrowed one of Katie’s jackets and we set off to take pictures by the cathedral. After, we headed to Yaya’s house to bake a classic American apple crumble pie, as her host mom wanted to know how to make them. Though when we started making it, she said that she already knew how to make that kind of pie. Oh well, it was wonderful to meet another Spanish woman, and she spoke English very well! She said she felt so awful about my jacket that she would find me an old one that she wasn’t wearing anymore for me to have. I thought that this was just a nice sentiment but when she came through the door with a lined bomber jacket, I was nearly in tears. She mis-understood my reaction and said “Oh if you don’t like it, that is fine, you can buy another one when you get to France!” I of course thanked her profusely, for giving me something to wear in the cold winter conditions, and am still extremely grateful for this act of kindness. There are some great people in Spain!
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| Apple crumble deliciousness! |
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| Some lovely ladies! |
Then we went on a chilly evening walk and Katie, Andrea and Yaya showed me the university where they study at, Universidad de Burgos. After a bone chilling stroll, we ducked in to Morito’s one last time so I could try some patatas bravas, which were French fries with a type of red hot sauce and aioli topping. Yum! And finally, something every tourist must do in Burgos, we climbed to the top of the Castillo (which there is barely anything left of) and looked out over the city. It was a beautiful moment of tranquility after such a crazy weekend and we all sat there admiring the view.
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| Burgos at night |
After, we said our goodbyes and Katie and I headed back to
the hostel for quick nap. As all the 8am bus tickets to Madrid airport were
sold out, it meant that I had to wake up at 3am to catch the 4am bus to the
airport. After saying goodbye to Katie at the bus station, I settled in and
slept until we reached the airport. I checked in and looked at the clock: it
was 7am. My flight didn’t leave until 2:40pm. I spent the 7 hours of free time
watching Project Free TV on my phone and reading. Finally, the plane boarded,
took off and landed on time. I even slept on the plane!****
Once arriving in Marseille and transferring to the train
station, I bought tickets to a train that said it was delayed 30 minutes. This
was fine, as my bus back to Apt wouldn’t leave for another 1.5 hours after I
arrived in Avignon. However, while sitting on the train, they came on the loud
speaker and said that the train would be delayed an additional hour. Sure I was
able to find a train that could get me there sooner, I waited another 30
minutes in line for them to tell me the next train was scheduled to get in
later. As I walked back to my original train, they came over the loud speaker
and said the train would now be delayed 3 hours. That wouldn’t do, so I went
back to the line again to get the next available train. Which got into Avignon
at 8:05. When did the last bus to Apt leave, you may ask? At 8:00pm.
So, as I was stuck in Avignon for the night, I texted my
friend and fellow assistant Liz and she and her roommates Chase and Maria let
me stay at their place. I cannot express how thankful I was that I had
somewhere to stay for the night, and also got to catch up with some great
people. I will be going back to their place this weekend to see a bit of
Avignon, shop and make some pumpkin pie! But in any case, I checked the bus
schedule when I was there and soon realized that there was no way I was going
to be able to make my first class the next day. I emailed my teacher and
coordinator and offered to do an extra hour at a different time, and as this
situation has yet to be resolved, I still don’t know what is going to happen
with it.
Tuesday morning, I took the bus back into Apt and walking
back through town gave me this indescribably uplifting feeling. I never thought
Apt would make me feel that way, as so many people call it a “dead city”. After
such a long, eventful, complicated, and fun weekend, I could not be happier to
be back in my French home, no matter how small and run-down it may be.
*Translation: Why are you in Spain?!
**So amazing that we returned two more times on Saturday for
two more glasses. That’s right: 3 times within a 24 hour period. It’s just that
good, guys!
***What is this sour note? WELL, my watch AND my winter
jacket got stolen. To be fair, the watch might have just fallen off, but due to
the below freezing temperatures outside, I was pretty upset about the jacket.
And, oh yeah, a Spanish mob/mafia boss was trying to give me money for my coat.
Only in Spain….
****For people who are aware of my flight anxiety, you know
that this is a great triumph!
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