To Sicily, by way of Girona

Barcelona boasts two airports, but really only one of them is in Barcelona.  The other is in Girona, about an hour and 15 minutes away by car.  We’re flying out of Girona to Sicily tomorrow morning.  Because we’ve never been to Girona—and we had heard it’s terrific—and because we generally need three hours to get out of the house even if we are 90% packed, we decided to drive down today and check it out.

Girona is a decent-sized city with—you guessed it—a medieval walled old city in the middle.  We got an inexpensive, clean room at the Hotel Condal just outside the old city walls, and arrived just in time for lunch.  But just too late to see the Arab Baths, which close at 2 pm every day—remember, we can’t get out of the house early.  No matter what.  We had a great lunch at a creperie—hard cider, enormous salads, savory and sweet crepes.  The dessert crepe with salted caramel, sautéed apples and toasted slivered almonds had just the right balance of sweet, tart, salt, fat, crisp, and gooey. 

Along the river, a Christmas market featuring local artisans is still in full swing; in Spain, January 5 is Three Kings Day, and it is even bigger than Christmas.  People are still doing their holiday shopping—the sales won’t begin until January 6. Apparently, January 5 is when the three wise men reached Bethlehem. I had no idea they were so late.  It’s a good thing Mary gave birth in that manger instead of a modern hospital, or she would have been kicked out after two days, and no one would have realized Jesus was such a special guy.  In fact, many parents in Spain are grumpy about the rise in Papa Noel’s (Santa Claus’s) popularity, because it means two sets of presents on two different days.  The kids count on it.  The pragmatic parents realize, at least, that if the kids get gifts on December 25, they have something to do for the endless vacation that follows.

So, after a day of unpacking, doing several loads of laundry, and repacking, we are off again.  How did we choose Sicily?  Well, it met our three basic criteria of:  1) not being too cold; 2) not being too expensive; and 3) being someplace we’ve always wanted to go.  We checked the Ryan Air website and found flights for 47 euros per person round trip.  For those of you who have not flown Ryan Air, it’s a real treat, beginning with the online ticket purchase.  By the time we added luggage fees, 40 euros in “passenger fee web check in,” a 40 euro “administration fee,” the fee for using a credit card, etc., we were paying 360 euros total.  But it’s still a total deal. 

We flew Ryan Air for the first time on our way back from Vigo, and let me tell you, it’s really something.  You have to calculate your luggage very precisely, because you can only bring one carry on bag—whether it’s a purse, a computer case, a tote, or a (rather small and strictly measured) suitcase.  You pay for checked luggage by the piece, and you have 15 and 20 kilo options.  If you pay up to 24 hours before you fly, a 15 kilo bag costs 15 euros per flight, or 30 euros round trip.  If you do not pay for it beforehand, and show up with it at the airport, it would cost more than double that—65 euros round trip.  If you book that same 15 kilo bag at home, before you fly, and then your bag weighs, say, 18 kilos when they weigh it at check in, you have to pay that same 35 extra euros plus a 30 euro fee for getting it wrong.  I think I have all of these fees right, but I’m not swearing on my first born.

Oh, and I forgot about the priority boarding fee—8 euros for each of us, round trip.  After my first trip on Ryan Air, I can seriously say that that 8 euros may be the best money I’ve ever spent.  There are no assigned seats on Ryan Air, and people start lining up at the gate WAY before it’s time to board.  If you are travelling with kids and, like us, unable to show up anywhere early, you absolutely need to fork over the priority boarding fee.  Once the flight begins boarding, all hell breaks loose, with people bum rushing and stashing their luggage in any open space they can find.  I have a friend who told me that the first time she flew Ryan Air—with her three small children—she did not know about this priority boarding business.  By the time they boarded the plane, there were no seats for them to all sit together.  And you know how people who do not want to help you when you’re in a bind simply won’t look you in the eye?  Well, that happened to her.  The flight attendant, witnessing her plight, whispered to her that she should just find a row with an empty seat, put one of her kids in it, and tell the person next to the child that the child had severe motion sickness.  The passenger would be out of that seat quick as a wink.  Then she’d have to repeat the process with others in the row, assuming they had not already overheard the prior conversation and moved voluntarily.

Don’t expect to get any rest on a Ryan Air flight either.  As soon as it’s safe to move around the cabin, the flight attendants begin to do laps of the center aisle, selling all kinds of things.  On our hour long flight from Vigo to Barcelona, we were offered hot food, packaged snacks, drinks, and lottery tickets (2 euros each or 6 for 10 euros).  We were given catalogues so that we could shop.  We were also given in-flight magazines, but these were collected again before landing.  You cannot even get a cup of tap water on Ryan Air.

I can almost remember the golden age of flying—I took my first flight in 1972, when I was 8 years old.  My sister Leslie, who was 12, and I flew to Minnesota to spend Christmas with our cousins and grandparents.  We dressed up.  The flight attendants—stewardesses back then—dressed up.  It felt special. It felt like we were going to a party.  On Ryan Air, it feels more like you’re taking the bus from Port Authority to Atlantic City.  I would not have been surprised if I had been given a roll of quarters and my own personal slot machine.  On second thought, I’d probably have to buy the quarters.