Yea, the train station in Venice empties right onto the Grand Canal
I think that when I do come back, I'll have to see the Grand Canal at sunrise again, cause this was gorgeous
The first thing we did once over the bridge that crossed the canal was walk to the airport. We wanted to at least know that we were there and were in the right place before we tried to look for breakfast or anything. When we got to the grounds of the airport, we found a bus schedule where a specific bus is matched with each flight for the day (Example: if you're on the Barcelona flight, you want to take the bus at 8:30a to take you to your terminal). So we had about 45 minutes until our bus and we spent it sitting at a café. I got a tall macchiato and had some sweet treats. It was absolute junk food but I already didn't feel good so why not?
When we went outside to find our bus we realized the hard way that we should have figured out where it stops before we sat down to eat: it was a zoo of buses! And you know, we missed the bus. We would have liked to get all irritated about this but we didn't have time; we hailed a taxi as quick as could be and headed to the airport.
Once there, we went right into security. I checked my bag online the night before to avoid the same problem as last saturday. After that, it was a waiting game. We were all at that super tired, snippy point so I avoided interacting much with anyone while we waited. Naturally, our plane wasn't even at the gate when our flight was supposed to be boarding so we ended up taking off late. Oh well. Once on, we were safe and sound and on our way to Barcelona. The flight was really short but it was enough time for everyone to collect themselves a little bit; and what a gorgeous day it was in Barcelona!
Goodbye Venice
Hello Barcelona!
Once on the ground, I was absolutely determined to find the quickest way back to Pau- I wanted to be there by the evening! The plan we had was to take an overnight train to Pau but after such a long week, going to bed really late last night, and getting up ridiculously early this morning I was not at all interested in doing that. I asked at the information desk if there were any flights to Pau (I was that desperate that I was willing to pay for another flight) but no such luck. Our next option was to head to the train station which, fortunately, is attached to the airport by way of tram. We had to walk all the way to the other end of the grounds of the airport but at least you don't have to pay to walk. Once there with tram passes in hand, we were quite happy to sit down and wait. Did I mention that we were completely pooped by now?? The tram arrived about 15 minutes later and we boarded/crammed in with tons of others (at least we had seats). Not too much later it was time to get off at the train station and buy our tickets to Narbonne, France. After getting our tickets, we had a couple of hours to kill before the train departed. We still needed lunch and the cheapest thing in the station was McDonald's.... again. We sat there with our headaches and dark circles under our eyes and tried to stay awake and eventually, it was time to board. And I think I slept all the way to Narbonne... I can't be sure though- I don't remember.
We got to Narbonne, France around 8p and I was feeling very desperate to get to Pau that evening. I was running on next to no sleep and I categorically refused to spend the whole night on a yucky, uncomfortable train. So, we spent the next half hour trying to figure out our options and we ended up not having many: there was a train to Toulouse from 10p to 12a and then there was the final train we needed to Pau at 6:30a... the next day. :( We were not getting to Pau tonight...
I used up my last life line then and called Robina (our other program advisor) to tell her the situation and see if she had any suggestions or knew of any magical, lesser-known options for getting to Pau. Of course she didn't; and I shouldn't have really expected her to. What she suggested was finding a cheap hotel room and just spending the night in Toulouse. Chantalle, Selene, Allie, and Rosie all refused to pay for one more thing but Joe and I were on the same page: you would have to physically force us to spend the night on freezing train station benches!
We at least knew that we needed to get ourselves to Toulouse, so we started by taking that 10p train there. Once there, we all walked across the street to a café that was thankfully still serving dinner. They were baguette sandwiches but who really cared at this point?
Ham, cheese, and butter baguette with a glass of orange juice. Welcome back to France!
After dinner, we doubled checked with each other who wanted to sleep in a bed and who wanted to [toss and turn] sleep in the station. Joe and I were still the only ones so he called our wonderful friend Aleca in Pau and she was so incredibly kind as to spend at least the next 15 minutes on her computer trying to find us a cheap and available room. I would like to take this moment to praise the lovely Aleca because she found a room that was 5 minutes from the train station (walking), cost no more than 45 euros for two, and would allow us to check in that night. Can it be so?!!
Joe and I found the hotel in no time, checked in without any problems, and decided that if we were going to be in a real bed that night, we might as well sleep as long as we needed to and just take an afternoon train to Pau. The others said they were going to take the 6:30a train and I said, more power to 'em... you're on your own with that!
You might be wondering if Joe and I were in the same room at the hotel and the answer is, yes. It was a little awkward but we had also spent the whole week in the same room as each other and were too bloody tired to give a care. Once my head hit that pillow, I cared about nothing and thought about nothing. I don't even think I dreamed that night! And when Joe's phone went off at 1a because our funny friends were calling to ask where the hotel was (they got "kicked out" of the station) I was only half-way conscious for the whole thing. I don't remember hearing him leave to let them in downstairs and I don't remember hearing him come back. I faintly heard him say something like, "just go back to sleep Sam" but I'm not even sure if that's real. In the morning, I asked Joe about the whole thing and he said that he had to go down to let the girls into the lobby. When all five of them came up to the desk, the guy recognized Joe and asked, "are they all with you?" Joe's response? "Not at all" and he left. haha!
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