Timing is everything!
I had a flight to Paris, with a scheduled 1 hour 25-minute connection at CDG airport, then on to Madrid. I knew from my Air France flight updates that my 12:30pm flight had been delayed to 1:00pm. The reason for the delay was a first for me–The Tbilisi airport would be closed from 12:30 to 1:00 for “a diplomatic flight”. When checking in at the airport counter, I was told Air France had already rebooked my connecting flight to a flight 3 hours later. Any airline in the US would have waited to see if I could make the connecting flight before rebooking me (I still had 55 minutes to make the connection), but not Air France. As it turns out, my first flight arrived in Paris right on time. I breezed through passport control and a security check in minutes. My original Madrid flight was posting a little late, and I made it to the gate area of my original flight before boarding had started. I went to the Air France service desk to try to change to my original connecting flight. They told me seats were available on that flight, but “the flight had closed”, so there was nothing that could be done. What a big bureaucracy Air France is. Boo to Air France! Also, the Tbilisi to Paris flight was 5 hours in business class. The meal was a small, cold, turkey sandwich. Are you kidding me? (They did have champagne. I had champagne with my cold, uninspiring turkey lunch).
Things only got more interesting from here. While I was waiting in the extremely warm Air France lounge since I had four hours until my next flight, Cindy messaged to me to say Spain had a country-wide power outage, with no explanations as to why this occurred or when power would be restored. The Madrid airport was still operating due to back up generators. I had planned to take a 27-minute train to Segovia, north of Madrid. However, with the power out, no trains were running, and the subways were not operating. I saw reports that the Madrid airport was chaotic. I began formulating alternative plans. Cindy and Meg were helping me evaluate options. The first 3 or 4 hotels in Madrid I am familiar with were all sold out. I found one hotel that I recall usually has a rate of €139, had a room available for €850. I looked into staying overnight near the Paris airport, but Air France was not willing to change my evening Madrid flight to a morning flight because I was already booked on the evening flight. Once again, big boo to Air France! While I knew there was a chance I would end up sleeping in the Madrid airport, I thought my best alternative was to get to Madrid and see what happens.
I arrived in Madrid around 11pm (1 am on my Georgia time body clock). The airport had power. The airport was crowded, crazy and frantic. Then, ugh, I saw the HUGE, LONG taxi line. I tried my uber app. No cars available. I tried the Bolt app. No cars available. What the hell, I at least started waiting in the long taxi line (it snaked a long way through the airport and eventually went out the door continuing the long line outside) while trying to find alternatives. I made it through the line in an hour and a half. That was much better than I had expected when I started in line. I am so glad I had plenty of cash euros, as the airport ATMs were out of cash, and drivers would not accept credit cards since there was no mobile service beyond the airport area. I got in the cab. The ride took about an hour. I noticed there was power (and cell signals) for the first 20 minutes or so of the ride. Then, everything turned dark, and no cell signals.
I arrived in Segovia. Eerie and pitch black. The fare was 170 euros. (Another first-the most expensive taxi ride of my life!) The taxi driver dropped me off at the start of a pedestrian zone and told me my hotel was 160 meters straight down this road. I started walking. When the driver left and there were no longer headlights shining down the cobblestones where I was walking, it turned absolutely pitch black! I could not see where I was going or even see any buildings. My phone had a flashlight but was getting low on power, so I stopped about every 30 seconds to briefly turn on my flashlight to see what the ground looked like. I fortunately found my hotel because it had some candles glowing in the lobby. I had to carry my luggage up two flights of stairs, with the night desk person lighting my way with a flashlight. I also had no way of letting Cindy know that I had arrived and was safe. The last she knew is that I was in a taxi on my way to Segovia.
Halleluia! At 3am, the power came on! In the daylight in the morning, I discovered that right across from my hotel was a huge cathedral! I had no idea the night before when I was stumbling in the dark with luggage!
What a delight Segovia is when the power is on! After breakfast, I walked down a long pedestrian zone to see a large and well-preserved Roman era aqueduct. This was actually a working aqueduct used to transport water to the town until 1972! The tourist office was next to the aqueduct. I rented an audio guide that I used to explore the town. The Alcazar (a well-preserved castle from the 12th century) was amazing. I climbed the tower. The picture below is a view from the top of the tower to the backside of the cathedral.
I had an amazing mid-afternoon lunch. I recall from a prior trip to Spain that many restaurants have lunch specials called “El menú del día.” For €18.50, I had a wonderful lamb and eggplant appetizer that was covered in a tasty yellow sauce, beef cheeks in red wine sauce with fries, some amazing chocolate something or other for dessert, a half-liter of red wine and a bottle of sparkling water. Excelente! I resisted the temptation for a siesta. I continued on my walking tour of Segovia with the audio guide.
The hotel, once it had power, was wonderful. It was small, had a terrific breakfast, very friendly staff, and a great location right on the square of the Plaza Mayor (a pedestrian-only zone).
Wednesday morning arrived. This was departure day for me. I walked a few minutes from the hotel to a bus stop, where a bus took me to the main train station located a few km outside town. I took my scheduled 11am train to Madrid. At the station in Madrid, I made an easy transfer to a train to the airport. I was in the Iberia lounge by 12:30. My flight was at 4pm. That was a lot easier getting back to the airport compared to making my way to Segovia in the dark and wee hours of Tuesday morning.
The flight to Dallas was nearly 11 hours. The food was very good, as was the service. At least until the flight attendant who picked up my tray from dinner tipped over the open small bottle of olive oil that went on my clothes and my seat. She briefly said she was sorry and handed me some napkins. I wonder if there is a saying in Spain about no sense fussing over spilled olive oil? I watched a movie, then slept off and on for 3 to 4 hours, so that helped pass the time. Passport control at Dallas is very quick with Global Entry. I was traveling carry on so I did not have to wait for luggage. I texted Cindy who was waiting at the cell phone lot, and ten minutes later I was on my way home.
All in all, I had an amazing 16-day trip. Other than my sick time in Georgia and the power outage in Spain, everything went reasonably well. I truly enjoyed seeing new places and cultures.
I may have to start planning my next trip soon! But first, there is a certain wedding in Asheville in late May!
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