We got a lift into Girona with Jacqui which gave us plenty
of time to purchase our train tickets and have some breakfast at the station
before catching the 1019am train. For only just over 13 Euros each we reached
the airport after a couple of hours and one change of train.
There was an issue with an inconsistency between the name we
had booked our Firefly car under and the credit card we wished to use. This meant that they could screw us over by
forcing us to buy their insurance policy rather than the cheaper one we had
obtained on the internet to the tune of an extra £80!! I was not amused so the
lady behind the counter directed all of her attention towards Simon rather than
the irate woman she had standing in front of her with steam coming out of her
ears (that’s me by the way…). After we
had spent so long finding the
cheapest possible options for our hire I was extremely unimpressed. With all of our recent experiences in hiring
cars it appears that the customer service is shocking and you are always charged
extra ‘magical’ fees that I think are hidden somewhere within the very small
print. I always thought car ownership
was expensive enough but it turns out the hiring option is even more of a
minefield. Hire car companies rant
over!!
United with our shiny white, if scratched, Skoda I let Simon
take the first shift behind the wheel.
We may feel quite experienced at driving on the right following our
previous road-trip adventures, but they have always either been in one of our
right-hand-drive UK vehicles or, as in the USA, in an automatic. The manual gear change being on your
right-hand side does take some getting used to! The train journey followed by
queueing and arguing with the rental company at the airport meant that it was
already 1.30pm by this time. But, instead of just heading back Girona-ward, we
wanted to see some bits of Barcelona and the connecting coastline that were
only accessible by car. We drove towards
the magic fountain and the National Museum of Art (right) which are set within a park
and found a café to enjoy some tapas (and a bacon sandwich for Simon of
course).  |
| View from the NMAC down towards the Magic Fountain and the City beyond |
Having walked around, we took a slow drive up the coast road
to try and find a beach for a scenic dip. But by the time we found a place away
from an adjoining railway track it was getting too late in the day to be
tempted onto the water/sand! We eventually had to stop for a drink in a town
called Blanes. It was not the idyllic
little cove we were hoping for, more of a ‘Brits abroad’ resort.
We knew we had our cases to pack back
at the house so we headed back towards Girona for about 8pm, deciding to make
ourselves a cheap dinner and cry off from going back into the city for a final
visit to the Irish bar!
 |
| The beach in Blanes |
Jacqui came home an hour or so later tired from her working
day and we watched a bit of TV before going to bed for our last night at the
Gibbs.
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