My trip over was mostly uneventful and mostly on schedule. That’s more that is true for most folks coming here from UNC and for our friend Paula who was on her way to Northern Cyprus. I met Paula in RDU after she had been bumped unwillingly from her connecting flight out. We ended up flying to Gatwick together and had a fine time if a fine time can be defined as passing out on an overnight transAtlantic flight.
In Gatwick, I stopped at the whiskey store looking for Ardbeg 17 year which seems to no longer exist. Ardbeg 10 year is there. I was offered a taste, which by the way amounts to a shot, and it just wasn’t as smooth as the 17. The shopkeeper recommended a Caol Ila 18 year which like Ardbeg is an Islay single malt about as smooth and with the taste of peat and of the sea slightly. Again she offered a taste aka a shot. I was in fine shape for sleep on the Gatwick to Mardid flight!
In Madrid’s lovely very modern airport, I wandered and was lost a little. I needed to find the ticket counter to pick up a boarding pass. eTixed people can’t get international boarding passes off the web and you have to go through customs to get the passes etc. A few things to learn here but all was just fine and I had a lot of time to work them out. A 45 minute delay of my flight helped on that front as well.
Ended up dirty and unshaven in Granada and took the airport bus into the hotel. Taxi = 20 euros; bus = 3 euros. So I got to wander a few blocks with my luggage. But I had my luggage and not everyone else did.
Dinner out late last night on the street whilst the locals filled the cafe to cheer on the local or was it national football squad.
Off to day to wander. Internet connections in the hotel as 15 euro/24 hours slot which is not cheap.
Meetings begin this evening at dinner (well informally then seriously in the morning).