I settle into my seat, mistakenly saying “Hello” to the young Spanish woman next to me, rather than “Hola.” How quickly I forget. “American?” she asks me. “Yes,” I say, pausing for a quick second to think if I could find the fun in passing as some other nationality. But before I can consider changing my answer, she begins, “Take me on a trip, I’d like to go some day. Take me to New York, I’d love to see LA.” “Wait, isn’t that…?” But before I can finish my question, she has whipped out her MP3 player and is playing this song.
Train Tip: There are 2 direct trains daily from San Sebastian to Barcelona, one at 10:45 in the morning, and one a night train that leaves at 22:59 (except Saturday night). These are usually the first trains to book out, however, since most people, when booking, consider the ease of taking a direct train. But there are other train combinations daily that can actually save you time.
I took connecting trains from San Sebastian to Vitoria, Vitoria to Zaragoza, and Zaragoza to Barcelona. This being Spain, all the trains required a seat reservation, purchased only at train stations. The seat reservation from Zaragoza to Barcelona was 10 Euros, and I rode on Spain’s new fast speed train, the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), which literally means “Spanish High Speed.” It is a great new train, similar to Germany’s ICE or France’s TGV. I actually arrived in Barcelona 2 hours earlier than I would have otherwise.
Benjamin Thomas
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