An Inauspicious Start to Our Adventures

Our move to Spain started on a bit of a sour note. We had secured our visas and booked our flight from Boston to Barcelona. At the time this was one of the few direct flights we could find. LEVEL, a subsidiary of Iberia Airlines, was the carrier. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 11:25 pm on a Tuesday.

We also booked a limo to pick us up in Kittery and drive us to the airport. The limo (Great Bay Limo) arrived as scheduled and we loaded up our suitcases for the trip.

We arrived at Logan airport at 7:30 pm for our flight, figuring we would have time to eat at one of the restaurants in the terminal.  We unloaded our luggage and headed into the terminal to check in.

It was only then that we were informed that our flight had been postponed to the next day! No prior warning or notification had been sent by Iberia or LEVEL Airlines. We and many other passengers were totally taken off guard.

So, there we were, in Boston late at night, with no place to stay and no home to return to. We had to quickly find a hotel in Boston for the night and return to the airport the next day. Fortunately, we were able to find a room at a nearby hotel (Hampton Inn) with a shuttle to and from the airport.

We checked in and, due to the late hour, ate some food from the hotel store in the lobby.

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel then headed back to the airport. The flight had been rescheduled to around 3 pm, so we had plenty of time to get there and relax before the flight.

On our original flight we had booked premium economy seats so that we could enjoy extra leg room and more comfortable seats for the long flight. Unfortunately, on the rescheduled flight, there were no premium economy seats. The airline assured us that they would credit us for the change.

The flight itself was pleasant enough as we were in the front section of the plane, which was only about half occupied.

We arrived in Barcelona early in the morning (about 3:30 am local time).  We had planned to stay in Barcelona for one night before taking the train to Alicante, so we had booked a room at a hotel adjacent to the train station. Before we left Boston, we let them know to hold the room for us as we would be arriving very late (early?).  

We grabbed a taxi, checked in and managed a couple of hours of sleep before we had to get up and go to the train station to board the train to Alicante at 10:15 that same morning.

The train trip to Alicante was uneventfully pleasant and, upon our arrival, we took a taxi to our Airbnb in El Campello (a small town that abuts the city of Alicante). The unit was quite lovely and after thanking the host, we collapsed on the bed for some much-needed sleep.

So, props to Great Bay Limo, Hampton Inn, Hotel Barcelo Sants, Renfe (train) and Airbnb. No love for Iberia/LEVEL airlines (though they did give us the promised refund).