Sevilla and why I hate traveling

I know it's odd, for someone who travels as much as I do, I really hate it. I don't hate being in other places, new places, learning new things, trying new foods, speaking different languages and all of that part of travel, I hate the travel part itself - getting there.

I got to Schiphol Airport with no problem. The train is fast, clean and cheap. In fact, no one even asked to see my ticket, so I guess it could have been free (but I think they do random checks and those without a ticket get penalized - an amazing honor system).

I got to the airport and found Vueling Airlines and that was when the fun started. There was a long, slow moving line to check in. They made an announcement for anyone who was going to Malaga to move to the front of the line. No one moved. The woman at the counter for Business Class sat there doing nothing, while two other clerks checked everyone else in. I guess one of the reasons the ticket was so cheap (supposedly) was that the service was bare bones.

As I got closer a woman behind me was joined by two men. One of them said something about Malaga. I guess because he didn't see it on the board in front of us - only Sevilla was listed as a destination - he got worried. He went up and asked the clerk. She said it was too late and they had made the final announcement for Malaga that a woman had walked the line and told everyone who was going to Malaga to move up. I remember that. This woman was two or three people behind me, meaning she arrived after I did and missed the announcement. It was 2:45, the flight to Malaga left at 3:30. I guess they might have arrived 1 hour before their flight, but it was too late. So the whole line was held up as the clerk called to see if they could still board. First thing I hate about traveling - people who get to the airport late and then hold everyone else up.

I had a nice relaxing time at the airport - had my last taste of Indonesian food for a while (nice thing about being in a land that once had Indonesian colonies) and then headed to the gate.

I boarded and found the overhead compartments above my seat completely full. The section of the plane I was in was still empty except for two couples. It seemed they had boarded early and stored all of their stuff in the overhead bins. The second thing I hate about travel is people who refuse to check any bags and take up all of the space in the overhead bins.

I put my backpack in the bin over the seat in front of me. I also put a Trader Joe's bag I had with extra stuff that wouldn't fit in my bag.

As the plane filled up, it seemed that a lot of people didn't want to check their bags. More and more people struggled to find room. I finally took my Trader Joe's bag and put it under my seat so the family sitting across the aisle and in front of me would have room for their 4 carry on bags! They also had two young kids and a ton of junk with them.

As we took off the kids started fussing. One little girl who might have been around 2 years old started screaming when the flight attendant made her put her tray table up. Her parents could not shut her up. There were also some kids a few rows back who pretty much screamed the whole flight.

Third thing I hate about travel (is this three?) screaming children on planes.

The seats were really tight with very little leg room. Fortunately the flight was short and I slept for part of it, until the screaming children woke me up (can't they have flights for people with children and flights for people without?)

As we landed, and since I was on the aisle, I stood up, but couldn't get to my bag because it was above the seat in front of me and Mr. wife and 2 kids had already gotten up (and he was bigger than me) and had started to unload the four overhead bins he had filled. So I am standing in the aisle, and there is very little room and the guy sitting in my row climbs over his wife and tries to stand behind me in the aisle. What the f***? Why couldn't he wait until at least his wife moved out of the row and there was more room. So now I was squeezed between him and the guy with the wife and kids. Fourth thing I hate about travel - impatient people.

And then the baggage claim area. It was really small and everyone was crowded in waiting for their bags, which took a while to come off. I was standing back out of the crowd because I had stopped to call Ralph, the guy who was meeting me at my apartment, and when I finally got to the belt, it was already packed.

But then this little Chinese family comes down, and the kid pushes his way through the crowd to get a space right by the belt. Soon he is joined by his mother, who pushes her way in with everyone kind of looking at her like, "where do you think you are going?" and finally, the father comes in with a luggage cart which he pushes into the crowd, oblivious to who he is hitting with it. I know there are cultural differences, but I've observed this kind of behavior so many times at baggage claim that I have decided I really hate the baggage claim area. Maybe I should use one of those services and pay to have my bags sent door to door and skip the whole baggage checking and claiming experience.

Now, interesting things were that I did not have to go through immigration leaving Amsterdam or arriving in Sevilla. There was no customs or immigration. It was like I was flying from San Francisco to Chicago (and they spoke a different language in Chicago). I do not understand why the United States is such a high security state.

So now I am in Sevilla in my cute little apartment. It is not as luxurious as what I had in Amsterdam, but it is costing me less for a month and a half than what I paid for only two weeks in Amsterdam - so I guess you get what you pay for. It will be fine, especially if I do lots of day trips. There are three windows that open to the street (and a fourth one that doesn't open) - a small bedroom, living/dining area and kitchen. It's all small, but actually spacious and I like the old feel to it, looking out onto this old street in this neighborhood I have not yet explored.

I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow and getting oriented, doing some shopping for food and basics and exploring a little. It is hot here, but there is a nice breeze and I have the windows open instead of the air-conditioning. I figure it is better to get used to the heat than to end up closing myself up in an air-conditioned apartment for the next month and a half (it should start cooling down a bit in the next few weeks).

So, in spite of my grumpiness with the whole travel experience in general, I am very happy to be in a new place in a country I have never been before, but feel like I know very well. All of those little colonial Latin American towns and cities I have visited have prepared me well for Spain (I hope).