The Saturday that barely was

Friday night about nine, I settled into my British Airways business-class cocoon.  In this photo, you can see the one ahead of mine and to my left across the aisle.

Click an image to see a larger version.

Barely as wide as my shoulders, it was nonetheless a reasonably comfortable place to spend the next nearly ten hours.

Free headphones, a video screen that swiveled to face me, and the usual food and beverage amenities made the long overnight flight (we left Vancouver in the late evening and arrived in London in the middle of the afternoon) tolerable enough that I arrived feeling merely stoned and not in any sort of bodily pain.

After the usual Heathrow flight-change security dance, working for four hours in the Admirals Club, and a lot of walking, I boarded the flight to Barcelona.  I had a great conversation with my row-mate, a fellow Mobile World Congress traveler (almost everyone on that flight was), and landed in Barcelona.

The passage through immigration and customs there was straightforward and hassle-free, better than I had dared hope.  My bag showed up, and I was even able to pick up my conference badge at the airport.

One expensive cab ride and some bellman tips later, and I was settled into a generally lovely room in my hotel.  That said, I could have done without this artwork, which sits on a wall in the entry alcove.

My hotel is just off Las Ramblas, and my room faces onto a nifty square.  Standing on my bathroom balcony--yes, I have a balcony off that room--at nearly one in the morning, the typical Barcelona late-night activity was much in evidence.

I was strongly tempted to join the fun, but I was so exhausted from lack of real sleep that I unpacked and then fell into bed sometime after one a.m. local time.

It's good to be done traveling for a bit.