Tuesday Night, 11 April 2017
Cartagena, Spain
A four hour train ride from Valencia brings me to the smaller city, seaport, and former seat of all Roman forces in the Levantine--Cartagena. Those readers who have been paying attention will realize that Cartagena and Valencia are the two ports I missed on my Holland America cruise this past October. In fact, Cartagena is where I spent 15 days in hospital for my hip replacement.
Thus my one-day trip here to Cartagena is to revisit the Hospital Perpetua Socorro to thank all the people who were so kind to me during my ordeal. When I left the hospital I was whisked out at 3am by the wonderful travel nurse into a limo for the 90 minute drive to the airport in Alicante. Although I said a few goodbyes, many of the people I needed to thank were only on duty during the day.
So here I am, having just arrived at close to midnight (the train was 15 minutes late). This will also explain my having a haircut today in Valencia to make myself more presentable. I have brought only a small carry-on with me and left my large suitcase in my room in Valencia, having kept that room for the full five nights. After a good night's sleep at a hotel tonight, I will spend tomorrow seeing a little bit of the remains of Ancient Cartagena and visiting the good people at the hospital.
The Rest of My Travel Plans
My plan is to return to Valencia on a late afternoon train tomorrow (Wednesday), arriving around 8pm (the train schedules really suck; officially Cartagena is "off the beaten track"). I will have one more full day in Valencia for my official visit to all the attractions at the City of Art and Science, for which I purchased an advance ticket this morning so I won't have to stand in a long line on Thursday. On Friday morning I take the high-speed train back to Barcelona for one night and early on Saturday afternoon I fly from Barcelona to Phoenix, via Philadelphia. From PHX, I have arranged a shuttle ride that gets me back to Tucson at 11pm, where Will will be waiting to drive me home.
Of course, I will continue to blog when I can and keep you apprised of the success of my plans. Maybe American Airlines will offer me another first-class upgrade--as they did on my flights getting from Phoenix to Miami to reach my cruise ship back in March--but that is probably too much to hope for.
Cartagena, Spain
A four hour train ride from Valencia brings me to the smaller city, seaport, and former seat of all Roman forces in the Levantine--Cartagena. Those readers who have been paying attention will realize that Cartagena and Valencia are the two ports I missed on my Holland America cruise this past October. In fact, Cartagena is where I spent 15 days in hospital for my hip replacement.
Thus my one-day trip here to Cartagena is to revisit the Hospital Perpetua Socorro to thank all the people who were so kind to me during my ordeal. When I left the hospital I was whisked out at 3am by the wonderful travel nurse into a limo for the 90 minute drive to the airport in Alicante. Although I said a few goodbyes, many of the people I needed to thank were only on duty during the day.
So here I am, having just arrived at close to midnight (the train was 15 minutes late). This will also explain my having a haircut today in Valencia to make myself more presentable. I have brought only a small carry-on with me and left my large suitcase in my room in Valencia, having kept that room for the full five nights. After a good night's sleep at a hotel tonight, I will spend tomorrow seeing a little bit of the remains of Ancient Cartagena and visiting the good people at the hospital.
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| NH Cartagena Hotel |
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| Cartagena Railway Station |
The Rest of My Travel Plans
My plan is to return to Valencia on a late afternoon train tomorrow (Wednesday), arriving around 8pm (the train schedules really suck; officially Cartagena is "off the beaten track"). I will have one more full day in Valencia for my official visit to all the attractions at the City of Art and Science, for which I purchased an advance ticket this morning so I won't have to stand in a long line on Thursday. On Friday morning I take the high-speed train back to Barcelona for one night and early on Saturday afternoon I fly from Barcelona to Phoenix, via Philadelphia. From PHX, I have arranged a shuttle ride that gets me back to Tucson at 11pm, where Will will be waiting to drive me home.
Of course, I will continue to blog when I can and keep you apprised of the success of my plans. Maybe American Airlines will offer me another first-class upgrade--as they did on my flights getting from Phoenix to Miami to reach my cruise ship back in March--but that is probably too much to hope for.
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