Well today was a very productive one. We awoke early this morning (well early for retirees anyways) and we were on the bus by 8 am to the business centre of Alicante. We made our way to the BBVA which is one of the main banks in Spain. The branch we attended was of course one that no one spoke english and our spanish is a little too limited for opening an account at this time. We headed to the main branch which we were told had english speaking staff. We walked to the main branch about 1 km away. It was a nice 21 degrees celsius a great day for a walk so off we went.
At the main branch of BBVA we must have looked like “deer in the headlights”. The bank had padded benches throughout and people were sitting any which way and awaiting their turn. We looked around for a “take your number” system but could not locate one. So I approached what I thought was the information desk and asked the gentlemen to speak to someone in english. He directed me to the finance clerk who would help me. It turns out he was the security guard and even carried a gun. Ops my bad. The system in the bank is unique there is a touch screen which you tap into it the particulars of what you want and it prints out a number for the appropriate clerk. Our english speaking clerk helped us put the info into the system and then we waited for her to serve us. She was very helpful and we were able to open our bank account and set up our online banking APP.
We then headed to the main bus station and bought a Mobilis card for both of us. The Mobilis card is simply a preloaded bus fare card which also works for the TRAM system. a bus fare is $1.45 euros and the fare is even cheaper when loaded on a Mobilis card.
The airline contacted us today and advised they found our last piece of lost luggage. We headed to the airport and picked it up. Boy I was happy to get my stuff. The luggage was not damaged and all my stuff was ok. It is hard adjusting to a new country, culture and language while not having security of your basic essentials.
Overall a very productive day. Each day we move forward a little more. We are starting to settle in nicely. “Adios y que tengas un gran día.”
ngs are different in the spanish culture. The food and products are similar in some cases and entirely different in other cases. The cost of food is somewhat cheaper here than in Canada, but depends on the products.
Well today we were notified that the airline has located one of our missing pieces of luggage. We took the bus to the airport and picked it up at the loss Luggage office. The scary part is there is always a line up at the loss luggage office. We waited in line and then the clerk informed us that they located one of the pieces of luggage. Both Shelley and I were relieved to find out it was her luggage that was returned to us. It is easier for Ray to pick up new clothes than for Shelley having to replace make up, shoes, leather jacket etc. We asked the clerk where the luggage was found and she advised that the luggage was located in Zürich. It looks like our luggage had a rough trip as well. So we continue to wait for the second piece of luggage, hopefully it will be located soon.
group waiting for food and directions after we left the plan. The poor staff at McDonald’s were getting overwhelmed by the orders and the amount of people they were trying to serve.
Once we arrived at the Dorval train station we boarded a taxi and headed to the Best Western Hotel to check in. We are now settled into the hotel and resting for the next leg of the journey. “buenas noches amigos”
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