丢失的14个小时 The Lost 14 Hours

颠沛流离～～ ～ 用这四个字形容似乎太夸张了，但是足以表达我俩这丢失的14个小时。

Exasperated ~~ This word seems a bit too exaggerated, but still not enough to express the last 14 hours we lost.

现在是4月21号早上9点31分，终于安顿下来，坐在了巴塞罗那的酒店的床上。原本昨天下午的4点35分就应该到达巴塞罗那机场的我俩，终于在14个小时之后到达了目的地。

It’s 9:31am on April 21st and we finally settled down and collapsed on our hotel bed in Barcelona. We were supposed to arrive in Barcelona at 4:35 yesterday afternoon, but we finally arrived at our destination 14 hours later, that may not seem a lot to you, but to us it was an eternity.

4月19号下午五点多，我俩到达了旧金山机场，准备乘坐晚上7点55分的伊比利亚航空的旧金山到巴塞罗那的直航飞机。因为机票很便宜，机上的食物和东西都是要付费的，飞机上的东西反正也不好吃，我俩便自己带了食物，在机场吃了晚餐。等到应该登机的时间，没有任何通知，直到8点半左右才开始登机，后来机长解释，由于电脑系统问题，登机晚点了，终于在9点5分大家坐在了飞机上，没过一会儿，飞机准备起飞，可是还没滑行几分钟，飞机便停了下来，机长宣布飞机似乎有些机械故障，需要进行检测，然后我们就开始了漫长的等待，在将近3个小时之后，机长终于宣布，飞机不能起飞，被取消了。让我们去取行李，然后等待给酒店的信息。

At 5:00 pm on April 19, Justin dropped us off at the San Francisco Airport and we were ready to take a short direct flight from San Francisco to Barcelona on Iberia Airlines at 7:55 pm. Because the air ticket was very cheap (thanks to someone), the food and everything on the plane has to be paid for, and the food on the plane is awful anyway, so we brought our own food and ate dinner at the airport. We sat in the boarding area with no notifications for hours and when it was finally time to board the plane, there was no announcement, the chaotic boarding started 30 minutes after we were suppose to have taken off. Later, the captain explained that due to a computer system problems, the boarding had been delayed and finally everyone was seated on the plane at 9:05pm. After a while of just sitting there, the plane was ready to take off, but after taxiing for a few minutes, the plane suddenly stopped. The captain announced that the plane seemed to have some sort of mechanical problem and needed to return to the gate for testing (a sure sign of what was to come.) Then we started the long wait. After nearly 3 hours at the gate, the captain finally announced that the plane could not take off and the flight was cancelled. They said we needed to pick up our luggage and wait for information about a hotel and a new flight.

我俩取了行李，一个从其他航空公司过来帮忙的女士告诉我们，现在她没有任何信息，取了行李就只能等待，后来给了我们一个电话号码，让我们联系那里获取下班航班信息。PJG飞快地拨通了电话，但是接电话的人完全不知道这里发生了什么，并说他提供不了任何帮助，我们只能联系机场。在PJG打电话的时候，我回到了取行李的地方，再次和那个工作人员沟通，询问有没有任何更新信息，一个和我一样生气的女士加入了我的队伍，可惜答案还是伊比利亚航空的人员正在联系酒店，至于下个航班的信息，他们目前只知道明天早9点后看飞机故障修理的进展。在这种情况下，我俩果断决定不能等他们，要自己购买飞巴塞罗那的航班，很幸运地，PJG马上购买了美国航空的在纽约转机的早上6点的航班。幸亏我俩买了旅行保险，这个应该是在保险范围内的。 当一切都算安排下来了，已经是快早上2点了，PJG给几个机场附近的酒店打电话，可惜都没有空房，看看时间，2个多小时以后我俩就又要回到机场办理登机了，算了，不去酒店了，这样我俩便在机场度过了接下来的2个多小时。

We deplaned and went to collect our luggage and a lady who came to help from another airline told us that at this point she doesn’t have any information and told us just to wait after getting our luggage. Later, she gave us a phone number to contact to get information about the next flight. PJG quickly dialed the number, but the person who answered had absolutely no idea what was going on and said he couldn’t help us and that we had to contact the airport. While PJG was calling, I went back to the baggage claim area and spoke with the staff again to see if there were any updates, and another lady, who was as angry as me joined my team, unfortunately the answer was still nothing from Iberia. They said they were contacting the hotels for arrangements. As for the information of the next flight, they would only know the progress of the “repair of the aircraft” after 9 am tomorrow. Under these circumstances, we both decided we couldn’t wait for them and bought another ticket for a flight to Barcelona, ​​and luckily PJG was able to immediately purchase an American Airlines flight at 6am with a lay-over in New York. Fortunately, we had bought travel insurance, which should cover the costs. After everything was finally arranged, it was almost 2:00 in the morning. PJG diligently called several hotels near the airport but unfortunately, there was nothing available. So we decided to live like the homeless at the airport waiting for the AA check-in counter to open in a few hours.

早上4点，又一次办理了登记，又一次过了安检，又一次坐下来等待登机。因为PJG在美国航空的会员级别比较高，我俩从旧金山到纽约的这段飞机，被升到了商务舱！哈哈，终于在一个不顺的体验中有了一个好的事情发生。早上6点航班终于顺利地起飞，我俩也终于在10个小时以后离开了旧金山。 PJG国际国内飞了这么年，因为飞机机械故障航班被取消了的，还真的是第一次。

Finally at four in the morning, we checked in again, went through security again, and sat down to wait to board the plane. Because PJG’s membership level in American Airlines is relatively high, we were upgraded to business class on the flight from San Francisco to New York! Haha, finally something good happened in this otherwise bad experience. The flight finally took off on time at 6am, and we only left San Francisco 10 hours late. It is the first time that PJG after flying internationally and domestically for so many years has had a flight cancelled due to a mechanical failure of the aircraft.

We got an upgrade for the both of us, and we could go to the airline’s club to rest and have free food and coffee. What a world of difference.

从纽约到巴塞罗那这段的飞机，我俩也算是很幸运，老规矩我的座位靠窗，PJG的靠走道，我俩祈祷中没人，可惜一个身材比较丰满女性出现了，哎，白祈祷了。然而当大家都坐下后，她请空乘人员帮她安排和她女儿坐在一起，然后就这么幸运地，她被调到了我俩的前排，我俩的中间空了！ 哈哈，看来没白祈祷啊！ 我基本上可以躺在两个座位里，睡了一路！

We also got lucky on the flight from New York to Barcelona. As usual, my seat was by the window and PJG was by the aisle with a middle seat between us. We prayed that no one would sit between us. Unfortunately, a “full figured” woman appeared. We both looked at each other secretly and rolled our eyes . However, luck struck again and when everyone was seated, the plump woman asked the flight attendant to help her arrange to sit with her daughter, and she was so lucky that she was moved to the row in front of us, and the middle seat was again empty! Haha, it seems that my prayers were not in vain! I could basically lie down in the seats and sleep all the way!

就这样，14个小时以后我俩终于降落在了巴塞罗那！在这个不顺利的14个小时里，也算经历一些小幸运，希望从现在开始，希望一路顺利啦！

And just like that, after 14 hours we finally landed in Barcelona! In this exhausting 14 hours, we have experienced some small luck in an otherwise bad experience . I hope from now on, the rest of the trip goes smoothly!

PJG在这过去的30多个小时里没怎么睡觉。 巴塞罗那现在在下雨，正好他可以好好休息一下。希望下午雨过天晴，开始逛巴塞罗那！

PJG hadn’t slept much for the past 30+ hours (but I did!) It’s raining in Barcelona right now and just in time for him to take a good long rest while I type this blog. I hope the rain will pass in the afternoon, and we can start to enjoy Barcelona!