When I looked at Maps, it appeared that the salon I selected for my pedicure wasn’t far away. When I experienced difficulty in finding a taxi that would pick me up for the short distance, I ended up selecting Uber, having used the service many times in many countries.
When I paid in advance on the Uber app, US $24.63, Euro 21.5I, I assumed this was due to many one-way streets and traffic lights along the way. I rationalized this expense based on the fact that we didn’t get a rental car during our stay, which saved us a considerable sum. The cost to take me to the salon and return me to the apartment would be less than the cost of one day’s rental.
My pedicure at the salon was professional and well done. I will return one more time closer to our embarkation date.
When I couldn’t get a strong enough signal in the salon to order an Uber to pick me up after my service was done, the shop owner used her phone’s “translate” feature, advising me to go outside and hail a taxi with a green light on, at the corner, a short distance away. I walked to the corner, and less than a minute later, a yellow taxi picked me up.
I showed him the address on my phone, but surprisingly, he spoke English and we chatted on what proved to be a very short distance at a fare of US $5.64, Euro 4.83!
Apparently, the Uber app took me on a route that would extend their fare. What a rip-off! From now on, we’ll use local taxis to take us anywhere we’d like to go, including back to the airport on October 27, one month from today. I’m looking forward to that date more than I can say.
On another note, I received a notification from the Tedee app, the Bluetooth door opening app, indicating that the battery is running low. I wrote to the management company, and they told me we should recharge it. We don’t have a proper plugin for that, which requires being plugged into an outlet.
There isn’t an outlet within 12 feet, nor do we have an extension cord that can reach it. I told them that they would need a technician to perform this task. It’s not our responsibility to figure it out. Gosh, we’ve had enough of this place. The hot water heater still isn’t working correctly, and we have to unplug it for ten seconds, plug it back in, turn a dial, and wait for hot water.
Each time we try to wash a dish, wash our hands, or take a shower, the hot water shuts off after about five minutes. Since I am taking cold showers to improve my immune system, this hasn’t been as much of an issue for me as it has been for Tom, who prefers hot showers.
While he’s showering, I perform the restarting process on the water heater, allowing him to wait in the shower for the hot water to return so he can finish. Oh, good grief!
Yesterday, we received a message from Costco that Tom’s hearing aid charger is delayed in shipping to our mailing service in Nevada, and won’t arrive until Monday, after which we’ll have it shipped to us. In the meantime, I am hollering at him when I need to say something. Conversation is nonexistent. It will be nice to have a conversation with him once again. At this point, we have no idea how long it will take to go through customs on its way here.
Thank goodness we have Bluetooth speakers so he can hear the shows we stream at night.
Well, that’s all my whining for today. Thanks for hanging in there with us. There’s nothing wrong with Sant Marti or Barcelona.. It’s a matter of us experiencing these issues since we arrived, leaving us with little interest in going out, especially with the precarious three flights of dangerous stairs. I’m not about to get injured before this long-awaited cruise.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, September 27, 2015:
