Now I Know More!

I enjoyed round two of public transportation instead of the private bus.  It is a bit of an unfair comparison because when looking for the train to the airport I just needed to follow the signs with the plane.  

When trying to figure out my way home there was no sign like this.

Today I started in Sant Cugat and took the train to Provença on the FGC line.  I switched to L5 on the TMB line and went west to Sants Estació, which is the location of the main train station for Barcelona. 

From there I followed the plane signs.  I tried to buy a ticket at a machine, but it was only for out-of-Barcelona destinations.  I tried to buy a ticket at the within-Barcelona booth and the attendant said my trip on the T-10 would get me to the airport on the Rodalies R2 line.

(T-10 is a ten trip ticket and it be purchased for whichever number of zones a person chooses.  Within Barcelona is one zone and to Sant Cugat is two zones.  A. uses a one-zone card to get to school when he takes his cello.  There are other cards, but no tap system like other big cities. I can use any of the systems pictured on the card in the last post, but I have a limited time, based on the number of zones.)

Still in doubt, I went down to the track and confirmed with the attendant (whose job it was to make sure people did not unintentionally get on the train that came to the same track but had a different destination) that I did not need a special ticket.  I did all this in Spanish!

The airport train comes just every twenty minutes and was quite full, but it was easy to find and easy to ride.  When we got to the airport I still thought there would be someone who would want me to buy a special ticket, but I was wrong.  I got all the way to the airport for just under 2€!

The confusing part was arriving at Terminal 2B. Walking from the station to the pedestrian walkway was well-marked, although it is not very close to the terminal  There is a bus to Terminal 1, but without prior knowledge how was I supposed to figure out whether a person was arriving at Terminal 2A or B (which are next to each other but not connected inside)?  I didn't even learn until later that there is a Terminal 2C!

My conclusion is still that the bus is better since it is faster (leaves every five minutes), involves only one change, and drops the passenger off right at the terminal.  However, with enough time (to ride the the two frequent trains and wait for the third) and without too much luggage (schlepping between the three trains and to the terminal) this is a good savings (just over 5€) and not complicated.  I think it is a great method to use when meeting someone at the airport!