I swear, I've become my family's personal travel agent. I joke that if travel agent was still a viable career choice it would have been my dream job, a perfect match to my obsessive need to match travel style and needs with a perfectly planned and tailored trip.
For my own trips I don't tend to over plan things and just take them as they come, but when it comes to planning for other people, I like to get every detail possible along with alternates. I blame my past professional career for this obsession with planning detail.
For my brother and Daniele's May trip I've been stalking the RENFE website for train tickets ( just my luck they are completing work near Granada so instead of 60 days in advance, they are only releasing tickets 30 days in advance), I waited for exactly midnight in Spain 60 days in advance to get them reservations at Tickets Bar in Barcelona (even booked just in case reservations for the next night as well), and I've waited patiently to get tickets to the Alhambra in Granada.
Tickets are usually available 90 days in advance for the Alhambra, but for whatever reason tickets for May were only put online today, March 30th. Last night I checked obsessively since I wasn't sure what was meant by "tickets for May will go on sale March 30th". Did it mean at exactly the stroke of midnight in Spain, later in the night, or whenever the employees got to work and felt like uploading the ticket availability on the Ticketmaster site? Turns out it meant the latter.
I had my tablet near me as I slept and when I woke throughout the night I checked to see if tickets were available. Even though tickets were available around 1 AM, for whatever reason, they never showed as available on my tablet. So as Daniele woke up at 6 AM to get ready for work, I was finally able to book tickets!
By the time I was able to get tickets to the Alhambra (a mere 5 hours after they went up), the 11 AM time slot I wanted for Nazari Palace was gone, leaving only an option for 10 AM with two tickets available. I said I've been stalking the website, and I really have. Every so often I check availability. and 10:30 AM and 11 AM always seem to be sold out almost immediately. My guess is these tickets are bought up by tour companies the moment tickets are available. That's fine, 10 AM still works for the schedule I planned out, it might even mean Richard and Daniele will get a chance to enjoy the Alhambra before all the tour groups start to show up.
With these tickets booked I can rest a little easier as I only need RENFE to post the train tickets for Barcelona to Granada for May 20th. Currently they only have tickets posted for up to May 18th! I know a flight would probably be easier, but I promised an overnight train and that is what they will get!
For my own trips I don't tend to over plan things and just take them as they come, but when it comes to planning for other people, I like to get every detail possible along with alternates. I blame my past professional career for this obsession with planning detail.
For my brother and Daniele's May trip I've been stalking the RENFE website for train tickets ( just my luck they are completing work near Granada so instead of 60 days in advance, they are only releasing tickets 30 days in advance), I waited for exactly midnight in Spain 60 days in advance to get them reservations at Tickets Bar in Barcelona (even booked just in case reservations for the next night as well), and I've waited patiently to get tickets to the Alhambra in Granada.
Tickets are usually available 90 days in advance for the Alhambra, but for whatever reason tickets for May were only put online today, March 30th. Last night I checked obsessively since I wasn't sure what was meant by "tickets for May will go on sale March 30th". Did it mean at exactly the stroke of midnight in Spain, later in the night, or whenever the employees got to work and felt like uploading the ticket availability on the Ticketmaster site? Turns out it meant the latter.
I had my tablet near me as I slept and when I woke throughout the night I checked to see if tickets were available. Even though tickets were available around 1 AM, for whatever reason, they never showed as available on my tablet. So as Daniele woke up at 6 AM to get ready for work, I was finally able to book tickets!
By the time I was able to get tickets to the Alhambra (a mere 5 hours after they went up), the 11 AM time slot I wanted for Nazari Palace was gone, leaving only an option for 10 AM with two tickets available. I said I've been stalking the website, and I really have. Every so often I check availability. and 10:30 AM and 11 AM always seem to be sold out almost immediately. My guess is these tickets are bought up by tour companies the moment tickets are available. That's fine, 10 AM still works for the schedule I planned out, it might even mean Richard and Daniele will get a chance to enjoy the Alhambra before all the tour groups start to show up.
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| Morning Session Availability After Less Than 10 Hours) |
With these tickets booked I can rest a little easier as I only need RENFE to post the train tickets for Barcelona to Granada for May 20th. Currently they only have tickets posted for up to May 18th! I know a flight would probably be easier, but I promised an overnight train and that is what they will get!
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