A quick update from Barcelona on Pain in the Ash 2010. We're on day six of the flight disruptions. Business has been fairly normal here at the hostel. We've had a lot of last minute cancellations, but we also have plenty of guests who were here over the weekend that have now extended stays. Most people are managing to keep their spirits up, but with tight budgets stretched to their limits, no end in sight, and the frustration of busy signals, long lines and less than helpful airlines, I can tell no one is enjoying "vacation" as much anymore. The Barcelona airport is open, but 20% of outgoing flights were canceled today. The airport website has pretty good updates.

Everyone's scrambling to figure out how to get home. We've got two guests from the UK who booked the first bus they could (Friday) to Paris and then a train from Paris to London on Sunday. They were supposed to be going home last Saturday. We have other guests from Sweden who have opted for a bus from Barcelona to Stockholm that leaves tomorrow. That is a 26 hour drive by car. I've read stories about people taking 4,000 euro taxi rides from Madrid to Berlin. Rental car companies here are refusing to rent cars or charging exorbitant rates to anyone heading north lest they be left with their entire fleet of cars in Northern Europe. Twitter and Facebook have been good resources to check for the latest updates, ride sharing, new transportation offers, etc.

The problems have really been exacerbated by train strikes in both France and Spain. This hasn't been talked about much in the American press, but it's made alternate travel options even more difficult to come by. The Spanish train strike started today, and has partially disrupted service. The French train strike has been going on for awhile, and our guests have not been able to book any trains from Barcelona into France for at least a week.

The British government is talking about sending Navy ships to pick up stranded Britons, specifically in Spain. All calls to the British Consulate to investigate further were met with busy signals. It seems the EU governments have been a little slow to react to this transportation crisis, and they're starting to face more criticism now. (Good NY Times article about it)

The scariest part about this is that there is no foreseeable end to the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. I guess we can bide our time learning how to pronounce that name. This Youtube clip does it best- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jq-sMZtSww

Our hypothesis about Guide du Routard was correct! Somnio was indeed written up in their 2010 Barcelone Guide. The write up (translated from French) goes something like this:

A brand new little place with contemporary charm and elegance with a special guesthouse atmosphere. Pleasant rooms with beautiful wooden floors, beige, chocolate and blue-gray hues, with or without private bathroom (the bathrooms are very modern and well-equipped!) Good bedding. That said, the rooms lack closets. Prices are slightly overvalued, but the kindness of the owners almost makes you forget about it.

Now we're trying to figure out which author visited us. The book just arrived in the mail, so I'm at home reading the names over the phone for Lee to look up. I'm enjoying using my thickest fake French accent. It's a fun game.

So for those of you that don´t know, I´m starting an MBA program at Wharton in August. As a part of the enrollment process, Wharton requires that you pay for a background check into your previous employment, references, etc. Initially, I was annoyed when I had to pay for this myself, but then I was even more annoyed when the guy from the company informed me that he couldn´t get in touch with HR at HSBC and would I mind just sending him some old pay slips as proof of employment. Uh yeah, why don´t I just do your job for you?

Then I get another email today telling me that they haven´t been able to get in touch with Somnio Hostels, SL. (I haven´t seen any emails or faxes nor have I received any phone calls.) But, they´re asking if I can send them my contract, payslips, or some other documentation as proof of employment.

This strikes me as a little bit of a silly exercise. I tell Wharton where I worked. Then they make me pay a company to ask for proof from me of where I claim to have worked. How is that any type of unbiased, third party verification?

Since when do banks do house calls? A guy from Banco Sabadell just stopped by to tell me what they've got to offer our business. He's passing by all of the local businesses that don´t have accounts with them. How very pro-active and not Spanish!

He's informed me of a special loan set up for tourism businesses that might benefit us. We're meeting next week. Guess his can-do attitude is paying off. The Rest of Spain, please take note.

Now if I could only get realtors to start coming to me....

So I think Somnio may have gotten a write up in the Guide du Routard (essentially the Lonely Planet of France). A few guests have referenced it in reservation emails. But the most telling evidence is the surge in recent reservation requests from Jacques, Laurences, Pierres, Célines, Séverines, and Fabrices. No joke, those are just from the last 5 days.

If anyone´s reading this from France and wants to pop into a bookstore to verify, we´d greatly appreciate it! Bonus points if you rip the page out, scan it, and email it to us.

Just kidding, don´t do that.