23 HOURS IN TRANSIT TO MADRID | The Roving Vlogger Day 5 (2017-10-04)

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO OUR JOURNEY

GETTING TO THE AIRPORT

We took our usual route to the airport, catching either the 545 or 542 bus into the city and transferring to the light rail at either University or Westlake Station to the airport. We used our Orca cards, which are tapped when boarding the bus and both before and after riding the light rail. This transit card can be purchased for $5 at any light rail station and can be set up to auto-reload when you run out of funds.

Price: $5 per person

FLIGHT

We found our flight via Skyscanner around three months ahead of time. We flew with Norwegian Air, famous for having some of the cheapest flights across the Atlantic. It involved a ten-hour flight from Seattle to London Gatwick, a three-hour layover, and a two-hour flight from London to Madrid. To avoid extra fees, our carry-on luggage had to be less than 10 kg a person. Since there is no one to check-in online or at a kiosk they did check the weight at the desk. Another sign of a budget airline, we also had to be bussed out to the plane instead of boarding at the gate.

We flew on a 787-9 Dreamliner, and it was my first time on this type of plane. The large, electronic-shade windows were sweet. I wish I had a window seat, but selecting your seat ahead of time is something else you have to pay for. There were plenty of chargers for our electronics. Unfortunately, the entertainment system wasn’t working for movies and wi-fi isn’t offered on international flights. I slept for maybe 20 minutes on the plane and spent the rest of the time reading.

Price: $255.96 per person

LAYOVER AT GATWICK

As a no-frills budget airline, Norwegian Air doesn’t provide any food or drink on the plane, unless you pay extra, so even with our mochi snack we were pretty hungry after 10 hours. We ate at Wagamama upstairs in South Terminal. The Japanese omelette was DELICIOUS, and the apple and goji berry pancakes weren’t bad either.

Price: £8.21 ($10.72) per person

GETTING TO THE CITY CENTER

I was originally going to take the Renfe train to Atocha Station and walk the 20 minutes to our Airbnb from there, which is the fastest and least expensive option. However, my dad wasn’t up for a walk. Instead, I decided to try out the metro. This was a mistake - we took line 8 from the airport to Nuevos Ministerios, transferred to the 6 line for one stop to Cuatro Caminos, then transferred to line 1 to Antón Martin Station, which is only a two-minute walk from our Airbnb. It took twice as long as the train and each transfer involved a LOT of walking, up and down stairs and escalators. The tunnels were stuffy and hot and increasingly crowded. It was fine for us, but not recommended for my parents. It was my first big reminder that traveling with the is going to be different from what I’m used to.

Price: 5€ ($5.87) per person

There you have it! From our home in Washington state to an apartment in central Madrid for $277.55 a person in 23 hours. Long-distance travel days are BY FAR the most expensive! Fortunately, we won’t be hopping on another flight for a month and a half so it will average out to much less.

I'm behind by a video - it took four hours to upload this one! But I'll try to catch up while also enjoying traveling. :)

- Katie, @therovingreader

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• FAREWELL FOR NOW, SEATTLE | Day 4

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• SUNSET AT AN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE IN MADRID | Day 6