And so on to Barcelona! A welcome break after 4 hectic days of sorting all our accumulated bits and pieces for shipment back to Oz. Sadly that also concluded our cycling adventure as we conjured up hidden packing genius trying to fit our preciously complicated little queens into their narrow, cardboard containers.Soon enough our two wheels would be replaced by three when our friends in Barcelona suggested we try GoCar. They'd seen these cute, yellow convertibles around town and thought they'd be great fun so, after taking a peek at their website and discovering an awesome discount for bloggers (yay cheap publicity), off we went.
We found their office tucked away in an alley and it struck me, what with the trendy yellow decor and funky beats, that we'd made a proper departure from shoestring tourism and entered weekend getaway territory. So I put on a brave face and tried not to look at all surprised that a 300 EUR deposit was successfully deducted from my credit card.
"So you have experience?" said the nice man in reference to the scooter car thing. P2 and I said "Yes" and "No" simultaneously then laughed nervously as he waited for an explanation. I gave P2 a confused look until I remembered that we once took a motorcycle rider training course but didn't go through with whole license process. To my surprise the nice man didn't seem overly concerned and proceeded to roll out the car and go through the workings of the vehicle.
It's basically a GPS enabled, scooter-driven car that gives you an audio tour of the city as it guides you to the major points of interest. Helmets required, as are seatbelts. Fair enough, except that the seatbelts weren't adjustable. Oh well, let's just hope for the best."Who's driving?" That would be me seeing as I still had a valid license. That meant that P2 would be navigating. Oh dear. We hadn't anticipated that. P2 started examining the map with dismay and I could sense her headache coming on.
Still, no time to fuss. We now had to test the GPS system which meant going for a short drive. Ignition? I see. Brakes, uh-huh. Throttle ... stall ... throttle ... What's that? More throttle, OK then! We're instructed to go to the end of the road and make a U-turn. Getting to the end of the road was ok but the U-turn proved to be more challenging. I misjudged and got stuck just as a taxi entered the intersection and looked on with an expression I dared not gauge. Driving a scooter also means no reverse gear so P2 had to hop out and push, adding to our general style and decorum.
"There's no way they're going to let us drive away with this thing," I muttered to P2 but to my amazement they hardly batted an eyelid and sent us on our merry way. I struggled a bit to keep it under 20km/s as instructed as I wasn't all that comfortable blocking so much traffic but, as we'd been warned, any faster than that and we'd miss vital instructions from our audio guide and once you're off the path you're completely on your own.
The brakes were a bit tough and P2 nearly bit my head off for scaring her with a few close calls but eventually we all managed to calm down and start to enjoy the ride.
"Just relax," I said. "Don't worry about the directions. The car will tell us where to go." So there we were, snapping away at the Arc de Triomf, Sagrada Familia aka Gaudi's hideous cathedral, under construction, the Toreador stadium and the like. The funny thing was that we seemed to be a tourist attraction ourselves. Wherever we went people stared, some took photos, and I was conscious of the fact that the running commentary was audible to everyone, not just ourselves. This was particularly embarrassing in tiny, narrow streets where the tall buildings on either side seemed to amplify everything. Still, the engine noise was quite loud so turning it down wasn't really an option.
After nearly two hours of this madcap, non-stop adventure we decided it was still worthwhile spending a little more to see parts of the city we wouldn't have time for later. At the beginning we'd missed a vital turn at a really very confusing roundabout so with a bit more experience under our belts we gave it another go. This time the map was out and P2 got down to business. We got around that whole circuit with barely a hitch despite road closures and unintentional detours but it was distinctly less fun with map in hand rather than camera as navigation required our full concentration.
Having decided to call it a day we made our way back hoping to return within the hour to avoid clocking extra time when P2 made an executive decision to take a short cut. Given her navigational record it took more than a little faith on my part but seeing as she'd done so well that day I thought perhaps I could be a bit more generous. Things went well at first but before too long, P2's defiant optimism was slowly beaten down by Barcelona's irregular network of one way roads. Eventually we made our way back on to the GPS guided path and the audio guide sprang to life with encouraging noises only to let us down at the final turn by informing us far too late. Around we went again before we finally made it back and were only too happy to hand back the keys and regain our pedestrian freedom.
Review:
Would I do it again? If I were on a bigger budget then I certainly wouldn't rule it out but right now at the regular price of approx EUR 30 an hour I can think of a number of things I'd rather do with that kind of money. Eat more tapas and drink more beer for instance.
If you're considering it, a bit of motorbike/scooter experience would be a definite bonus if only to allow you to focus on the more interesting parts of the 'tour' and it helps if you don't mind making a spectacle of yourself. A lot of the reviews I've read talk about their experience in San Francisco where perhaps that wouldn't be such a problem but in Europe I felt more than a bit self-conscious.
We floated past so many interesting spots wishing we could hop out and take a closer look without worrying about our remaining time or where to park. On the other hand, we probably wouldn't have seen them at all if we were solely on foot with the time that we had. It would be best to hire a GoCar for the day so you have more freedom to stop whenever you want (you can park in 2 motorcycle spots or one car space) and the daily rate is better value.
The GoCar is very cute which definitely adds to the appeal but there's plenty of room for technical improvement. The GPS gives audio guidance only which affects timing as it tries to fit directions in with commentary and it can be difficult to hear in traffic. The rear view mirror was basically useless as the road vibration would shake it out of alignment almost immediately and the seatbelts need to be adjustable!
Overall it's a good concept but for me, I'm happy to wait until GoCars go electric, speakers put in the helmets and a visual GPS display added. One can always dream!
Now that truly is the business.
