Short Stories in English for Beginners

Chapter 2 – Spain
Our plane lands in Barcelona. My friend Armando is waiting at the airport.
‘Hi, Daniel!’ he says. He gives me a big hug. ‘I’m so happy you’re here!’
‘Hi, Armando! It’s great to see you!’ I reply.
Armando looks at my sister Julia. I introduce them. ‘Armando, my
friend, this is my sister Julia.’
Armando turns to Julia. He 
kisses
 her on each cheek. ‘Hi, Julia. Pleased
to meet you!’
My sister is very 
shy
. She’s especially shy when she meets new people.
‘Hello … Armando,’ she says. Her face turns red. Then she becomes 
quiet
.
‘Your sister is really shy, isn’t she?’ Armando says to me, smiling.
‘Yes she is, but she’s lovely,’ I say.
A short while later we head for Armando’s 
flat
. We are staying there for
the term. We get a 
taxi
. After 30 minutes, we arrive in Barcelona centre.
The taxi costs 41 euros and 50 cents. Armando says it’s the usual rate to this
section of the city. We pay for the taxi and get out.
It’s a short walk to Armando’s flat. It’s June and it’s really hot. But there
is a nice wind to cool us.
We arrive at the flat at lunchtime. My sister and I are really hungry.
‘Armando,’ I say, ‘where can we eat?’
‘There are a couple of good 
restaurants
 in the area.’
‘What types of food do they have?’
‘One of the restaurants, La Paella Loca, has a great 
paella
. I really
recommend it. You can take the bus there. The other one has lovely fish. It’s
just next door.’
‘Julia, do you want to have paella?’ I ask my sister.
‘Yes! I’m so hungry!’ she replies.
Armando can’t come with us. He is a teacher and he has a class. So Julia
and I head for the paella restaurant. It’s a short walk to the bus 
station
.

---

‘Hmm ... Now, which bus goes to the paella restaurant?’ I ask Julia.
‘I don’t know …’ she replies. ‘Let’s ask.’ She points to a man in a white
shirt.
We walk over to the man. He smiles. ‘Hello! Can I help you?’
‘Hi. How do we get to La Paella Loca restaurant?’ I ask.
‘It’s easy! The number 35 bus goes in that direction. It goes right to La
Paella Loca. However, there’s a small problem.’
‘What’s that?’ I ask.
‘That bus is normally